Rick Perry shaken up by Obama’s disturbing threat to governors in meeting

[Sunburn74]

DNA doesn't adapt. There is variation built into the way organisms replicate DNA to allow for genetic and ultimately protein variation between individuals but that variation is not evolution because it happens randomly and generally only once. After that DNA goes to great lengths to ensure preservation of the original sequence through extensive error checking mechanisms. Evolution is how a species changes over time and for that to happen there needs to be selective pressure applied to the entire population.

There is the possibility for silent genes to be turned on but that is not DNA adapting but rather simply will defined regulatory processes kicking in and ramping up production and these processes still fall under the principles of natural selection.

The only other time I can think of DNA adaption is with cancer but that is not a good thing and those rules still fall under the principle of natural selection

 

[norseamd]

DNA doesn't adapt. There is variation built into the way organisms replicate DNA to allow for genetic and ultimately protein variation between individuals but that variation is not evolution. Evolution is how a species changes over time and for that to happen there needs to be selective pressure applied to the entire population.

experiences can be passed down to descendents

there are a ton of science articles just coming out on this

http://www.sciencegymnasium.com/2014/01/scientists-have-found-that-memories-may.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fearful-memories-passed-down/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131202121544.htm

recommend science daily as it is a great resource

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamarckism#Current_views

something about changing the action of the genes and not the genes themselves.

is this what you are talking about.

also keep in mind gene doping and that there are genetic changes in response to excercise. so genetics are not static per se

 

[Sunburn74]

That is really cutting edge stuff which may very well work its way into core evolutionary principles when it's all been fleshed out. I reallydont understand exactly how that works as to pass on a gene you need genetic changes in gametes and I don't see how teaching events in life can be written into DNA there. You can train your brain but how that training leaves a genetic imprint on what's happening in my testicles is behind me. However I would not be at all surprised if such a mechanism was elucidated at all despite it slightly going against core Darwinian principles.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Golumpki (I'm half Polish - cabbage stuffed with beef and rice, with crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce over them. Cooked them for a few hours yesterday.) Tomorrow's dinner is stuffed chicken breast. Wednesday's dinner is 24oz porterhouse steaks with a lobster tail, baked potato, and broccoli.

Let's talk about food. Since this has turned into an evolution thread and away from the original topic it's not a derail. This went way off the tracks some time ago.

I haven't had golumpki since I was a kid. My first several years on this world were spent in a section which was Polish and Irish.

Food of the gods.

It's been 35 years since I've been there so I don't know if the quality has changed, but this bakery had the best rye I've ever had. Ever.

 

[Jhhnn]

Granted you aren't bright enough to grasp it, but just in case the lady who puts your helmet on you needs a spot of diversion, from the top:

Granted, it's not really fair to use the likes of you against a master spinster like Eskimospy, but even most proggies aren't dumb enough to quote that metric after Doc Savage Fan's post.

Which justifies Perry's whining & pandering in what way, exactly?

Answer that, and we'll actually be addressing the subject of the thread. Probably not.

You do realize that spending cuts today won't show up in measurable results for several years, I hope. The 600 Texas school districts suing the state are, of course, not any sort of indicator at all.

Meanwhile, Texas Repubs claim funding cuts to education are a free lunch, propose tax cuts based on the size of the Emergency Fund. Oh, and executions will continue, at the cost of $2-3M each, totaling over $700M during Perry's term, with another 300 inmates lined up for more pointless expenditure.

It's all about values & priorities, huh?

 

[Wreckem]

There's a difference between intra-city and inter-city transportation; is the former a state or city responsibility? Besides, even in relative terms no city in Texas is really that population dense. Even Austin where traffic is largely a function of skyrocketing population, the problems really seem to be as much a result of very short-sighted municipal transportation policies and refusal to come up with a consistent policy on how to manage growth and zoning.

The majority of major arteries(and the ones that have major traffic problems, especially in Austin, looking at you double decker 35) in large Texas cities are state highways or interstate highways, which are TXDOTs responsibilities. TXDot didnt do very good planning when they originally laid out a lot of these roads. In less dense areas they did a better job of leaving room for expansion.

 

[Wreckem]

It's not really being discussed in this thread, but transportation infrastructure has been a big problem during Perry's term.

The state's population has been exploding, but he is unwilling to release the funds needed to keep up, and instead has backed foreign ownership of our roadways ("toll, baby, toll").

Meanwhile traffic in our major cities is some of the worst in the nation...

You cannot really blame all of that on Perry. Texas wasn't keeping up with growth and infrastructure long before him. Projects that are just now being finishing up in DFW area were needed 20 years ago.

While you cant blame him totally for the infrastructure problems, you can blame him for the tollroads. In DFW you had George Bush, North Dallas, and Sam Rayburn. Now you are going to have 635(toll lanes), North Texas Express(toll lanes, opens this year), DFW Connector(toll lanes, opens this year), Chisholm Trail(pure tollway, opens this year), and the latest toll project the expansion of 360(pure tollway south of I20, starts construction next year).

 

[fskimospy]

Granted, it's not really fair to use the likes of you against a master spinster like Eskimospy, but even most proggies aren't dumb enough to quote that metric after Doc Savage Fan's post.

Well presumably you think that I'm a progressive as according to you I'm part of countless numbers of their conspiracies and evil plots and yet I don't view per-pupil spending as the only important metric.

What's awesome about that is despite your obvious attempt to put a ridiculous spin on what progressives actually believe, you then credit me as a master spinster! Don't sell yourself short, as your willful disregard for honesty is really a huge advantage that you have over other people in the spin game.

 

[MrPickins]

You cannot really blame all of that on Perry. Texas wasn't keeping up with growth and infrastructure long before him. Projects that are just now being finishing up in DFW area were needed 20 years ago.

While you cant blame him totally for the infrastructure problems, you can blame him for the tollroads. In DFW you had George Bush, North Dallas, and Sam Rayburn. Now you are going to have 635(toll lanes), North Texas Express(toll lanes, opens this year), DFW Connector(toll lanes, opens this year), Chisholm Trail(pure tollway, opens this year), and the latest toll project the expansion of 360(pure tollway south of I20, starts construction next year).

I agree that I can't blame all of it on him (we've had bad traffic for a long time), but he has done little to alleviate the problem.

And I do totally blame him for the toll roads. I mean, they're beautiful roads (where else can I legally do 85?), but also damn near empty. Such a waste...

 

[Texashiker]

Why? Most of them believe in the theory of evolution.

Because religion and science should be kept separate.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Because religion and science should be kept separate.

Yup, religion in churches, sanctuaries, synagogues, mosques, etc.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SEPARATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





Science in elementary school, jr high, high school, college

(creationism has NO place in any public school)

 

[MrPickins]

Because religion and science should be kept separate.

Do you think at all about what you're saying before you post?

You're saying Hindus and Sikhs should not work in chemical plants because religion and science should be kept separate???


So only atheists should hold these positions? Have you ever heard of a straw man?

 

[Texashiker]

Do you think at all about what you're saying before you post?

Please read the quotes and keep the post in context.

I said,

Somehow disagreeing with evolution and believing in the bible is going to make a mechanical engineer working on an offshore drilling rig any less qualified?

dabuddha replied,

Yes

You're saying Hindus and Sikhs should not work in chemical plants because religion and science should be kept separate???

I did not say that, dabuddha did.

I have worked with Sikhs and Hindus, they are very smart people.

 

[MrPickins]

Please read the quotes and keep the post in context.

I said,

Somehow disagreeing with evolution and believing in the bible is going to make a mechanical engineer working on an offshore drilling rig any less qualified?

dabuddha replied,

Yes

I did not say that, dabuddha did.

I have worked with Sikhs and Hindus, they are very smart people.

No, that's not what dabuddah said at all. He said that disagreeing with evolution makes you less qualified as a scientist (which it does, IMO). Sikhs and Hindus don't disagree with the theory of evolution, hence the straw man.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

where else can I legally do 85?

I-10 (non-toll) between Winnie and the state line. I 'm sure there's some sections in western Texas as well.

The Sam Houston Parkway (Beltway 8) around Houston has been constantly expanding lanes and is maintained quite well by the tolls collected.

 

[Texashiker]

No, that's not what dabuddah said at all. He said that disagreeing with evolution makes you less qualified as a scientist (which it does, IMO). Sikhs and Hindus don't disagree with the theory of evolution, hence the straw man.

Just to clarify things, as long as religious beliefs do not get in the way of doing a job, I do not see what the problem is.

 

[MrPickins]

I-10 (non-toll) between Winnie and the state line. I 'm sure there's some sections in western Texas as well.

I really meant "in areas I actually travel", but yeah, there are a few 85 mph zones outside of the tollways.

The Sam Houston Parkway (Beltway 8) around Houston has been constantly expanding lanes and is maintained quite well by the tolls collected.

Yeah, all of the toll roads around Austin are new or expanding, and are maintained impeccably.

They're relatively empty, however. Especially 130, which was supposed to be a godsend for I35 travelers in Austin by diverting the majority of the truckers (which didn't happen).

 

[Londo_Jowo]

I really meant "in areas I actually travel", but yeah, there are a few 85 mph zones outside of the tollways.



Yeah, all of the toll roads around Austin are new or expanding, and are maintained impeccably.

They're relatively empty, however. Especially 130, which was supposed to be a godsend for I35 travelers in Austin by diverting the majority of the truckers (which didn't happen).

The way the suburbs to the northwest, west, and southwest of Houston (Cypress, Jersey Village, Katy, Cinco Ranch, Richmond/Rosenberg) are growing the roads are becoming more congested every year. Depending on the time I leave in the morning and afternoon it take as little as 25 minutes and as long as 45 minutes to go to/from home to work (22 miles).

 

[fskimospy]

I really meant "in areas I actually travel", but yeah, there are a few 85 mph zones outside of the tollways.

Yeah, all of the toll roads around Austin are new or expanding, and are maintained impeccably.

They're relatively empty, however. Especially 130, which was supposed to be a godsend for I35 travelers in Austin by diverting the majority of the truckers (which didn't happen).

Sounds like the pricing is off.

I'm actually totally down with toll roads and congestion pricing in general. There are a lot of negative externalities that are associated with driving that aren't accounted for in our normal road system. For example, traffic jams. How many man hours (man millennia?) are consumed each year by people sitting in traffic? Congestion pricing would help alleviate that.

 

[MrPickins]

Sounds like the pricing is off.

It is much too high.

I'm actually totally down with toll roads and congestion pricing in general. There are a lot of negative externalities that are associated with driving that aren't accounted for in our normal road system. For example, traffic jams. How many man hours (man millennia?) are consumed each year by people sitting in traffic? Congestion pricing would help alleviate that.

Congestion pricing makes no sense in Texas. Charging people more to use the roads during rush hour isn't going to make fewer people drive. It's just going to make them avoid the toll roads, increasing the traffic congestion elsewhere.

 

[fskimospy]

It is much too high.

Congestion pricing makes no sense in Texas. Charging people more to use the roads during rush hour isn't going to make fewer people drive. It's just going to make them avoid the toll roads, increasing the traffic congestion elsewhere.

Sure it does, but you don't just do it with toll roads, you do it with ALL roads (or highways at least). It will make more people carpool, it will make transit more attractive, etc, etc. All those things work to reduce congestion.

 

[MrPickins]

Sure it does, but you don't just do it with toll roads, you do it with ALL roads (or highways at least). It will make more people carpool, it will make transit more attractive, etc, etc. All those things work to reduce congestion.

You're way more optimistic about this than I am.

Probably because you don't live in this area and have no idea how difficult it is to have any mass transit/carpool option make a major dent in the traffic. (Mostly due to the relatively low population density)

 

[CrackRabbit]

Sure it does, but you don't just do it with toll roads, you do it with ALL roads (or highways at least). It will make more people carpool, it will make transit more attractive, etc, etc. All those things work to reduce congestion.

You're way more optimistic about this than I am.

Probably because you don't live in this area and have no idea how difficult it is to have any mass transit/carpool option make a major dent in the traffic. (Mostly due to the relatively low population density)

Eskimo is correct in that congestion pricing does work, however the roads that are tolled need to be useful.
California has employed this well, most of the new toll lanes have been added to existing highways (while making the existing highway wider as well) and double as free HOV lanes.
I use one almost daily to get to work.

TX-130 and 145 don't fit this as they go too far away from where the lanes would actually be used in that manner.
The work on making US-290 toll though is what really infuriates me, after neglecting the need of the road to be widened for almost two decades and large amounts of growth to the East of Austin their solution was to take an existing free highway and make it a toll road, that again, very few will use.
All it will do is make traffic much worse that it already is.

 

[zinfamous]

This just in: The man who can't even remember the name of a few of the supposed 5 federal agencies that he claims to detest, is trusted to accurately recall and relate the nature of a conversation with a man he claims to detest.

 

[thraashman]

This just in: The man who can't even remember the name of a few of the supposed 5 federal agencies that he claims to detest, is trusted to accurately recall and relate the nature of a conversation with a man he claims to detest.

It was 3 federal agencies. He said he wanted to eliminate 3 and could only remember 2 of them. Oops.