yoink

I'd like to see your research, because I think you've got some major bias in there. If 20% of injuries could be prevented by better head gear, don't you think we'd be using it? A DOT rated helmet would be expensive, require regular replacement (every 5 years or significant impact (and yes, dropping it off a table when it's got a camera in it counts) according to motorcycle recommendations), less comfy, and wouldn't look as cool. If you're looking for something for more protection, snowboard helmets are a good bet. Just take off anything that could snag a line like the goggle keeper buttons. Spend money on training and an AAD. Those'll keep you safer than an expensive helmet for general skydiving... CRTW / competition RW / VRW might be different.

I think that's tripe looking for a reaction... If you genuinely think the US is the biggest threat to humanity then you're as deluded as rush is. NK? Maybe - they've got a nutter with nukes who is answerable to noone in charge or China possibly, due to their unbelievable pollution and CO2 emissions that'll probably doom us all.

*Waits for Tump supporters to use one / all of the following: 1 - He's just bitter and angry that Trump ditched him because he's a loser. He's making it up. 2 - CNN / NYT are paying him to say this. It's a leftist conspiracy. 3 - There's no evidence he's going to say this. It's just more Fake News. 4 - He actually did it under Obama's presidency first. And Hillary said she would have him do it. 5 - It has nothing to do with Trump. Nothing. He didn't know anything about it. 6 - It didn't change anything so it's not illegal.

I love it!

I'm of the opinion that 'belief' is a necessity of the human condition. We all need things to believe in, whether it's a deity, your own self, the laws and rules of society, or something entirely different. The requirement for belief becomes stronger in more desperate circumstances and religion is just an pre-packaged form of belief - it's the convenience food of belief systems. Instead of developing a belief structure of their own, I suspect having a pre-prepared one in the form of a religion is the easier option for many people. Ron is a great example; He believes, therefore he is 'saved'. It's an easy solution... There's no effort, thought or responsibility in it, just a comforting quick-fix for a peculiarity of human nature.

It only makes the news because it's part of the annual Thanksgiving meme. What are you thankful for? woo! Second amendment!! 'MURICA!

I know nothing about Dr Seus - it wasn't really a thing where I grew up, so I've no idea if this is a good or bad reference!

Less than 4 dead in an event doesn't count as a mass shooting. It barely qualifies as news. It's certainly nowhere near a high score. Must try harder.

Chris, that guitar looks amazing! What a tribute. I can't imagine the heartache that must have gone into building it. I'd love to exchange emails with you some time, talk luthiery and bounce some ideas off you. I'm currently building my 3rd - a baritone riff on a Gibson 335 with a custom wound set of humbuckers from a UK company called House of Tone.

Good haul!

This is true (see my post in the deviant thread). Doesn't make it OK though.

In no way defending or being accepting of deviant behaviour, I do think it's easier for men now to accidentally get into trouble on stuff like this. When I was at university (early 20s) I'd seen girls at clubs who looked perfectly attractive and adult. The problem is that some illegally young girls (you know what I mean!) can look extremely mature if they dress and act appropriately, and it seems to be quite common for them to do so. It's exceedingly important for guys to realize this now and not assume that just because a girl is in a bar drinking a cocktail that she's of a legal age to do so, or anything else. Young guys on the other hand tend (as a generalization) not to act as mature as early. Let me be clear before I get shouted at: 'I thought she was legal' is NOT an OK defense. I do believe it can be, however, the reality of the situation. When it comes to stuff like this 'Assume nothing' will be what I'm teaching my son.

Yup. This is really bad news. On a Time Warner connection and DZ.com haven't paid their monthly extortion fee (sorry 'maintenance') to that particular ISP? Well then this site is going to run like shite for you... Political parties during elections paying ISPs to reduce traffic to competitors websites or search results? That's going to be a thing. As a society we're still catching up with the evolution of digital information. Privacy, research into the 'truth' of information and anonymous responsibility will all be part of my child's upbringing - stuff I never had to worry about. It's a little weird for me, because as a nation the US has the biggest hard-on for 'FREEDOM' in the world but this is the antithesis of that for information. Most people just don't give a shit because they don't understand this emerging digital society.

Hopefully he gets kicked out. Wrong is wrong, regardless of party. What's your point?

It's funny you think this is something new... It's not. It's been human nature for eons (you know, how the species propagated before mankind invented religion and society) . We're simply trying to improve ourselves at this point in time - to make it public and unacceptable. That you're hearing more about it doesn't mean that it's happening more - that's a faulty piece of logic. All it means is that you're hearing more about it. The Romans and Greeks were all about satisfying their sexual urges several thousand years ago.

I'd be interested to hear if any Trump supporters are OK with this type of thing? Where is the line where even the most ardent Trump fan says that he's abusing the position?

Longer, I think. Which is part of the problem - we're not very good as a society at really thinking long term.

I have come to the conclusion that nothing that remotely limits the access or use of firearms will ever be acceptable to the gun rights side - nothing. It will have to be forced on them. I posted a while ago that the NRA is a great example of this. They're great at seemingly giving up concessions on limitations that are either unenforceable or make little to no difference in the overall scheme of gun violence while simultaneously getting huge political returns. I completely agree with your statement that I have no clue how people who like guns think. I posted a solution that would stop public mass murders entirely, while allowing people to own whatever type of and number of guns they wanted, while also being allowed the ability to use them for hunting, home defense or target shooting. The only limitation is that you wouldn't be able to use them in an unvetted public space... That was the ONLY limitation. You wouldn't be able to fire your gun in a mall, or school - it just wouldn't work. That would stop events like these almost completely. One of the only 2 responses I got - 'I wouldn't agree to anything that stops me from being able to shoot whenever and wherever I want'. Think about that... That shows me that there is no real limitation that can ever be acceptable - if people want the ability to shoot whenever and wherever they want (even if it's insane to have that right) then there is no chance of a real compromise solution.

This is part of the problem - human beings being what they are there's always a chance of error when humans are in the system of enforcement. Someone will make a mistake somewhere and things like this can happen as a result. Remove the extremely time-consuming (and difficult) enforcement part of the system and replace it with something automatic and simple and you'd see mistakes like this disappear.

MORE GUNS FOR EVERYONE!!

I must have missed those on the news.

I'm baffled by the 'just give up' attitude they displayed. They're on a functional sail boat. Bobbing around for 5 weeks because a spreader got damaged makes no sense to me. I can think of half a dozen ways to get under SOME sail without even trying. Open ocean sailing needs skill, preparation and determination. These girls were way out of their league. And I disagree with you about the EPIRB. Total loss of steerage and power is a no shit emergency. I'd trigger it. Drift into a big storm or a shipping lane and it's game over...

Statements of fact that don't have any corroborating links for evidence are like a broken pencil. Pointless. Show why he's incorrect.

Talking is the big one, I've heard. Being able to talk issues through in a non-judgemental and even non-problem solving way can be a big help. Just being able to listen well can be a real bonus.

Holy shit! I've never even imagined a useable runway like that was possible - shows how spoilt I've been! Super cool!