Vent Your Spleen

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Some of the nonsense contained herein may be very loosely related to The Sisters of Mercy, but I wouldn't bet your PayPal account on it. In keeping with the internet's general theme nothing written here should be taken as Gospel: over three quarters of it is utter gibberish, and most of the forum's denizens haven't spoken to another human being face-to-face for decades. Don't worry your pretty little heads about it. Above all else, remember this: You don't have to stay forever. I will understand.
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sziamiau
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I want to do a doctorate degree. it's not the right time yet..oh and I don't have the money for it yet...but I have been thinking about for a year now. I wish I could:(
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sultan2075
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The trick is to get the school to pay for it, and to find a department that can provide funding/grants/scholarships.
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The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities, that makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside.
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stufarq
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nodubmanshouts wrote:I thought he was a loving God?
I never said which god...
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sziamiau
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sultan2075 wrote:The trick is to get the school to pay for it, and to find a department that can provide funding/grants/scholarships.
well yes, but the issue is that I don't want to quit my job. which makes it harder to find a program that I actually want. an online degree with several residential weeks would be the best actually. anyways even if I want to do it in the next 5 years I need to start the search now. what could be even better if I could get certain grants, scholarshio and even support from my employer. the program I am eyeing is USD 75,000. virtually out of the question now but maybe sometimes in the future...well I need more work experience on a higher level to begin with.

oh well a girl can dream
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sultan2075
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What field are you interested in?
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The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities, that makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside.
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7anthea7
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DeWinter wrote:Lilith is even more interesting.
Lilith rocks! :D Even if most people don't understand exactly what she is... :roll:

Those Mesopotamian girls were arse-kickers - do not mess about with Inanna. :wink:
Who can begin conventional amiability the first thing in the morning?
It is the hour of savage instincts and natural tendencies.
--Elizabeth von Arnim
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markfiend
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Is it Inanna that Neil Gaiman turned into a stripper in the Sandman (Brief Lives story arc IIRC)

Or is Ishtar / Astoreth not the same person as Inanna?
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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7anthea7
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markfiend wrote:Is it Inanna that Neil Gaiman turned into a stripper in the Sandman (Brief Lives story arc IIRC)

Or is Ishtar / Astoreth not the same person as Inanna?
All essentially the same, just linguistic variants. One tough bitch, any way you want to spell it. :wink:
Who can begin conventional amiability the first thing in the morning?
It is the hour of savage instincts and natural tendencies.
--Elizabeth von Arnim
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nodubmanshouts
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I wish I could legally refuse to employee Creationists. I mean, clearly they have no ability to apply logic or reason to their daily lives. So why on God's Earth would I want to employee them?

The mind boggles, Smithers....
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markfiend
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Why can you not legally refuse to employee Creationists? Surely you're allowed to give job applicants aptitude tests, just slip in some "leading" questions.

That way you should also be able to weed out "alternative medicine" freaks, global warming "skeptics", or any others with a reality-denying tendency.

*Edit: What do you call alternative medicine that works? Medicine.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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nodubmanshouts
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Its that whole religious discrimination thing.... it is California after all... but yeah, a few discretely worded questions could work... I'd rather not cloak+dagger it though...

you know... "Sorry. I'm not employing you coz your beliefs are fecking stupid"
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mh
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Just draw up a company policy that advocates freedom of personal belief for all staff, then sack them for violating that policy when they try to push their twaddle on other folks. :twisted:
If I told them once, I told them a hundred times to put 'Spinal Tap' first and 'Puppet Show' last.
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sziamiau
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@ sultan: higher ed management
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sultan2075
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sziamiau wrote:@ sultan: higher ed management
Ah... so you're the enemy ;)

Seriously, though, there is an enormous amount of money to be made in that field.
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The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities, that makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside.
DeWinter
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markfiend wrote: That way you should also be able to weed out "alternative medicine" freaks, global warming "skeptics", or any others with a reality-denying tendency.
Seriously, weed out the amazingly smug lifestyle dictators, doom-mongers, and politicos who impose "green" taxes whilst pressing for new terminals, runways, roads,and concreting over half of Southern England. Then maybe people wouldn't be so sceptical about the message! Reckon the GW disbelievers are just being stroppy because the messengers are so damn self-righteous.
I have a similair issue with Shami Charkrabati. Agree with her, but she's so damn hectoring and shrill..

(Can anyone explain why the Government is supporting the automobile industry with our tax money? Don't cars pollute an awful lot? Surely we want less of it so people use public transport?)
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sziamiau
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sultan2075 wrote:
sziamiau wrote:@ sultan: higher ed management
Ah... so you're the enemy ;)

Seriously, though, there is an enormous amount of money to be made in that field.
:twisted: but I am innocent! yes I have been in the field for a while and I see plenty of potential. However I am tired of incompetent people occupying the highest positions, one of the reasons I'd like to do this.

what's your field? I assume you belong to the academic personnel? :D
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sultan2075
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Yeah. I'm one of those guys who actually has to deal with students. I completed my PhD comprehensive exams last week (or was it two weeks ago? I'm not sure), and I am preparing to write my dissertation in political theory; at the moment I teach philosophy and American government, but my goal is to find a small, great-books-centered liberal arts school, preferably in the middle of nowhere, and stay there until I die.
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The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities, that makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside.
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sziamiau
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political theory! my first degree is in political science and the second is in public admin:) although I am far from those right now, working in business schools. anyways good luck with the dissertation. are you planning on two years? my goal is a bit more complicated than yours. maybe in year or so things will settle down a bit more so I will actually be able to plan ahead
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LouLou
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sultan2075 wrote:Yeah. I'm one of those guys who actually has to deal with students. I completed my PhD comprehensive exams last week (or was it two weeks ago? I'm not sure), and I am preparing to write my dissertation in political theory; at the moment I teach philosophy and American government, but my goal is to find a small, great-books-centered liberal arts school, preferably in the middle of nowhere, and stay there until I die.
the "prefererably in the middle of nowhere" is a very accurate description of where i want to end up once i'm done with my phd :lol:

are you going to go down the "phd by portfolio" route, or stick to the old school way of writing something rougly the same thickness as an encyclopedia volume? :)
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sultan2075
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sziamiau wrote:political theory! my first degree is in political science and the second is in public admin:) although I am far from those right now, working in business schools. anyways good luck with the dissertation. are you planning on two years? my goal is a bit more complicated than yours. maybe in year or so things will settle down a bit more so I will actually be able to plan ahead
Well, if I can find the time to actually write it, I can probably bang out the first draft in about a year's time. I'm currently trying to convince my wife that it's actually a good idea to move in with my parents or her parents for a year or so, so I can severly cut back on my teaching load. She seems to think that I should just tie a bunch of papers I've already written together and call that a dissertation...

LouLou wrote: the "prefererably in the middle of nowhere" is a very accurate description of where i want to end up once i'm done with my phd :lol:

are you going to go down the "phd by portfolio" route, or stick to the old school way of writing something rougly the same thickness as an encyclopedia volume? :)
What are you studying?

One of the wisest things I've ever heard about writing the dissertation came from an old Jesuit at Fordham University in New York. He said that the thing to remember about the dissertation is that a) it doesn't have to be great, it just as to be good enough, and b) it's not the last thing you'll ever write, but the first. It really has to just be good enough to get your union card, although it's ideal to write something that won't bring dishonor onto your school :)

As for length, once I have figured out the basic sequence of chapters required--shooting for an average chapter length of 25 pages--I'll have a better idea, but at the moment I'm guessing somewhere between 300 and 400 pages. It's just a question of breaking it up into manageable chunks. At the moment, I'm still working on the official proposal.
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The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities, that makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside.
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LouLou
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sultan2075 wrote: What are you studying?
broadly speaking, i'm into accelerated new product development. i'm not doing the actual developing (which happens to be the interesting bit) though. no, i'm merely shooting my mouth off about the hows and whys and how-tos :lol:

the fact that i'm officially in the marketing department remains a mystery :lol:
sultan2075 wrote: As for length, once I have figured out the basic sequence of chapters required--shooting for an average chapter length of 25 pages--I'll have a better idea, but at the moment I'm guessing somewhere between 300 and 400 pages. It's just a question of breaking it up into manageable chunks. At the moment, I'm still working on the official proposal.
best of luck with that. i didn't have to write a proposal because i entered a project that had already been approved (and waiting for an eager victim to get things rolling), but from what i hear from friends who did, it can be quite a painful process (then again, you seem to have a fair idea of what you'll be doing, which should make things so much easier). :)
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sziamiau
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@ Sultan..well yes if yo can cut back on teaching now that would help....but I don't know how good is the move-in for the marriage:)

all this talk makes me want o continue really with studying. although I should concentrate on dutch this year
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markfiend
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DeWinter wrote:Reckon the GW disbelievers are just being stroppy because the messengers are so damn self-righteous.
You could be right. Not even the oil companies are denying AGW any more though :lol:
DeWinter wrote:(Can anyone explain why the Government is supporting the automobile industry with our tax money? Don't cars pollute an awful lot? Surely we want less of it so people use public transport?)
Wish I could explain that one. :|
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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sultan2075
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markfiend wrote:
DeWinter wrote:Reckon the GW disbelievers are just being stroppy because the messengers are so damn self-righteous.
You could be right. Not even the oil companies are denying AGW any more though :lol:
DeWinter wrote:(Can anyone explain why the Government is supporting the automobile industry with our tax money? Don't cars pollute an awful lot? Surely we want less of it so people use public transport?)
Wish I could explain that one. :|
Power: in this case, increased regulatory power over a productive sector of the economy, and many of the people employed therein. See: Obama, Barack.
sziamiau wrote:@ Sultan..well yes if yo can cut back on teaching now that would help....but I don't know how good is the move-in for the marriage:)
I know, I know. But with all my siblings moved out, we'd have the entire upstairs to ourselves. Ideally, we'd move closer to her parents. I've never actually met her parents, and I don't speak the language in their country: I imagine that sort of isolation would make me very productive ;)
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The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities, that makes it seem inconceivable that other ways are viable, that removes the sense that there is an outside.
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markfiend
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Five minute interview with Dawkins:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8049711.stm
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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