Beer of Thrones

Response times- city to city

In Atlanta last year it took, on average, 11 minutes and 12 seconds from the time a high-priority 911 call was received until an Atlanta police officer showed up at the scene. The response times reported by the El Paso (Texas) Police Department were only one second quicker than Atlanta’s, with an average of 11 minutes and 11 seconds.

The Denver Police Department posted a response time of 11 minutes flat. According to the Journal Constitution story, police in Tucson, Ariz., responded, on average, in 10 minutes and 11 seconds.
See Also

Police in Kansas City, Mo., and Oklahoma City posted average response times of less than 10 minutes. In Nashville-Davidson County, police recorded average response times below 9 minutes.

Denver

The department recently released data showing that, on average, it took 15.75 minutes to respond to high priority 911 calls through the first 10 months of this year. In the first 10 months of last year, the average response time was 14.03 minutes, the department data shows.

"We're doing some things to address this, but there is no silver bullet," Murray said.

The average time it took an officer to respond to such 911 calls through all of 2011 was 14.21 minutes. For 2010, the average was 13.49 minutes, and in 2009, 14.38 minutes.

The department released the data after two high-profile incidents involving 911 response by police. Last month, White ordered the internal affairs bureau to investigate a nearly 6 ½ -hour delay between a 911 call reporting a violent domestic dispute and the discovery of a woman's body in her southwest home.

My guess is it's one of those crazy Bollywood action movies where the laws of Physics don't apply.

Because Hollywood is always true to the laws of physics. 

Calling the police when someone is in the process of breaking into your house doesn't accomplish much besides telling them where to file a report. If you break into my house it better be worth facing this upon entry:

A real thing.

Here's the translation of my favorite bible verses: (2 Kings 2 23-24)

23 So den elisha carryd on frm mcdonalds 2 burger king agen. while he was goin up sum wittle boys were mean 2 him callin her bald.

24 He turnt round n cursed them in da name ov Ceiling Cat! An as she carryd on 2 burger king 2 l33t bears sudenli come out da woods n nom'd 42 ov da boys leik dey waz cheezburgerz.

I'll agree on one thing. Having a hearing on a company using a loophole is not really a good use of time. If what they are doing is not illegal there's really no value in shaming them. Spend your time closing the loophole.

So you don't think the U.S. tax is overly complex? As with any regulation, the more complex the more it favors large organizations that can pay a team of lawyers and accountants to interpret and stay compliant (aka find all those loop holes). You don't think individuals or companies should legally minimize their taxes?

Not sure where I said anything to that effect. All I said was the if they think there is a loophole they should close it. In addition, closing loopholes should by nature make the tax code less complex.

My questions are based on you saying "I'll agree on one thing" which implies that you don't agree on the other points I made in the OP. Closing loop holes tend to create other loop holes. It's always about adding more rules and regulations, thereby making it more complex. That's why lobbyist make so much money.

As Eco has told us in the past, Republicans do not believe that "loop holes" are a bad thing.  They actually refer to them as "Strategic Financing".

How do you define loop hole?

I'll agree on one thing. Having a hearing on a company using a loophole is not really a good use of time. If what they are doing is not illegal there's really no value in shaming them. Spend your time closing the loophole.

So you don't think the U.S. tax is overly complex? As with any regulation, the more complex the more it favors large organizations that can pay a team of lawyers and accountants to interpret and stay compliant (aka find all those loop holes). You don't think individuals or companies should legally minimize their taxes?

loop hole?

He hits all the right points:
1) Apple has broken no law in regards to minimizing taxes. We're wasting their time dragging them into meetings.
2) Why wouldn't a company do their best to legally minimize taxes?
3) Which member of Congress doesn't minimize their taxes?
4) The U.S. tax code is overly complex.

The second trailer shows the funnier aspects of having a dome cover your town.

PR vs. AR

 

The Biggest Obama Scandals Are Proven and Ignored

Obama has not, as Sullivan points out, traded arms for hostages with Iran, or started a war with no planning for the inevitable occupation that would follow. But there are different questions that could be asked about Obama that would perhaps be more relevant to his behavior.

Has he ordered the assassination of any American citizens in secret without due process? Did he kill any of their teenage kids without ever explaining how or why that happened?

Has he refused to reveal even the legal reasoning he used to conclude his targeted killing program is lawful?

Has he waged an unprecedented war on whistleblowers?

Has he spied on millions of innocent Americans without a warrant or probable cause?

Does he automatically count dead military-aged males killed by U.S. drones as "militants"?

Did he "sign a bill that enshrines in law the previously merely alleged executive power of indefinite detention without trial of terror suspects"?

Yes

Penny Arcade was actually kind of funny today.

My Medical Choice

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.

Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average.

Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.

Unnecessary mutilation or the future of medicine?

...if unquestionable proof the WH had nothing to do with the IRS scandal comes to light?

My guess is that no such thing could ever exist in the Eco-verse.

But Eco-Logic is a man of his word. 

"Bea Arthur Naked" Sold for $1.9 Million yesterday. [NSFW]

This has been a winner for me so far. I really like that the main characters are all pretty complex. Good guys are not perfect, bad guys are not pure evil and most everyone is more than they seem.

This. And minimal teen angst. I had to smile when the albino went to his first counsel meeting, greeting everyone before shutting the door in Nolan's face.

Did you have a contract that indicated you owned the work you produced for the site?

Any arrangement I had with Ron didn't require a contract. He asked for help at E3. I spent a couple of days playing computer games and writing about my experiences. He had the option to publish or trash anything I submitted. Given that I had zero experience writing game reviews/previews I expected most of it to be trashed. The byline has been updated. Thank you. Carry on.

I'm happy to see Robot Chicken will be back for another season.

I'm not sure about Mike Tyson's new show or the other Adult Swim shows.

Is it ethical to put your name on game reviews you didn't write?

Plan your road trip accordingly.

I agree that there are services (e.g., police and courts) that the government should provide. In consequence, people will be hired to provide those services. That is different than saying my taxes are needed because someone needs a job.

So we'll give the state govs MORE money to mismanage?

No, you'll give them the money you already owe them so that many can work towards not being woefully underfunded at the moment.

The reason they're "woefully underfunded" is because when times are good they go on a spending spree using every dollar available, committing themselves to long-term obligations as if times will always be good. Then a dip in the economy happens, tax revenues drop and all the sudden they are scrambling to cover the expenses. Giving a spendthrift more money is not a good way to change bad habits.

Giving them the money they are owed is what's right. Starving them at the expense of people who need jobs and services is wrong. If you want to affect change in the manner money is spent, handle that as a separate task.

The purpose of taxes is not to provide jobs for government workers. If I am being threatened with bodily harm and imprisonment should I not pay taxes those services better be damn important and only something the government can provide.

So we'll give the state govs MORE money to mismanage?

No, you'll give them the money you already owe them so that many can work towards not being woefully underfunded at the moment.

The reason they're "woefully underfunded" is because when times are good they go on a spending spree using every dollar available, committing themselves to long-term obligations as if times will always be good. Then a dip in the economy happens, tax revenues drop and all the sudden they are scrambling to cover the expenses. Giving a spendthrift more money is not a good way to change bad habits.

staring at a light switch was a better use of my time...

Your devotion excites Jesus.

New trailer released today. 

It's taxes you're supposed to be paying anyway.

Why?

13.  Suck it, Moliere.

Hey, I was being honest with my score. I couldn't decide what defined a chemical reaction and rushed my answer to the most common element in the atmosphere.

13 questions

I only got 11 right. 

A quick recap of the first two episodes this season.

http://drop.notch.net/

Let the high score postings begin.

[Spoiler]

They finally revealed the cause of the blackout and it actually makes sense. 

Spoiler for Hiden:

Nanotechnology.  Self replicating virus sized nanobots that block electrical current.

While the show isnt perfect it can be entertaining, so Ive continued to watch it. 

What I don't understand about that is

Spoiler for Hiden:

if they are breathing in the "nanobots" and they are strong enough to absorb/block electricity, how are people still alive?  The human nervous system runs on electricity too.  Wouldn't that block brain activity and heart activity?

See previous page

Shocking everyone, George made it to 81.

If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me

Let it die, Sly.

I disagree. They are fun movies, especially for those of us that grew up in the 80s watching the original action movies.

Fans of the show should watch this interview by Conan.

The fact that they're choosing candidates based on 1-minute videos and it's also going to be a reality show also means they are totally going to get the most qualified scientist minds for the job.  

The history of first time exploration seems to attract the adventurous more than the scientific type.

Here's a good summary.