Re: Rex Begonias

1

I think that was one of the Jack Reacher books.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 5:02 AM
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2

Out of purely linguistic interest, you are clearly using "begonia" as a strongly inflected noun in this post. How does it decline?


Posted by: chris y | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 5:25 AM
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3

"Thanks, but I've got an early meeting tomorrow."


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 5:27 AM
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4

It's a flower, right?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 5:49 AM
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5

Gradually at first, and then all at once.


Posted by: foolishmortal | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 6:28 AM
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6

Rex bedon'tyas.


Posted by: Heebie | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 6:34 AM
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7

There's a dead midge in my gin.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:22 AM
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8

+|||>
I mean, maybe. I'm not sure what the topic is, tbh.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:23 AM
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9

They look sort of like juniper berries, I guess.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:25 AM
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10

At first I was thinking Tillerson, but no.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:25 AM
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11

Myself, I drink the gin after it's been filtered and distilled, but I'm an effete cosmopolitan, not a badass Nebraskan.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:27 AM
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12

Maybe just pour the gin through a coffee filter then.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:30 AM
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13

True story, which I've told before: My dad's law partner was staying on a farm overnight. In the morning, to be a helpful guest, he went out to help with the milking of the cow before breakfast. He had the bucket full of milk and carelessly set it behind the cow. The cow pissed, some of it landing in the bucket. The farmer said, "Don't worry, we strain the milk."

(This was my dad's "The jury will disregard ...." analogy.)


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:32 AM
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14

The non-allowable evidence is cow urine.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:34 AM
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15

13 is excellent.
I took out the midge with a spoon. I've been trying to kill it for at least a day, so I'm counting this as a win.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:34 AM
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16

The gin, unlike the milk, is still drinkable, because disinfectant properties.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:35 AM
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17

If you put tonic in the milk, it would at least cure malaria.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:36 AM
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18

A notorious scourge in the Midwest.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:39 AM
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19

Cow urine or malaria?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:40 AM
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20

You tell me.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:42 AM
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21

I think the malaria-type of mosquito can't survive there yet. Give it a couple of decades, maybe.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:43 AM
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22

And the cows?


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:50 AM
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23

21: Lima in Ohio was named after Lima, Peru, because the quinine they used against malaria came from there.

https://www.webcore.me/lima-ohios-origin-the-great-black-swamp-malaria-and-quinine/


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:51 AM
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24

Once the anopheles sets in I guess the tsetse isn't far behind, so maybe the problems are mutually exclusive.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:51 AM
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25

Cows are very adaptable. Maybe they can be litter-box trained?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:51 AM
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26

Won't matter if they're dead.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:53 AM
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27

Hopefully.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:53 AM
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28

13 is great.

To the OP: rex begonialves? Some unholy cross between plants and bivalves? Is this how the triffids began?


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 7:55 AM
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29

I feel like I'm not WASPy enough to drink gin properly. Is there a special class at cotillion that covers it?


Posted by: AcademicLurker | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:06 AM
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30

To make it non-WASPy, just get the kind of gin without juniper in it.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:08 AM
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31

If James Bond gets it wrong I figure it's a free-for-all.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:18 AM
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32

I guess this wasn't Bond himself speaking, but it turns out that you can't train your testicles to retract far enough inside that you can take a painless kick to the family jewels.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:32 AM
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33

Not if you're a big-balled manly white man, no. But the effeminate Orientals can do it just fine.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:34 AM
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34

Bond in the books asks for his Martinis "stirred, not shaken", which a) gets round the ice-melting problem and b) is a good play on words. They changed it for the films for some reason.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:37 AM
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35

I'm waiting for a modern James Bond who demands his martinis "woke".


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:42 AM
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36

Next you're going tell me he wasn't racist either.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:43 AM
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37

Goddamnit Moby.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:43 AM
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38

Sorry.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:49 AM
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39

It's fine, yours is better.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:53 AM
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40

|| Just found out that this Friday morning, our workshop will include kids who speak only Spanish or only Arabic (some from Syria, not all from Syria. That's all I know so far. Kids are age 6-12.) The short workshop involves making flowers, singing a very short song, making music with bells, a few other things, as part of a play for young audiences. There will *probably* be one Arabic speaking adult. We can probably lead a lot with gestures and "my turn your turn". But...is there anyone out there who speaks Spanish and Arabic who could coach me through a few welcome phrases and instructional explanations? I'm working today from 4pm-11m EST; free Thursday morning. Thanks mineshaft! (link resources also very welcome).||>


Posted by: Penny | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 9:37 AM
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41

I'd be more worried about the theology, really.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 9:40 AM
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42

"Hola" is a good thing to say to people who speak Spanish. And be sure to speak in full sentences. "Tu madre es buena" works, but "Tu madre" will be taken poorly.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 9:42 AM
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43

"Pastel de Carne" is Spanish for Meatloaf. Which should be useful because when you've got such a diverse crowd, you really need music with a universal appeal.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 9:49 AM
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44

Eventually it will be lunchtime, and more helpful people may comment.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 9:57 AM
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45

/might


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 10:08 AM
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46

This was a very funny thread to catch up on. Well done, all.


Posted by: Heebie | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 10:52 AM
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47

To the OP, LMGTFY:

http://bfy.tw/Cu4eP


Posted by: unimaginative | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 11:17 AM
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48

Maybe you also should google how to work a link shortener.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 11:48 AM
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49

Anyway, it's the journey, not the destination.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 11:50 AM
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50

Every link is a winding road.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 12:00 PM
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51

Is it too soon to Rick Roll people, but ironically?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 12:05 PM
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52

I think the sincere Rick Roll is the final frontier.


Posted by: Walt Someguy | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 12:15 PM
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53

Crap. It's A Begonia for Miss Appelbaum by Paul Zindel. Google '"Rex begonia young adult novel" to complete the non-joke.



Posted by: unimaginative | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 12:27 PM
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54

Ah, right. The Pigman dude.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 12:34 PM
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55

I had googled YA novel rex begonia fire escape!


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 12:36 PM
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56

I'm not sure this is the right book, although I think I might have also read this book. Henry and Zelda seem to be friends right off the bat here, and Henry doesn't seem like a weeper. I also don't think there was a changing narrator.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 12:39 PM
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57

I like my narrators like I like my women: Consistent and omniscient.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 12:55 PM
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58

Can I change my answer? Third person and unreliable.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 1:32 PM
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59

I love you moby.


Posted by: alameida | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 3:39 PM
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60

||

So I just had something happen today. I may have convinced somebody of something is a discussion in comments at CrookedTimber.* It feels so strange, I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

Short summary: Holbo wrote another post about the Heterdox Academy -- a group of people lead by Jonathan Haidt who believe that some academic disciplines are too liberal and that the intellectual ecosystem would be improved by having more conservatives.

Somebody associated with the group showed up in comments to discuss it. The conversation proceeded about as one would expect from a CT thread. I posted a comment a couple of days into the thread and he responded and we had a back and forth which ended with him saying, "Hi NickS. ... And I think the question you raise at the end of your (1) is on point. I find myself in agreement with what you say in (2) and (3) as well. I'll raise these considerations with others at HxA and see what people think. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts."**

My mind boggles slightly. Did somebody replace the internet with a different one when I wasn't paying attention? I didn't think it worked that way.

* Though, note, it wasn't a regular commenter, so don't start looking out your window for flying pigs just yet.

** If anybody wants to follow my entire conversation with him, you can just search for my name in the thread (all of his replies to my comments included my name)
|>


Posted by: NickS | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 3:44 PM
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61

59: How reliable aren't you?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 4:33 PM
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62

I'd have guessed omniscience would be pretty much the last thing you'd want in a woman, Mobes. Clearly I don't have it!


Posted by: Thorn | Link to this comment | 07-18-17 8:07 PM
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63

I like my narrators like I like my women

naive
self-conscious
wryly intrusive
extensively footnoted
medically qualified and limping slightly from the jezzail bullet still lodged in their leg
sitting in a comfortable armchair with a glass of whisky close to hand
bearing a distinct resemblance to Charles Gray


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 2:36 AM
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64

OT: From the files of things I can't believe people argued in court: Religious freedom under attack. to enforce a religious ruling.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 4:55 AM
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65

Ignore that last clause. I need an editor.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 4:55 AM
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66

If Trump can't fix religious freedom, I bet at least Bannon knows somebody who will beat Jewish people for far less than $60,000.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 4:58 AM
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67

64: I am gutted that all I can read of that through the paywall is the first line of the headline, "Stun gun-wielding rabbi".
No story could match that...


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 5:56 AM
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68

In my head it's like a non-lethal and even more Coen-ish version of "No Country for Old Men".


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 5:58 AM
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69

If a woman is Orthodox and her husband is an asshole, he can refuse to divorce her, leaving her unable to remarry under Jewish law. Usually, it is just social and economic pressure that is applied to press the man to grant a divorce. Sometimes, that's not enough.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 6:07 AM
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70

I like my narrators like I like my women...

Special Circumstances drones who were spying on everything the whole time. no wait


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 6:08 AM
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I'm not at all surprised somebody paid somebody to beat a guy. Those reports crop up from time to time. I'm surprised somebody argued in court that arresting someone for beating somebody was an undo burden on their religious freedom.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 6:14 AM
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I'm not saying that I expect most often this kind of thing will result in violence. I'm just saying that it's a big country and over the course of all the divorces of this type, I would not be surprised if a few resulted in violence.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 6:22 AM
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And 69, delivered by a voice-over Sam Elliott as the camera tracks along a quiet Brooklyn street, is of course the opening line of the Coen Brothers film in question.

Cut to opening titles.

I'm thinking Mandy Patinkin as the rabbi in question.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 6:29 AM
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74

He'd need time to grow a beard.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 6:38 AM
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75

He can grow the one he had in "Homeland".

(Or another one, identical to it? AAARGH.)


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 6:43 AM
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I haven't seen "Homeland." I'm assuming he still looks the same as he did for "The Princess Bride."


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 6:44 AM
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60: I have a hard time taking the HxA guy in that thread seriously because he keeps citing one rather questionable social psychology study as though it had established an unquestionable fact on par with the fact that the moon orbits the Earth.

Frankly, I think placing that much unthinking confidence in any finding coming out of psychology is grounds for not being taken seriously.


Posted by: AcademicLurker | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 7:23 AM
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I'm always assuming Freud's castration anxiety stuff has stood the test of time, but I've not checked in detail. A quick perusal of PubMed does not look promising.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 7:40 AM
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40 Sorry Penny, I understand Spanish mostly but don't speak it and I'm not sure what kind of phrases would be helpful in Arabic, and that doesn't even get into the pronunciation issues like the two different letters T, S, D, ð/Z, and the various other consonants not found in English.


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 7:53 AM
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I have a hard time taking the HxA guy in that thread seriously

I don't know what to make of him either. I initially assumed that he was just a troll, for the same reason that you did.

The way he cites the various (questionable) studies reminded me of what I didn't like about debate -- the idea that a piece of evidence (any evidence) was, by default, expected to carry the argument unless countered by opposing evidence (and I didn't actually do cross-x debate, so that my a inaccurate summary).

I was genuinely surprised when he replied to my comment with something other than just a pivot.

By the end, when my final comment was, essentially, "try to think about how your arguments look to other people, and how to frame your case in a way the demonstrates how they would benefit from your proposals. Also, think about who else is already working in the areas that you're concerned about, reach out to them, and figure out a way to give them credit" and those seemed like new ideas to him. I couldn't tell if (a) he was just being polite, (b) he's either really young, or very much an academic who's never thought about how to persuade anybody of anything.

I'm glad I participated in the thread, which isn't something I would normally say about CT discussions, but it was a little odd.


Posted by: NickS | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 7:55 AM
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81

Relevant to 60, I've just read a study that looked at the benefits of diversity on risk-taking behaviour at banks. Briefly, it went like this:
1. There's lots of research showing that mixed groups make better risk decisions than homogenous groups.
2. There's also research implying that men and women have different risk appetites.
3. Hmm. Both 1 and 2 would suggest that banks with more female senior managers would be better at risk management. I wonder if that's the case?

4. ...No. Not at all.
5. And the reason is that while it's true that men and women in general have different attitudes to risk, the sort of woman who makes it to senior management at a bank seems to be basically just as bad as the men are.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 8:08 AM
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82: Made it to senior management in, presumably, historically and culturally undiverse banks. More diversity might pay off over time. Or you could just, IDK, regulate the banks.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 8:12 AM
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final comment was, essentially, "try to think about how your arguments look to other people, and how to frame your case in a way the demonstrates how they would benefit from your proposals. Also, think about who else is already working in the areas that you're concerned about, reach out to them, and figure out a way to give them credit" and those seemed like new ideas to him

Well, you know, that's conservatives for you.
"Why should I care at all about how my proposals would benefit other people? What good is that?"
NickS: "Because it might ultimately benefit you?"
"Ooh, good point!"


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 07-19-17 8:18 AM
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Thanks, Barry! It sounds as if we've managed to find some Spanish speakers around the company here, and at least two people from the group who speaks Arabic are also English-speaking adults. Whew.


Posted by: Penny | Link to this comment | 07-20-17 2:17 PM
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