PalmettoTiger

quick funny fer all me mates- http://www.voyeurist.de/diplomacy.swf not porn, despite the URL enjoy TIGER

I was looking at you funny because I wasn't really sure what was going on (door was in the way); then you sat up, he lit a cigarette, and I was sure.

I was coming back from breakfast; I had just explained the intricacies of picking courses and buying books early to a few frosh. I was going to go brush my teeth when the guy 2 doors down heard me open my door and he said, "Turn on your TV" in an odd voice, as if his mind was moving faster than his mouth ever could, and as if his whole agitated body was trying to urge me to look at the news. I replied, "I don't have one," slightly irritated, because he's usually excited about some pointless thing that just turns out to be a waste of time. He said, "Come look at this" in a somber, deadpan tone, and I went into his room and saw both towers smoldering. I couldn't understand it for several seconds. It just didn't make any sense. Then my mind went into overdrive - Couldn't be an accident, NYC is controlled airspace and it's a clear day. Terrorists? Son of a BITCH. Someone is going to pay. Someone has no idea of what he's started, and he is about to experience the awesome and terrible true wrath of the United States. Then I started thinking about the victims, and I remembered that my dad was supposed to fly home from CA ... or was he coming from Ohio? I was terrified that something had happened to him, and angry at myself for not even knowing where he was. I also realized that lots of people here at Princeton probably worked there this summer, or had parents who were working there now, or knew recent alumni working there. I could immediately think of three recently graduated friends who had interviewed for Wall Street jobs, and I soon learned of a friend whose father worked on the 81st floor of the first tower hit - right in the impact zone. After I made the first post here, I went back to the TV. For the rest of the day I couldn't do anything but watch the news. I had to turn in course registrations, I had to buy books, do my laundry, finish setting up my room, and several other little errands. And although I knew they would keep showing me those horrible images again, and wouldn't tell me anything new or useful for a few more hours at least, I couldn't tear myself away. I did manage to finally contact my mother, who informed me that my dad had called her and was going to drive home immediately. I cried when I heard that he was okay, because that was the first time I allowed myself to think about "what if." I also learned that my friend's father was okay. He just wasn't in the office that day; no particular reason. She had gone home to be with her family, because she expected at any moment to hear that her father was dead. It's been tough to get any sort of normal work done since then, although I can manage to put it out of my mind for two or three hours at a stretch now. I don't think anything will be "normal" for a long time, though. Take care and God bless. TIGER

Hi guys and gals. Don't have much time to post here anymore due to the start of classes, but I'll offer this as the best statement of US resolve I've seen yet: "Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political, and class division, but a family nonetheless. So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't know what you just started. But you're about to learn." -Leonard Pitts Jr., The Miami Herald, September 12, 2001 Stay safe and God bless. TIGER

Clay, judging all Muslims by those web pages is like judging all Christians by Hitler. YOU are the one who needs to wake up.

A factoid I learned this afternoon from a mechanical engineer who is (was?) employed at (not by) the WTC: the building is supported at least as much, if not more, by its outer skin (concrete and steel load-bearing walls) than its central core. That's why the truck bomb in '93 didn't bring it down, and why a fuel-heavy airliner is about the only thing that could. Also, some people I talked to are wondering why the plane's passengers didn't overwhelm the hijackers, given that the terrorists only had knives. Consider that until today, hijackings were done to get ransom money, or to gain the release of political prisoners. They were never done with the intent of a suicide bombing. The prevailing theory taught to airline crews has been "cooperate, and eventually we will all make it off this plane alive." If the terrorists go so far as to kill a passenger or crew member, that not only demonstrates their resolve, but also scares the passengers and crew into inaction - they're still thinking that they can make it out alive as long as they don't further provoke the hijackers. I'm horrified that anyone could think to gain advantage by killing so many people, and at such prominent targets. I'm saddened by the loss that so many families must feel right now. I'm relieved that my father is okay (I knew he was flying today, but wasn't positive which airport, airline, or time) and that my closest friend's father is okay (he works on one of the floors of WTC 1 that was struck directly, but by comission of some miracle he was not in the office today). After worrying about Dad and Jenn's dad all day, I'm too exhausted to do anything but sleep tonight. Take care everyone. Dan PS Clay, I was pissed this morning and for no particular reason I vented in your direction. I'm sorry for that. But - what you wrote is pretty reactionary, and I hope it was just a troll.

Nothing about Pakistan. I'm sure every terrorist group is claiming responsibility, though. It may take a few days to sort out the red herrings. I doubt that whoever did this is a new or unknown group, though. How resourceful do you have to be to hijack ONE airliner, and find someone who is not only qualified to fly it into a (relatively) precise target, but who is ALSO willing to die for you? Now consider that they not only hijacked FOUR airliners, but they managed to hijack four that would be in the air and able to strike their targets within an hour of each other (except the fourth that was probably shot down in PA). The only groups with the organization and financing to do this are going to be well-known to world counterterrorism specialists. [soapbox]And folks, please don't start this "carpet-bomb the Arabs" bullshit. The people who do this thing are the extreme minority of Muslims who by rights shouldn't even be called Muslims; Islam is a religion of a loving God and preaches respect for all others. To paint everyone with that brush is like saying I'm a Neo-Nazi just because the freaks in Idaho called themselves Christians too. The best response to this is going to be bringing the responsible parties to trial. Failing that, only a small, precise strike against whoever's responsible is acceptable - we can't go around killing innocents and call it righteous. Besides, carpet-bombing them won't make them any happier with us, it'll just generate a few more determined martyrs. The true best way to deal with this is to strengthen our ties with other nations and cultures, not sever them.[/soapbox]

TV reports indicate it happened around 8:30 this morning. The people who work in the Trade Towers would most definitely have been there by 8:30. Both towers have been hit, and the southern one has just collapsed. The news choppers covering the first airplane crash recorded, from several different angles, the second jet crashing. No possibility of it being anything but intentional. TV cameras in DC are also showing a fire at the Pentagon, with eyewitness reports of a plane coming in low from the south and deliberately crashing into the Pentagon.

Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center this morning. NO WAY it could have been an accident - this was a big building in controlled airspace in broad daylight, not a mountain shrouded in clouds. And Clay, before you open your mouth and smartass about blind pilots or nuking whoever's responsible, say a prayer for everyone involved first. Update: All the major news websites are unavailable - MSNBC, CNN, FoxNews, ABC, CBS. Turn on your TV or radio instead.

Wow! Aaron, that's exactly what I needed to know. You r0X0r. Pictures to follow (when I get around to it, of course).

Okay. What type of paint did you use that didn't work? Home exterior (oil) or interior (latex)? Scale-model paint?

******** Disclaimer - I do not necessarily share Henry Ford's opinion of women. ******** Henry Ford dies and goes to heaven. At the Gates, St. Peter greets Ford and tells him, "Well, you've been such a good guy, and your invention... the Assembly line for the automobile... changed the world. As a reward, you can hang uut with anyone in Heaven you want." Ford thinks about it, and says, "I want to hang out with God Himself." So the befuddled St. Peter takes Ford to the Throne Room, and introduces him to God. Ford asks God, "When you invented Woman, what were you thinking?" God asks, "What do you mean?" "Well," says Ford, "You have some major design flaws in your invention: 1. There's too much front-end protrusion. 2. It chatters way too much at high speeds. 3. Maintenance is extremely high. 4. It constantly needs repainting and refinishing. 5. Every 28 days it leaks fluid and is rendered out of service. 6. The rear end wobbles too much. 7. The intake is placed too close to the exhaust. 8. The headlights are usually too small. 9. Fuel consumption is outrageous." "Hummmm," replies God, "hold on a minute." God goes over to the Celestial Supercomputer, types in a few keystrokes, and waits for the results. In no time, the computer prints out a report and God reads it. God then turns to Ford, and says, "It may be that my invention is flawed, but according to these statistics, more men are riding my invention than yours."

Was it good for you? ...... him too?

Hi folks - I bought a new Pro-Tec last week (boy am I stylin' now!!) and I want to tiger-stripe it. Does anyone have any experience with painting designs on pro-tec (or similar) helmets? I'm interested in recommended types/brands of paint, whether or not the paintjob lasts through heat cycling/direct sunlight/bad landings, and even what type of brushes to use. Thanks in advance, PTiger

hehehe.... I heard it described as the first SELF-PACKING parachute - the only design flaw is that it starts a little too early.

The biggest thing here is RELAX. As you get ready to exit, take a deep breath, exhale, and just slide off the plane. No tensing, no jumping, no leaping, no reaching necessary - as soon as you've let go of the plane you're right where you need to be!! just breathe in as you give the "ready," breathe out as you give "set," and simply let go of the aircraft on "go." As soon as possible, cross your eyes and stick out your tongue at your instructor. I saw video of my Skydive University coached jumps that prove the usefulness of tongue-wagging: I'm really trying hard to get to my instructor, but I keep turning right - so I turn my head and reach for him, which makes it worse. Finally I relaxed, crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue, and my body position INSTANTLY improved and I nailed the TLOs for that jump. If you're not feeling confident about your arch, try getting in your bathtub, putting your hands and toes on the rim, and balancing on your pelvis -- have barely any weight on your arms and toes. And of course don't forget to stick out your tongue, cross your eyes, and laugh.

OK, car's unloaded. Also managed to snag the UPS guys (who had the other third of my worldly posessions) about three minutes before they left, so now I don't have to PUSH my car down to their warehouse and get the stuff my parents shipped via 2-day airmail (forgetting that I was going by 6-day "freight"). My ass is killing me in this chair - if only I had a car to take me somewhere where I can buy a better seat! I had a hard landing Wednesday when I flared 6 feet too high and took all of those 6 feet directly on my coccyx. My entire lower back and abdomen clenched hard and I could only take shallow breaths for 10 seconds - I was scared that I had just paralyzed myself until I realized that my feet hurt too. After that I stood up and gave a Big Liar™ thumbs-up to everyone who saw me land like that and writhe on the ground. The cool thing about X-Keys is that you can come in from a landing like that, ease down on a picnic bench, bitch about how your canopy has all the flare power of an overweight anvil, and have Brigitte Liss , Mike McGrath , and Damian Atkinson tell you how to land better. On my next jump I stood it up and ran it out in no-wind conditions (2nd time ever!) and landed within 20 meters and got it witnessed for my A-license. Life was good!!! Until the whole transmission incident. VivaSpaceBar said: Well it's not covered freshman year, I did that one twice. I've already tried sophomore year once and I don't remember it being on the syllabus, but I'm doing it again so I'll let you know. I have a week before classes start so I might be able to put up a little trip diary on my website. I'll put a link here for y'all if I get around to it.

HieverybodyIdonthavemuchtimetotypetheymighttowmycaragainbutIhadagoodtimeatDelMarVa andaGREATtimeatCrossKeysnewskyvanWahoo!Buttheenthusiasmcan'tlastbecausemycar droppeditstransmissionaboutthreefourthsofamilefrommydormsoIhadittowedandillegallyparked bymydoor(hahahahahathey'regoingtoputabootonit-sowhat?Itisn'tgoingANYWHERE!!!)andI havetogofinishunloadingsothateveniftheytakemycartheywon'thaveanythingelseimportant. LovetoyouallandImissDZ.comalready TIGER

thanks riggerrob, that's what I needed to know (although not what I wanted to hear ). I suppose I'll find out in 2 days when I get to the DZ....

Sounds awesome! You can get turn-by-turn directions from http://www.mapquest.com. Between CSS and Florida, I recommend Skydive Carolina or my home DZ Blue Sky Adventures. Choose the latter if you want to stick to the coast, since it's right off of I-95, and tell Wally I sent you!

*PTiger struggles not to take the bait.... and fails. From last year's pregame show: Oh, that Brown University. It seems like the courses have just gotten easier every year. Here are some selections from this fall's course guide: Breathing 101 Advanced Topics in Computer Science: The On/Off Switch The Internet in the Late 1800's Paint-By-Number for Non-Majors Legos for Maniacs Variations on Page-Turning Showering for Engineers, and Advanced Potty Training (aka Crapping for Credit). To get an 'A' in one of these courses, you just need to show up. To get a 'C-,' you just need to wake up-at least once a semester. And who gets an 'F'? The Brown Band! all in good fun...... PS check the attachment, it's me back when I played trumpet, had a beard, and wore my keys on a chain, and oh yeah, played in the COLDEST band on earth!!

As some of you know by now I'm going back to school after taking a semester off. Given that I didn't leave under the best of circumstances, when I get back I'm going to have to work my ass off. I'm seriously expecting to spend 8 hours a day in class or in the library, and the time I don't spend studying will be spent working out or reconnecting with the social scene at school that I eschewed in favor of web surfing and computer gaming last year. I think that a major part of academic success this coming year will be actually turning my computer off and not turning it back on until I've finished studying for the day. So, although I'm going to miss these forums and all the friends I've made here, this might be my last post for quite some time. If I get to do much skydiving this year I'll try to detail each jump on my website - start checking it here in two weeks or so and you might see some changes for the better. Have a great year everyone, and hopefully I'll see some of you at Delmarva this weekend or Cross Keys next week. Blue skies!! Dan

And then of course, there's POST 668 - THE NEIGHBOR OF THE BEAST! Blues, squares, PTiger

Wahoo! I quit yesterday and I'm moving too! Well, I actually gave notice, and since it's a summer job they were kinda expecting it. Anyway, I'm all packed up, just have to pawn my bass and my trumpet to pay for the week of skydiving between here and my next home - wonderful Princeton NJ! Now if I can just accumulate more than two semesters in a row, I'll be set.... Seriously, congrats - I was in San Antonio for a week last summer and it's a great city. Blues, squares, PTiger

You can find commercials for download at http://www.adcritic.com. right now I think they go back 2 years; I checked and the "Great googly moogly" commercial isn't online anymore. Blues, squares, PTiger PS: POST 666! THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST! NOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo....