How to Win a Debate on the Internet

“Attack the message, not the person”

The most important tenet of a winning debate, and one most users cannot understand. A visit to any forum/message board will quickly verify this most basic of concepts. Too often, debates devolve into name calling and worthless banter, “flaming,” if you will. He who is able to stick to the facts and address the original issue will always fare better. Trust me, asshole, ad hominem attacks are not needed.

There are 5 basic rules to follow in any e-bate.

1. Attack the message, not the person.
2. State your purpose.
3. Stick to the facts.
   1. Support those facts using tEh internet.
4. Organize your argument using proper sentence structure, grammar, and paragraphs.
5. Know when to hold em and when to bold em.

Decoding a Potential Blind Date

Blind dates can be the worst dates ever. Much like the ‘Rule of 3′ in American Pie, one must apply their own filter to blind date material. Below is a short primer. If your family friend or grandmother is setting you up with someone, keep this in mind. Note that this only applies when females are doing the matchmaking. I suspect that this inability to tell the truth about appearance has to do with a general lack of confidence females have in their physical selves. Thanks Maxim!

• She is so sweet-Ugly and slightly overweight.
• She is tiny/petite-short, troll-like.
• Great girl, really good personality-Ugly and slightly overweight with bubbly personality. Chance of troll-like features.
• Athletic-played goalie in any high school sport and can kick the shit out of you.
• Jappy-has a fake Fendi. Still fat and troll-like
• Beautiful-average
• Just broke up with her BF of 2 years-Gained 45 Lbs. during that time. Will never look good again.

High Fructose Corn Syrup – Evil Lurks in Your Soft Drink

Any nutritionist worth his/her weight in bullion will advise clients to eliminate soft drinks from their diet. Why? Sugar, and maybe more important, High Fructose Corn Syrup. The key to well being is efficiency in both consumption and excretion. Taking in empty calories from sugar and high fructose corn syrup is not only wasteful, but can be harmful to the digestive system.

Insulin is a hormone necessary for the digestion and metabolism of Carbohydrates. When one consumes a sugary soft drink, the body secretes insulin, in effect telling the cells to gobble up this sugar. The problem arises when cells do not respond to the insulin secreted and thus the body begins to secrete more and more insulin until the person is offically diabetic. Every time sugar is consumed, insulin is secreted telling the cells to eat up this energy source. Too much sugar intake lowers the cells’ sensitivity to insulin resulting in sugar staying in the blood; high blood sugar. The patient then needs insulin injections to coax the cells into “opening up” to consume some of the sugar in the blood.

Although the science is inconclusive, there is a large contingent who think that High Fructose Corn Syrup is even worse than sugar; that it creates an even higher insulin spike. The confections/food and beverage industry utilizes High Fructose Corn Syrup because it is cheaper, longer lasting and tastes the same as natural sugar. It is found in condiments (ketchup), drinks (cranberry juice, Capri-Sun), and food (muffins, cookies, health bars, etc.). Anecdotal evidence says that this syrup leads to Diabetes, High Cholesterol, Obesity and a host of other problems including kidney and liver ailments. This has to do with the fact that High Fructose is more “refined” than sugar, meaning it enters the body and is immediately available to be metabolized. There is no gradual breakdown as there would be with more complex carbohydrates including natural sugar. This instant surge (of sugar) leads to a surge of insulin which eventually lowers the cells’ insulin response.

Conclusions

Eliminate soft drinks, condiments, and most store bought baked goods from your diet. This does include salad dressings and many items labeled as low fat, low calorie, and now extra nutritious! Replace that Gatorade with a drink of water. The temporary cravings will eventually be replaced with a feeling of well being. Start off small and eliminate one product at a time. See if you lose any weight or notice any other changes.

Check the label. If it says High Fructose Corn Syrup, dump it. Natural Juices with real sugar, like Tropicana Orange Juice, are not nearly as bad.

Wikipedia has a list of products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup.