10 Years.

[Evil Jim]

Ah! Thanks for the clarification, Matt. I stand corrected.

As you were, folks.

[Nodge]

All important (unimportant) question everybody:

Which, in your opinion, is correct; Two thousand and ten or Twenty ten?

[Shinoki]

Ten years ago I would have been 12. Spent the night at home with the folks, I remember my Mom trying to get me to try some cheap sparkling wine. I passed.

Last night I spent the night with a bunch of friends at a pretty good party. I was offered less cheap sparkling wine both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I still passed.

Ten years from now I hope to be at a really awesome party with friends, family and a nice woman to kiss at midnight. I hope to be able to pass on expensive sparkling wine.

[TorachiKatashi]

Speaking as a previous owner of a very happy, healthy, golden retriever that lived well into her teens, and was possibly the sweetest, most affectionate, loyal dog I've ever met, I'm going to have to disagree on the "all lines are garbage" point.

-m

It isn't impossible to get a good dog out of bad lines, it's just unlikely and not worth the risk. I groomed dogs for a while, and I saw so many retrievers who were either incredibly aggressive or scared shitless of everything that I could cry.

Breeds do have significant impact, but like anything they're merely trends. I'll admit, you would be hard pressed to find a labrador or a golden retriever who had anything resembling a foul temper, just as you'd be unlikely to find a cattle dog that likes to sit around the house and be lazy.

You're kidding, right? An overwhelming number of reported dog bites are by Golden and Labrador Retrievers, primarily on children of the same family. Two reasons - bad breeding (parents who should have never been bred to begin with,) and because people actually believe the idea of "Goldens and Labs could never hurt anyone" and let their children harm and harass the dogs until the dogs have to retaliate to protect themselves. You simply never hear those stories because no one gives a shit about dog bites as long as they're not by anything that remotely resembles an APBT.

I think the point being made, however, was that people place too much value on breed sometimes. There's a whole culture of people who treat dogs as "fashionable" pieces of property, where people don't want an animal companion so much as they want a trophy or a mark of social status. The price of a purebred dog is astronomically higher than the price of a mutt, and the entire market for pedigrees leans toward being a disgusting money machine which produces a lot of very poorly treated animals as chaff to be separated from the picks of the litter which sell for four to six figures.

Certainly not true. The price for a purebred dog is higher because it's very expensive to properly rear a litter. The majority of reputable breeders, despite charging thousands of dollars per pup, are lucky if they ever break even after all the expenses of caring for the litter. If there are any complications with the dam or the pups, they can easily expect to still be a few thousand in the hole afterwords. Multiply this still if we're talking about a breed with special considerations, like Olde English Bulldogs, which cannot deliver pups naturally and must deliver via C-section. As far as "picks of the litter," there is a bit of a debate in the showing community over the tradition of charging more for show quality pups than pet quality ones, but it's accepted by most that the reason for this is that this extra charge is the equivalent of a breeding fee for allowing the new owners to breed the dog.

If you want a loving dog as a pet, breed is a consideration, but it's a secondary or tertiary concern at best. The dog itself is the final determination, and no amount of genetic material can change a dog's personality and character.

Again, certainly not true. That's exactly the reason so many dogs, even purebred ones, end up in kill shelters every day. People don't do their research before they get a dog, think breed is "a secondary or tertiary concern at best," then can't handle it when their Border Collie is destructive when left alone, or their Husky injures their cat, or their Dalmatian snaps at their children. Do you know how many Dalmatians were given up to shelters in the year or two following the release of 101 Dalmatians, by families who got pups for their children because they were so cute in the movie, and didn't take the ten minutes it would have taken to pick up a book and find out that Dalmatians, as a breed, generally do not tolerate children?

It's to the point now where dog lovers absolutely dread their breed being featured in a hit movie, because people really are that stupid. There was a big freak out after the movie with the guinea pigs came out recently by the guinea pig fanciers, basically begging people not to rush out and buy one for their children knowing that nearly all of them would be in small animal shelters and put to sleep soon after.

When it comes to purebred pet stock, they tend to be healthier than the registered pedigree dogs, but unfortunately many of the traits they look for in show dogs have bled into the breeding for pet dogs. I can't think of an example for dogs specifically off the top of my head, but I know for the Himalayan Cat (both of my cats are Himalayans), they've managed to almost completely breed out the elongated faces (which my older cat has) in favour of the squashed-in faces required in shows (and my younger cat has), and can cause breathing problems in just a few generations.

Uh, "pet stock" come from the exact same lines and litters and show quality pups. In any litter you're only likely to fine one or two show quality pups, and the rest are usually just pet quality. The only difference tend to be things with colouring (wrong colour, mismatched markings, etc.) or height, a pup who looks like he'll grow to be above or below the max/min height for the breed. Otherwise, they're the exact same as the show quality pups.

"Breeding for pet dogs," is the exact same as backyard breeders, and will hopefully someday be outlawed entirely. There are so many cats and dogs already every year who do not have homes, breeding when it isn't going to improve the breed towards the standard is sickening.

Anyways, this is all off-topic, and I'm pretty sure we can all agree that we hate what the idiots who chose what breeds should look like and conformation shows have done to our favourite pets, and one needs to take care when choosing a pet. While I can't find it online right now, the CBC had a good documentary on the matter a while ago.

I've seen the documentary you're talking about, (the original one, not the edited down one) and it's just a lot of interviewing a handful of scumbags then saying they represent all purebred dog lovers everywhere in the world. It's like if I interviewed a bunch of priests who had been arrested for child molestation then said that that means all Catholics are child molesters.

((I've gone significantly off topic, I apologize, so if any of the people I'm speaking to want to continue the conversation they can feel free to PM me.))

[Master Gunner]

There's still another year yet before the end of the first decade of this millennium. Remember the whole hoopla about 2,001 being the beginning of the 21st century instead of 2,000? It still applies.

That is only true if you believe in Christ and that he started the whole calender. However I believe the people started counting at 0 instead of 1. And the holy book of my believe dictates I must destroy everyone who disagrees!

2000 millennium, 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 ( 10 years over )
2010 new decade starts now!.
All praise bigger number changes!
Amen.

Uh, wrong, wrong, and wrong.

The calender most prominently used in the Western World is called the Gregorian Calender. This was adapted from the Julian Calender 500 years ago to better compensate for leap years. The Julian Calender was invented by the Romans around 40-something BC. It, as originally invented, numbered years either from the 1st year of the Founding of Rome, or by a naming scheme involving named years and years since Emperor's/Consuls, and neither ever had a year 0. Around 1500 years ago, it was re-structured to a convenient start date of 1 AD, coinciding with the then-estimated Birth of Christ, a significant figure to the vast majority of those using the Roman Calender at that time (and for the next 1.5 thousand years). The year before 1 AD by that calender was 1 BC. There was never and year 0 involved there.

If you want to use a year 0, you can. The Astronomical Calender places a year 0 where the year 1 BC was, and bumps all of those dates back for ease of calculation. However, as I recall, the current era still starts on year 1, not year 0.

So belief in Christ has nothing to do with it, and never has. It is simply, if you want to use the same calender as everybody else you're likely to meet on a regular basis, you're using a calender that doesn't have a year 0, nor did it ever have one, because it went from the year before Event A, to the year of Event A (that is, 1 BC to 1 AD). If you want to use a calender used by a minority of people, for completely different and actually valid reasons, than that's your prerogative. However, your so-called "beliefs" behind it are not only wrong, but provably wrong as they are in direct contradiction of the calender structure, and historical fact. It's like saying LRR is actually in year 8 because they started at year 0. No, they never did, they started in their first year, year 1. And the year before that, being the year before LRR was established, would be 1 before LRR.

Damn Dutch.


TorachiKatashi: I admit I may have being wrong, but I do know of some reputable breeders who breed specifically for pets, and not for the specific and limited characteristics required for show dogs, which is the difference I was talking about.

[epocalypse]

The year numbering system was retroactively started at the time of his estimated birth. As far as I know there was no year "zero." People went over & over this back in 2,000.

There's still another year yet before the end of the first decade of this millennium. Remember the whole hoopla about 2,001 being the beginning of the 21st century instead of 2,000? It still applies.

No it doesn't. we name centuries and millenia for the time that elapses.

A decade is named for the number in it's tens column.

so the "20th Century" is literaly "the twentieth perion of 100 years" but the 80's is "the period of years with 8 in the tens column"

Much like you aren't still in your 20's when you turn 30, 1990 isn't part of the 80's.

Because the naming conventions are different, there actually IS a year 0 for a decade, while there is NOT for a century or a millenium.

Please see: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badas ... decadence/

-m

so just for the record, this means I was right, right, Matt?

[Matt]

The year numbering system was retroactively started at the time of his estimated birth. As far as I know there was no year "zero." People went over & over this back in 2,000.

There's still another year yet before the end of the first decade of this millennium. Remember the whole hoopla about 2,001 being the beginning of the 21st century instead of 2,000? It still applies.

No it doesn't. we name centuries and millenia for the time that elapses.

A decade is named for the number in it's tens column.

so the "20th Century" is literaly "the twentieth perion of 100 years" but the 80's is "the period of years with 8 in the tens column"

Much like you aren't still in your 20's when you turn 30, 1990 isn't part of the 80's.

Because the naming conventions are different, there actually IS a year 0 for a decade, while there is NOT for a century or a millenium.

Please see: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badas ... decadence/

-m

so just for the record, this means I was right, right, Matt?

yes. Having had it explained in depth, I was wrong.

-m

[Arius]

I was wrong.

-m

And thus, the children sang of this day for years to come.

Lo, fact soon became belief and belief became rumour. Soon after the last of the evidence died, few remained who would hold fast to such fables. Those who believed these words were ever uttered were cast aside as insane. Fanatics of faith.

I kid, I kid.

---

I've come to realize that I didn't put my own ten years from now.

I plan to have enough money to not actually have to do anything. If I succeed in this, I'm not going to do anything. Though, I would probably pursue hobbies like music and reviews.

I wouldn't mind being well known either.

As for marriage, I don't know.

[ChoTomoko]

Ten years ago, I spent New Year's at home, watching the Backstreet Boys Millenium concert.

This year, I spent it talking to my beloved, playing solitare while listening to the BSB Millenium album.

Ten years from now, I want to spend it with my beloved, at the top of a Waikiki hotel, drinking champagne from fine crystal... all while listening to the Millenium album.

[elvor]

Ten years ago I was ten, and so I can't remember what I did.

This year I spent the night in with my girlfriend, curled up on the sofa, watching TV.

In ten years time I hope to be doing the exact same thing

[Theremin]

Ten years ago I was ten, and so I can't remember what I did.

This year I spent the night in with my girlfriend, curled up on the sofa, watching TV.

In ten years time I hope to be doing the exact same thing

And this, people of the forums, is what a truly happy man sounds like.

Envy him.

[GaspodeTheDog]

10 years ago, i prevented my drunk parents and their friends from blowing themselves up with fireworks they had no idea how to use.

This year i tried taking pictures of fireworks with my crappy camera, which didn't work out as it should have but looks cool in a weird way.

In 10 years i'll do something i can't even imagine now. As i couldn't imagine my life now 10 years ago. I just hope it'll be better.

[epocalypse]

10 years ago, i prevented my drunk parents and their friends from blowing themselves up with fireworks they had no idea how to use.

This year i tried taking pictures of fireworks with my crappy camera, which didn't work out as it should have but looks cool in a weird way.

In 10 years i'll do something i can't even imagine now. As i couldn't imagine my life now 10 years ago. I just hope it'll be better.

I'm putting $30 on it having to do with fireworks.

I was wrong.

-m

And thus, the children sang of this day for years to come.

I'm finally an internet folk hero. This year is starting out promising.

(Graceful loss, Matt; kudos.)

[Jinjiro]

Ten years ago, I was a child of 14, thought I knew everything about the world, and I was asleep in bed.

Now, I realise that I know nothing, and should be asleep, but the Internet seems to make that task quite impossible.

In 10 years, I hope to know enough to get by, have ironed out the self-doubt and be somewhere secure. I hope I'm not asleep.

[DmitriW]

Ten years ago, I was entering high school, crushing hardcore on two dear friends, and had bright, brilliant dreams for my future.

Today, I work at a gas station, am struggling to finish some kind of college education, and am dating the woman I love. Oxford Comma for the win

Both have things going for them, but I think I'd stay in the present, given the choice...

[the amativeness]

All important (unimportant) question everybody:

Which, in your opinion, is correct; Two thousand and ten or Twenty ten?

Neither.

It's "Oh Ten".

[Vigafre]

Oh word?

[Master Gunner]

Correction: It's whatever the hell you feel like saying at the moment in time you need to state the year. So long as we know what you mean, it works.

[Keab42]

All important (unimportant) question everybody:

Which, in your opinion, is correct; Two thousand and ten or Twenty ten?

Neither.

It's "Oh Ten".

Ten past Eight?

[Tinasaur]

10 years ago I was celebrating the new millenium with a few hundred others that I thought I had something in common with and I kissed the man I thought I'd love forever.

This new year I spent with five people I know are my friends and I kissed a man who I trust more than anyone else.

10 years from now I will reflect on what I thought I knew when I was younger and realise I did my best with what knowledge I had, and I hope I will be kissing a man who still is my best friend.