gjhdiver

Ha. The guys that started IKEA is a character. He's a functional alcoholic and a Nazi allegedly. Whenever I'm in Sweden, they have some great tasteless IKEA jokes. "Have you see the new IKEA lampshades ?" (Ask a Jewish person to explain that one to you) Q. How do you get your new IKEA account number ? A. Tattooed on your skin etc etc.

Most guys like being friends with a woman, but would jump at the chance to do her if she offered. We're a bit like that.

Pedants corner. That is not a monkey. It is a great ape. Therefore, your post should read... "Would you like to touch my great ape ?" We now return you to your normal programming.

My cat doesn't care one way or another.

And who was this written for ? The great lamented Syd Barrett, without whom Pink Floyd would have never made a record, and who, after he descended into psychosis and left, never made a listenable one again. The Madcap Laughs by Syd Barrett is one of my favorite albums, but as an in the moment capture of a lost soul spiralling into madness, it's almost too painful to listen to, especially songs like Dark Globe. Check him out though; http://www.pink-floyd.org/barrett/ Possibly the greatest lost talent in the last 50 years. Shine on Syd.

Agreed. This year, I plan to invest all of my refund in Amalgamated Hay and rutubaga futures.

Yes. You will need a helicopter.

That is SO goddamned funny! It just replaced some post of Jessica's about being liked "in a cum dumpster sort of way" as the funniest thing I've read on dz.com. I don't care wether it bothers you Gareth, I've replaced "looks like" with "has the grace of" and am now in the hunt for someone to use it on. Blues, Dave Feel free. There will be a small royalty payment though....

He may have worded his argument a litle strongly, but for the most part, he's saying that the antipathy directed at the US is the result of it's disasterous foreign policy decisions, and as a democratic republic, the population partly shares the blame for the government's actions. In that, I wholeheartedly agree with him.

We've lost more than one skydiver to this. Winter at the drop zone, a cold trailer, an old heater...

The faster the descent rate of the parachute, the more the slider will want to climb back up. Your Stiletto 135 may not need slocks, while my Sensei 81 does. If you are using your rear risers to plane out for landing, having your slider all the way down is absolutely essential. If it gets in your way when you go for the rears, you may be in trouble. BG This is true. I also think that the use of a full face helmet helps, as the slider tucks up into the back of it very nicely. I don't need to use rear risers to plane out because I'm perfectly weighted on the 135. It self recovers with litte or no input from me. If I go down into the double digits, which I do on occaision, I'll use the rear risers.

Huh? Have you MET Gareth? No. Then you are forever unlucky until that blessed moment. You'll recognize JP by the fact that he looks like two separate gorillas tied loosely together, with a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp. I'm alway nice to him, don't ask me why though. Probably the noblesse oblige of the English to those less fortunate than ourselves. P.S I am actually an American citizen.

I never stow my slider at all. Once it's collapsed and pushed down behind my head, it stays there. Never had a reason to need to hold it down with anything.

eBay. The font of all stuff. Otherwise, he could try http://www.guitarczar.com If he can't find it, it probably doesn't exist. Rickenbacker 4003 bass, Telecaster, and Ovation semi acoustic.

I got caught doing a fat girl once.

Now I have to kill my cat. http://dbhome.dk/carlo/cat.htm

I'd keep mine in the fridge, to recreate what he's used to.

Actually, it's Mallory you can see. Hillary's still alive and well. Bugger. I knew that Just having a brainfart.

I have friends who are serious climbers, and I thought about doing this as well, so here goes. First, read Jon Krakauers book Into Thin Air. Do it now if you haven't already. I'll lend you mine if you want. Then read Touching The Void. Don't go on the mountain until you have. It's an account of what happens when things go badly wrong on Everest. Part of the problem is exactly what you describe. The mountain is getting sold as an adventure destination, when in fact, like any other 20,000 foot plus peak, it's a killer. Getting up it is the easy part. Lots of people have done that. Getting down it is another matter. More people have died coming down, totally debitated by hypoxia and edema than have fallen off it going up. Learn about the Death Zone about 25000. Over that height, even with supplemental O2, you have barely enough energy to maintain basic bodily functions, let alone do any physical work. If you hurt yourself in any way at this height, you will be left there to die.You will not be carried down and helped. If the weather turns there and maroons you at the alititude for any amount of time, you will die. Remember at that height, you are in the jetstream, and Everest experiences 100 mph plus winds and insane chill factors. Your tent will be shredded. If you do the climb, you'll be able to see the dessicated bodies of all the climbers that have just run out of steam, got edema or got hurt, sat down and died where they stopped. You can even go and see Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to attempt the thing if you like. He's lying face down at the foot of the Lhotse face with a broken leg after falling down it on his descent in the 1930's. Part of the reason that so many people are dying on the mountian now is that tour operators are hauling people up it on execursions, and relying on the skills of good guides and sherpa to corral them safely. Unfortunately, if the guide gets hurt or just deserts the party, the people in it have virtually no chance of survival. This isn't to say that you shouldn't do it, but you need to be totally physically fit, and mentally really together. Oh yeah, base camp is an open garbage dump. Nobody carried anything off that mountain, from used O2 to human waste, although to be fair,some operators are trying to clean it up. Having said all that, the lure of it is very enticing.

The negroes stole our dates !

Definition of a bitch. Boys, I'm Taking Charge Here. Just do that and see how fast the B word comes out.

I find that using a local independant tax preparer works for me. Less fuss, knows all the little tricks etc. The year I did it myself, I fucked it up royally. I not only had to pay a whole shitload of taxes and fees, they fined my ass $4000. Yes, that was not a typo. I got a $4000 fine on top of my taxes, and a lein put on my house until I paid it.

Fortunately not Y'see although I am a very sexy man, I am quite old, and being English and all, I remember them when they were Joy Division, before Ian Curtis killed himself. I thought that they were far more edgy and original then. No matter how good they are now, they can never be forgiven for launching a million lame disco remixes on the back of How Does it Feel.

Relax. There's no need to wait for New Order. Just listening to any commercially availabe ringtone should suffice.

I agree. USPA needs to be reminded that it's function is to secure acces sto skydiving, and benefits for, it's membership. Because of the way that elected posts tend to get filled with DZO's, it spends too much time behaving like a trade organization instead. That's why I never cast a vote for anyone for an elected USPA post that is a DZO or has a substantial business interest in the sport. No matter how good that person may be, there's too much potential for conflicts of interest in which the general membership invariably loses.