You know whatI like best about the the lounge?

[liberalpress]

We're not a bunch of self-important prigs.


We have a sense of humor. I got flamed in GD for this, so I'll start it here:

Anybody but but me think..
..that his (Floyd LAndis) samples were tampered with by the French because they can't win their own event becaise they RIDE BIKES LIKE LITTLE GIRLS!?!?!?!?!

[crim son]

1. LOL. We've done the French to death.

You are a wee bit wrong about the Loungers. But you know that :)

[Deja Q]

2. I wouldn't mind doing the French...

:rofl:


But not to death. After all, I'm pro-living.

[jobycom]

4. ROFLMAO!

:rofl:

[GalleryGod]

3. Way tired.

The Lounge is only a paradise BY COMPARISON, my friend. :rofl: :spray: :rofl:

[billyskank]

5. I am

I'm totally self-important.

[jobycom]

9. Admitting it is the first step of your cure.

The second step is admitting I'm way more important than you.

[catbert836]

6. The thing with Americans

is we have naturally bigger balls than the French. Abnormally high levels of testosterone is normal for us.

[Deja Q]

7. You know, that's really a good point...

:rofl:



:yoiks:

[jobycom]

10. If by balls you mean

stomachs, thighs, and other repositories of body fat, then true. Oh, and cholesterol readings. At least I do! :)

[billyskank]

11. That was what Colbert said last week

[jobycom]

8. That's not what I think, but what I suspect isn't too far off.

I don't know this, but just comparing it the Olympic scandal of Ben Johnson in 1988, I think Landis may have been targeted.

In 88 Johnson had a gold medal stripped for steroids. He denied it, swore to god and everything sacred he was innocent, and eventually, after it was proven even where he got the steroids, he admitted using them, but claimed everyone did it, and he had to take steroids to compete. In fact, over the next few years, four of the top five finishers in that race failed a test at some point, implying that Johnson may have been right.

Later, his trainer confessed to giving him steroids, but made two startling claims. The first was that everyone was on steroids, everyone knew it, everyone knew how to mask them, and that even Olympic committee knew it. The testing was for show. That wasn't too controversial, since so many others had been caught. What was more stunning was his claim that there was no way the test of Johnson's blood would have revealed the steroid, because he used the same masking agent as everyone else, in the same way. He was saying that someone tainted the samples to cost Johnson the gold. Since everyone knew everyone else was on steroids, they also knew that Johnson couldn't possibly prove he wasn't. So by tainting the blood that had been properly masked, they exposed Johnson, and took his gold.

With the recent doping scandals in the Tour, I wonder if it's not the same way. Most cyclists dope. Lance doped. The reason they can all so easily swear they don't is because they know everyone is doing it, and everyone is denying it, and that the masking agents all work. In other words, what they are saying is they don't dope, just that they don't cheat because everyone else does the same thing. So if all that's the case (and I'm not saying it is, only that maybe it is), then maybe someone wanted Landis out, and tainted his samples, knowing that any in depth investigation would reveal that he was on steroids. It wouldn't have to be "the French," so to speak. It could have been one person tired of Americans winning the Tour, and wanting to humiliate them as much as possible. Or it could have been someone from whas-is-name's camp trying to make him the winner.

Or it could be that the official story is completely true--most cyclists are clean, Landis has the typical American attitude of winning at all costs, he cheated, he screwed up on his masking agent after Stage 16, possibly because he didn't fully consider his dehydration or some other factor in his masking agent, and he got caught.

And it's possible Landis was clean and was just sabotaged.

We'll have more evidence eventually, but not for a while. Landis won't come clean (if he's guilty) until he's sure he can't keep the title and money. Then he'll spill the beans, for "the good of the sport" (meaning, revenge). If he's guilty, and if the sport is dirty. Over time more people will talk. But not while it's still up in the air.

That's my take. No idea why I waste so much of my life thinking these things through and posting these long blathering posts that most people are too smart and have too much of a life to read. It's a sickness, like talking to myself, then getting upset and telling myself to stop talking to myself. I'm losing my mind. I'm... Oh, forget it, I need breakfast.

[ZombieNixon]

15. But wait, don't steroids make your balls shrivel?

:shrug: :rofl:

[jobycom]

16. Wouldn't know. But they can contribute to testicular cancer

If you see what I'm getting at.

[ZombieNixon]

21. I do and now I feel dirty and have to go have a shower.

Oh, wait, that's because I just got up. :P

[Dangerously Amused]

25. You need to be a lawyer. You'd be a damned fine one.

Not just based on this post, but on all your posts that I've seen. You're a natural.


And I mean that as a compliment.

[jobycom]

27. Ain't you sweet!

Thought about it. Wanted to be a writer and historian instead. Wound up none of them. Well, not for a living, I sure do post a lot for a non-professional!

[Dangerously Amused]

29. See, you already have the most important skills:

Studying history is basically the same as thoroughly researching the facts in your case.

Writing well and persuasively (which you do) is akin to winning your case pre-trial, on paper.

Besides those you have strong logic and objectivity skills.


I'm glad you thought about it. Think about it some more. It's never too late to start.

[jobycom]

30. You haven't seen my debt load!

Not easy to take the time for school.

Are you an attorney?

[Dangerously Amused]

31. Well yeah, debts kind of suck.

But you can take out school loans (which is the way 95% of my class financed their education) and it will pay for tuition and living expenses (ie, other loans) while you are in school. The interest rate for educational loans right now, or at least the last time I checked, was 4%. Not too bad. Yes you take on more debt, but you will also make more money once you graduate.


Yes, I'm a liar. Sorry, lawyer. But don't tell my mom, she thinks I play the piano in a brothel.



:7

[jobycom]

32. I'm still paying for two years of undergrad work and six years of grad

school in student loans. Seems like I should have enough education to do something with what I have. I don't know, I'm still thinking about it. UTexas is supposed to have a pretty good law school, and I'm right down the road from it.

[NewWaveChick1981]

12. And people like me don't take ourselves too seriously in the

Lounge. :P

:hi:

[billyskank]

17. And we got bad grammar too

:P

[NewWaveChick1981]

18. Some of us do.

I usually have good grammar but don't give anyone else a hard time about theirs. :) In the grand scheme of things, what does it matter anyway out here? :D

:loveya:

[billyskank]

It doesn't matter

I was just pulling your leg :hug:

:loveya:

[Joe Fields]

13. It's not nice to ride little girls!

[Guava Jelly]

14. I love the ladies in here

all so very fun to flirt with :)

[NewWaveChick1981]

19. And the ladies love you too!

:hi: :*

[Guava Jelly]

22. but not often enough

:)

[hfojvt]

20. I have a sense of humor

but that's not funny.
It's sexist and ageist.
Many little girls have been world champions, for example

Martina Hingis
Nadia Comanieci
Mary Lou Retton

Second, finishing 6th in the Tour de France hardly makes a person a loser.

Third, "becaise"? "becaise"?

Of course, I spend half my time in GD and "constant contact does lead to a degree of contamination"

[liberalpress]

23. "iTS SEXIST AND AGESIST"

I mean we could carry this PC stuff as far as you want. The fact is if you ride a bike like a "little girl" you ain't gonna win no Tour De ffrance. If you ride like a woman, you might. This is the crap I'm tlaking about. Oh, I'm sorry I can't say "crap" it might offend the "ecxcretionists". And yes I made I a typo. Soo me.

[hfojvt]

24. the fact is

if you ride a bike like an extraordinary 25 year old man, you ain't gonna win no Tour De France either. Over the last 20 years there are thousands of very extraordinary, accomplished bikers who have not won a TdF. To use the phrase "little girl" as a pejorative is to denigrate the accomplishments and abilities of all young people, all small people, and all females.

Taking PC too far? Your 'joke' was a jingoistic group slur. It was meant, or should have been known, to offend the French as much as it was meant to make anybody laugh. Apparently, when I made fun of your typo, you didn't think THAT was funny. Where's your sense of humor?

The whole point of PC is to try to avoid offending large groups of people, to avoid bigoted language and bigoted PoVs. When a person singles out another person to make fun of, laugh at, denigrate or humiliate, they will do so without my support or approval, even in the lounge. But your thread did much better than my attempt at humor, and I apparently already drove Az out of the lounge.

[Fleshdancer]

26. I would totally exploit my daughter's talent if she could win the Tour

She's only 6 years old so that would be damn cool. Just think of all the endorsement deals! :bounce: :rofl:

[datasuspect]

28. speak for yourself

you said: "We're not a bunch of self-important prigs."

well, i for one am very important and all my unfounded opinions have tremendous weight and importance.

if you get on my bad side, i'll get self-righteous and sanctimonious on ya!!!

[wildhorses]

33. k&r

obligatory edit due to incommunicado:kick:



















:popcron: bon mot typo












































:yoiks: