riddler

What's really fun is when the heads bounce off the land-mines for extra yardage. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Did you know the Post Office charged just two cents for first class mail until 1917? 37 cents is still a damn good rate for postage, but the point is this: If you start charging even a nominal rate now, it won't be long until you are paying more for every email. All corporations have to do is cite "market conditions", and raise the rates. Email is already an essential part of businesses and many people's personal lives, so everyone will pay the higher rates. You may be willing to pay 1 cent now, but how long until every email is 37 cents? Or a dollar? Companies will offer premium email services for more money, and people will pay for it. Bill Gates is smart enough to think long-term. He's hoping you aren't. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Fighting is encouraged by the NHL. It makes the game more interesting to the fans. Just like crashes are encouraged in race car driving - everyone is hoping to see one when they go to a race. Don't believe me? Ask yourself this - you have $20 million dollars worth of hockey players on the ice. How much effort would it take for the NHL to simply hire some big guys to run out and break up fights? Refs won't (and shouldn't) do it, but give me $20,000 per game and I'll hire 20 bouncers to run out and stop fights. The NHL would never go for it - it's not entertainment. How hard would it be for NASCAR to penalize/fine people for bumping each other at high speeds and preventing spectacular car crashes? It wouldn't be hard at all, except half the spectators that go now would stop going because there would be so few crashes. We like to think we're more civilized than the Romans, who held gladiator duals to the death, but we're not - we just changed the format. If you're disgusted with overpayed athletes that act like high school kids, you can make them stop. Just don't watch anymore. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Amen. Exercise will promote blood flow to those little capillaries that don't see much action, and it will also help regulate your hormone levels, and help you sleep. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I used to spoon mine at night too, but now I'm outta the closet. I spoon my rig at the DZ after every repack. Other jumpers think I'm weird, but they don't save my life on every jump, do they? Generally, store your rig in a cool, dry, place out of the sunlight. I keep mine in the basement. If it's long term storage, I've heard of people that have had issues with mold growing on the main in really damp environments, but that's pretty rare. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Another lesson - you don't have to be a rigger to clean your own cutaway cables. You should flex your three ring system every 30 days. When you do that, also pull out that cutaway cable and apply some Ace lubricant to them. It's easy to do, just ask your rigger to show you how at your next repack. I've never seen cutaway cable so dirty that it would be impossible to cutway, but it makes it much easier to cutaway if they are cleaned and lubed. Edit to add - one rigger let me know that he's seen a few so dirty he could pick up the entire rig by the cutaway alone - that's pretty bad. Remember that 22 pounds of pull force on the ground can easily become much more with a spinning mal. Hard inserts and cleaning your cables are a very good idea Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Exactly! Why would lawyers make a law that says they get less work? When I reported for Jury Duty yesterday, 8 of the 16 potential jurors questioned were in, or had been in, a personal injury lawsuit. Gotta keep those lawyers employed! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Wind tunnels can help you with this. It's completely psychological. You see the same thing sometimes in wind tunnels - students think they can't breathe, but they are breathing. I assure you that you did breath on your AFF jump - at least a few times

That much notice is unusual - consider yourself very lucky. Most I ever got was three weeks, and I was glad for that. Definitely put a lot of effort into finding another job. I give you a 25% chance that after a few months, your company tells you they still need you. By then you've found another job, so be sure to tell them that you're worth more money now Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Not true in Colorado. Judge asked what I do for fun - I said skydive, scuba, etc, etc. He just said "oh", and moved on to the next candidate. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Right wrist - broken many years ago in Tae Kwon Do. Still hurts in random weather changes. Neck - not sure what I did, but sprained it a few weeks ago. Right middle toe - broken skydiving. Tailbone. Bruised once and I think broken once on hard landings. I have to learn to land on my feet Sinuses - been spending a lot of time practicing underwater skills in the scuba pool, getting ready for divecon class. I think the bromine has been aggravating my sinuses. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Please click on this link. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I've heard it's LOADS of fun to be in the tunnel when it's raining That rain gets sucked right through the tunnel. Maybe you should wear a wetsuit in there. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Heights! (shudder) Hate 'em! Especially cliffs and buildings. Base jumping anyone? I love telling people I skydive and I'm afraid of heights, and I scuba dive but can't swim

Update! Went in for service this morning and I got off. That's the short story. Here's the long one if anyone's interested: Showed up on time at the courthouse having not showered in three days and wearing smelly clothes, bleached hair sticking almost straight out. Went through several security layers, metal detectors, etc. Sat in a PACKED room (about 500 people) and watched a stupid video trying to promote our great legal system and how Colorado is the best jury service in the country, blah, blah. After I signed in, I was trying to spot my cut to escape from the room before I got called, but apparently they had a few too many people do that in the past, because they arranged the room with only one exit at the front and that exit was blockaded. In walks an old "friend" of mine, but we were too far separated for me to grab her and chat. Besides, she was holding her six-month old baby, and I didn't feel like reminiscing about that time a few years ago when the four of us spent all night naked in the hot tub on top of my ex-girlfriends apartment. They broke the room into smaller panels of about 20 people to go to the individual courtrooms. I thought I could pretend to be one of the ones called before my name was really called, and just walk out, but my name was the SECOND (out of 500 people) called. Bad luck. We were escorted down the hall by security people, past a few criminals in handcuffs that I sneered at, to the courtroom. 22 people and only seven of us would be picked, and I was right in the middle. I saw that there weren't any people in handcuffs in the room, so I knew it was a civil case. The judge comes out and talks to us - seems like a very cool guy - has all the one-liners of someone who's been a trial judge for some time. The plaintiff lawyer starts asking questions of the potential jurors. Interesting that two of the cadidates were sisters. More bad luck. No one ever said what the case was about, but I could gather from the questions what it was. A woman was suing a man that hit her in a car accident. He has already admitted responsibility, so this was just a damage award trial - judge said it would probably last three days. She was apparently a single mother that was claiming fibromyalgia, whiplash and headaches that forced her to miss work. I only assume that based on the questions they asked. What was really disturbing was that more than a third (eight) of the potential jurors were either currently in, or previously in, a personal injury lawsuit! Jesus Christ! Has our system become so bad that a third of the population is suing or has sued for personal injury?? I believe that some personal injury lawsuits are reasonable, but these stories were ridiculous. One guy was suing for slipping on someone's icey sidewalk. Another lady sued Sears because a plastic "Sale" sign fell on her head, but didn't cause any external damage, although the MRI said she might have gotten a slight concussion. But I figured out pretty quickly that all I had to do was let them know that I think most personal injury lawsuits are frivolous, and I would be off the hook. It went something like this: Defense Attorney: Has anyone been in a car accident where they did not sue? me: (raises hand). (Gasps of shock from the otherwise sue-happy jury cadidates). Defense Attorney: What happened? me: Well, I was on the highway, and another car hit my truck, knocking it across three lanes of traffic, where I ran into a semi in the fast lane who knocked me back across the same three lanes of traffic where I smashed into a concrete barricade. Defense Attorney: Were you hurt? me: Yes, I spent three months going to a ostheopath and another few years seeing a chiropractor. My truck was completely totaled. Defense Attorney: Did you receive medical treatment? me: Yes, but my medical bills were covered, and I my residual health problems aren't severe. Defense Attorney: And you didn't sue? me: Honestly, I didn't even consider it. I believe that when I get into an automobile, I'm assuming the risk of an accident. If I wasn't willing to accept the risk, I wouldn't drive. Both attorneys had a map of the potential jurors, by seat and name with a box for each person. I could see the plaintiff attorney put a big X in my square. It was hard to suppress a smile. I was gone 20 minutes later. In the end, they picked 7 jurors, all but one were women, all but one had sued someone else for personal injury. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Models?? Hell, I want to see a pic of Vallerina in them. I wonder if the real thing compares at all to my fantasies? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I'll make it easy on ya http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=942674;#942674 Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I can tell you for sure that it does. My dad is 100% disabled and he gets monthly government stipend that covers his entire cost of living as well as free medical. Although the VA medical is less than perfect

About six months ago I got a call. Caller ID said Disabled American Veterans. My dad's a disabled vet (no, he didn't sign me up for telemarketing calls ), so for some reason I thought it might be from him. I answer and it's a computer voice that is asking for money. Blech - I'm sure some of my tax money goes to help disabled vets. I hang up. Three days later, another call. Same computer voice. I hang up. Three days later, another call. I don't answer. More calls, every three days for a month. I don't answer. This has got to stop. I signed up on the Federal Do Not Call list, but that list still allows non-profits and charities to call unsolicited. So the next call, I listen to the entire message to see if there's a button I push to have them stop calling. Or a person that can take me off the list. Nope - only a way to enter your credit card and send money. I hang up. I want to talk to a human, so I call the number back. Phone company says I can't call the number. Hmmm. I look in the phone book - can't find a DAV number. Hmmm. Try their website. No numbers, only email. I send them an email with my phone number and ask them to stop calling me. Next day, I get a phone call. Disabled American Veterans. Same computer voice. I hang up. More calls, more frequently than before. Is this harrassment? I remember that I have call blocking with my phone service. Next time they call, I dial *60. Calls from this number will be blocked. I retire, satisfied, to my Linux laptop and spinach quinoa salad. Two weeks later, I get a call. Caller ID says "Disabled American Veterans". Can't be. I check the number. It's still DAV, but with a new number. Hmm. I'm allowed 20 phone numbers to block, so I block this one too. Now, about every two weeks, I get a new call from DAV, with a new number. 9 of my 20 blocks are used, all for the DAV, so I figure I can play this out another few months. Shit like this makes me want to find the Americans that are responsible and Disable them. Why must I put so much effort into getting people to stop bothering me? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

From the site A lot of people make the mistake that because the Post Office is regulated by the government that people have inaliable rights to do certain things. Most of the time it's not true. The government treats the Post Office like any other regulated business, so you don't have any more "rights" with them than you do with, say, your local telephone provider. That having been said, definitely have fun with it while it lasts

Maybe you could start a log of your daily activities until the trial. Use your computer and PDA (or phone) to record every place you go and every person you are with. March 8th, 2004 8:00 - 8:30 Coffee shop (keep receipt). 8:30 - 9:00 commute to work. 9:00 - 12:00 work. Witnesses are your co-workers. 12:00-1:00 Lunch with Joe (co-worker). Try to hang out with other people as often as possible. Keep a new printout with you every day, and if they arrest you again, you'll have the papers to show the judge. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

It probably won't be a problem at all. I've traveled with my rig dozens of times in the last few years and never had a problem. I would suggest: 1. Carry on your rig. 2. Check your remaining gear, unless you have a nifty rig bag that fits everything within the size restrictions. 3. Have a printout of the TSA letter. 4. Have a printout of the CYPRES letter. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

PIF = Program Information File. Really intended to hold just information about Windows programs - to tell Windows how to open and run a program - but they can be embedded with DOS commands that allow viruses to spread. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Thanks for the info - that'll help me check to see if it infected me. I don't think it did, but I want to make sure. edit - turns out it was a variant - W32/Bagle.j@MM. But the link really helped narrow it down - thanks again. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

From the real Qwest.net customer service reps: