It's 12°c here in Houston (TX), but we're batting down the hatches for
a bit of a hard freeze the next couple of days - there's the potential
for snow and sleet on Thur with overnight lows below 0°c (in the
neighborhood of -4°c to -6°c).

The last record low here was in 1996 (for the same days): -7°c
and the lowest recorded temp was -11°c in 1886.

What's the question? I looked all over :)

Seriously, a phone call can be spoofed (technically, it's called "caller ID spoofing")
and people do it for a number of reasons. One might be that most people will
setup their phone to not accept calls that are "block caller ID" - you know, the
calls that comes in as "private" (or other synonyms). And some people do it to
hide their true identify ... there are other reasons, of course.

And because of these reasons (and others), I have a Google Voice (formerly
GrandCentral) phone line. There are so many cool features with G.V., I wish all
phone services offered these unique features.

Yes, the truth does eventually come out, however, I'm sure
they're afraid no one will look if they reveal their true age.
I suspect quite a few folks have a problem with their age.

It's okay to hide one's age on a resume, but one shouldn't
do it on a dating site, most especially if the person intends
to actually date :) I mean, if a person is going to lie up
front, what else are they [possibly] lying about? Or possibly
in the future?

You could always ask how recent the photo(s) are. You could also
ask for more photos, in various poses. There are various tricks folks
pull to hide their actual person. Here's a good example:
http://www.pualingo.com/pua-definitions/fat-girl-overhead-photo-fgop/

Actually, the quality of a photo *can* be in their control. If it's
out of focus, or what-not, take another (or choose another).

I do photo work on the side, and yes, I always take multiple shots
for portrait sittings. Invariably, there will be one thing about a shot
that isn't quite right, so having multiple shots helps.

If you're taking photos of yourself, use a tripod (borrow one if
you don't have one), or put the camera on a stable surface and
use the camera's timer.

If your only "camera" is your cellphone, then please, have a friend
take the photo so it's composed decently and "shake-free". And
I would recommend against the notorious "myspace photo" - you
know the ones - the camera held up overhead, pointing down :)

"Alone" and "lonely" are two different species. A person
can be in either space or in both at the same time. The
key, I believe, is tossing the "lonely" part.

(I realize you never mentioned "lonely", but I thought
I'd throw it out there).

I've never had an issue with age (i.e., "old" as is
discussed here). Heck, I do more and risk more (as
in fun stuff) than folks half my age - this is most
likely why I don't think about the age thing.

Others should think (IMO) along similar lines.

Those who are bitter are that way because they've
never fulfilled their own expectations.

I still have an Atari 400 with joysticks,
numerous game cartridges and so on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_8-bit_family

"Beer goggles last longer for women" :)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3867443/Beer-goggles-last-longer-for-women.html

"For men, "beer goggles" wear off as quickly as the alcohol.
But in women, the effect lasts much longer, a new study has revealed."

Agreed ...

The New Yorker described the song thusly:

"In 1970, an Italian man recorded a song long before
disco and rap that is very close to both, and then an
unnamed person choreographed it for a battalion of
dancers in a hall of mirrors. If the results are really as
miraculous as they seem right now...
[...]

The song was recorded at least twice for television broadcast.
The song has been described by scholars as "proto hip-hop".

Fiji islands for the surf ...

... English-speaking rock-n-roll sounds like to foreigners?

An Italian singer-songwriter wrote this "song" in
gibberish (makes no sense in any language), but
it allows us English-speaking folks to understand
how foreigners hear English rock-n-roll to their ears
(originally written in 1972)

(nice hook! almost sounds a bit "rappy")

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/17/gibberish-rock-song.html

Speaking of gibberish, this is a popular song by
the the Cocteau Twins (Scottish alternative band)
in which the lead singer admitted she's singing
gibberish - she said she's just singing "whatever
sounded right":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh83z5vIP0w


An added bonus - the Maple Leafs kicked butt on the Bruins :)

Nope. I'm paying for the service, so I shouldn't
have to pay govt/register to use it.



Of course, you don't have to have a license anymore. Know why?
A couple of reasons: First, so many people were buying in to
the craze and ignored the requirement of licensing, and
secondly, the FCC was inundated with so many applications,
they couldn't handle the overload.

(You are, however, bound by FCC regulations regarding the
equipment and its use).

Hmmm. My experience with book-writing dictates I have
Internet availability, for emailing chapters back-n-forth
(which makes it all go pretty fast).

My guess, of course, is you're probably being *distracted*
by other Internet activity, thus avoiding the work you
need to be doing ;)

There's an old quote that goes something like this:

"Man is the only mammal to sleep on its back ...
and woman is the only one to charge for it"

Send an email to the person(s) who are FWDing these
to you and politely ask them to stop including you
in the email list.

Most non-Internet-savvy folks don't understand the
proper etiquette concerning the mass mailing of emails.
I've had folks include my email address in a long list
of addresses, which of course, gets sent along whenever
someone FWDs the email on to other people. This means
that my email address lands in the hands of folks I
don't even know.

I always tell people to please not send me chain emails
and also, to properly send a mass-mailing, put all the
email addresses in the BCC address field, thus "hiding"
the list of recipients' email address.

I've read in various threads (here) that woman will not consider
a Profile if there are no photos. A common theme seems to be,
"if I have photos up, they should too". In a sense, it does tend
to complete the image [sic] of a person.

Most phones allow you to send a photo to an email address
(obviously your phone has to have the capability) using it's
"email" facility ... or, you should be able to send an SMS to
and email address (send it to yours). The other option would
be to find a friend to take a photo of you.

I tend to think times have changed - and it's not because I'm getting older :)

The digital age has a lot to do with it - it's the age of instant data and "life" sharing.
Consider something like Facebook (or Mingle), where people can [instantly share
ideas and thoughts and get instant recognition. I jumped on Facebook for a while,
then dropped off - I found that it seemed to be a "me" site, where people bragged
about themselves for the sake of attention.

(A couple of evenings ago, I was discussing with my daughter (in college) that
I was interviewing for a company in a town about 2.5 hours away and she asked
how long the job was for and I said, it would be permanent, *if* I got the position.
The next morning, I got phone calls from family members because my daughter
posted on FB that I was moving).

I also think the media has a lot to do with it, most especially the "reality" shows
(if you want to call them that). The things they do on those shows expose a lot
to the younger generation, that maybe they shouldn't be exposed to. I know there's
the other side of the coin - that younger people can see how things are done
when you're older with responsibilities.

Also concerning the media - they tend (understatement) to hype up news that
is irrelevant for sensationalism and I think the younger generation tends to
latch onto it as meaningful.

I also think we're seeing "more of the bad" because of the media, most especially
when it's sensational news - look at the recent saga on Tiger Woods. I've read
reports that show that "tiger woods" is the most requested search term at
Google and Yahoo. People are feeding off the unimportant events - it's as if they
are looking for the dirt.

I also think that most of today's parents are spoiling their kids too much and not
giving them responsibilities. A lot of the kids at the local high school - and I'm
talking about 16 year olds, are driving brand new cars - I'm not talking about
Honda Civics - I'm talking high-end Mustangs and full-size trucks. And these
kids do nothing in return. Mine are just as bad - my EX calls me complaining that
the kids aren't doing their chores (all teens), but can spend hours gaming. (Of course,
we know why that is - just kick them out of the chair and tell them to take care of
their responsibilities). There's too much sheltering going on too.

Okay, I'm done :)

Click on "My Account" at the top, then on the
left-hand side, you'll see: "Who Viewed Me".

A Russian professor has created a "vodka pill":

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/03/alcohol-pill-scientist-pa_n_379095.html

Nope - each person control their destiny and their choice
with respect to the people who surround them.