Doasfu

Whoopee. I just had one of those snooty, "I'm better than all of you because I skydive" moments last night. A good friend of mine (and veteran of one jump) invited me over to play poker with some of his friends. I thought, mistakenly, that it would be more fun than sitting at home playing video games. I was quite wrong. See, my friend's a really cool guy, but he's in a fraternity. I don't want to offend anyone, but fraternity/sorority people aren't my usual social circle, and I was reminded of why. They were they most annoying group of gossiping losers this side of high school. After a few hours of very little poker and a lot of hearing people I don't know talk about "Theta Kis" and "Delt Sigs" and going on and on about the most minute, mundane details of their opinions on their other "friends" I was about ready to scream. We didn't finally start playing more than a hand every half hour untill I quietly gathered up all my change and headed for the door. When one of the guys asked where I was going I said, "I don't know any of the people you're talking about and we're not playing poker so I'm leaving." Ugh. I could go on, but I'm just ranting. Sorry of the off-topic post. Dan

Why am I not at the dropzone? It's blue and sunny and warm outside, and I have enough money in my checking account to go jump. My last jump, two weeks ago, was one of my best, and very relaxing, and yet for some reason I'm just sitting here. I don't have any idea why I'm not just driving down there now, but I can honestly say there's no way I'm going today and I don't know *why*! Argh! Can anyone relate to a nervous student? :)

Dehumanizing someone to allow ourselves to kill them is a dangerous path to tread upon. Dan

Hey Pyke, I agree with what you're saying here, and he did admit guilt. However, he asked to be killed after being convicted at the original trial. He may have chosen to forsake his appeals, but that's not the same as allowing himself to be killed on the basis of a faulty trial, however miniscule the fault may have been. Don't get me wrong, I think he's guilty and I think the conviction will be upheld. Although I am against the death penaly, even in this extreme case, I have no doubt he will be put to death. But even in spite of his admission of guilt, he has the legal right to examine the evidence against him, and five days just is not enough time to do that. Dan

Alright, against my better judgement I'm going to jump in here. We are talking about killing a human being. I know he's not a good person, and I know that most people think he deserves to die, but this is a human life that is going to be ended. Doesn't he deserve a complete defense? Even though it may seem trivial, these are documents that the FBI was required by law to hand over to the defense, and they did not do so. Yes, this case seems as black and white as they come, but just because this man is hated does not mean he should not be given the same protections under the law that we are all entitled to.

I always figured the cool, hip, trendy Hollanders just kicked the CRC ones out and that's why all the Dutch in this area are so conservative. :) Dan

Yep, it does it exist. Here's the URL if you're interested: http://www.salon.com/audio/2000/10/05/eliot/index.html

Hey Sangiro, I love this poem. I seem to remember finding an mp3 of eliot reading some or all of it on Salon.com. Not sure if it would still be there, but it was very cool. Dan

From memory: One, two, and through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with it's head he went gallumphing back.

Four finals down, one to go. Managed to find a new apartment at the last minute, and love the place. I'm about to buy a brand new computer game. I have cold beer in the fridge. The forecast for the weekend is beautiful and I have a big ol' expensive student jump ticket in my wallet right now. Life is looking up. That is all. Dan (You said you wanted good news! :)

What's the book on parachuting history? Sounds interesting. Dan

How about blue skies, warm weather, nice breezes, being physically fit, and having a 12 page paper due in two days. Dan

Mine is also very boring. Many years ago a friend and I were sitting around playing a video game, and when we needed to name the character he shouted out, "Death On A Stick!" which I shortened to Doas. When I tried to register Doas on slashdot.org, it was taken so I added the suffix "-fu." Dan

Just a dolphin, ma'am.

Hey Dutchboy, Did you ever make it to Hastings? The weather here has been pretty awful lately... Dan

We all would. There's not a person alive who wouldn't want them to be dead if this happened to them. But our justice system, flawed as it is, is not based on vengance, and these decisions are taken out of the hands of those against whom the crime is committed for just this reason. There are some people that I think deserve to die, and McVeigh is certainly one of them, but I don't think I have the right to make that decision, and I don't think our government does, either. Dan

Those are the highlights! Dan

No nations without the death penalty maintain civility? Err... umm... nevermind... let's agree to disagree.

Hey, count me in on that one too. The death penalty has no place in a civilized society. Dan

Err... umm... sorry. :) Dan

I'll be haning in the skydiver's only section of hell, and it'll be quite the blast. Any other non-believers care to join me? Dan

These things you say intrigue me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Dan

You're a skydiver? You jump out of planes for fun? What if the chute doesn't open? Weirdo. Dan

Hey man, these are skydivers we're talking to here... I thought I'd spell it out. Sometimes they're a little slow on the uptake. :) Dan

Greetings, I have to suggest the game No One Lives Forever. Actually, it's mostly just a first person shooter, but it happens to be a damn fun game. Anyhow, on the second or third level, there's a part where the plane you're in gets blown up in midair, and you have to try to catch up with the bad guy below you and steal his chute. It's pretty entertaining, and a very good game overall. I'm not sure, but the skydiving bit might be in the demo version, which you can get off the net. Dan