riddler

Second that - if you're going to try a Sabre2, also give the Lotus a try. Costs the same and flies pretty. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Let's all remind him not to bump his head on the way out. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

2:3:0 3 nice jumps on Saturday. I would like to thank the weather gods for the beautiful 60 degree/sunshine/light wind day on Saturday. Don't owe beer, but brought a six-pack of Left Hand brown just to give to friends (and two tandem whuffos). Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A13420-2003Dec18¬Found=true FCC Issues Its First 'Do Not Call' Citation Enforcement Action Will Lay Groundwork for Future Penalties, Officials Say By Griff Witte Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, December 19, 2003; Page E03 The Federal Communications Commission yesterday cited a company for the first time for allegedly violating the government's new anti-telemarketing restrictions, though it did not impose any immediate financial penalties. CPM Funding Inc., which does business as California Pacific Mortgage, was accused of making eight telemarketing calls to people who had put their phone numbers on the national do-not-call registry. The FCC sent the company a warning letter last month and reviewed its response before issuing the citation. Because the company, which is based in Irvine, Calif., does not hold an FCC license, it will not be fined unless the alleged violations persist, the agency said. The FCC is permitted to fine a company up to $11,000 per violation. Agency officials portrayed yesterday's action as an important move that will lay the groundwork for future penalties. "This is a landmark enforcement step -- the first FCC action to enforce our new national 'do not call' rules," enforcement bureau chief David H. Solomon said in a statement. "This citation demonstrates our resolve to ensure that consumers are not bothered by unwanted, intrusive calls to their homes." Messages left at CPM Funding were not returned. Solomon said in an interview that the FCC has numerous other do-not-call-related investigations underway. He said the agency has sent warning letters to 40 companies, putting them on notice that they are being investigated for possible violations. The FCC and the Federal Trade Commission share authority to enforce the new telemarketing rule. The national registry now has more than 55.4 million phone numbers on it. Solomon said the FCC has focused its investigations on companies in certain industries where the FTC does not have jurisdiction, such as telecommunications, banking and airlines. Enforcement of the do-not-call rule was delayed from its scheduled Oct. 1 start because of court battles. It is still being challenged by telemarketing trade groups in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on freedom-of-speech grounds. The FTC and FCC have permission to begin enforcement while the rule is being reviewed. Since October, the FTC has received more than 100,000 complaints from the public about possible rule violations, according to Eileen Harrington, the FTC's associate director for marketing practices. "We're getting hundreds of complaints a day -- some days in the thousands," she said. "We're very busy. It's a high priority." Tim Searcy, executive director of the American Teleservices Association, one of the groups challenging the rule, said he believes it is "premature" for the government to begin enforcement before the matter is resolved in court. He also said he had hoped that telemarketing companies would be given more "room for error." "It is interesting that out of the purported millions of calls being made that this company is being examined for only eight proposed violations," Searcy said. CPM Funding has 30 days to respond to the FTC's citation and explain how it plans to avoid violating do-not-call restrictions in the future. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

uuummmmmmm - is that a pic of HH? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Ehem - - let's not forget the person that taught the AFF class Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

The pilot may ask you to not jump off the strut - just fall off. It's like a pendulum under the rotors, and if you jump, the body of the helicopter has a tendency to swing back, making it more difficult for the pilot to control. Have fun! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

No problems here, but I live in Denver. One desert to another It's humidity I can't stand. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Don't take the strength issue personally

I can't believe no one has mentioned this. Bring a case of beer!! Get the good stuff. After the last load, walk through the DZ and pass them out to people packing or hanging around. It's a great way to make friends. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I went to a college that was notorious for hard tests. Calculators were not allowed during tests for any undergrad physics tests (as well as most other subjects), so part of the trick of taking tests was learning how to round properly so that the numbers stayed whole and the problems were solved easier. If you were close to the actual number after all the rounding, you got partial credit, which was all you could ask for on these tests. I remember one test that was particularly bad - the average score was 16 out of 100. The prof posted the answers on his office door the day after the test. One problem no one got right - I mean no one - so we were all curious how the professor solved the problem. In the middle of the third page of crunching numbers, with the usual rounding, he actually had a line that said this: 2 + 2 = 5, for a very large 2 By "very large 2", he meant 2.4 or so. The rest of us were using 4 at that point, which made the second differential equation particularly difficult. Ah, tales from engineering school Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I dream about cutaways frequently. In fact, most of my dreams are about skydiving. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

A drunk was proudly showing off his new apartment to a couple of his friends late one night, and led the way to his bedroom where there was a big brass gong. "What's that big brass gong?" one of the guests asked. "It's not a gong. It's a talking clock," the drunk replied. "A talking clock? Seriously?" asked his astonished friend. "Yup," replied the drunk. "How's it work?" the friend asked, squinting at it. "Watch," the drunk replied. He picked up the mallet, gave it an ear-shattering pound, and stepped back. The three stood looking at one another for a moment. Suddenly, someone on the other side of the wall screamed, "You asshole ...it's ten past three in the morning!" Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

As future moderator of the dz.com tunnel forum, I promise that if appointed, I will make every attempt to determine if this is, in fact, possible. I think the scientific knowledge gained would far outweigh the risk. I can't promise there will be video, but I'll ask her

Next year, t-shirt, rather than mouse pad. 'Cause I don't have enough skydiving t-shirts. OK, I do have enough skydiving t-shirts, but that doesn't mean I can't use more. Also thanks to Jim for letting me use his packing area. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Thanks HH and B^2 - fun times, as always. Also thanks to Bryan Burke and the Eloy crew for making it a safe and enjoyable boogie.

Nice J - funny, and amazingly accurate. I think I'm still at stage 2. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Not really. They've had a lot of problems with birdstrike at or below 1,000 feet. Serious problems when the bird goes into the engine. More survivable problems when a bird hits the windshield. But since the first 1,000 feet are takeoff and landing - the most dangerous parts of the flight - you don't want conditions aggravated by a broken windshield. Would you want to be landing a plane and have a bird come through the windshield? You could probably land it safely, but you don't need the hassle. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

A new employee is hired at the Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00 am. The next day at 8:45 am there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door. The Foreman from the assembly line throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee. He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire plant behind schedule. The Personnel Manager decides that he should see this for himself so the two men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Elmos all over the floor and they're really beginning to pile up. At the end of the line stands the new employee. She has a roll of red plush fabric and a big bag of marbles. The men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to sew the little package between Elmo's legs. The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches the woman. "I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face," but I think you misunderstood me yesterday. Your job is to give each Elmo two test tickles." Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I saw this 10 or 15 years ago on PBS. They called the contraption a "rooster booster". Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Probably the grow dick too. I just hope to see the humping dog again. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Here's one: Why is Divorce Barbie (TM) so expensive? Because she comes with Ken's house, Ken's jeep, Ken's winter condo ... Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I've heard this part was filmed at Coolidge, AZ. Is that true? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Yea for Wilbur and Orville!! Without them, we'd all be BASE jumpers Check out Google's home page

Not to mention the pigeon hazard Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD