Patrick

I normally pronounce regime as ruh... It occurs to me that I can't think of a good way to write out the pronunciation of regime. Ruh-jheem? Ruh-zheem? The second syllable is like one of those sounds from other languages that is very difficult to explain to english speakers because it doesn't exist in English. Anyway, the word regimen is pronounced reg-ih-men. But whenever I see the word regime being used to mean the same thing as regimen, it feels strange to pronounce it like I normally would. But saying reg-ih-meh feels even weirder. Is regime pronounced differently according to the context?

Like, what do the esoteric, pure land, zen, Sendai, etc. branches of Japanese Buddhism profess about the Kami? Also, what are the main branches? I'm not sure how accurate I am here, but it's my understanding that most people in Japan had a syncretic belief, that Buddhism was correct, but the Kami had a place in the world. I think nowadays most Japanese are irreligious, and engage in religious acts out of tradition/auspiciousness rather than belief, but what do the faithful believe?

What I know (or think I know) of the ashigaru is that they were infantry drawn from the non-samurai classes to provide support and fill the ranks of the daimyo armies. They saw great use during Sengoku Jidai especially, as relatively massive armies clashed (compared to the smaller, mostly samurai armies used in previous centuries) and there weren't enough trained men of samurai rank to fill the armies.

I wonder: how were ashigaru viewed in the social class system of Japan? Were they seen as being higher than peasants but lesser than samurai? Were they called up from the peasant class exclusively, or were artisans, merchants, and burakumin allowed/forced to join? Were they forced into service, or were they volunteer forces? Would their descendants be in this ashigaru class as well?

As an extra, how did sohei and monks fit into the system?

All I have for identifiers is the recollection of my old dad, so maybe he gets some parts of it wrong. He says that it was a scifi novel set on an alien world. On this world there are two groups that may or may not be the same species. One group consists of male individuals and female individuals that can't reproduce with each other. They are the dominant group. The second group is subservient to the first, and much like the first has non-reproductive individuals. However, a segment of the population in the second group are hermaphrodites, and they are the only ones who can breed with everyone else. The upper crust of the first group like to send the warriors of their society to capture these hermaphrodites for them to keep as concubines and mothers and/or fathers for their children, leaving. Rey few for the second group. The main character is a warrior from the first group, and he views the decadence of the aristocrats with disdain. He falls in love with a female from the second group. I think there's some kind of revolution that occurs, but I'm not sure. That's all he can remember, but bear in mind that this guy was certain that aliens were a big part of "Dune" and that pretty much everyone in that book had animal genetic enhancements, so he may have screwed up some of the details.

"H," as in, x-rated. I remember reading during the past arc, while keima was a child, he said that he didn't play those kinds of games, only dating sims. Did he mean that he only avoided those kinds of games as a kid, or that he really only plays dating sims? I wonder, since it seems to me that there are many more galge with adult content than without, and the "God of games" would really be limiting himself if he only played age-appropriate games.

Well, I've got a lab partner who is south East Asian (Vietnamese I think). I noticed that when we were reading off a sheet together, she got really close to me, pressing up against me. This happened a couple times. So, I'm thinking this was either intentional, or a cultural personal space thing that she just wasn't conscious of. What do you think?

I heard its some kind of vinegar mixture used by the low classes in Rome, and that soldiers in particular would use it on campaign to mix with water. Supposedly this covered the taste of bad water and made one feel more full from small amounts of food (as well as killing some bacteria with the acidity). Anyway, are there really no recipes for something so prolific? If not, what do you think a likely mixture would be for this mysterious drink?

I noticed that there is a conservative democrat causcus, and a liberal democrat caucus. I know there's the Tea Party caucus on the republican side, but is there a moderate republican caucus? If not, why?

I had heard that while Greeks from Epirus and Macedon were allowed to compete in the Olympics (something only Greeks could do), the southerly Greeks saw them as little more than barbarians. By southerly, I mean Greeks from the Peloponnesus, Attica, and central Greece. Is this true, or is this just something I mistakenly believe? Also, did mainland Greeks look down on colonial Greeks?

I've been trying to grow a mustache. It's pretty thin so far, but it grows such that it hangs right over my mouth. This makes eating without getting my mustache dirty difficult, especially with things like ribs or hamburgers. A couple times I've even accidentally pulled out some mustache hairs because they got pushed into my mouth when I was trying to take a big bite of some food, and when I bit down they got yanked right out.

I've been trying to get a bachelors degree in biology. I'm in my fifth year now, and I only need a couple more classes to finish. The thing is, I don't know what to do once I have the degree. When I was a freshman and looking for a major, I just sort of picked biology and decided to go for it. Frankly, I have come to learn that I don't like biology. Or chemistry. Or math. Or physics. What I really like is history, but I figure I may as well finish with this degree I've sunk five years into before I think of doing anything else. What can I do with a bachelors degree in biology? I don't understand about post-grad stuff at all, so if someone could explain that stuff to me, that'd be nice.

My ultimate goal is to find a career that won't be mind numbing and soul crushing, that won't take up all of my time, that will give me financial security, that I like, and hopefully won't interfere with a family I hope to have someday.

I'm thinking about land off the side of the road, for instance, in the middle of nowhere. Do you have to own the land to do that? Does the peat have to be of a certain depth to harvest it, and are there other environmental concerns to think of? I live in AK btw.

Were they the descendants of Greeks who settled in the area? Were they Hellenized barbarians? For bonus points, could you tell me about the other people living near Greece who were affected by Greek culture, like the people in Epirus, Thrace, Illyria, etc. Please, PLEASE don't answer if you're just going to turn this into some kind of nationalistic Greek vs Slav thing. I don't care about the modern state of Macedonia, just the ancient one.