Recent content by ElCastor

I got a lot of traveling done during 5 years in the Navy. Join the Navy, see the world. Truer words were never spoken. As for the tourist cruise thing, didn’t care for it. Seems like every stop was a jewelry store and the inevitable guided bus tour. I preferred being behind the wheel, armed with...

Being an Agnostic I don‘t go to Church, but I admit to an envious feeling when I see people lined up at a church door on Sunday. Religion is at the root of our civilization. It was the foundation of our social order as well as our concept of right, wrong, and morality. Considering the...

Smokers have a hard time quitting because nicotine is highly addictive. “Nicotine dependence occurs when you need nicotine and can't stop using it. Nicotine is the chemical in tobacco that makes it hard to quit. Nicotine produces pleasing effects in your brain, but these effects are temporary...

“More than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking. For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary...

Cigarettes killed my mother. There is a reason they are called coffin nails. Rich or poor they are always a tragic mistake. Oh, and by the way, the nicotine in them is addictive.

I started my Internet forum adventure in a forum devoted to retirement, soc.retirement, and watched it literally destroyed by politics. The managers of this forum are very wise to prohibit political discussion, which discussion of the Trump trial would likely descend into.

How about a place with a low crime rate and easy access to medical care, transportation, daily needs such as food, and for car owners, servicing/repair?

Porch piracy around here doesn’t happen, but I did have a strange experience. Doorbell rang. Opened the door and there was a sheriff holding an Amazon box addressed to me. It was garbage pickup day and it seems a guy a few blocks away went out to put something in his garbage can waiting for...

As a very young child I lived with my parents in an Oakland Cul De Sac ( one block long ). Every family on the block was Jewish, except us. I visited it a few years ago. Jews were gone and it looked like Spanish was the primary language. At the risk of being accused of racism, half of the...

I was born in Oakland California. Back in the day it was a good place. Today it seethes with crime and I wouldn‘t set foot there. “Violent crime and other felonies fell in 2023 in America’s biggest cities. They increased in Oakland. Robberies grew 38% last year in Oakland, according to police...

Perhaps the best … NextBigFuture.com – Coverage of Disruptive Science and Technology

Muhammad, the founder of Islam, claimed he had received a divine revelation that Jews intended to assassinate him. He organized an army and set out to decimate the Jewish tribe of Khaybar. Islamic hatred of Jews continues to this day and doubtless will never change. Battle of Khaybar - Wikipedia

The maternal side of my parentage was enchanted that they were descended from a member of the Mayflower, thus my middle name. Ironically I looked it up and there are two million of us descendants.

A beautiful tuxedo cat is sleeping beside me as I read this thread, and behind me an Amazon Double Yellow-head has departed for his home upstairs. As a kid we had collies, a parakeet, and a wonderful shepherd of unknown origin. Animals are a great part of our lives.

We talk issues that may or may not have a political element, but we do not sink to vote for X or Y. Years ago, pending retirement, I began posting in a retirement news group, and over time saw it consumed, and eventually destroyed, by a total commitment to pure politics. The managers of this...