Lenticular_J

If you generalize it so widely, why should anything be newsworthy? Sorta wierd. I mean, think about it like this: So what if the President was killed. Presidents die. So what if a nuke went off. They have before.

The irony of that statement is hilarious. You might want to look up the definition of ad hominem argument instead of just using it as a big word.

Most of the guys I know have been confirmed as alright. A friend's brother was actually involved in the firefight with Major Hasan. It's a relief that the people I know are okay. EDIT: Wait, I talked to the guy again, and Hasan has been confirmed as alive and in custody, not dead. I don't know if he was wounded, but there was a firefight before he was captured.

From what I've heard from military people, they never carry guns in the bases unless it's for the shooting range or some security detail Some troops will keep something on them, but many troops at Fort Hood only have rifles period, and they're a real [bleep] to carry around all day. It seems strange that he was terrified of being deployed - he was an officer. Then again, that might give you more reason to be worried of your safety. More of a target.

War casualties always exceed casualties from whatever started the war. Duke Ferdinand was one man - his dying led to the deaths of tens of millions. More than 3,000 deaths in a few hours, in what was and still often is considered the most powerful and secure nation in the world - and the destruction of the largest towers in our largest city - that's quite a severe attack. Bush was not a great president, sorry. He was socialistic, although not as much as Obama. He was not a fiscal conservative. And we should get out of Iraq. Don't put him on a pedestal. I will admit, 9-11-01 was a terrible day, and I will also admit it was a major attack, as was December 7th, 1941. A country must defend itself, or else it won't last long. And I know forgot what I was about to say. Please, point out where I said Bush was a great president. Please. Also, please tell me what the [bleep] you're going on about?

War casualties always exceed casualties from whatever started the war. Duke Ferdinand was one man - his dying led to the deaths of tens of millions. More than 3,000 deaths in a few hours, in what was and still often is considered the most powerful and secure nation in the world - and the destruction of the largest towers in our largest city - that's quite a severe attack.

Hell if I know, but one of the largest (is it the largest?) military bases in the US coming under attack from one man - its own, in fact - is a big deal. Especially when there are nearly forty casualties. Pretty important news, I reckon.

Associated Press [hide=Associated Press]FORT HOOD, Texas — An Army officer opened fire Thursday with two handguns at the Fort Hood military base in an attack that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded. Authorities killed the gunman and apprehended two other soldiers in what appears to be the worst mass shooting at a U.S. military base. There was no immediate word on a motive. The shooting began around 1:30 p.m., said Lt. Gen. Bob Cone at Fort Hood. He said all the casualties took place at the base's Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening. "It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning," Cone said. A law enforcement official identified the shooting suspect as Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. The official said Hasan, believed to be in his late 30s, was killed after opening fire at the base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. A defense official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hasan was a mental health professional — an Army psychologist or psychiatrist. Officials say it was not clear what Hasan's religion was, but investigators are trying to determine if Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name and converted to Islam at some point. A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on nearby at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman. Greg Schanepp, U.S. Rep. John Carter's regional director in Texas, was representing Carter at the graduation, said John Stone, a spokesman for Carter, whose district includes the Army post. Schanepp was at the ceremony when a soldier who had been shot in the back came running toward him and alerted him of the shooting, Stone said. The soldier told Schanepp not to go in the direction of the shooter, he said. The base was locked down after the shootings. The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas, Cone said. Nine were taken to Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple. A hospital spokeswoman says all had been shot and are adults. A Fort Hood spokesman said he could not immediately confirm any identities of the injured. Lisa Pfund of Random Lake, Wis., says her daughter, 19-year-old Amber Bahr, was shot in the stomach but was in stable condition. "We know nothing, just that she was shot in the belly," Pfund told The Associated Press. She couldn't provide more details and only spoke with emergency personnel. "I ask that all of you keep these families and these individuals in your prayers today," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said. The shootings on the Texas military base stirred memories of other recent mass shootings in the United States, including 13 dead at a New York immigrant center in March, 10 killed during a gunman's rampage across Alabama in March and 32 killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at Virginia Tech in 2007. Around the country, some bases stepped up security precautions, but no others were locked down. "The bottom line for us is that we are increasing security at our gates because the threat hasn't yet been defined, and we're reminding our Marines to be vigilant in their areas of responsibility," said Capt. Rob Dolan, public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz. In Washington, President Barack Obama called the shooting "a horrific outburst of violence." He said it's a tragedy to lose a soldier overseas and even more horrifying when they come under fire at an Army base on American soil. "We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident," the commander in chief said. "We are going to stay on this." Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the United States. Home to about 52,000 troops as of earlier this year, the sprawling base is located halfway between Austin and Waco. About a mile from Fort Hood's east gate, Cynthia Thomas, director of Under the Hood Cafe, a coffee house and outreach center, was calling soldiers and friends on the post to make sure they're OK. "It's chaotic," Thomas said, as a SWAT team just drove by. "The phones are jammed. Everybody is calling family members and friends. Soldiers are running around with M-16s." Fort Hood officially opened on Sept. 18, 1942, and was named in honor of Gen. John Bell Hood. It has been continuously used for armored training and is charged with maintaining readiness for combat missions.[/hide] I know a whole bunch of guys at Fort Hood, but the whole base is on lockdown. I'm a little worried. Just thought you guys should know.

Actually it's only been nine months. He didn't do anything noteworthy the three months from election to inauguration, except probably throw his last wild and crazy parties. He hasn't done a lot, though.

I've convinced most of my football friends to do No Shave November, and we convinced the coaches and now the younger ones are doing it, too. Hurray! I can't grow much, though, and I might have a date with a girl I like this weekend, so I might shave. A little.

Depends on the situation. I generally settle for a blunt no, though. People don't ask much of me, though, which helps. And most of the time I'm willing to do stuff. I'm not a very "no" person. When I feel it necessary, though, I go for no.

Get someone to say "what" and you say "this [bleep] (cheney)". It's more funny in real life. Started in the football crowd, then it spread like wildfire. Now the teachers are doing it.

Definitely depends on what kind of concert and what kind of girl. You'd have to do something afterwards and preferably beforewards, though. Just to set and define the mood of the night. Group events can be iffy. If everyone's friends it works great. But I've noticed around my age unless it's everyone's first date, a big couples group will quickly fall apart to each couple cuddling and kissing. If it's the right girl/guy combination that could be hilarious, though. Making fun of other people can make for great bonding with any relationship. RPG, as for making friends, people will get annoyed if it's a small, tight group. But if it's a big group of people, and you make it seem like you won't be there long even though you're incredibly fun, you'll be wanted back.

Fair is very good. Not one of those gross ones, though. Don't you live in Philadelphia Rocco? There's gotta be tons of stuff to do there. It is always sunny there, after all.

Way I tried last week that seems fun (plus it makes the girl feel good while still wondering if it's a real compliment): Be laughing with her, and then: "You know, you're pretty cool. We should hang out sometime. I gotta jet, though. Catch you later." And leave. If you think you'll see her later, do that. It'll definitely throw her off. Then, see her later (right before school's over preferably) and physically catch her. It's a joke everyone loves! Or just say "Hey, I told you I'd catch you. Anyways, don't wanna be like every other guy, but we definitely need to do something tonight." If she's a 9-9.5, this is not only a neg, but it will throw her off and make her think, "Wow, he really isn't like other guys. He asked me out but didn't even get my number!" at the beginning. This gives her time to stew over it. Then, boom, you hit her at the end of the day. It can be the next day that you say you're going out, or really whenever. In fact, that day can be risky. This was a Tuesday, though, and our rehearsals were short, so I gave it a shot. It's an interesting time of the week, and you can do something interesting during that time. I've only tried this once, but the girl was an 8.5-9, so I wouldn't be surprised if it works. Make it sound cooler than I did, though. If you wear a leather jacket and smoke while you do it, it'll only help.

Dust can cause it. If the camera's lens wasn't cleaned well or the room was very dusty. In fact, I'm sure it's dust. My phone camera did the exact same thing yesterday when me and some friends were taking pictures of ourselves in costumes. We felt like girls getting ready for prom. It was fun.

Force yourself into the group, and make it obvious that you're the coolest guy and source of all of their fun. And then leave and begin this process with another group. Don't talk to anybody from the first group for a while. Rinse and repeat. Soon you will have tons of friends. This is how people gain tons of friends after school. Having just one group of friends gets really lame even in high school. This ensures that you're a rare, luxurious commodity. People will want you to join them. That's very basic procedure, but it works. It could work over a few days. Eating lunch or something can be a good way to initiate this.

People don't change that much when you get older. You must not be looking very hard, because that's as elitist and shallow an attitude as that handful of people who consider themselves the "cool" crowd in high school have. You (this goes for everyone that considers themselves antisocial more than shy) need to learn to quit putting yourself above other people. Thinking "oh everyone's an idiot except for me" is a terrible, unhealthy attitude that will give you no friends. In fact, thinking it will be better when you get older will just leave you disappointed and more bitter. You need to learn how to be a people person for damn near anything you would do as an adult, or else you'll end up doing absolutely nothing. It's a lesson I learned by getting knocked on my [wagon], so I'm knocking you all on yours. I had this exact opinion not more than two years ago, then I realized how stupid it was, so I have no pity for someone who won't get up and change it themselves. Nothing will come to you in life by waiting. I have nothing but contempt for people who don't consider themselves the source of problems in their lives. Sure, people can get a lot of [cabbage] heaped on them in their lives, but you never hear about the ones that gave up and quit. You hear about the ones that kept on a-going. Damn, I'm really starting to preach. I should stop.

I just read that and that's the coolest thing I've heard all day. Is that 30$ Australian, because I don't know the difference between that and USD. I don't think Aussie dollars are worth much less than USD though, so it's gotta be more than 20 bucks an hour. That's really cool. How many hours a week do you think you'll snag? You'll finally be able to move out and whatever else you were talking about. Good for you.

That's how guys talk period, though. Pickup artists just make it sound almost professional, instead of "Dude I saw this hot chick at the bar" they say something like that.

People have already given you advice. You just don't take it. It's entirely your choice that you're antisocial. But you don't sound like you're like him. You might sit in the corner, but at least you aren't the guy nobody likes. You're just the one nobody knows.

Went trick or treating with two of my friends yesterday. Was fun. Altogether, we ended up with 21 lbs of candy. Great considering it might be our last year really trick or treating. Nobody turned us down, either - we got face paint and hairspray and went all out. Haha. One of the guys, he moved back here this year, was really starting to piss me off. He has no sense of direction and kept trying to lead us to "his house" when he was going the complete opposite direction. He kept being pessimistic too, not wanting to go see people we knew or even walk around. And he kept texting people when we tried to talk to him. Nothing pisses me off more than someone who constantly texts. If it's that important, someone will call. If I'm doing something with friends or really anybody, I usually turn my text alert to silent and calls to vibrate. Pah. I told him it was annoying me, and he actually went back to fifth grade and asked "How many girlfriends have you had this year?" I answered 1, because I've only considered one girl my girlfriend this year, plus I'm generally not one of those guys who has to recount every single girl I look at to other guys. If a girl's hot I appreciate it to myself. If I hang out with a girl, I appreciate it myself (occasionally I tell you fine folks if something exciting happens). He started laughing at me and said I must be a loser. Now, this guy has a face covered with acne and all he does on weekends is hang out with two of my close friends - he was close friends with them in elementary school. He's about 5"8 and 118 pounds too. God he was annoying me. I asked him how it even counts as dating if all he does is see them a couple times at school and text them, and he got really mad and started threatening me. Really killed the fun during the night. I probably shouldn't have encouraged him, but I know that a bunch of people are getting tired of [cabbage] like that. The guy's usually alright, but he's definitely been acting like more of an [wagon] lately. And not the obnoxious kind that you can't help but to like, like me. The kind that sits in the corner and doesn't talk to anyone he doesn't already know. He's so rude when he meets people, too. It bugs me going places with him. Whatever. I'm gonna have to learn to get along with him as long as my friends still consider him a friend.

I want to make movies. But how to get there, I don't know. Film school? Regular college that has film majors (i,e the school I'd be most likely to go to - UT)? At least I'm just a sophomore. Most film schools won't accept you unless you're 21 anyways.

She's going hot and cold. A lot of girls do that when they like you. They think it keeps you interested, when it really just freaks us the [bleep] out and we get scared that she's an alien or something. Anyways, ask her out.

You want to start practicing while you read now. Honestly, Double Your Dating/The Game/Whatever the Mystery Method book is called are fine on their own. Brad P helps with fashion and stuff, of course. But now, you gotta dive in. Go to the mall. Look around music stores especially, I would think - you like music and stuff. Look at specialty stores in eclectic little areas. I personally haven't found good-looking girls there myself, but it'll happen eventually.