BryanS

What is that supposed to mean? Are you trying to saying that all Muslims are extremists? Or are you just thinking it and trying not to say it?

There are extremist elements in all religions, is what I am trying to say. Muslims do a have slightly worse track record... in recent times. I'd find it equally offensive if a 150 foot crucifix were installed on that parcel of land as well.

Then there are those who say this particular vein of Islam is more peaceful, less fundamentalist, etc, etc. Same can be said with some Christian denominations. However, whether Christian and adhering to the Bible, or Muslim and adhering to the Quran... those books are clear in their warped (2000 year old+) view of the world... and no amount of cotton candy Christian worship services or "non-denominational" Islamic "community services" or modern day interpretations of those texts can change that. It is, what it is.

As such, I stay clear of all organized religions, sugar coating and all.

I'm not sure, but it is in the middle Gaytown. Isn't that punishable by death in Islam? It's queer that they picked this location.

Concur. I wonder how "tolerant" those "tolerant" Montrose, gaytown people will be when the call-to-prayer horn goes off 5 times a day, in their neighborhood. There is too much religious extremism in our city, as it is. All that is needed is something like this.

I'm guessing this will be built on the SE corner of Allen Pkwy/Montrose (next to the Bel Air complex)?

Yes. And everybody's rent in that complex will probably go down $300/month because of it.

The issue is whether the state should draw a line as to where life begins.

I say let the WOMYN in the country decide the issue. NOT MEN.

I don't think men should have any say whatsoever when it comes to abortion. Let the womyn of the country decide the issue as it is about their bodies, not mens.

...in terms of being "unfaithful"... what do you consider to be unfaithful conduct? Some say that watching porn (and the activity associated with it) and not having sex with your partner is being "unfaithful"... does anyone agree with this premise?

Cause and effect.

Is the sex bad because a man is addicted to porn? Or is a man addicted to porn because the sex is bad?

I agree that physical sex could suffer from porn addiction. But you could go further and say that many other things could suffer, including job performance. A person's whole life could suffer from porn addiction, but then, I know people whose life has suffered/is suffering because of an addiction to the Internet itself, and to forums such as this one.

...or a man is addicted to porn because its not sex, even good sex, with the same person... it's different stimulation (no pun intended)... this doesn't mean that a couple doesn't still love each other... just the sex dries up and/or gets replaced with porn, so it seems...

You can say that a person has an addiction to drugs, right?

Well... sex... releases/produces endorphins, which have a similar chemical make up as morphine, a narcotic.

So "sexual addiction" is probably just a "drug addiction" to the body's natural morphine-like endorphin production... so I can see why people could be addicted to sex...

EDIT: And that would mean they would need access to a 12-step program.

Maybe an anti-Viagra type of pill? Is there such a thing?

TheNiche - they give "A-" in college? For real? Yeah, my high school didn't even do pluses and minuses.

I've taken a few classes at UH, and yes, they do (or at least they did). My college, it was A, B, C, D, or F.

Or, you could save a lot of time by waiting until just before exams, take some Vivarin, and pull allnighters to study for exams.

Worked for me.

I'd be crying for my Sweet Mother if I tried to do this with some of my classes. Typically, I would begin studying FOUR DAYS in advance for tests in some of my harder classes (e.g. thermodynamics - hated entropy). That would also include an almost-all-nighter on day 4, before the test.

"OK class... the mean on the test was a 38..." I would make a 46... and be in heaven.

I got an international math teacher. That was my worst fear o well Over all Its been good so far.

Hmmm.... "international teacher" ... are you trying to tell us, you don't understand their English?

DROP THE CLASS, move to another section. I always hated getting stuck in classes where I couldn't understand the professor's English... I have nothing against foreign professors, but when you put up a language barrier in between us and differential equations... the math is hard enough as it is.

Just be sure to keep your GPA above 3.8...

A car that runs on compressed air:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6138972/ (something like over 100 mpg)

The MiniCATS three-seater compact, a commercial version of a prototype showcased at the 2002 Paris Motor Show, will be priced at $9,850. The CitiCATS six-seater sedan will retail for $16,000.

By consuming much more energy from the power plant than it delivers on the road, Krause said, it could even do as much environmental damage as some gasoline cars.

Krause's organization pushes a much simpler recipe for cutting greenhouse gas and toxic emissions from vehicles. If consumers ditched their SUVs and four-liter guzzlers and chose engine capacities reflecting their real needs, he said, fuel consumption would drop by a third.

I have to agree with the last paragraph. I keep trying to tell people to invest in that 1996 e-bay Chevy 50 mpg Metro... no takers.

It sounds like something posted by a user, and not by a member of the MSNBC staff. I'm not sure it's fair to hold the cable channel responsible for what a bunch of loonies do anymore than it's fair to hold me responsible for what some of the fringe HAIFers write.

I've never been to MSNBC's message boards, but how many new messages do you think get posted there each day? A hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand? I doubt MSNBC has anyone to patrol its forum on a regular basis. And if it did, both fringes would be screaming "OMG!!! GUBMINT CENSORSHIP CONSPIRACY 9/11 BIG BROTHER COVERUP!!!1!!ELEVEN!!!" faster than you could open a new browser window.

It's probably a free-for-all in there.

EDIT: Here is the link: http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.a...threadid=738265 It is odd to see this kind of discussion on the MSNBC web site - in the same presentation format as their real news stories, the heading, their side-bar navigation, etc...

EDIT EDIT: I don't have any problem with the content of the message. Free speech is a wonderful thing. Just not sure you want that kind of free speech on what amounts to be company letterhead...

...this same story is referenced on a "board" on MSNBC.com...

...in the POLITICS section... (you'd think health section, but no)

...with the following title:

"Houston doctors may have found a way to destroy HIV... Well there may be hope for all you Liberal fudge packers yet"

...and then comments:

So they're gonna "eliminate" homosexuals?

on msnbc. what a crying shame.

EDIT: Here is the link: http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.a...threadid=738265 It is odd to see this kind of discussion on the MSNBC web site - in the same presentation format as their real news stories, the heading, etc...

See post no. 5.

Missed that. Too many gin and tonics.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that we (or whoever built GRB) ripped off the GRB design from a FRENCH building in Paris, France.

Anyone ever been to the Pompidou? Wow... Look at these cool vents:

Here's a better picture...

Pompidou: 1971 to 1976, to build.

GRB: Opened in 1987.... Hmmm...

I don't spend a lot of time downtown, but from what I've seen, I would agree that Houston seems to have a pretty small homeless population downtown, at least in comparison to other major cities. Is that true?

That has been my observation. San Francisco is ahead of us, in this category.

Does anybody see a conflict in placing a Christian symbol atop a base that uses extensive Islamic architectural style (pillars, arches, stairs)?

Now you've really done it. They're gonna have to redesign the whole thing now... Or maybe that is what they were going for: Christianity over Islam? ... Hmmm...

Joel's about the only one that makes me NOT want to vomit. The services are always pretty fun (kinda like a rock concert).

Anyhow, I am certainly not a big churchgoer, and actually like the fact that I haven't seen one cross at Lakewood.

Crosses are a bit creepy.

Yep. "Cotton Candy Christianity" as they call it. "Everyone is welcome..." Uh huh. Everyone is welcome to donate to the "church"... He's not exactly living a modest lifestyle... like other pastors I've known. I thought loving the Lord was not about material possessions? Or getting into cat fights with flight attendants. Oh well...

EDIT: But back on topic... I say, go all out, and put the body on the cross too. And get the lighting right, for night time viewing.

I always thought the "His Soils" place was a landmark for the religious coming up 45 in to town - the storage tower stills has remnants of "Is Jesus Your Lord and Savior" painted on it.

All this time, though, I thought it was "Jesus Soils," not "His Soils."

"Jesus Soils Houston" has a much better ring to it, imo

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&oe...119489842048576

http://maps.live.com/#JnE9eXAuODgzMytHdWxm...jgxMTQ0ODIzMzM5

Every time I drive by that place, I look up, and ask myself: "Are the words gone yet? ... No... just barely there... well, maybe in the next few years..."

Private property, do what you want... but tragic, and tasteless.

Has anyone actually been to these "mega church" services? Ever watch Joel O. on TV - and not want to vomit? The Summit could have been put to better use...

i wish not to discuss your fetish. LOL

At least it doesn't involve Madonna. =) (I am kidding!)

LOL so love comes after prostituting yourself??

Of course it does... (tongue in cheek)

Bad analogy. Driving is 90% of what you do in a car. Sex should be a very small part of a marriage. A lifetime commitment should be based on a lot more things and more important things than sex.

If 90% of what a person means to you is sex, that's not a marriage -- that's prostitution.

I was half-way joking in my prior response... but here is a more serious take...

Of course there's more to marriage than sex. But before you make that lifetime commitment - wouldn't you want to test the waters first? Sex is by no means everything, but along with it, and so many other important things in a relationship, there needs to be some degree of compatibility/harmony. If I were dating someone who insisted that we hold off, until rings were on fingers... well... we're probably not going to agree on a lot of things, ultimately anyway.

I would go as far to say that people, who actually subscribe to the "no sex until marriage" mantra, end up getting married way too soon (within a month of meeting each other), because their hormones take over - and you end up with an extremely bad/abusive marriage. Get all (or most of) the excessive sexual energy out of your system before tying the knot. If you truly love one another, and you both find out that you were more to one another than just prostitutes, then you'll probably have a better marriage/relationship in the end (whereby you're not having sex, but making love - there is a difference).

So we should probably encourage (responsible) sex (for those who like it) before marriage as a way to drive down the divorce rate and promote healthy, stable families for those who enter into it.