Zennie

Awwwwww SHIT! I KNEW it! Damn! Damn! Damn them all to Hell! Kurt Cobain was right all along: "Just because you're paranoid. Don't mean they're not after you...." Oooooooo. Sounds kinky. Are they taking volunteers? "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Whoa! Whoa! Gang! There are tons or worms/virii out there that could explain this. The latest virus/worm fad, brought to you courtesy of Microsoft's scripting extensions to IE & Outlook, is to embed a program into an email and send it to people who run email programs which support Microsoft's scripting extensions (i.e. Outlook/Outlook Express). The recipient opens the email, which then executes the worm/virus. The worm/virus will go through that person's address book, compose an email message, attach itself to that email message and send itself to everyone. The worm may also have a virus component which destroys files on the recipient's computer. So in a nutshell, it spreads by going through address books and sending itself to everyone in it. Those people get it and the process repeats. So you can see how quickly something like this can spread. Very bad news. The worst part is that it can create misunderstandings, because the person sending the virus had absolutely no idea it was happening. Here's an sample description of such a virus off Symantec's website: "W32.Magistr.24876@mm is a virus that has email worm capability. It is also network aware. It infects Windows Portable Executable (PE) files, with the exception of .dll system files, and sends email messages to addresses that it gathers from the Outlook/Outlook Express mail folders (.dbx, .mbx), the sent items file from Netscape, and Windows address books (.wab), which are used by mail clients such as Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express,. The email message may have up to two attachments, and it has a randomly generated subject line and message body. NOTE: In many cases this virus will "touch" files and send them out as email attachments. Such files do not contain viral code and should be considered clean. In such cases it is safe to delete the file and it would be prudent to inform the sender that their system has been infected by the virus." So don't be so quick to blame the sender. They could have sent it, but completely without knowing it. Rather, thank our friends in Redmond, Washington for providing this wonderful service which makes virus/worm writing so ridiculously easy. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Boy wouldn't that be nice for bad spots! "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

What he said. Course you can't live in Texas for any length of time without at least becoming accustomed to country music. I can listen to it, but I'd much rather pop in a Nirvana CD. Still, it's all about what you enjoy. So have fun! "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

We really need a dz.com Records section in the pub. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Not having seen how this particular DB is set up, but knowing how DBs work in general, I can almost guarantee that there is such a number. Usually entries in a (well designed) database table have a unique numeric row identifier that's used to uniquely identify that row and make corellations between tables easier (i.e. a primary/foreign key for you tech-heads). I'd be willing to bet that the dz.com database has a User/Member table with an ID column for each user. Hacking (in the good sense) the dz.com board code to show that number in the User's profile probably wouldn't be all that difficult. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

I figured we should break this into a dedicated thread for discussion (and hopefully comment by the Bossman). I found the post that I believe sets out the current all dz.com record: In my mind, the dz.com record should be like POPS, all-female or any other sort of "special" record. It really isn't an all dz.com record if everyone isn't a dz.com member. I mean, we don't count the number of POPS members (or women) in the world-record big-way and call that a POPS (or female) record as well. That doesn't make sense. The one issue that can go either way in my mind is the "regular" issue. On the one hand, just having people sign up so they can participate sort of goes against the spirit of the thing. However, like AggieDave mentioned, many "regulars" here lurk but don't post. The non-posting lurkers are every bit as much a part of the community as the posters. It wouldn't really be fair to exclude them because they haven't posted. So maybe just membership would be the fairest solution, even though there's a small risk of folks signing up never to visit again. Maybe that's where we need to rely on the integrity & spirit of everyone involved. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Yeah I think the record is even described as an "All dz.com" record. I view this kinda like the all-female & POPS records. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

I'm (obviously) in. I think the dz.com record is 5. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

I just got back from out of town so I'm trying to catch up here. I dunno if I'm the nameless one or not, either way, lemme just go on the record as saying that there's no skin off my back with respect to this whole thing. You meant it as a joke. That's cool with me. Even if you hadn't meant it as a joke, I'm not much into holding grudges (thus the quote at the bottom of my posts ), so it's no big deal either way. No worries. It's all good.

Actually I reread your post after I posted my post and I might have misread your misreading them, um, er.... No worries. We're on the same page. I'm outta here. See ya when I get back!

Hey! I thought that picture of me from the Halloween party had been destroyed! "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

And you misread my post about ramon!

Congrats! Now next time you get stopped by a cop you can pull out your D and say "But officer. This means I'm allowed to do anything!" "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

I honestly don't know the answer to that. Non-Taliban Afghans are dying over there. Probably not as many as the Taliban would have you believe, but there are nonethless. Is the killing justified? Well I'm not a big fan of killing by anyone. Is it necessary? In order to prevent further loss of innocent life, perhaps. But I'm not 100% convinced of the moral righteousness of what we're doing either. I doubt that would accomplish much. I wasn't really arguing for or against what we're doing. But your logic is certainly correct. I was merely trying to say that maybe we can prevent other Osma bin Ladens or Talibans from doing what they do if we figure out what causes them to become what they are. I think it's pretty much too late for the current situation to reolve itself through any means other than violence, though I would certainly welcome it. I'm looking more toward the future. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Nah, no apologies necessary. But thanks all for the sentiments. Nevertheless, my money's on Ramon & Ann.

Well there's always 2 sides to every story. I think that's what people are driving at. Not that it makes blowing up the WTC right, but there is definitely something to cause these people to have such deep-rooted hatred that they would gladly take their own lives and those of 5000 others who never did anything other than live and work in a particular country. You can't solve a problem without knowing the cause. In this case the problem is a blind hatred that is indiscriminate and without limits. Just what the heck would cause that? Maybe if you find the cause, you can work toward a solution. Sounds trite but it's true. In any event, there was an excellent article in Newsweek just a couple of weeks ago on this very subject. Long but very insightful & intriguing. You can check it out here.... "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Ummmm... better re-read the thread because it's about flying commercial airliners, not jumping. I'm not afraid of jumping, that what makes the whole thing so silly. As far as the photography goes, I've never proclaimed myself professional or talented. I just like to take them and share them with other people. If you don't like them, or my website, which I've also freely admitted is not all that great, you are perfectly free not to go there. You won't hurt my feelings. It's more a place to share things with friends and family, some of whom are very far away, some who live in town. As far as Waller goes, the main reason I haven't gone up there is proximity. I live in Clear Lake and Spaceland is much closer. I've always felt challenged and have many good friends at Spaceland, so I've never really felt a compelling need to look elsewhere. Still, I do want to check out the other DZs and get to know some of the other skydivers in Houston (and San Marcos, BTW). So I'll make it up there hopefully soon. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Thanks again, especially Aviatr & Michele, for more insight. I'm coming to my senses. Michele's insight was especially apropos. But also I appreciate hearing from an "insider" such as Aviatr. If you honestly feel safe enough to fly, and know basically the inner workings of things, that goes a long way in restoring my confidence. So thanks. Since I'm picture-boy, I'll make sure to post pics when I get back. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

So they mjust mailed you a Visa card unsolicited? Man they're getting bold. In my former life as an attorney it never ceased to amaze me how people would walk into the hallway after being just discharged in Bankruptcy and they'd immediately be hit up by people offering them a brand new credit card. First few times I just stood there slack jawed... "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Wish I could, but I fear my wife's wrath even more than any terrorist. No seriously, she deserves a little break from me skipping off every Saturday so this will be a little "RW" time for us. Got any restaurant recommendations?

Sure, but you wouldn't just stroll across a busy highway just because you felt like it at that particular moment. Sure we're all gonna die sometime. Sure I can get creamed driving to the airport. Sure I could burn in with a double-mal on my next skydive. But at the same time I'd still like to stick around a while and get a few more skydives (and maybe a BASE jump or two) in if I can at all help it. And I certainly don't want to go out being blown out of the sky by some religious/political zealot. No we can't sit around & wring our hands worry about when our time is up. But I'm not going to go out of my way to do something that I think might put me or my wife in danger. My thinking is prolly way skewed, but if you asked me BASE jump or flight to San Fran, I'd take the BASE jump cuz I like the odds better. And like I said, last week I was looking forward to this, but with the State Dept. announcement, the employees being concerned, and the security report, that sent a whole bunch of red flags going off. All this said, I'll still prolly wind up going. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Well here's the latest... I called up my airline to tell them about my concerns and hear what they had to say. To make a long story short, I never was able to get a firm answer that yes, indeed, 100% of all bags are screened for explosives. I got a lot of "blah blah...increased security measures... blah blah...doing everything we can..." but no specifics and no firm statements. As far as their own employees being concerned about security, all I got was that "they have a right to express their views, even though we don't agree". Never got a good answer to my follow-up of "why would they be expressing concerns if it wasn't based on something?" So I'm not terribly impressed with the answers I'm getting< I felt like it was more of a "Tell them what they want to hear" kind of thing than giving me a straight up answer. So anyway, I'm still on the fence on this whole deal. Yes the terrorists to a degree win if I don't go. But, yes, the terrorists also win if I'm dead (and so do the airline executives who decided not to spend the money necessary to implement good security). Oh, and for those of you that wonder what I'd do if the thing were hijacked. I'd do the same thing that I'd do with a malfunction... fight it all the way to the ground. Flame on.... "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Trust me, everything y'all have said is on the "plus" side of the equation. But the hijacking scenario is not the one I'm concerned about. I think another hikacking is extremely unlikely for quite some time to come. Here's the scenario I think is far more likely... Bomb screens for checked luggage are extremely lax at American airports. Since we are dealing with people who are completely willing to drive planes into buildings, or strap TNT to themselves and walk into a restaurant, I think we will most likely see someone check their own bomb onto the plane and then go up for the ride with it. No takeover. No confrontation. Quite frankly I'm appalled that airlines are not screening every single bag. And if they suffer economically because people are afraid to fly, then to some degree they've made their own bed, because an economic decision was obviously made that it was cheaper not to implement full screening. Guess it isn't anymore. So you could argue the flip side of the coin. Maybe it's our duty as consumers to boycott a product where we feel safety isn't up to snuff. That provides an economic incentive to implement those measures. Tighten security, restore passenger (and employee) confidence, and you'll have more people flying your airline again. As an aside I'll just add my agreement that ppl are getting way too worked up overthe anthrax stuff. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

My wife & I are supposed to be going on a trip to San Francisco this week and we're both more than a little concerned about takingthe flights there & back. I know this sounds totally stupid coming from a person who doesn't think twice about jumping out at 14K, but I honestly feel safer doing that than flying a commercial airliner these days. Particulary when: 1) I come to find out that 90% of all checked baggage does not go through an explosives screen. 2) Flight crews stationed at Bush Intercontinental Airport (where we are leaving and returning) are concerned about lax security. 3) There are now "credible" threats of some new terrorist activity somewhere somehow this week. I'm really this close to just cancelling the trip and driving to New Orleans or San Antonio. So whatcha all think? Are we geting way too worked up or would you do the same thing? Just coo-rious. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."