dorbie

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Everything posted by dorbie

  1. dorbie

    Bombing Utah?

    dorbie replied to sangiro's topic in The Bonfire

    Google has measuring tools, use them. The source data is from a satellite so it is a legitimate measurement. The aircraft is > 100ft long and has a wingspan over 70 ft. It is clearly not a missile. The wings and enpenage are black but clearly visible in the image if you look Edit: I guess you've seen them from the followup.
  2. dorbie
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/06/bond_e-fit/ Well I think it's pretty cool.
  3. dorbie
    Has the secret service contacted you yet?
  4. dorbie
    Right, so if anyone feels strongly about this they should write to the BOD and urge them to retain the coach rating right? Of course not it will have aired the debate and made it clear that opinion is mixed on the issue. Look, even if a whole bunch of people write the BOD for change on an issue that may just be a result of a one sided campaign and not a reflection of membership opinion. So in all sincerity, DO write the BOD if you think USPA should retain coach ratings and if you feel that 100 jumps is adequate as a BARE MINIMUM requirement. Please consider jumper retention in the sport the impact on smaller DZs, and the benefits of providing some kind of path for newer jumpers with a calling to put more back into the sport.
  5. dorbie
    That would be coaching, and he disapproves of that.
  6. dorbie
    It was the same with me even on my first jump. The worst part was the ride to altitude on my first jump. I knew I was committed and wondered what the heck I'd gotten myself into. Once I was in the door the drills took over and after the exit I was more concerned with not screwing up the skydive than the fact I was falling from altitude. I remember being slightly surprised when my parachute opened perfectly and thinking to myself "If you're surprised it worked what the heck are you doing jumping". Of course I couldn't wait to get back up.
  7. dorbie
    You could host the images....
  8. dorbie
    You should check out how Google does this. Look at the source code on their page it seems they just put in a full URL to address the file, even pasting this into a browser address bar will launch Google Earth. So, try using an absolute path instead of a relative one and see if it works. http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/807792/an/0/page/0#807792 That's also a good page with examples on how you can enhance google content with more advanced KML files.
  9. dorbie
    Well I do and now the value of my rig just tanked. At least the waiting list will be nice & short for a new one with collins lanyard and skyhook. Question: If the jumper is a Master Rigger can he undo his snap shackle before a jump?
  10. dorbie
    Then if you're a Master Rigger you could simply remove the lanyard leave the rest in place and sign that off as the modification. If you're not you'll have to find one to agree with you and sign off on that.
  11. dorbie
    I don't agree with the last part at all. How does this affect 'textbook' history?
  12. dorbie
    This is troubling IMHO: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/06/libby.juror/index.html "Washington resident and self-described registered Democrat" "It was said a number of times, 'What are we doing with this guy here? Where's [Karl] Rove ... where are these other guys?' The process of the jury he describes sounds rigorous but with comments like that Libby didn't stand a snowballs chance in hell from the get go.
  13. dorbie
    Do the new RSL rules actually change things in relation to what happened to Appleton though? Wouldn't the local master rigger have signed off on the mod, then someone else would still have subsequently changed the cutaway cable and Appleton's rig would have been in the same configuration on that jump. The only difference would have been a master rigger's note on the packing card. The biggest change Sunpath has made that could directly impact similar incidents is that Sunpath includes a Collins lanyard on new rigs. Any rig maker could have made that decision years before Appleton went in.
  14. dorbie
    I find it ridiculous that Sunpath are telling me I can't undo the snap shackle on my RSL unless I'm in an emergency. I was hoping that the call for clarification would result in a different response, and fall in line with your earlier interpretation Bill, but the opposite has happened, I guess that's why clarification was required. Here I was fat, happy and stupid thinking I would be unaffected by this mess because my RSL is still on my Odyssey and now this. Is Sunpath TRYING to impact EVERY customer the have? My rig is pre 2007 it has no Collins lanyard (added because it's one of Bill's skyhook prerequisites, but it sure wouldn't have hurt Appleton to have one). This edict does not make jumpers with earlier Sunpath rigs safer IMHO. It looks like CYA to me but it seems from other posts that Sunpath has been trying to triangulate a position w.r.t. the Appleton incident and they've really painted themselves into a corner with a succession of ill considered comments. This is just the latest itteration.
  15. dorbie
    Bzzzzzzzzt! There was no conspiracy. If there was SOMEONE would have alerted Libby to what the heck was going on.
  16. dorbie
    That is bollocks. Armitage was not pro war and not in any conspiracy Why can't you accept the facts. Are you so invested in your own venal fantasy that the mundane reality is no longer acceptable?
  17. dorbie
    This personality cult stuff is bullshit. Unfortunately it pervades American politics.
  18. dorbie
    But it was his office who actually leaked the Plame CIA information.
  19. dorbie
    The really annoying element here is the pretence that you can obscure anatomical features without undermining the purpose of the scan. Those images are very intentionally vague within the outline of the figure. From the example I posted you can see that this can obscure key information and my example hides less than their exeplar images. Either the operators can reveal more than those PR images imply or the technology has been badly compromised.
  20. dorbie
    Yes it is real-time. The initial backscatter images that circulated a while ago ago showed the skin beneath the clothing. This seems to do an edge detect image processing operation on that. See attachments. I've attached the original image and a version were I've run a quick edge detection on the originally released image. You can see it's the sort of thing they've done to the backscatter image. I expect the operator has some control to affect the gain and perhaps other filter parameters. In my example you can see that you might need several images a keen eye and some additional control over the image to pick out the firearms in the example. The image processing in this case actually helps conceal them.
  21. dorbie
    Are the rabbits alive or dead?
  22. dorbie
    Looks like they're applying a Sobel filter or similar edge detection to avoid overtly naked images. It's probably a bad idea if you've decided to use the technology since it'll reduce recognizability. Hopefully this is just a viewing mode and they show this for PR purposes. This technology may not be a big deal for you or I but what about the person with a colostomy bag or other medical issues, do they have a right to privacy? I went through TSA screening in a kilt once, when I failed the metal detector scan one of the operators got very excited and started acting in an extremely unprofessional manner. I wouldn't like him operating this X-ray imaging machine.
  23. dorbie
    Newton pursued three great passions. He studied Physics, he studied Alchemy (chemistry really but they didn't know about atoms and mollecules yet), and he studied the Bible. OTOH I do I wonder if Newton would have been able to crack chemistry if he'd had more time.
  24. dorbie
    Would you jump it if the Bible said it was safe? Would shortyj?
  25. dorbie
    This is simply wrong. I have a lot of evidence that my main or my reserve has a good chance of opening. Scientific theories are backed by evidence and experiment, they have a high degree of reliability in describing and predicting the nature of reality. There is always a chance that new evidence will arise but we work with the best information available, to call that faith on par with religious faith is a gross misrepresentation.