Random thoughts thread

[soulreapersteve]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

40-42 is almost too young for me!

Really? Damn... didn't think you were that old.

Was the FRS your post mid life crisis car? (I'm just kidding, of course) :P

And I wanted a MILF once upon a time... but most of the MILFs I encounter come with kids under 18 Don't want to be a "dad" anytime soon, if ever.

[Special_K]

Let’s say you have an ax. Just a cheap one, from Home Depot. On one bitter winter day, you use said ax to behead a man. Don’t worry, the man was already dead. Or maybe you should worry, because you’re the one who shot him.

He had been a big, twitchy guy with veiny skin stretched over swollen biceps, a tattoo of a swastika on his tongue. Teeth filed into razor-sharp fangs, you know the type. And you’re chopping off his head because, even with eight bullet holes in him, you’re pretty sure he’s about to spring back to his feet and eat the look of terror right off your face. On the fol ow-through of the last swing, though, the handle of the ax snaps in a spray of splinters. You now have a broken ax. So, after a long night of looking for a place to dump the man and his head, you take a trip into town with your ax. You go to the hardware store, explaining away the dark reddish stains on the broken handle as barbecue sauce. You walk out with a brand new handle for your ax.

The repaired ax sits undisturbed in your garage until the next spring when, on one rainy morning, you find in your kitchen a creature that appears to be a foot-long slug with a bulging egg sac on its tail. Its jaws bite one of your forks in half with what seems like very little effort. You grab your trusty ax and chop the thing into several pieces. On the last blow, however, the ax strikes a metal leg of the overturned kitchen table and chips out a notch right in the middle of the blade.

Of course, a chipped head means yet another trip to the hardware store. They sell you a brand new head for your ax. As soon as you get home with your newly-headed ax, though, you meet the reanimated body of the guy you beheaded last year. He’s also got a new head, stitched on with what looks like plastic weed trimmer line, and it’s wearing that unique expression of “you’re the man who killed me last winter” resentment that one so rarely encounters in everyday life.

You brandish your ax. The guy takes a long look at the weapon with his squishy, rotting eyes and in a gargly voice he screams, “That’s the same ax that slayed me!”

Is he right?

Or for the more politically correct crowd, Ship of Theseus. Thoughts?

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by Special_K

Don’t worry, the man was already dead. Or maybe you should worry, because you’re the one who shot him.

You brandish your ax. The guy takes a long look at the weapon with his squishy, rotting eyes and in a gargly voice he screams, “That’s the same ax that slayed me!”

Is he right?

He is not right, because you didn't kill him with the axe, you shot him to death.

[Special_K]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

He is not right, because you didn't kill him with the axe, you shot him to death.

Damn you Gramicci!!! I was expecting one or two wrong answers before I got the right one! Even threw in the curve-ball at the end.

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by Special_K

Damn you Gramicci!!! I was expecting one or two wrong answers before I got the right one! Even threw in the curve-ball at the end.

HA!! Can't fool me! Too many tricky Air Force questions on our tests. You have to read the question first, then the scenario, so you know what to look for.


But yes, the Ship of Theseus is an interesting conversation.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

Really? Damn... didn't think you were that old.

Was the FRS your post mid life crisis car? (I'm just kidding, of course) :P

And I wanted a MILF once upon a time... but most of the MILFs I encounter come with kids under 18 Don't want to be a "dad" anytime soon, if ever.

I am 56 and not the oldest here by far.
If you ever read my list of cars then you will see that it is just another in a long string of performance type vehicles. Most were older muscle cars but one of my very favorites was my 91 Talon TSI AWD. Unfortunately Just as it started to age I started driving close to 40K miles a year.
I spent 12 years chewing up new "sporty" sedans (3 Lancers) because they were cheap and disposable but decent little cars. Would have loved a Porsche but felt bad about what would happen to it due to all I put cars through with all the miles. The FRS is perfect for me since it gives me a car I really like but I don't feel bad about wearing it half out because to me (don't freak out young guys/struggling students/fanboys) it is a cheap and disposable car. In 3 more years I will throw it away and get another. Once the next one is worn out I will retire and get something a tad more costly (at this point it is a Jag Type F but that could change in 7 years).


Wow I only meant to write a couple of lines there. Oh well.

[Special_K]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

HA!! Can't fool me! Too many tricky Air Force questions on our tests. You have to read the question first, then the scenario, so you know what to look for.

Dammit....You're no fun!

*grumble*grumble*



*grumble*grumble*

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Special_K

Damn you Gramicci!!! I was expecting one or two wrong answers before I got the right one! Even threw in the curve-ball at the end.

But yes, the Ship of Theseus is an interesting conversation.[/QUOTE]
If I had been on the ball I would have said the same thing but Gram scooped me.

Originally Posted by gramicci101

HA!! Can't fool me! Too many tricky Air Force questions on our tests. You have to read the question first, then the scenario, so you know what to look for.

Must be a military thing everywhere. The very first subject we covered on my Basic Officer Qual course was comprehending and following instructions and included several scenarios just like that one. The skill has served me well over the years (although I do get weird looks when handed a report and I start to read the end first)

[Teseo]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

Really? Damn... didn't think you were that old.

Was the FRS your post mid life crisis car? (I'm just kidding, of course) :P

And I wanted a MILF once upon a time... but most of the MILFs I encounter come with kids under 18 Don't want to be a "dad" anytime soon, if ever.

The perfect choice for us young guns, use her as you wish then dump her. Most of the time they understand. Oh if have a daughter 18 years old you mate won the lottery

[Talus1]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I am 56 and not the oldest here by far.

Thanks, T. Now I don't feel quite so old.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Talus1

Thanks, T. Now I don't feel quite so old.

Glad to be of service.

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Must be a military thing everywhere. The very first subject we covered on my Basic Officer Qual course was comprehending and following instructions and included several scenarios just like that one. The skill has served me well over the years (although I do get weird looks when handed a report and I start to read the end first)

The ones I hate the most are where they give you an ambiguous situation that different people might all handle their own way, and then give you five correct answers and tell you to pick the most correct answer.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

The ones I hate the most are where they give you an ambiguous situation that different people might all handle their own way, and then give you five correct answers and tell you to pick the most correct answer.

AHHHH so they using the tests as a hidden Behavioural Profiling tool then.
Don't know if you noticed in the military thread but my main job in the Navy Reserve for many years was as a Training Officer. I actually wrote these tests up at one point
They really don't care what the "most correct" answer is even if they say there is one. They are taking each person's answers and creating a profile as to what type of behaviour can be expected of you. There can be several such questions scattered throughout one or even several tests and when they put all the data together they can get a pretty good picture of what you are really like. It can be surprisingly accurate by the way.
So now when you see something that seems weird in your tests you will know what is really happening. If I disappear now it is for revealing military secrets.

[gramicci101]

The problem is that it was on a promotion exam, not a personality test. They don't review everyone's answers, they just run the answers through a machine and it spits out a number.