How the Gaza Strip was won

I don't think she's a happy person. She's can be quite angry and quick to condemn.

Sorry to hear that. History is littered with examples of mad and unhappy geniuses. Some say that in the early days the only thing that God forbade us to do was eat fruit from the tree of knowledge. That could be translated as "if you stay dumb you'll stay happy". I find that my pre-conceptions, or when I have an a priori view of what should happen, can lead to anger and short-fusedness. I have found that the simple trick of counting (to 10 or otherwise) can greatly assist when in a potential flammable situation - and please believe me when I say that I have had a lot of practice! The other simple trick that works for me is to use a Buddhist formula that says "don't get attached to the way that you think that things should be".

I think I'm going to undertake some research. It occurs to me that everything we as individuals know, we learned after we were born. So our view of the Universe is highly coloured by our experiences. I want to look at studies of new born babies to try and find out what a human mind really is before it's imprinted upon by society. This may take some time.

What I know is that when I really seek God there's a peace that descend on me; when I step away I am left with a cold, lonely sense.

Yes - this comfort is one the key benefits in my comparison table. Maybe I should add the words "at peace" though - good one.

Note: like the scene from 2001 when Frank Poole's lifeless body drifts into deep space. Shudder

That was my reaction when I first saw the movie. Now my reaction is almost the opposite. Now I think .. mmmm peace - eternity, it's quite a welcoming thought. Not such a bad way to go. Anyway he gets revived in 3001 as you well know!

I thank God that I have some belief. My goal now is to grow that.

Good for you. I'm not going to grow mine unless God pops up and reveals himself, I need evidence, well my Spock-me does anyway, Bones-me is happy with the Unicorn. For instance, my Spock-me says that there is absolutely no way that the omnipotent creator of the Universe has a name, YHWH for instance (although my "WHY" block impresses some people at dinner parties :-) Heck, if you can get God on the agenda these days at parties it's a minor miracle) but my Bones-me says "Why not?

Great question on the (Spock_points, Bones_points), normalized to a 100 total my answers are:

* Kirk (50,50) - there must be balance in The Force
* Scotty (30,70) - needs a lot logic to fix engines, but he's a scotsman first nevertheless
* Chekov (40,60) - not sure about Pavel
* Sulu (70,30) - became a Captain in his own right later on
* Uhura (30,70) - a great voice driven from her emotional side, but professional with it
* Nurse Chapel (50,50) - GR married Majel even though she was always trying it on with Spock
* Yoeman Rand (10,90) - great outfit !

I think that the majority of the characters were pretty well balanced, what would your numbers be?

At what point do I cut this car loose?

My advice is, if the money is available then get a newer car for the $15K. Life is too short to worry about cars. My experience shows me that whenever I have skimped I've ended up paying more in the long run.

The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!"

Ok I have put the movie on my blockbuster DVD rent-list. Seeing the names of Renier, Cook and Crystal associated with it and your recommendation of the movie, I think it's a good bet, thanks. I have no idea what the character is referring to as I haven't seen the movie. Two things spring to mind.

1. I'm not sure why this springs to mind, as this is the Middle-East and not strictly Asia, but the Israeli massacre of four Arab nations in the 6-day war in 1967.
   


2. The Sicilian Defence in Chess. If you are playing with the black pieces and white opens with 1. e4 you can counter with 1 ... c5. This is one of the strongest defences for black, as it immediately challenges white for control of the centre. This was the favourite defence of both Bobby Fisher and Gary Kasparov, probably the two greatest chess players ever to play the game. In chess, variations are called "lines", so seeing "Sicilian" and "line" in the same sentence is probably what fired off that particular connection in my brain.