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 <title>The Rag - If you&#039;re lucky it won&#039;t make sense.</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag</link>
 <description></description>
 <language>en</language>
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 <title>From The Diary Of An Ego Waffle</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag/?q=node/27</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;March 24, 1999&lt;br /&gt;
Frozen solid.  I share a plastic bag with seven others.  We live in stacks of four.  They&#039;re kind of like family, though none of us know anything about family.  I&#039;m second from the top.  It&#039;s completely dark most of the day.  Nothing much to see anyway.  Things don&#039;t change very often around here.  But when they do, they change for good.  It&#039;s best not to get too attached to anyone or anything.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;except your immediate neighbors, who you&#039;re probably stuck to anyhow.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&#039;m stuck between two others.  Three more are piled next to us.  The six of us have it pretty good.  our bag is sealed and our community intact.  The plastic is thin, like a potato chip bag.  But it&#039;s enough to keep us moist.  Outisde the bag you won&#039;t make it long.  It&#039;s the worst kind of desert out there; a frozen desert.  I saw a tomato shrivel up right in front of my eyes.  I couldn&#039;t loook away.  I was mesmerized by the horror.  (full disclosure, I have no neck.)  Ice cubes get left outside all the time.  The funny thing is that the ice doesn&#039;t completely evaporate, like you think it would.  There&#039;s something left over after all the water&#039;s gone.  I don&#039;t know what it is.  If your ice dries up your dead.  About the only thing that can live outside a plastic bag is a hotdog.  They have tough skin, those hot dogs.  Even hotdogs dry up someday.  &lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://therag.com/therag/?q=taxonomy/term/7">What Is That Pain?</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:34:07 -0500</pubDate>
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 <title>A Socratic Dialogue On The Iraq War</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag/?q=node/34</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ethan&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
Invading Iraq was the right thing to do.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Percy&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
Only if you want the wrong thing to happen.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ethan&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
I make a point and you act like a smartass?  I don&#039;t think that&#039;s how a Socratic dialogue works.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Percy &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
I don&#039;t know how they&#039;re supposed to work.  I never studied classic Greek thinkers.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ethan&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
I think Socrates was a Roman.
&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://therag.com/therag/?q=taxonomy/term/6">How To Make The World Perfect</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:19:11 -0400</pubDate>
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 <title>New Revenue License Plates Hit State Of Georgia</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag/?q=node/28</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;Anyone can tell you Florida is the top dog in the revenue license plate scene, boasting no fewer than &lt;a href=&quot;http://www3.hsmv.state.fl.us/Intranet/dmv/specialtytags/specialindex.cfm&quot;&gt;one hundred&lt;/a&gt; different revenue plates, but if 2006 is any indication, the future of revenue plates might be in Georgia.  Here are our favorites.
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;/images/tacolovers.gif&quot;/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;/images/chronic.jpg&quot;/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;/images/cleanplateclub.gif&quot;/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;/images/cobrakai.gif&quot;/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;img src=&quot;/images/lobbyist.gif&quot;/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://therag.com/therag/?q=taxonomy/term/9">Things Without Hair</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:01:52 -0500</pubDate>
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 <title>The Knights Templar: What I Learned From The History Channel While Crocked On Nyquil</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag/?q=node/24</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;It’s well known that after the Crusades in 1314, the once mighty Knights Templar fell out of favor and onto hard times. In fact, all were believed to be executed. Those who at least temporarily escaped were forced to abandon their mercenary/warrior lifestyle, go into hiding, and pursue other lines of work.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The large bundles of treasure amassed by the Knights enabled a natural transition into banking for many of the former knights. However, many had little to no financial aptitude at all and so furthered other interests. One group cultivated a vineyard and wine bottling business. Unfortunately, their prize wine Gethsemane Rosé attracted unwanted attention by the authorities. The bottling company was closed, the vineyards were burned, and the proprietors slain.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://therag.com/therag/?q=taxonomy/term/8">Things That Move</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 20 Feb 2006 23:55:19 -0500</pubDate>
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 <title>Op-Ed:  Invest In Hybrids For Our Future</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag/?q=node/17</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;On the average, women need about 1500 calories a day.  Men need 2000.  (These are actually kilocalories which are once, twice, 1000 times the calorie.)  I had a pet snake once.  It ate one rat a month.  I don&#039;t know how many calories a rat has in it.  I&#039;ll leave this as an assignment.  But I&#039;m sure it&#039;s less than 60,000, unless you&#039;re really generous with the hollandaise.  Snakes are much more efficient because they derive their body heat from a combination of food and rocks mounted with electrical heating elements.  On the other hand, human beings and other mammals regulate their own body temperature.  This cannot last.  Maintaining your own internal body temperature solely by metabolizing carbon based food is expensive.  The population is exploding.  What happens if the food runs out?&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://therag.com/therag/?q=taxonomy/term/6">How To Make The World Perfect</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:12:28 -0500</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Walt Whitman Cloned By Mistake</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag/?q=node/14</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;Researchers at SUNY, Stony Brook have confirmed rumors that they have cloned Walt Whitman.  But, the researchers add, the cloning is unintentional.  &quot;We get clones of Whitman all the time.  It seems like every time we start replicating DNA samples, we end up with a partially working copy of the great American poet.  It&#039;s kind of weird,&quot;  explains Albe Knutt, Professor of Biochemistry.  The cloning phenomena has also been oberved by scientists from Cornell, Columbia and Tulane.  Whitman died in 1892.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;I work with forest mold.  I collect a lot of mold DNA.  I&#039;d say about 40% of the samples I collect are contaminated with strands of Walt Whitman&#039;s complete genetic code.  I understand he&#039;s from Long Island, but I don&#039;t know how his DNA got all over this forest,&quot; continues Dr. Knutt.  &lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://therag.com/therag/?q=taxonomy/term/8">Things That Move</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:44:24 -0500</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Forsyth County Objectivist Society December Meeting Minutes</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag/?q=node/13</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;December 11, 2005&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Members in attendance:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
-Mike Lemmons, Ann Krocka, Simone Fairweather, Max Binswanger, James &quot;Righty&quot; Wright, Peter Loes&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;New Members&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
- Vlad Voynich, Peter Alliance, Arlene Picchoda&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Agenda Items&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Snack Policy
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;All members must bring own snacks.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Sharing not forbidden, but not encouraged&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Philanthropy Initiative - &lt;i&gt;Great Homeless Smokeout&lt;/i&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Ann&lt;/b&gt;:  outsourced Smokeout duties to North County High Objectivist Society.  No feedback yet.  Assume homelessness is being eradicated.&lt;/li&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://therag.com/therag/?q=taxonomy/term/7">What Is That Pain?</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:02:09 -0500</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
 <title>The Rag Toilet Network Now Enrolling</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag/?q=node/11</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;Heaven means different things to different people.  For Buddhists, heaven means not having to deal with this nuissance we call existance.  Christians, at least &#039;round these parts, think heaven is some place where you get to play with your dog again and go fishing everyday.  Jews receive a detailed printout of every bad choice they ever made, then go live in a gated community where no one messes with them.  But everyone agrees on one thing, heaven means never having to flush a toilet!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Luckily you don&#039;t have to die or even believe in a higher diety to experience the flush free lifestyle.  All you need to do is enroll your toilet in The Rag Toilet Network.  Read a transcription of what these members had to say:&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://therag.com/therag/?q=taxonomy/term/9">Things Without Hair</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 27 Dec 2005 23:55:49 -0500</pubDate>
</item>
<item>
 <title>W Speaks:  a Letter from a Letter</title>
 <link>http://therag.com/therag/?q=node/10</link>
 <description>&lt;p&gt;Dear Americans and others,&lt;br /&gt;
Greetings.  I am the letter W, hitherto pronounced /double u/.  I am writing to you from my home outside of Bangor, Maine.  I am not in the practice of writing missives, or anything for that matter.  In fact, I am the first letter to write anything to anybody, but don&#039;t get the idea that us letters don&#039;t have rich inner lives.  Beacuse we do!  The affairs of humans are of generally little interest to us.  I do occasionally watch &quot;That 70&#039;s Show&quot; but other than that, I am content to aid in the spelling of words.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For several years now, I have heard my name being perversely used to refer to the current president of your country, George Walker Bush.  I paid it no attention.  I&#039;ve seen it all.  But recently I got around to searching on Google for his name.  Did you know that this &#039;Dubya&#039; (typing it now makes my serifs crawl) authorized illegal spying on his own people?  I read it on the internet!  In addition to that, he waged a war on a sovereign nation because of a personal vendetta.  Go to the internet.  It&#039;s right there!  Tens of thousands have died.  Could this really be the same country where Kelso and Hyde valiantly duel for Jackie&#039;s affections?&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://therag.com/therag/?q=taxonomy/term/6">How To Make The World Perfect</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:54:12 -0500</pubDate>
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