February 24, 2003 That's Okay, I Wasn't Using My Civil Rights Anyway.

Dear Ken, My mom would be turing 60 today if she hadn't died 2 years ago from breast cancer. What the hell is up with this insane world? Can't a nice old lady catch a break? I get the feeling that with all this war and crap, we as a society are focusing on the wrong things. Am I off base here? B Town

Dear B Town, The last Gulf War cost Americans around 50 billion dollars and coalition forces did not engage in the street combat like George Bush says we're willing engage in this time around. It's not only time consuming and expensive, it's deadly. I fear Americans will not fully grasp the treacherous path George Bush is leading us down until the blood of their brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers is spilled in the sands of Iraq. At home the very freedoms the Bush administration claims to value so highly is being quickly dissolved by the Attorney General's office with the help of a bunch of goddamn spineless pussies known as Congress. You know Iraq's Congress rubberstamps everything that comes across their desk, too. Speaking of the Attorney General's office, this weekend I discovered that after 9/11, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft specifically avoided searches of gun registration databases for fear it would infringe on civil liberties. But at the same time he pushed for sweeping changes in civil liberties laws in the name of national security. Now he's drafting legislation that would allow the government to de-naturalize citizens-- to take away their citizenship, leaving them without a country. And I believed all those Republican teevee ads claiming they want to get the government of American's backs. Apparently the Republican party only cares about financial freedom. That's okay, I wasn't using my civil rights anyway. Ken!

Dear Ken!, I have only kissed a guy once in my lifetime, and it was terrible: I thought he was O.K., it´s not like I actually liked him, there was no sexual tension. He was pretty good at kissing in the neck and touching my arms and shoulders, but when the actual french kiss came along, I didn´t feel anything, I mean, I liked all the other stuff, but the kiss really sucked. I told him how I felt and after several times changing the way with his tounge, I decided it was worthless and walked away. Is it that I don´t like french kissing? Or maybe I just didn´t like it because I didn´t like the guy that much? Please help me, I haven´t kissed anyone ever since, and trust me, I´ve had the chance with guys that really turned me on and made me shake me legs non-stop and talk fast and stupid. Thanks, Failing at the kissing game

Dear Failing, When you hear things like, "Three out of four doctors prefer Trident to other sugarless gum.", you must assume that the pollsters interviewed more than four dentists. (Admittedly, considering some of the industry sponsored studies that have taken place, this assumption might not be as safe as it once was.) Four opinions are insufficient to accurately indicate the existence of a greater pattern. Or to put it another way: you've only kissed one guy. How can you know you suck? Maybe he sucked. Maybe you both sucked. Try kissing some other guys. You'll find they all kiss differently. Some styles match up pretty well. Others don't. Once you've kissed a greater number of guys we can accurately quantify your success in the field of osculation. Ken!

Hi Ken, My Question is....How many bits are in a kilobyte? And just what is a bit and a byte? You answered a prior question we had about how many megabytes make up a gigabyte (someone else asked) and we thank you. It was driving us crazy, which meant it didn't have to take us far! Yes we are bored as you can tell. Judi and Bryan

Dear Judi and Bryan, You're determined to plumb the depths of my nerdocity, aren't you? There are eight bits in a byte and 1024 bytes in a kilobyte. Each bit, at least on a CD or hard disc, is made up of a tiny speck magnetic material that can be set to only one of two conditions. You can think of those two conditions as a postive charge and a negative charge or "on" and "off". Each one of these specks is a bit. Alone each bit doesn't tell us much. But if you gang chunks of these bits together in groups of eight they can be easily used to represent letters and characters. I'll let you find out why a byte is eight bits and not seven or nine. Ken!

Dear Ken!, I need help. I don't know what do tell my friend. She lost her wallet and this cute guy found it, when she went to get it she did not ask him out for a coffee, which she regretted. He works at Sprint and she is asking me if she should call, ask a question about the phone and than ask him out for a coffee. Yes, or No? What do you guys think? I need more opinions before I answer her. Thanks. Jnurkic

Dear Jnurkic, Tomorrow we could all be writhing in the streets covered in blue, oozing Anthrax sores all over our bodies tomorrow. Of course she should call. But your excuse for calling him is week. She can come across much more clearly if she insists on rewarding him for returning her wallet. He'd have to be dumb as a drunken Texan in the summer sun not to get the hint. Ken!

Dear Ken!, I am not attracted to my boyfriend at all, but he wants us to sleep togheder and I can´t. I feel really bad because he´s a really nice guy and deserves the best of me. But the truth is that, even though I want to be with him for the rest of my life, thet he is the right person for me, I cannot be turned on by him, and every time we kiss I feel nothing, nothing at all...Here comes the question: Is there a way for me to feel turned on by him, maybe basing me on the huge affection I feel for him? I mean, I don´t want to let him go, he´s perfect!!!!!!!!! (Exept for the looks, of course) Frigid frustrated

Dear Frigid, He deserves the best of someone but not you. Either you feel that swooning weakness in the knees when you kiss or you don't. You don't. He may be perfect but he's not your perfect. Now I'm not saying we ought to hold out for our perfect mate but it's sort of customary in our culture to seek those who evoke some sense of passion and desire in us. Without that you're just close friends. Ken!

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