Zennie

Welcome! So if you were at SDB, do you know Carrie & Billy? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Welcome to the boards BillyZ! Ya Carrie is a regular round these parts. Everyone here is pretty good natured so feel free to chime in anytime. And if you have 'puter questions, there's a fair number of geeks here (myself included) to help ya out! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Yeah, but I had to add the HTML tags for the boldface & italics. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

This is starting to remind me of that scene from The Princess Bride... Man in black: But if there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse. Vizzini: I'm afraid so. I can't compete with you physically, and you're no match for my brains. Man in black: You're that smart? Vizzini: Let me put it this way: Have you ever heard or Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? Man in black: Yes. Vizzini: Morons! Man in black: Really! In that case, I challenge you to a battle of wits. Vizzini: For the princess? To the death? I accept! Man in black: Good, then pour the wine. [Vizzini pours the wine] Inhale this but do not touch. Vizzini: [taking a vial from the man in black] I smell nothing. Man in black: What you do not smell is Iocaine powder. It is odorless, tasteless, and dissolves instantly in liquid and is among the more deadly poisons known to man. Vizzini: [shrugs with laughter] Hmmm. Man in black: [turning his back, and adding the poison to one of the goblets] Alright, where is the poison? The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide and we both drink - and find out who is right, and who is dead. Vizzini: But it's so simple. All I have to do is divine it from what I know of you. Are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own goblet or his enemies? Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you...But you must have known I was not a great fool; you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me. Man in black: You've made your decision then? Vizzini: [happily] Not remotely! Because Iocaine comes from Australia. As everyone knows, Australia is entirely peopled with criminals. And criminals are used to having people not trust them, as you are not trusted by me. So, I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. Man in black: Truly, you have a dizzying intellect. Vizzini: Wait 'till I get going!! ...where was I? Man in black: Australia. Vizzini: Yes! Australia! And you must have suspected I would have known the powder's origin,so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me. Man in black: You're just stalling now. Vizzini: You'd like to think that, wouldn't you! You've beaten my giant, which means you're exceptionally strong...so you could have put the poison in your own goblet trusting on your strength to save you, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But, you've also bested my Spaniard, which means you must have studied...and in studying you must have learned that man is mortal so you would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me! Man in black: You're trying to trick me into giving away something. It won't work. Vizzini: It has worked! You've given everything away! I know where the poison is! Man in black: Then make your choice. Vizzini: I will, and I choose... [pointing behind the man in black] What in the world can that be? Man in black: [turning around, while Vizzini switches goblets] What?! Where?! I don't see anything. Vizzini: Oh, well, I...I could have sworn I saw something. No matter. [Vizzini laughs] Man in black: What's so funny? Vizzini: I...I'll tell you in a minute. First, lets drink, me from my glass and you from yours. [They both drink] Man in black: You guessed wrong. Vizzini: You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha, you fool!! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia; and only slightly less well known is this: Never go in against a Sicilian, when death is on the line! [Vizzini continues to laugh hysterically. Suddenly, he stops and falls right over. The Man in black removes the blindfold from the princess] Buttercup: Who are you? Man in black: I'm no one to be trifled with. That is all you'll ever need know. Buttercup: And to think, all that time it was your cup that was poisoned. Man in black: They were both poisoned. I spent the last few years building up immunity to iocaine powder. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie Edited by Zennie on 4/11/01 08:43 PM.

Ah! But if 42 is the answer to the ultimate question, then it must necessarily encompass the truth as well! For is not the answer to the ultimate question also something we can call the truth? Ow! My brain hurts! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Greg - Take a closer look at the typeface. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

42 ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

You can always take the PADI/NAUI (whichever is your preference) course from one of the local dive shops. They usually offer pretty flexible hours. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Credit card companies -- Ted's Soapbox #54. Get this. When I was still lawyering, I would occasionally attend bankruptcy hearings for one of my officemates. No sooner would people walk out the door after being discharged than they would be approached by folks representing credit card companies offering them a brand spanking new credit line. I mean the ink hasn't even dried on the papers yet and these guys are falling over themselves trying to get you back into the situation that got you in bankruptcy court in the first place! And here's the sinister part. They know you can't discharge yourself a second time for at least 7 (?) years. So this time they have you by the short ones. Truly amazing. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Ya I agree. That part was pretty lame. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I quit my job as a lawyer because I came to the realization that life is too short to spend it being miserable at what I do. So I became a software developer. I figured I'd be happier, and better at what I do, if I made my hobby my career. I have absolutely no regrets and I'm actually doing OK financially. Do what you love. You'll naturally excel. If you excel you'll be successful. But even if you're broke, at least you're happy in your work -- unlike 90% of the population. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Yeah, that's pretty much what happened (based on all the other accounts I've read). The protest was pre-arranged with park authorities. The park authorities figured it would be safer to do it in a constrolled manner, so the agreement was the jumpers would land in a predetermined area, where they would surrender their rig and allow themselves to be arrested. She didn't want to lose her main BASE rig to the authorities so she borrowed someone else's. Her rig was a BOC and the borrowed rig was an ROL. Would I prefer that this not be in the Darwin Awards page? Definitely. Do I see why it made it there? Sort of. I mean, whuffos think we're crazy as it stands. And BASE jumpers are in an entirely different league from a whuffo standpoint. So if we skydivers go "Well, that wasn't very bright", you can only imagine what whuffos think. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I was browsing Joe Jennings' website and I came across his story about the George Bush Sr. jump. One of the things he mentioned was that he and Sanders have had significant differences over the years. Anyone know what that's all about? If you don't want to post it in a public forum, that's fine, you can email me in private. It may not be any of my business, but it just really piqued my curiosity. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

As far as my family goes.... My wife has stopped worrying about it now that she's started to gain an understanding about the sport. My Mom frets, but she frets about everything. My Dad can't really complain, because he races cars for kicks. My bro wants to do a skydive with his wedding party before he gets married. Naturally I'm gonna have to do something special for that! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

First off, sorry to hear that Carrie. That really sucks. Now it's time for me to go off into yet another of my diatribes.... I just don't get this. I see this kind of thing time and time again... and people wonder why kids grow up with all sorts of issues. People wonder why kids these days feel alienated and irrelevant? Sheesh! I mean, my wife and I go back and forth about having kids all the time. Neither of us want to have a child unless we can devote all of our love and attention to it. If we don't think that we can do that, we won't have kids. People are so wrapped up in themselves these days that they treat their kids more as burdens and inconveniences than human beings who desperately need love, guidance and companionship. If you can't provide that, you shouldn't be reproducing. Time for a soak in Bally's jacuzzi.... ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

wingie - Time out! You have to attend seminars for high risk activities when the Army has the Golden Knights? That makes absolutely no sen.... Oh, wait, this is the US government we're talking about. Nevermind. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I'm not saying Jan's death is a laughing matter, or that going in BASE jumping automatically qualifies one for a Darwin Award, but if you know the circumstances behind that accident, you'd have to at least agree that if people had used their heads it wouldn't have happened. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Thanks for all your input gang. It's kind of what I was expecting. But it may be all a moot point because I've got a line on a killer deal for a used Sabre that I don't think I can turn down. Guess I'll just have to learn how to pack 'em right. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

OK. I'll byte. What about Becky? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Here's that story I was talking about ----------- Macho Men? 1996 Darwin Awards Winner (1996) Some men will got to extraordinary lengths to prove how macho they are. Frenchman Pierre Pumpille recently shunted a stationary car two feet by headbutting it. "Women thought I was a god," he explained from his hospital bed. Deity or not, however, Pumpille is a veritable girl's blouse compared to Polish farmer Krystof Azninski, who staked a strong claim to being Europe's most macho man by cutting off his own head in 1995. Azninski, 30, had been drinking with friends when it was suggested they strip naked and play some "men's games". Initially they hit each other over the head with frozen turnips, but then one man upped the ante by seizing a chainsaw and cutting off the end of his foot. Not to be outdone, Azninski grabbed the saw and, shouting "Watch this then," he swung at his own head and chopped it off. "It's funny," said one companion, "when he was young he put on his sister's underwear. But he died like a man." ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

There's an old saying "If it happens to me, it's tragedy. If it happens to you, it's comedy." Y'all have to check out the Darwin Awards site if you never had. I bop in from time to time and it never ceases to amaze me the stupid ways people do themselves in. I especially like the guys who did the "manly" contest and the "winner" cut off his own head with a chainsaw. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

That's good! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Yeah. When teeth get involved. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

So is your best friend still your best friend after that episode? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

If I jump a Safire loaded at 1.2? I've got about 30 jumps. I'm about 185 out the door and have been jumping a Sabre 170. I can land it standing up pretty consistently now. Since I'm building a rig, most people that know me have been recommending a 150 sq ft canopy. I was looking at a Spectre, but they're really hard to come by used. So I've been considering a Safire. Sabres are out. I'm sick of getting pounded by them and I don't want to spend my jump wondering if I packed it right. I'm pretty confident that I can fly a Sabre 150, but I'm just wondering if a Safire would be too hot. I know a Stilletto at that size would be too much for me, as would a Crossfire, but a Safire? I dunno. Thoughts? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie