vpozzoli

Bullshit. They have completely different meanings. Nobody has the choice whether to be modest or not (at least not in public!), not even in the US. And modesty is as defined by current "indecent exposure" laws, and not according to one's personal definition of modesty. Of course anybody has the choice to cover themselves up more than the law dictates, up to the point of voluntarily never showing oneself in public at all. What changes is the minimum amount of covering up one must do in order not to be punished for indecently exposing oneself, but so what? Every culture is different, no big surprise there. Please keep in mind that US laws about nudity and profanity in the media are far stricter than those found in most European countries, does this make the US an inferior culture? And where the hell (oops I swore in public I must be from some very advanced culture ) did I say that? All I said is that I think that capital punishment is unacceptable. This is my personal opinion which is heavily influenced by the cultural setting I grew up in (Europe) and I would not even dream of forcing my point of view on this issue on another culture (yes the crack about invading the US was just sarcasm, in case somebody didn't get it). As for why you should accept the existence of other cultures that might be radically different from yours, well that's just the way the world works and if you don't like it, SIUCC Cheers, Vale

Must be referring to this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entity_(South_Park) Vale

Nice about-face. What you actually said is: "Once again, the difference is that in this country people have the choice to be modest or not." Your statement is unambiguous and is clearly and utterly false. As for finding honor killings acceptable, well as a matter of fact I think ANY form of capital punishment is absolutely unacceptable, no matter what the circumstances. But capital punishment is allowed in most states in the US! I hereby declare my stance on this issue to be right and that of the US wrong and urge the EU to invade the United States in order to set things right. How about that? Vale

It's OK, neither does he Vale

You're kidding right? If you're serious then I suggest you try walking around buck naked in public anywhere in the US. At the very least it'll get you arrested and possibly forced to take psychiatric treatment for your "mental illness". Being modest in public is not anymore of a choice in the US than it is in Iran, it's just the definition of "modesty" that's somewhat different. Please explain why your own definition should prevail over other culture's? Cheers, Vale

Is there some utility to then plug those numbers/names into that can then tell me a general location? Just put the IP in the search box at this URL: http://www.ripe.net/whois If it's from an European network you'll get all the info that is publicly available if it's from somewhere else you'll at least get a referral to the appropriate registry. Just follow the trail. Cheers, Vale

Add me to that list Ciao. Vale

Considering the kind of "altitude" you get on your typical military jump that's one of the most ludicrous statements ever made. If it were true I would be in total agony every time I drive around the mountains at altitudes substantially higher than those of your typical paratrooper drop, not to mention when I actually fly at altitudes that are bordering on HALO territory (>18000 ft). My teeth are more filling than bone and I have yet to experience a single twinge of pain I guess this fable just adds to the overall military "macho" attitude Cheers, Vale

Take a look at these http://www.mhoxygen.com/index.phtml?nav_id=28&product_id=1. It looks like the smallest available cylinder might be compact enough for a WS jump. Might be a viable alternative to a gentex system. Cheers, Vale

Eat it all the time and love it too! They say it tastes and looks exactly like cat so you should be very careful about ordering rabbit stew in a restaurant. Ironically my cats love it too and are always begging for scraps when rabbit stew is on the table. My cats are wanna-be cannibals! Cheers, Vale

And would also better fit the idea that "God created Man in his own image". Since we hava a well developed sense of humour, it would make sense for God to have one too. Also since God is omniscient he would have no problem telling a good joke from a disrespectful one, based on the intent behind the joke itself, as it cannot be kept hidden from Him (the intent as well as the joke). Pajarito seems to claim this capability for himself when he classifies the joke as "blasphemy" and warns the poster that he "will have to answer to God someday". I think this is the real blasphemy, unfortunately it seems to be quite widespread, an not just in Christian circles. Cheers, Vale

This implies that God will be offended by this comparison and not, for instance, be amused by it. In other words you are claiming to know a lot about God's sense of humour. Isn't this a bit arrogant on your part? Cheers, Vale

Just ask any Australian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit-proof_fence Vale

The AIP format is a (somewhat) standard international format. Navigating it (and actually understanding the rules) is often not a very straightforward process and takes some getting used to. Let me know if you're looking for anything specific and I might be able to give you some pointers (perhaps best done by taking it to PMs?). Cheers, Vale

They're actually in the Aeronautical Information Publication, here is a link to the PDF version http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/air_traffic/publications/media/aip.pdf Cheers, Vale

Fixed it for you . The Sacra Sindone has being shown through carbon dating to be a medieval fake, although it is still unclear how it was actually made. Cheers, Vale

Please do tell? Inquiring minds would like to know. Ciao. Vale

How else did you think expedited orders were handled? Seriously, there must be some sort of prioritized scheduling going on, I don't think that with the extra $100 they get for an expedited order they can go out and hire more people/buy more equipment to speed things up. I'm sure orders do get shifted around, it's up to the vendor to do so in a way that ensures a minimum amount of fairness so that no customer has to wait for an unreasonable amount of time. That said the reasons why your order is delayed might be of a completely different nature, I suggest asking them for an explanation politely (which never hurts) but firmly (you are after all paying them and not the other way around). Good luck. Vale

That is an excellent explanation, only problem is it does no apply to CDs at all Thin film interference happens for example on the surface of a water puddle that is contaminated by a lighter then water substance (such as motor oil) which forms a thick, uneven film on the puddle's surface. The varying thickness of the film is what causes the colors to change across the surface. A CD's coating is just too uniform and too thick to cause any interference. The surface of a CD (or a DVD) is actually acting like a diffraction grating, a tool used in some types of spectrometers. This phenomenon is invariably cited in any text describing how a diffraction grating actually works, like in this Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction_grating Hope this helps. Vale

Ouch ! I tried to throw a stone but it fell on my foot. Try hitting it with a plank, baseball-like. But be careful, you might poke your eye out! Vale

As opposed to the "Holier than Christians" mantle that most athiests wrap themselves in? How can that be? It's well known that atheists have no moral values, and hence no sense of "holiness" Vale

And who are we to make that call? I haven't attended Catechism in a long time but I distinctly recall some stuff about stones being thrown and planks being stuck in someone's eye (ouch, that gotta hurt! ) Vale

Yes, but is it? And what about subsequent resale? And gear sold and used outside of the USA? Also should the manufacturer not sue you first for breach of contract or can they unilaterally act as judge and jury and repo your gear any time they feel (by their own assessment) that you have not abided by the contract? Regardless of the confiscation issue, I think that being able to pull a TM's rating (with all that ensues) gives the manufacturer enough "power of persuasion" to convince even the most arrogant TM to listen to them very carefully. After all they only hold your current livelihood in their hands (assuming a professional TM that is). Cheers, Vale

As far as I know they can pull the TM's rating at any time, I suspect this might be one of the reasons why the DZO involved in this incident had to listen to the manufacturer, and not just because the person on the other end of the line was being "particularly nice" But actually repossessing the gear once the sale is finalized is probably taking it a bit too far and has no actual legal standing. Cheers, Vale

As far as I know tandem systems are sold and not leased, so I fail to see how the manufacturer could "confiscate" something it can non longer claim wnership of. If indeed there is a "user agreement" that the DZO has signed and the manufacturer feels it is being violated I guess the manufacturer has every right to sue the DZO (or whomever signed the contract) in a court of law, for breach of the same. Cheers, Vale