tso-d_chris

No. I'm saying National Review is not a very good stand alone source. I have no doubt that there is much truth told in their articles, as I have no doubt that there is much truth not being told in their articles. The same goes for Moore's stuff. Things are only examined from one perspective, which often distorts facts significantly. If you want to read journalists patting their favorite politician on the back, talking about how great they are, the extreme left and right news sources are great. But if you are honestly trying to stay informed, you will miss a lot by relying on partisan media. I don't mean to imply that you only get your news from NR. I was just commenting on NR as the only source given for that story.

You might be onto something trying to lure him with a Presidential Library. I am curious as to why 18 (at this time) people would consider him unqualified, and what eactly they consider to be the most important qualifications for a Presidential candidate.

I didn't remember that one. Thanks, I stand corrected. For Great Deals on Gear

I agree. That's why I'm voting Billvon in 2008.

You are aware that National Review is as right biased as Michael Moore is left biased, right? Not exactly a great news source unless you like everything pre-spun.

Retreat to the safe.

Keep your head on a swivel. It's like riding a motorcycle, you have to imagine that you are invisible, while simultaneously being a huge bullseye that everyone is aiming for. Remember, it takes two people to have a collision. Also remember that you can do everything right, and still die, on any given jump. It's not common, but not unheard of. For Great Deals on Gear

I owned a reflex at the time, and although I'm not a rigger, I have always paid very close attention to my gear, and strived to stay informed. The only documented Catapault "save" I remember involved a PC(x2)and freebag entangling with the just cutaway main. I could never understand how that secondary pilot chute was able to provide more drag than the main. There was at least one fatality due to the consequences of the Catapault. A jumper encountered a scenario (that had been predicted by many) that had not been planned for by the designers. When that happened, I finally woke up and began listening the the several riggers around and stopped buying into Flteline's design concept. I had my rigger remove my secondary pilot chute because the test jump sample had become large enough to illuminate flaws inherent to the design. In fairness, (IIRC) the Reflex was the first rig on the market to completely hide the main bridle from the relative wind, an innovation that fortunately is used throughout the industry. The build quality was excellent, as was Fliteline's customer service. The catapault just proved to not be as reliable as anticipated. For Great Deals on Gear

Harvesting the hydrogen from water does indeed require more energy than can be obtained from the hydrogen. However, if a free energy source such as wind or solar power is used to obtain the hydrogen, it is still a beneficial move from the standpoint of both cost and pollution.

Thanks, but I'm not qualified, according to the Constitution. I guess I can't use the "I don't wanna be" excuse though; it would be hypocritical of me. I think Billvon would be better qualified. I very much agree with your post, though.

Your lack of political skills is a strength as much as a weakness, IMO. And you realize that you could be the first skydiver ever to jump from Marine One and swoop the Rose Garden, right?

First, my apologies to Billvon, Who, AFIK, has no desire to run for President. Of course, I have long held the belief that a desire to hold such a powerful office should immediately disqualify one from attaining it. He is intelligent, educated, articulate, (usually) very patient and diplomatic, and used to working tirelessly for low pay for the benefit of others (as a mod). IMO the nation could do (and has done) worse when electing our leader. Of course this post is not really about getting Bilvon elected. I'm not even saying he is the most qualified person that contributes to these forums. I'm just using him as an example, as he seems to have a well deserved respect among most DZ.commers. The US population seems to have the perception that professional politicians contribute to, if not cause, many of the nations problems. Yet, when given alternative options, we rarely take them seriously at the polls. What would it take to ignore corporate opinion of candidates, and vote based on the actual qualifications and platform with respect to real, relevant issues and the best interest of the nation? As far as I can tell, both of the entrenched political parties have gone to great lengths to manipulate thought and offer disingenuous arguments. The 2004 election campaign, as usual, was more about finding out who the more effective fact distorter was than who was the most qualified candidate. Personally, I think the whole charade is getting old, and would like to see real change. I don't see how that is going to happen if we continue accepting the status quo. Which means electing officials that are not already part of the problem. So, would you vote for him?

The water powered engine is easy. The hard part is how to seperate the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in real time with less energy than what can be obtained from the water, or, at least less expensively, or in a less polluting manner. If you have solved that problem, PLEASE market the thing!

It can't be very big if staples will hold it on.

After a convrsation with one of the sport's true skygods (and not because he's a kick ass swooper or freeflyer), I feel I need to clarify my argument. I do not believe Airtec was responsible for this incident. I do, however, believe the CYPRES was marketed as a "it can only improve things for you" device. That is not the case with a CYPRES, or any other piece of skydiving gear. Slower canopies decrease steering options. Faster canopies increase likelihood of serious landing injuries. Helmets can reduce visibility and hearing capabilities. Secondary main riser covers have been blamed for contributing to hard openings. And, yes, AADs increase the chances of a two out situation. It doesn't mean that AADs (or any of the other stuff) is bad. It just means that the consequences of using them should be considered, IMO.

This stinks of Jack Herer's The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Herer brings forth many facts, but overstates his case many times, which brings question to the credibility of the entire work. Ed Rosenthal tends to offer more objective facts about hemp. Don't get me wrong, I am all for legalizing hemp. It is a great renewable resource that offers great promise. I just think that Herer, while attempting to do good, has actually done his cause a disservice.

Putting students out in marginal conditions is not recommended under any canopy. Unfortunately, not every DZ can keep ideally sized canopies for all sizes of students. Generally, if the right size is unavailable, the practice is to err on the large side. If this means that the student is inevitably going to land backwards, the max winds for that student should be re-evaluated. It is not unheard of for DZs to manifest their students throughout the day with the anticipated landing winds in mind. (ie. putting heavy students out during the stronger mid day winds, while waiting to put the light students out until close to sunsett, after the winds die down) Bottom line is skydiving is dangerous, and no precaution one might take is going to change that. Risk can be managed, to an extent, but not eliminated. Reducing risk in one scenario often increases risk in another scenario. Student jumps are no different.

Both are great helmets, but one is likely to fit you better than the other one. That one is your best choice. Unfortunately, without trying them on, you'll never know which is the better fitting helmet.

That particular incident occured in a rural county in southwest Missouri. As I said, tho official charge was something like "Improper Display of Tag." The other two incidents occured in Key West, Florida, where absurd arrests are celebrted daily with a column in the local newspapwer. These are not isolated incidents, or locations. I have witnesses abuses of police power everywhere I have lived in the US. In fairness, I have also encountered honorable law enforcement officers in most places, as well, officers that are in uniform because they have a genuine desire to help the community.

Me? Off topic? That never happens! I just don't think the entertainers are the instigators, even when they editorialize about violent situations. I certainly don't believe their first ammendment rights should be violated just because others are afraid of their message. But then, I think even the Klan has a right to their soapbox. I just find their ideology disgusting.

Not really a joke, but it came attached to an email, so I figured this was the thread to post it on. So where do you stand morally? This test only has one question, but it's a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision. Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous. Please scroll down slowly and give full consideration to each line. THE SITUATION: You are in New Orleans. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions. You are a photo journalist working for a major newspaper, and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water. Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury. THE TEST: Suddenly you see a man in the water. He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris. You move closer. Somehow the man looks familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It's the President, George W. Bush. At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under forever. You have two options- you can save the life of the President, or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world's most famous men. THE QUESTION: Here's the question, and please give an honest answer....... Would you use high contrast colour film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?

This argument has been thouroughly debunked many times. One study found much more obscure OSs that still had a higher "market share" of viruses than OS X. Writing the first successful large scale (relative to Mac user base, which is growing far more rapidly than industry standards) virus for OS X would make a career for a hacker. If it were as easy as writing a Windows virus, it would have been done by now. With a Mac, I can go anywhere on the internet, including porn sights if I so desired, without any virus protection or spyware protection, except the OS's firewall, without getting malware. My biggest security concern with my Mac is if someone hacks in with the keyboard.

Good for them. It's about time some state took the initiative to make the first step with such a promising fuel source. I wonder what the purpose of specifying soybeans was.

Nice critical eye. Allow me to elaborate. Having lived in this country all my life, in several different states and cities east and west, it has been my experience police cause their own problems, most times. That is not to say there are no good cops out there, just that there are enough asshats out there on their beats that everyone with a badge is subject to suspicion. I've seen friends go to jail for some really stupid reasons on the cops' part, things like a dirty, though still quite readable, license plate (improper display of tag or some BS) or riding a bicycle at night without a headlight. In that particular city, I was threatened with jail for stepping two feet off the sidewalk onto unposted private property in order to let a group of people walking in the opposite direction pass by. There was no "Excuse me. You can't stand there; it's private property." It was more like "Get back on the sidewalk or you're going to jail." The cop was just that curt. All three of those examples involved atriculate, employed, clean cut white guys. I can hardly imagine what life is like for an impoverished black guy in this country. It doesn't help matters any that the public interacts more with the asshat cops than the good ones, simply by virtue of the fact that those are the ones that most often fuck with people. Sometimes for no good reason, but sometimes they just take things unnecessarily too far. The chances of a male going to prison in their lifetime in the US is 11.3%. The odds of merely being arrested are about 25%. The US, in reality, probably have about the third highest incarceration rate in the world, behind mainland China and North Korea. Officially, the US have the highest rate. I recently had a former law enforcement officer as a roommate. I was told on more than one occasion that most people go to jail because they don't know their rights. But I digress. Let's compare Copkiller, and example of Ice T doing his work, and the beating of Rodney King, the work of the LAPD specifically mentioned in Copkiller. Who's work do you think had the largest impact? Remember the LA riots? Claiming Ice T caused high tensions between cops and urban citizenry is like Tipper Gore claiming 2 Live Crew caused premarital sex. Copkiller reflected a reality; it didn't direct it.

Ice T performed the song "Copkiller," and then went on to play a cop on a very popular TV show. I don't perceive him as a threat to police or crime. He is an entertainer. Maybe you like his form of entertainment, maybe you don't. But it is threatening nothing.