Posts by Phantom Stranger

35

Phone / Email Relationships

by Nosferatu in

okay, my turn!.

so, you met this hottie online, and got her email address.

you're thinking, "wow!

Phantom Stranger

Maybe you missed that I'm marrying a woman I met on an Internet service? :)

35

Phone / Email Relationships

by Nosferatu in

okay, my turn!.

so, you met this hottie online, and got her email address.

you're thinking, "wow!

Science has shown that our brains think differently when typing or using written language for communication than when we are talking. Quite frankly, we are only displaying one part of our minds - and it's impossible ot do otherwise!

Science has also shown that the words we say are a small fraction of the data that's conveyed - body language, facial expression, etc., are far more important.

So phones are better than e-mail, and in person is better than phones.

As an aside, it's impossible to be "real" in more of a fraction of your self in limited-bandwidth communication channels. You will react differently with different stimuli - as will the other.

51

Liberal Equals Ex-JW

by patio34 in

jw
friends

something i've noticed on this board is that there seem to be many more liberal-left types than conservative-right types.

what do you think of my following theories?

in the 70s, many converts to jw-dom were influenced by the anti-establishment philosophy and anti-viet nam war.

Phantom Stranger

patio, isn't it true that many of the farthest to the right (and most vociferous) were part of the recent diaspora to the-board-that-cannot-be-named? Looking at old threads of mine, I notice that many who used to argue the right's position have not posted in some time.

I actually would attribute the mix of comments on the board to the following:

The largest group has not yet formed political opinions, either because they feel that they are not yet well-enough grounded in political thought, or because they are still nauseated by politics.

There are some conservatives who don't discuss politics here any longer, because they feel that the board is not for that purpose, and possibly because Simon is liberal and they feel some imbalance there (I am not saying this is true! I've seen comments about it, but am not agreeing with it.)

35

Phone / Email Relationships

by Nosferatu in

okay, my turn!.

so, you met this hottie online, and got her email address.

you're thinking, "wow!

Phantom Stranger

As I said, your recommendation I agree with. However, I think your explanation is a bit off.

Regards,

PS

35

Phone / Email Relationships

by Nosferatu in

okay, my turn!.

so, you met this hottie online, and got her email address.

you're thinking, "wow!

Phantom Stranger

Nos, you're right and wrong at the same time.

As someone who dated people he met with online dating services for four years, and did pretty well, and is now marrying someone he met there...

1) Talk on the phone ASAP, meet for coffee/drinks ASAP.

2) This is because the longer you communicate with someone whom you're not experiencing in person, the more your mind unconcsiously fills in the blanks with what you'd like, what their writing style and voice reminds you of, etc. The simple (and brief) fact is that the more data we have that is incomplete, the more we fill in the blanks - and the more we are disappointed when we meet the real thing - who had nothing to do with the person we created in our heads!

Good luck, all.

1

Republicans Who Support 'Anybody But Bush'

by Phantom Stranger in

from capitol hill blue.

by doug thompson feb 23, 2004, 01:57. george meagher of charleston, south carolina, is a veteran and lifelong republican who, by his own admission, put his "heart and soul" into working for george w. bush in 2000. .

meagher organized veterans and once proudly displayed pictures of him and his wife with bush.. no more.

Phantom Stranger

From Capitol Hill Blue

Republicans Who Support 'Anybody But Bush'

By DOUG THOMPSON Feb 23, 2004, 01:57

George Meagher of Charleston, South Carolina, is a veteran and lifelong Republican who, by his own admission, put his "heart and soul" into working for George W. Bush in 2000.

Meagher organized veterans and once proudly displayed pictures of him and his wife with Bush.

No more. Meagher may vote Democratic this fall because he's fed up with what he sees as lies and deceit by President Bush and the Republican leadership in Washington.

"I should be all choked up at not supporting the President," says Meagher. "But when I think about the 500 Americans killed in a war, with what we've done to Iraq and with what we've done to our own country, I can't see any other way. Look at it. We're already $2 trillion in debt. Something has to be done."

Meagher is not alone when it comes to Republicans who are having serious second thoughts about George W. Bush.

John Scarnado, a registered Republican and sales manager from Austin, Tex., voted for Bush in 2000 but now says he will vote for John Kerry if the Massachusetts Senator wins the Democratic nomination.

Scarnado cites Iraq and Vice President Dick Cheney's ties to scandal-scarred Halliburton as two reasons he can't vote for Bush again.

"It's just too much old boy politics with the Bush administration," Scarnado says. "I don't like that."

Neither does Londonderry, New Hampshire farmer Mike Cross, who voted Republican in 2000 and who says he doesn't care much for John Kerry but has "had enough of George W. Bush."

In travels around the country in recent weeks, I've found many Republicans who feel betrayed by their own party. They say the President lied about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, has abandoned basic Republican principles like a balanced budget and now ignores states' rights.

"He acts more like Bill Clinton every day," says one state GOP chairman. "How am I expected to rally our party to support someone like that?"

Some say they may stay home on Election Day. Others say they will hold their nose and vote Democratic.

"I've had with George W. Bush's lies and his fat cat buddies," says Sandra Waterson, a banking executive in St. Louis. "He's a disgrace to the Presidency and the Republican Party."

Tim Blevins, a Vietnam veteran from Waterloo, Iowa, isn't fond of John Kerry's antiwar activities after he came back from Vietnam but says "Kerry went to Vietnam and fought like a man. He didn't use his daddy's connections to hide in the Air Guard and avoid fighting for his country like Bush."

Publicly, Republican strategists say they are not worried about dissension in the GOP ranks but privately they admit real concern.

"The fallout is significant," admits one GOP pollster. "We could be seeing as much as 15 percent of Republicans who won't vote for the President's reelection."

This jives with a recent nationwide CBS News poll that shows 11 percent of those who voted for Bush in 2000 now say they will support the Democratic candidate. Another poll by Princeton Survey Associates finds 19 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of independents say they can't support Bush's re-election.

Bill Flanagan, an Ohio Republican, is one of those.

"The lies and our boys coming home in body bags are reasons enough," he says. "I can vote for John Kerry. I can vote for just about any Democrat over George W. Bush."

The defections aren't limited to voters. In the last two months, a dozen Republican members of Congress have told me they will distance themselves from Bush in their reelection campaign.

At a recent GOP retreat, House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert faced hostile Republican conservatives, led by Rep. Chris Cox of California.

At one point during a heated closed-door debate, one angry GOP house member told Hastert: "We might as well have a Democrat in the White House. At least we know what to expect from a Democratic President."

21

Family Coat Of Arms: Does Anybody Have Them?

by ColdRedRain in

jw
friends

.

my family has 3, and i'm considering getting a tattoo of one of them on my right arm.

which one do you like better, and do you have a coat of arm's?

Phantom Stranger

My family's coat has the long arms that wrap all the way around...

8

Bid Farewell to Guilt and Regret.

by Blueblades in

jw
friends

.

everyone's past is filled with regrets, mistakes and missed opportunities that still cause pain.these feelings are an index of our humanity, evidence that we have a heart and a conscience.. but from an emotional point of view, they are deadweights that keep us from moving forward.while they can't merely be willed away.i recommend you give yourself a good talking-to.. remind yourself that everyone has negative experiences.but whatever happened is in the past, and nothing can change that.holding on to the memory only allows the damage to continue into the present.. from the april ladies home journal page 82. yes i do read articles in my wife's magazines.i thought this piece might help some of us here on the forum.. blueblades

Phantom Stranger

I need a good pie recipe - anything in there?

3

I need to get out more

by Phantom Stranger in

jw
friends

.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/stats/posters/d/7/10.ashx

i'm ahead of minimus... oh, god.

Phantom Stranger

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/stats/posters/d/7/10.ashx

I'm ahead of minimus... oh, God.

223

Are Posters Deleted Forever?

by Simon in

this is a moderated forum and unfortunately it's occassionally necessary to deactivate accounts of posters who purposefully and/or repeatedly violate the simple & sensible posting guidelines, there to ensure that the forum is a welcoming and friendly place to visit.

most deletions are not permanent however.

we appreciate that some are the results of misunderstandings or personal circumstances coloring people's behavior.

Phantom Stranger

If my feelings involve lashing out and hurting others with my words, I would expect my "right" to be "free" would be curtailed.

My personal model is that this is not a community in the social sense. It's more like a group of friends that hangs out at a bar. We can have a great deal of fun, but there are lines we can't cross. We may even get leeway if we're regulars - but there are still lines.

There are things that I want to say that don't fit here. I say them elsewhere. And there are issues that I have to work out which are not appropriate, nor responsible, nor efficacious to work out here - so I work them out elsewhere.