Jessica

That's generally been my impression of them, and I'm a sweet girl who tries to see the best in people. I've found them to be breathtakingly ignorant, assholes, or both. I really don't want to ever try to carry my gear on board again after the last time I tried. I was told I couldn't carry my (mainless) rig on the plane a) because I might pull a D.B. Cooper and b) the "compressed gas" in the Cypres was forbidden. No amount of explaining would placate these jerks, who really just seemed glad to have found something. "We stopped a bad guy today! Probably saved the lives of everyone on that plane!" Skydiving is for cool people only

Rob, didn't you just get married like, a week ago? Skydiving is for cool people only

Here's another "very interesting article." This happened in San Antonio a few weeks ago. THE RAMPAGE ; Wounded rookie cop ends wild shootout ; Police to evaluate procedures in wake of sudden attack by Karisa King, Elaine Aradillas and Jesse Bogan EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITERS In one of the most vicious attacks on police in recent years, a burly ex-convict turned a couple's dispute at a North Side diner into a shooting rampage that left four officers wounded with their own guns. The gunman, Jamie Lichtenwalter, a 26-year-old parolee who had become jealous after seeing his girlfriend with another man, was killed outside the Denny 's restaurant on Northeast Loop 410 by a rookie officer who had been shot four times. "He ambushed all the officers, who weren't quite prepared for somebody quite that violent," Police Chief Albert Ortiz said at a morning news conference. "You never know when an explosion is going to occur. It changes not just from call to call, but from second to second." The four policemen wounded by Lichtenwalter - Officers David Evans, Michael Muniz and Nathan Murray and Detective John Bocko - are recovering at two area hospitals. Some hailed Muniz as a hero after the 22-year-old rookie killed the gunman. "It would have been understandable if (Muniz) had backed up and hesitated, but he didn't," Ortiz said. "I certainly have to admire that individual." The shootings faintly reawakened some of the same questions about police safety and training surrounding the slayings of two officers two years ago. "We will review again to see if anything needs to change in terms of tactics and strategies," Ortiz said. Evans and Bocko arrived separately at the restaurant about 3:30 a.m. after Lichtenwalter's girlfriend told a manager to call police. Evans, a 51-year-old patrolman with 25 years of experience, and Bocko, an evidence detective who happened to be nearby when the call came, believed they had quickly defused the argument. Lichtenwalter had voluntarily handed over his girlfriend's car keys. But as the officers allowed him to leave the restaurant, his girlfriend whispered to one of the officers that Lichtenwalter, a former bouncer at several area strip clubs, might have a gun, police said. At that point and without warning, Lichtenwalter whirled and punched Bocko in the jaw, breaking it in several places. Witnesses told police Bocko fell to the floor "like a sack of potatoes," Ortiz said at the news conference. Lichtenwalter, described by police as having arms as thick as tree trunks, then turned on Evans, knocked him to the ground and wrested the veteran officer's .40-caliber Glock. As Evans lay on the ground without his bullet-proof vest, Lichtenwalter stood and shot him three times - in the chest, stomach and arm, police spokesman Gabriel Trevino said. The dozen or so diners in the restaurant ducked underneath tables. As several called 911, the police switchboard flashed with green and red lights. By that time, Bocko was back on his feet, but he was dazed and stumbled through the restaurant. The gunman then started firing at him, and he was grazed by a bullet across his back. "Wherever Bocko was bleeding, you could see the trail of gunfire following him," Ortiz said. When Lichtenwalter ran out of bullets, he kicked and pistol-whipped Bocko with the empty Glock, Ortiz said. Meanwhile, Evans staggered out of the restaurant. But Lichtenwalter was close behind - and now armed with Bocko's gun. A desk clerk at the adjacent Econo Lodge said he was in the hotel lobby when Evans began banging on the front glass window. ''I could hear him pounding, just 'Bam, bam, bam,'" said Eric Detloff, the clerk. Trevino said they were unsure when Lichtenwalter grabbed Bocko's gun. "We feel he had already unloaded Evans' gun by the time he got to Bocko's gun," Trevino said. Muniz, fresh out of the training academy five months ago, and Murray, a North Side patrolman with eight years on the force, were next to arrive. They spotted Evans in the parking lot and began helping him when Lichtenwalter opened fire. A bullet pierced Murray's cheek. Muniz was shot in the neck and three times in the leg. He managed to exchange gunfire with Lichtenwalter at close range. Lichtenwalter, who was shot at least six times, collapsed on top of Muniz and died, authorities said. When a group of backup officers arrived, Muniz , too weakened to move, was still lying underneath the gunman. From start to finish, the shootout lasted about five minutes, with Lichtenwalter firing more than two dozen rounds. Skydiving is for cool people only

Is that some kind of geeky insult? How old are you? Cutting and pasting is a pain in the ass because of the ads, but here it is: More Guns in Citizens' Hands Can Worsen Crime, Study Says By Aparna Kumar, Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON -- State laws that allow private citizens to carry concealed weapons do not reduce crime and may even increase it, according to a study released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution. The findings, by Stanford University law professor John Donohue, contradict an influential study by economist John R. Lott Jr., a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who in 1997 concluded that by adopting such laws, states can substantially curb violent crime. Since the late 1970s, 33 states -- California is not among them -- have enacted "shall-issue" or "right-to-carry" laws, which require law enforcement authorities to issue handgun permits to qualified applicants. Among the states are Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Utah and Nevada. But social scientists, represented on opposing sides by Donohue and Lott, remain stubbornly divided over the effect of such laws on crime rates. "If somebody had to say which way is the evidence stronger, I'd say that it's probably stronger that the laws are increasing crime, rather than decreasing crime," Donohue said Wednesday in an interview. "But the stronger thing I could say is that I don't see any strong evidence that they are reducing crime." Donohue's study, which builds on work with Ian Ayres, a law professor at Yale University, will appear in "Evaluating Gun Policy," a book to be released by Brookings this month. The book also includes a separate study by Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig, professors at Duke and Georgetown universities, who conclude that gun ownership may actually increase the risk of being burglarized in the United States. Donohue's study will also be published in the May issue of the Stanford Law Review -- side by side with an updated study by Lott, who defends his position and rejects Donohue's findings. Though they differ in methodology, both studies attempt to account for outside factors that may influence crime rates. For his part, Donohue said that right-to-carry laws may deter violent crimes, such as murder or robbery, in some situations, while encouraging them in others. For example, he said, an attacker may wrest control of a handgun away from a victim, who may be less experienced in handling firearms, and use it against the victim. Also, otherwise law-abiding citizens may become "emboldened to do bad things, some of them violent" in the heat of the moment, Donohue said. By contrast, Lott -- whose position is summed up in the title of his 1998 book, "More Guns, Less Crime" -- says that in states with right-to-carry laws, criminals are more wary of armed citizens who are prepared to defend themselves. In his original study, published in the January 1997 issue of the University of Chicago's Journal of Legal Studies, Lott and David Mustard, an economics professor at the University of Georgia, contended that the 10 states that adopted right-to-carry laws from 1985 to 1991 experienced substantial declines in murder and other types of violent crime, compared with states without such laws. Calling those conclusions "deeply flawed" and "misguided," Donohue said that his study revealed the opposite. According to his research, 13 states that enacted right-to-carry laws after 1992 experienced steep increases in murder and other violent crime rates, compared with states without such laws. His findings are based largely on a new analysis of the 1977-96 crime statistics originally presented by Lott and Mustard, along with new data from 1997. In his Stanford Law Review article, Lott counters that "Ayres and Donohue have simply misread their own results....The most detailed results that they report ... show large drops in violent crime" right after the laws are adopted. A comparison of crime trends in adjacent counties in two states -- one with a right-to-carry law and one without -- demonstrates "a drop in crime rates in the areas with the law and an increase in those without the law," Lott said. But Donohue argues that such comparisons are generally skewed, since the states that have adopted such laws tend to be rural and relatively isolated from the types of violent crime -- such as offenses related to crack cocaine -- that disproportionately affect more urbanized states, many of which have not enacted similar laws. Skydiving is for cool people only

I took sewing lessons for a couple of months, but since there are only so many tote bags and tank tops I can make, I want to get a machine of my own and start practicing at home. Is it better to get a simple, light-duty machine to learn on, or should I start with something that's capable of the rigging stuff I ultimately want to do? Cost is certainly a factor. I could get a beginner machine for $100, whereas the heavy-duty stuff costs several times that. Skydiving is for cool people only

Good points. I'd probably only get a loan for about half of what I "qualify" for, so even with taxes and insurance, it wouldn't be much more than I pay in rent right now anyway. Skydiving is for cool people only

OK, I'm convinced. I'm going to start saving some $$ for a down payment. I've always wanted purple bedroom walls. Skydiving is for cool people only

You gotta get rid of the backups in the linen closet. You just gotta! A non-smoker doesn't keep cigs in the house. Skydiving is for cool people only

It's been long enough that it wouldn't even taste good! Skydiving is for cool people only

Irony! Negative. When's the last time you saw a period on a bumper sticker? "Call 1-800-EAT-SHIT." No. "Animals are my friends." No. "Visualize using your turn signals." No. Justin, you are a butthead Skydiving is for cool people only

What? Where? That was a very well punctuated post. Skydiving is for cool people only

I'm starting to feel too fucking old to live in an apartment. My upstairs neighbor leers at me all the time and screams at his girlfriend, I have to take my laundry across the parking lot to wash it, and I'm tired of losing deposits because the birds chew up all the windowsills. On the other hand, I'm going to have apartment maintnence come change my light bulbs today because I don't have a screwdriver to take down the fixtures. Hehe! Skydiving is for cool people only

That is good news. It's gotten to the point where if we do strike Iraq, I'm going to leave my job at the newspaper just so I'll be allowed to put "Bush is a butthead" stickers on my car. Attention Hearst Corp.: The above is just a little joke. Ha! Ha! Skydiving is for cool people only

Question: Do we really need to worry about "maximizing" Cypres battery life? Since it must be replaced after two years or 500 jumps anyway? I've never known anyone whose batteries died before the mandatory replacement thresholds, but perhaps it happens. Skydiving is for cool people only

I was going to go get taco bell for lunch, then decided I didn't feel like going out (yes -- I'm too lazy for fast food) so I grilled salmon for sandwiches at home. Then I realized I didn't have any bread and the only breadlike substance in the apartment was corn tortillas. So I had salmon burritos. Very strange, especially with cajun seasoning dumped all over the fish.. I don't recommend it. I hope you made a better choice. Skydiving is for cool people only

AIEEEEE THIS THING IS DRIVING ME CRAZY! Skydiving is for cool people only

What does that cover? Just the 10 20-way jumps? Skydiving is for cool people only

Magic 8-ball, will Lisa really join a convent? "Yes." Skydiving is for cool people only

Great God this feels so weird. I keep having to run to the bathroom to make sure this thing isn't hanging halfway out of my eye. Skydiving is for cool people only

Vector III micron. Skydiving is for cool people only

I have green eyes. They're kind of light and weird-looking. People ask me all the time if they're colored contacts. But, I want purple eyes! To match my gear! Skydiving is for cool people only

They gave the kind you only have to take out once a month! Woo woo! Next week I'm going to have purple eyes! Skydiving is for cool people only

OK, I just got back from my appointment. Having something on my eyeball is super weird. It took me an hour of near-hysterics to figure out how to take it on and off. However, it's very cool to be seeing this well with no glasses. Skydiving is for cool people only

No lasik es possible...my vision is 20/30 in the "bad" eye, and they weren't sure they could improve it any. My vision is just bad enough to give me a restriction on my license, and a headache at the computer. Skydiving is for cool people only

So it doesn't make y'all go into convulsions when you have to stick this little plastic thing to your eyeballs AIEEEEEEEEEEEE Skydiving is for cool people only