You win Tripler. I didn’t understand a word of that.
I was giving advice to a general insurance company this morning that was having concerns about how the calculation of its MER would affect its MCR ratio for the purposes of compliance with the *Insurance Act * 1973. We also discussed the risk margins the company was using to provide a 75% level of sufficiency in the assessment of its oustanding claims and premium liabilities.
Saweeeeeeeeet. 
Tripler
But every single word is absolutely true.
I am planning on posting pics when I’m done. I can’t wait for it to be done. I love the quasi-research/pre-construction stage, but I like dressing up more. And, yes, it’s a dress. A big pink dress.
If you don’t mind going modern, I think that plaid would make a cute shirtdress, but I have a thing for shirtdresses. More formal than that picture because of the weight. Plaid’s tricky, especially if it’s a large one. You could go Regency, which is a universally flattering style. A 1920s day dress might look nice, if you did the trim in a coordinating solid fabric. Maybe with a middy collar. If you want it for Renfair, though, then I say throw accuracy to wind and be a pirate or Highland wench. A pirate’s life is a wonderful life, you know.
Squee! You belly dance! I’ve always wanted to. Do you have any advice for a beginner?
I’m not so naive as to believe that any of the requests here for more information about my splendiferous machine are sincere, but just on the off chance that someone really does want more information, their site is here.
And bravo to everyone for living up to the challenge of this thread so fully. I don’t understand ANY of this!
while practicing zen meditation at [time of juxtaposition] I reached the eighth [level/layer/demension] of awareness in that [state of juxtaposition] which is two removed from the all-seeing eye and one beyond the no thing
cosmic insights into dopers’ lives
I just sent a memo to our MD supplying information in response to a request related to the SAM Sustainability [gotta love that word] Assessment 2005 for constituent companies of the Dao Jones Sustainability [there it is again] Index.
“Dao Jones” - where East meet West.
Hey, I just received my new recumbent highracer, a Reynolds Z-bone 700. Titanium frame, FWD, rear suspension, dual 700c wheels, tweener bars. I’m building it up with Velocity Spartacus Pro wheels, SRAM 9.0 half-pipe shifters, TA Zephyr cranks, Avid BB7 brakes, etc - admittedly not top of the line but all are practical components I’ve had good experience with in the past. It’s a bit heavier than I hoped though - 28 lb fully built up - but it’s not too bad for a 'bent with suspension and disc brakes.
(Here is the manufacturer’s page, but that bike is a prototype. Mine looks a bit more refined, and has a sensible color scheme - all black except for the titanium.)
I one-upped our lead technician the other day.
He had been working on a Motorola GP350 that was experiencing picket-fencing, but only when the monitor button was depressed. Since this is not the ordinary method of operation, the tech kept sending the unit back NTF, then the client would re-submit it for repair.
I asked him what the symptoms were, and he told me. I immediately asked if the battery saver circuit was activated. His face went blank and I went over and re-hosed the unit after turning the battery saver circuit off. The problem did not re-occur.
I’m so good… :rolleyes:
I LOVE our wee Zoji. Not only does it make fine, fine rice, but you can chuck veggies and stock in for a quick hotpot with your rice, and it makes oatmeal. On a timer. So we got up this morning to a nice hot healthy breakfast!
Oh, I understand. The last place I worked we were trying to get a spectrophotometer for measuring thin film thickness that had a footprint even smaller – more like the size of toast rather than a toaster (excluding the required PC). It would have replaced a thirty year old spectrophotometer the size of a desk, and was faster and did more reliable calculations to boot.
But then the company went under, so we never did buy it.
During class, I was told that we could not due a pyramid of text, only an inverted pyramid.
Using the Skew command I proved them wrong.
However, I was told that although we could do it, it would probably never come up.
But I showed them how to do it and I’m just a learning the commands.
I own 110 Columbia Royal Blue 78s.
I am the Keeper of the Cookies of the Dark Side.
Goodnight, Boris B, whereever you are! 
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=7441&highlight=cookies+Boris
There are tons of different bellydance styles. I do classical Egyptian cabaret, My school includes occasional bits of folkore dance, Greek, and Persian. I think www.shira.net has some great information. I personally don’t like American Tribal- I like the isolation and fun arm movements in Egyptian.
Try a few different schools out. Levels of professionalism vary. My first dance teacher sucked.
It doesn’t take very long to learn some of the basic movements, but it’ll be a year or so until it all starts to feel natural. It’s a lot of fun, and everyone’s always amazed. "“You bellydance? That’s awesome! Show me!”. It also makes for fun dancing at clubs.
Was that too straightforward for this thread?
Too much hardware stuff.
By using this
DECODE(TO_CHAR(MSC_DATE,'DY'),
'MON',1,'TUE',2,'WED',4,'THU',8,'FRI',16,'SAT',32,'SUN',64)
and this
NVL(DECODE(PTU_MON,'Y',1),0) +
NVL(DECODE(PTU_TUE,'Y',2),0) +
NVL(DECODE(PTU_WED,'Y',4),0) +
NVL(DECODE(PTU_THU,'Y',8),0) +
NVL(DECODE(PTU_FRI,'Y',16),0) +
NVL(DECODE(PTU_SAT,'Y',32),0) +
NVL(DECODE(PTU_SUN,'Y',64),0)
in my select statements, when I look for matching days I can do a bitwise AND
if( msc_day* & ptu_day[j]
instead of a bunch of ugly string comparisons.
Good style dictates you use 0x0001, 0x0002, 0x0004, 0x0008, 0x0010 etc… if your using them for bitwise comparisons. It helps later programmers figure out their purpose and also makes line alignment a bit easier.
just FYI :).
I now know how to fix an Isoton level sensor on a Coulter LH750 using only a box cutter and masking tape.
(And I absolutely love my Zojirushi neurofuzzy rice cooker. It rocks.)
My new all mountain ride is XT from end to end. Manitou on both ends with lock outs. I may put the remote front kit on. Hydraulic discs, with a reverse throw rear deraileur. Carbon fiber bar, raised chain stay, and eggbeaters complete the ride. 26 lbs ready to ride.
Oh?
If it’s so nifty, why haven’t we seen it on CSI? :dubious: