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A very quick question, and I will endeavor to keep it of a "non-advertising" nature. The board is not for personal advertising, so I'm sensitive to that. The quick version: I've hung my shingle out as an independent engineer/designer/CAD drafter off and on over the past few years. I'm trying to get a more sustained effort going, so I thought my fellow FReepers might have some suggestions for me on how to network into some projects. That's it. If the Admin Mods don't mind replies to this on the thread itself, that's great. If not, or for privacy reasons, anyone...

I'm writing a book, and I'm trying to get a handle on some ideas. In your opinion, what naval force and from what country is most like Star Trek's Starfleet? I'm trying to draw some parallels on how such a force would come about. Why did I post this here, you may ask? Because there are so many military folks here. I say "naval" force, but I suppose other armed services could be in the list, too. Just let me know why you think the way you do on this issue, with whatever supporting info you want to pass along....

I don't know if anybody else has seen anything about this, but I was just walking by the breakroom here at the office, and Fox News was airing a live helicopter feed of a truck stopped by the Park Service on GW Parkway. This one of the main roads into DC, IIRC. (I didn't find anything else posted about this)

"A small team... was chartered by NASA to make a top-level assessment of the viability of using the Apollo Command and Service Modules the basis for a Crew Return Vehicle, and potentially for a Crew Transfer Vehicle, for the International Space Station. This assessment was conducted 13-14 March 2003."

Here's the pic that isn't currently showing up on Drudge. I think Y'all will like it!

"The U.S. should be strengthening the UN and other "mechanisms of cooperation," Clinton said. "We need to be creating a world that we would like to live in when we're not the biggest power on the block."

Did anybody else see NYPD Blue last night? I actually never watch the show, but I was scrolling past it and saw a FULLY NAKED WOMAN on the screen! I don't mean one of those coy little shots where you know they filmed a woman naked but strategically shielded the view. Oh, no, this was all naked from behind, one arm over breasts and another over the other area when she turned around. Is this normal for this show?! If so, I'm truly shocked. (I'm not shocked by too much anymore, but this got me.)

Note from planetary scientist Pascal Lee with regard to an announcement made yesterday at NASA headquarters regarding a possible origin for gullies observed on Mars. "The spacecraft data discussed by Phil Christensen is new and beautiful, but the interpretation of the martian gullies as resulting from the melting of snow and ice patches in response to obliquity (tilt) variations of Mars on timescales of 100,000 years or so is something my colleagues and I have proposed and published for the past three years. Our model was proposed on the basis of terrestrial analog field studies we have conducted on Devon...

I was just talking with a co-worker about the travesty that is UN inspections, and heard something I wasn't sure about. The inspectors are destroying some mustard gas today. I was told it was from missles. Is this true?! If it is true, how does Blix & Co. sleep at night, or even look themselves in the mirror?

Hey, what is the President's running regimen?

Sen. Tom Daschle's remarks came as intelligence analysts concluded that a new audiotape almost certainly contained bin Laden's voice and is proof that he is alive. "We can't find bin Laden, we haven't made real progress" in finding key elements of al-Qaida," the South Dakotan said. "They continue to be as great a threat today as they were one and a half years ago. So by what measure can we claim to be successful so far?"

I decided to dive into leading a Sunday School course at my church, focusing on the spirituality in movies. Since I am a movie buff, the idea of such a course appealed to me. I mean, it's not uncommon for me to watch a particular movie because of some feeling or inspiration it gives me. And to be truthful, that's what the course has looked into. However, the WAY the course has approached this has felt suspiciously "New Age" and kinda holds some hocus-pocus. This characteristic of the study has grown over time as well, with some recent outrage from...

I was watching ABC this morning (I know, baaad freeper, baaaad) and noticed something about who was covering the Sniper Saga. While ABC, along with all the other major outlets, has eschewed a connection with terrorism, the correspondent for the story was John Miller. Osama's ABC contact, and general follower of the terrorism scene. Am I seeing too much here, or are is ABC positioning itself for possible "discoveries" of terrorist links?

Hey Folks, I'm considering joing the Navy or Air Force Reserves, with a number of motive in mind. I'd just like to know wha y'all think, in general.

America was changed forever by September 11. John McEnroe, who wrote about the attacks for this newspaper a year ago, now hopes that his countrymen will learn that sometimes winning isn't everything.

I know someone who is planning on attending one of these "forums", and I'm concerned. From what I can tell, it's a scam wrapped in new age garbage.

LONDON — Libya has signed a $13.5 billion weapons deal with Iran for ballistic missiles with chemical warheads and the training to deploy and operate them. The Berlin-based Die Welt daily reported that Iran and Libya signed the accord in June 2002. Western intelligence sources said the deal was meant to bolster Libya's missile and weapons of mass destruction programs. Iran pledged to train Libya in missiles and the production and use of chemical weapons. Under the contract, Libya would obtain chemical warheads for its extended-range Scud-class missiles.

Despite deep doubts by the CIA and FBI, the White House is now backing claims that suspected Sept. 11 skyjacker Mohammed Atta secretly met five months earlier with an Iraqi agent in Prague, Czech Republic, a possible indication that Saddam Hussein's regime was involved in the terror attacks.

COLUMBUS - The state is preparing to assign an identification number to each of Ohio's 1.8 million public schoolchildren to help track and improve academic performance. The proposal concerns the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, which has asked the state for details on the plan. The Department of Education says the Statewide Student Identifier System will be in place this coming school year. The state will use the system to study which programs are effective and which students need extra help, said department spokesman J.C. Benton...