They will eat anything and like warm, moist environments. Kinda like teen-agers. Have you tried OCD? For cleanlinesss and orderliness? Seriously. It helps. I think. But it may cause other problems (i.e., your mate may leave you).
Posts by DJS
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48Can anyone give me any advice on how to get rid of cockroaches?
by Jeannette ini have sprayed, i have bug bombed, i have sprayed some more.
i threw things out i thought that they might have a nest in.
i soaked some things in hot water all day.
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52
Stagnant JW growth at international convention
by kneehighmiah inso at the international convention 235 were baptized.
the attendance was 34k.
that's resents less than 1% its about .6%.
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DJS
Scotsman and Magnum,
Interesting account and analysis. It is difficult for me to believe that the Borg will continue to fluorish based on the culture of the Millenials (under 33 or so) that I see in most western lands. In the US and much of Europe, that generation has shown tendencies to be less religious, political and family oriented (think Friends). They are also much more liberal (the vast majority favor same sex unions/marriage, for example). They are moving back into cities/urban areas at a high rate and many eschew cars and driving. They also are the first generation with the Internet in all its glory, readily available to them at their fingertips.
They are different than the generations before them, and it remains to be seen how this translates to the Borg. Up to this point - not so well it would seem. IMHO, the Borg could likely survive a 'lost' generation; however, if the generation coming after the Millenials acts and thinks as the Millenials - or are even more liberable, independent, etc. - the Borg would appear to be in major trouble. I do not believe the Borg could survive, in its present form, with two lost generations. Major changes would be required.
The other unknown is how fast the developing world can come into a 2nd or 1st world economy. If the 'have-not's and the poor and uneducated can quickly develop a better standard of living, access to education and healthcare, the Borg will suffer another blow, since that is where its growth is coming. An example: the "Arab Spring" was in large part initiated by the Millenial Internet cafe generation of young Muslims and Arabs. The revolution predicatably got 'hijacked' as they have stated, by their parents' generation. Why? Simple. Their parents' generation had the money, the influence and the weaponry. But that will change; time is on the Internet generation's side. The parallels between the Arab Spring, which has not fulfilled its promise but may likely in the future simply based on the numbers and the generation coming, and the Borg are similar.
IMHO, these are the two major trends which will determine whether the Borg evolves to where it is a kinder, gentler borganization. Time will tell.
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76
Losing Faith in Faith..
by Dis-Member ini came across this lecture at 3am not being able to sleep by dan baker.
it details his transition from christian fundamentalist to atheist and the various shades in-between.
he realises that every denomination of christian can open the bible and prove to you that they have the right interpretation and everyone else is wrong.
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DJS
Maranatha,
Pardon me if I have had my limit of having someone preach or proselytize to me. The last place I want to experience that is on a site like this. You of all people should understand, especially if you escaped the Borg's clutches as well.
I have no tolerance for it. None. Nada. Zero. Having said that, if you or anyone else wish to spend your time in theist threads and OPs you won't have to deal with me. I avoid them, mostly out of respect but partially out of revulsion. GMJALMT, Perry and some other serious proselytizers routinely start or enter non-theist OPs to spread their vast knowledge of all things theist and Jesus. I mean, really, do you think I want Perry or any of the other hard-core theists telling me about global warming, evolution, the age of the universe, the big bang theory (unless it's the tv show) or anything else they don't know anything about other than what they can google? Really?
And as for the Millenial, End-of-Time theology you, Abe and others preach: again, haven't we all had enough of that to fill several lifetimes? If that annoys me more than a bit shouldn't you understand??????????????
It is a failed belief system to me, the atheists on this site and those leaning. There is nothing, NOTHING, that you can say or do to change that. Abe is absolutely certain the lord is coming soon (where DID we hear that before?). Perry is certain that Jesus is the way. GMJALMT (doubtful he is a fan of the '60s song or the group Chairman of the Board who sang it - more likely he is asking the 'lord' for more time to save lost souls such as me) tells me I never knew god and have no hope unless I submit to his Xtian theology. Oh, and the end is coming soon, where everyone but people like him will expire (where DID we hear that before).
Considering our Borgian experiences, where barely educated individuals preached to us that only they had special knowledge and that we were in urgent times with the end coming soon and had to listen to them lest we die on the wrong side of the ark, cannot you understand why we aren't so touchy feely warm fuzzy???
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76
Losing Faith in Faith..
by Dis-Member ini came across this lecture at 3am not being able to sleep by dan baker.
it details his transition from christian fundamentalist to atheist and the various shades in-between.
he realises that every denomination of christian can open the bible and prove to you that they have the right interpretation and everyone else is wrong.
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DJS
And like the Dubs, GiveMe, Maranatha and Abe have pre-judged billiions of people to their death during their upcoming deliverance, including most Christians. I am quite certain if you scratch the surface just a tiny bit with those 3 you wiill find that they don't believe most X-tians are 'real' X-tians. I don't see anyone mad, just cutting through BS.
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76
Losing Faith in Faith..
by Dis-Member ini came across this lecture at 3am not being able to sleep by dan baker.
it details his transition from christian fundamentalist to atheist and the various shades in-between.
he realises that every denomination of christian can open the bible and prove to you that they have the right interpretation and everyone else is wrong.
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DJS
I think Maranatha (Come Lord Jesus - we get it) and Givemejustalittlemoretime are related or friends. They arrived at the same time; we can only hope they both leave soon. DisMember, you are more patient than I. Maranatha and GMJALMT are the newly appointed FDS and GB. They and they alone have 'true' scriptural insight and a direct conduit to the big girl in the sky and her son (Come Lord Jesus - we get it). None of us had the 'lord' when we were Dubs, and no one on the planet has the lord now except for those two. And Perry. What about the nearly 1 billion Hindus? The 350,000,000 Buddhists? The 1.6 bilions Muslims, 24 million Sikhs, 14 million Jews? Any hope for them Maranatha? You are no different than the Dubs. Actually worse.
How many of the 2.2 billion Christians really have the lord Maranatha/Perry/GMJALMT? The Dubs clearly don't, right? what about the following groups. do any of these REALLY have the lord?
Latter Day Saints
Catholics
Baptists
Methodists
Orthodox
Unitarians
Presbyterians
Episcopalians
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40
Athiests: Do you ever wonder... what if?
by toweragent ini'll start by saying, i'm a ministerial servant who is trapped in the religion.
my wife is hardcore...but i've slowly been getting her to lighten up, so i'll take it!
all my friends and family are jw's, and i am employed by a jw (who is actually a great boss).
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DJS
Toweragent:
Regarding this: "For those of you who are now athiest: Do you ever look back and wonder "what if"? What if the god of the bible is real? What if there is a creator who is not the god of the bible?"
My response would be never, not even for a nano-second. But like MadGiant, I spent decades questioning the god/bible thing, even when I was in the Borg and even (especially) when I was an elder. I studied, researched, analyzed, evaluated and meditated on the topic to the point there wasn't anything left to consider. And guess what? I found, at the end of the sojourn, that I was an atheist.
I knew at the beginning of the trip that this could/would be the eventual destination, but I took my time, removing one brick and a time until the foundation (god, the bible) was left. Then I dug that up. I have referred to it previously as my "Pink Floyd" trek into atheism - Another Brick in the Wall.
I never worry about anything beyond this life. I try to live this life to its full. For those who ask me what would I do if there turned out to go a god I respond the same everytime: If there is a god, and she created me, then she knows me, who I am and why I made the decisions I made. The weight of evidence is against a god; I think you probably already know that. But really, what does it matter what you believe? Your belief in a god or not is not going to change anything, even YOUR future.
Good luck.
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52
I FINALLY found a car I like & brought it home tonight = )
by FlyingHighNow inafter nearly seven months of bus rides and asking for rides, i have purchased a car.. for all of you who made helpful suggestions & contributions to my car buying thread, especially zed is dead, thank you so much.. my thread asking for advice on car buying:.
suggestions for car buying23.
i bought a 2009, pontiac g 6. my reasons for choosing a g 6: this car gets great miles per gallon.
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DJS
FHN,
Congrats!!! I'm about to purchase my very first car from the 21st Century, so I know you you feel!!!
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32
Malaysian flight crash in Ukraine VS Flight 93 in Pennsylvania
by EndofMysteries ini wonder if anybody else has wondered about the differences between those 2 flights?
in the malaysian flight that crashed from 30,000 feet high, tons of wreckage, body parts, bodies, documents, etc, all over the place.
yet in the pa flight 93, just a crater in the ground, no bodies, everything supposedly vaporized.
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DJS
LisaRose,
Yeah, exactly. I have worked with a lot of these people; I know how very well trained they are and most all of them are round pegs in round holes - they WANT to help others and get it right. And you are welcome; your kind reminders have kept Simon from booting me!!!!
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30
Denmark Assembly Hall and 7 KH for sale
by Viva la Vida inthis is the real estate page: http://propertysale.dk/salg/helsinkivej.html.
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DJS
Steve2,
New Zealand is another example of a highly secular society where religion has been on the decline for a long time. The % of atheists in NZ is among the world's highest. NZ also routinely shows up on the list of happiest countries and ranks number 12 or so in average IQ. Paying attention dubs and those who continue to spew that atheists are whore and war mongering child killers???????????????? It is my personal objective/mission to respond with more empirical data each time one of you theists tell me defnitively how bad it's going to be when we are all atheists. I will stop when you stop.
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Denmark Assembly Hall and 7 KH for sale
by Viva la Vida inthis is the real estate page: http://propertysale.dk/salg/helsinkivej.html.
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DJS
Blondie,
Thanks for that; it fits the close/combine/consolidate strategy I see occurring. Using existing assets is a plus, as it shifts O&M costs for a non-production sunk cost to the production costs for a production unit (KH).
I can close my eyes and 'see' the spreadsheet they have built. The rows are the easy part - they are the however many thousands of congregations/KHs. The columns are the genius of the spreadsheet, including the types of data they will evaluate and the math/weightings they give to each, for which congregations get new KHs, which are combined and which ones just have to make do (run to fail or at best maintain at the minimal level). I could build this thing on my own in a few days.
Columns would include: Existing options (such as the assembly halll you just mentioned) for combining and consolidating - and potentially enabling closing. That would have the highest weighting. Other columns: b. zip code/zone; c. Historical and projected population change; d. Historical and projected income levels; e. Historical and projected educational levels; f. Historical and projected changes in racial/ethnic makeup of population (weighted higher than simple populaton growth); g. age and current condition of KH; h. Whether KH is shared and by how many congs.; i. Whether KH is paid for; j. Low-cost transportation available (poor congs. without would be rated high but poor congs with low cost and available public transportation would be rated lower); and k. Historical and projected growth (past/future 10 years for publishers- congregations with high recent growth of newbies would be weight higher than established congregations with little or no growth. Those with high projected growth would be weighted high. This is the second most important column, as the math would include weightings from other columns, such as ethnicity, income, education levels of population).
If you tied this thing in with real time census data the damn thing could run on its own. The Dark Lords could make decisions simply based on the math. Likely, well established and financially ok congs. would wait a long time for a new KH or serious maintenance for existing. Based on what some have stated, the the Dark Lords expect the KHs to send them a monthly check AND put some $ away to fix things, this seems to be exactly where they are going.
White, middle class congs. with low growth would be the last to receive any assistance. Wealthy congregations, because of their wealth, would likely fare better even though they would mathematically not do so well in the spreadsheet. The Dark Lords would either call these 'exigent' circumstances or more likely create a column which allowed them to weight wealthy congs. higher. It wouldn't be a 'legitimate' dataset or weighting, but the Dark Lords could soothe their consciences about favoring wealthy peolple by blaming it in on the math.
The decisions would be made for them. Other than tweaking the formulas and the weightings, seriously lurkers, this thing could run on its own.