skiskyrock

A variation on this problem: A chemist and a chemical engineer were imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for offending the local caliph. After ten years in solitary confinement, the Caliph order the two men brought to him in his harem. They are placed on a chalk line drawn on the floor of the harem chamber, and two stunningly beautiful naked women are placed at the other end of the chamber, 100 feet away. " I have a treat for the two of you!" the Caliph says. "Every time I clap my hands, you can advance half the distance between you and the women." He claps and the Chemical engineer runs 50 feet across the floor, while the chemist stand where he started. The caliph claps again and the Chem. E. runs forward twenty five feet, while the chemist just stands there. Exasperated the Chem. E. asks the chemist why he isn't running. "It's rigged" the chemist replies "the approach is asymptotic... you'll never get all th eway there." "True" replied the Chem. E. "but I can get close enough for practical purposes." "

I scanned in a copy of the 2005 order form, for anyone who hasn't gotten one.

The procedure described WILL make biodiesel. It wrong in almost every other detail. Mixing the methanol and lye in a home blender? That will go boom as soon as the fumes hit brushes in the motor. Home chemsitry is too dangerous .... I'm going jumping.

Needs a cup holder.

It is worse when you travel on a commercial flight after skydiving. At 1000 feet I unbuckle my seat belt, and by 15000 I'm crouched by the rear door waiting for the green light to come on. Stewardeses hate that.

Natural substances are made of chemicals, too. Mother nature makes some complex stuff, and a lot of it is really deadly. Botulinum toxin is the most lethal poison known (as of my last toxicology course, any way), and it is all natural. If something is from a natural source, that just means the purity is unknown, and there is a lot of other stuff in it. Of course, the same thing probably applies to anything that get made in a motel room sink, too. ~

I saw that too. Who is this Kaminski guy, and wouldn't he be happier playing golf? ~

Try an old reciprocating Beaver - I know there are still some flying around Lake Union. They're soooo much noisier - like a dentist's drill. The idea of jumping a noisy reciprocating beaver just made me spit beer on my monitor. ~

How do all of you deal with telling your SO that you have had a cutaway? When faced with the question "how was jumping" I considered: silence "Fine" "I got to try out a different parachute today" "I had a problem with my main and had to chop it but otherwise it was great" "No shit there I was at 2500 feet I thought I was going to die..." I went with #4, but it is always good to have a backup plan. ~

It all looked kind of scary until I caught the bit about the SAFETY FLARE. Knowing these little tricks takes all of the thrill out of it. ~

you'll find out if it's charged Been there, done that (not the tongue, but my arms) Hurt like hell and burned a few of my fingers pretty bad. The capacitor I was screwing with was about 1/3-1/4 the size of that one too. I pay attention to the warning labels now.... That really points out one of the disadvantages of supercapacitor systems (and flywheels). You can get all of the energy out at once. A gasoline fire would just be a gentle warmth compared to running a guard rail through a charged capacitor pack. OTOH, they would be great as part of a hybrid vehicle, getting rid of the NiMH battery pack. I'm not an EE, but if you had a big capacitor and a big inductor (the motor), the system should be resonant at some frequency. Just bury cables in the road and drive them at that frequency and you wouldn't need much onboard storage at all.

Quote So on one of the tests I tried breathing more slowly (about 6 breaths a minute) but more deeply to see if that would affect it. As the data below shows, it made a significant difference. reply] I read about positive pressure breathing on a mountaineering thread in another forum recently. Evidently you exhale through pursed lips, boosing the pressure in your lungs slightly, theoretically increasing blood oxygenation. A poster quoted a reduction in perceived altitude of 2000 feet, and other testimonials to great effectiveness and utter worthlessness were offered. As long as you are wiring yourself up, it might be an interesting variable to add to the mix.

I used to live there, and worked at the Hershey plant for a while.... it might just be coincidence, but there was more workplace sex going on there than any other place I've worked (note I have NOT worked at a dropzone). My hat is off to the two gay guys caught going at it in the ventilation shaft.... that's one housekeeping inspection none of us will ever forget.

Leaving out the magic word "hydrogen", this system is non-rechargeable with an energy density slightly less than an alkaline battery. The TSA is also NOT going to be cool with you getting on a plane with cartridges of Sodium borohydride.

Mountaineering with Alex Lowe.

You could be sued, sure. Juries can do any damn thing, sure. But look at it this way... assuming you are loaning your rig to a liscenced skydiver you'd have these points in your favor: 1) The plaintiff has a license that certifies that they have demonstrated the ability to perform a skydive safely, including gear checks. 2) They are jumping a rig that you yourself would be willing to use, and would have in the normal course of events. (Might be a good idea to have them pack the main or have a packer do it, however) 3) They are engaged in a sport that is considered crazy anyway by the majority of jurors. 4) No corporate deep pockets are involved. I can't imagine a rational jury overlooking all of that, if it was presented by a competent lawyer. ------------------------------------------

if they gave an Oscar for the best negligent discharge of a firearm in a movie, this would win, with pulp fiction as a runner up.

War by Edwin Star(r). Frankie goes to Hollwood did a great cover of it.

Setting: the Ranch, 1996. I was in the last two-way out of the otter. We were Lewis-and-Clark long by the time we got out. The last two groups pulled at about 4500, sensing trouble. My partner and one half of the two way ahead of us decided to try to make it back. I did the accuracy trick and the point seemed to be just barely on the DZ side of the tree line, so I opted to land in the two fields below me... the only question was cows or no cows. In deference to my rental rig, I opted for no cows. I had plenty of altitude so I circle the field checking for hazards. Except for a hay rake in one corner it was clear, so I landed. The other half of the other two way also decided to use the same field, so after I landed I daisychained my lines and waked over to him. He hand laneded directly infront of the hay rake and and his main was draped over it. I said hi, and as he turned to face me I realized that the right side of his face was a mass of cuts and blood, and he was missing a couple of teeth. Evidently he had gone into the rake headfirst on landing, and come out pretty well, considering. He was coherent and knew where he was, and was able to discuss the jump and landing out, so I figured he needed a trip to the emergency room, but probably not an ambulance ride. I got out of my rig and got him untangled and we started to walk back. He seemed to be slighly confused, leading me to think he might have had a concussion, but we were headed back anyway. After walking in silence for a while, he started to shoot me sideways glances. Finally he came out with it ... "Uh... who are you and how did I get here?" All I could come up with was "Well, at some point you took up skydiving...." The last thing he could remember was the night before.

I second the Makarov idea ... Bulgarians run in the $135 price range. The only caveat for the beginner is that the ammo isn't a Wal-mart item. Availability varies quite a bit by region,even at gun shops.

Since it's winter now, I'd suggest you join a rock gym to learn the basics of movement. Get to know some experienced climbers. Learn the basics of ropecraft, rapelling, and anchors. Take a self rescue course When spring comes, get outside. DO NOT assume you know anything about outdoor climbing from your time spent in the gym. The Appalachian Mountain Club in CT does quite a few group trips during the summer that are appropriate for complete beginners... I don't know about the Rhode Island chapter. In the spring they typically offer a two day beginners course that is pretty thorough... the equivalent to a FJC. I don't know about RI, but CT is loaded with good top rope climbing spots. Ragged Mountain in central CT is the best, but go with someone familiar with the access situation. If you can find a copy of "Hooked on Traprock" it lists tons of others.

I can't wait for The gimp's asleep. Well wake him up!

I used to work for a pharma company where we made an antibiotic. One batch netted us about $2 million. Part of the process involved putting one of the ingredients in the top of a tower, closing the hatch, letting it circulate, then opening the bottom hatch and removing it. One day one of the operators forgot to close the bottom hatch before dumping the stuff in the top. The tower was two stories high, so he didn't realize it until he got back to the bottom and saw $2million in contaminated powder all over the floor. Thinking quickly, he starts picking up handfulls and throwing it in a bin. Five second rule, right? Of course he has his back to the windows into the hall, where the plant manager is standing, with a tour group.

I've never caught one, exactly, but just after opening I noticed a seagull gliding along 200-300 feet below me and flying the same direction. I was able to drop down and get level with him briefly by playing with the brakes. I was about 50 feet behind him when he turns his head about 15 degrees left "nothing dead on this side" then 15 degrees right "nothing dead on this side" then "wait... what the hell was that" he did the most comical double-take, turning his head nearly 180 to look at me.

"Kangaroo scrotum pouches are made from the scrotum of male kangaroo, and it's said to be very lucky; all those in possession of one is assured of a long life, happiness and healthy children." of course they don't mention that at the end of that long,happy, life they rip your sack off, then grind you up for dog food.