Richards

I'm sorry you have ran into such people. Perhaps I have been lucky in that sense. No-one has ever been that blatantly rude to me and in fairness I would not like that iether. I agree. If I developed an interest in BASE Jumping (not that brave) I would hope the person would treat my questions with respect. Cheers, Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

OK let me guess...my post bothered you. I seem to recall specifically saying I was not trying to provoke. It was something I observed and was curious about it. As for telling people about it to be the centre of attention I do not know where you got that. Perhaps you are trying to polarize my position. I was asking for opinions. If you feel that my interpretation was wrong then fine, say so. If my question so mightily offended you that you feel the need to attack with this little burst of rage, might I suggest that you avoid reading my posts. Whatever your problem is.....seek help. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

During my time in the sport I have always been amazed by the contempt that most skydivers have for non-skydivers AKA Whuffos. Since starting to frequent this forum (which is a great forum) I have seen multiple threads about Irritating Whuffos, Dumb Whuffos questions...etc. There seems to be an obsessive contempt for non-skydivers that almost borders on elitism. Many people seem to find the many questions they ask iritating and I am at a loss as to why. Granted I have not been as active in the sport as most others yet I never seemed to be bothered by the questions/comments of non-skydivers. Honestly I was often quite willing to answer their questions because I can appreciate why a non-skydiver might find it fascinating. The dumb questions well......I might have asked them myself before I started jumping and learned. Even the age old "perfectly good airplane" comment does not bother me. Yes there will often be some know-it-all who has not jumped but "has a freind who does it" or someone who is just lying, but the majority are genuinely curious but realistically will never do it themselves so why not educate them? To a non-jumper there would naturally be some fascination with people who can do this. I am not trying to provoke but I would really appreciate some insight into why so many in this sport see themselves as being at odds with these strange creatures that are refered to as Whuffos". Golfers do not have names for people like me who do not golf. Please help me understand this, but at the same time do not take this as being confrontational. I simply seek to understand this. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

I sincerely hope that he feels ashamed of his actions. Youthfull rebellion to authority is one thing but he crossed the line with that stunt. Perhaps an apropriate addition to his sentence would be to have him go to the legion hall or a veterans home and apoligize directly to them for his actions in person. Seeing the shattered bodies of men who gave everything they had so he could live the priviledged life he lives would make him truly see how horrid it was for him to piss on their memorial. Richards Are you sure you don't want him killed. *** Get over it. Again if it is attention you seek, I am sure your parents will accomodate. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

I sincerely hope that he feels ashamed of his actions. Youthfull rebellion to authority is one thing but he crossed the line with that stunt. Perhaps an apropriate addition to his sentence would be to have him go to the legion hall or a veterans home and apoligize directly to them for his actions in person. Seeing the shattered bodies of men who gave everything they had so he could live the priviledged life he lives would make him truly see how horrid it was for him to piss on their memorial. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

I was at some pizza place where you can buy a single slice and when I paid the guy and received my change he actually had the audacity to look me in the eye and slide the tip jar towards me. Sorry to disappoint him. I think in general all people in the service industry are becoming tip obsessive. It used to be 10% for good service, and now they seem to expect 15% regardless.It is becoming very irritating. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Hey. You should see some of the winners we had "leading" the country on parliament hill. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Yup. Strange man. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Understood. I imagine that most parents kiss their babies on the belly but not 9 year old children. With respect to the fact that this may be a cultural thing, I imagine that if that was the norm in russia the media would not likely have bothered to report it. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

I think I would be getting my son far away from him. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

I can appreciate where you are coming from with this but do we have safegaurds in place to make sure that those doing the torturing are only doing it to people who have info? If left unchecked they could be torturing people who know nothing just to speculate. They may even go a step further and torture the relatives of bad guys to get info. I would feel no sympathy for a guy like bin laden but I would not want to see somone torturing an innocent relative just to get info from him. Furthermore many of the people in the know seem to feel that interrogation by people who know how to use methods of getting a suspect to "lower his gaurd" can get more accurate info than some guy ripping out fingernails. I really don't know, but I would have some reservations about your approach. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

I'm not sure I can do that as I only found out after I had stayed there. In the future I will likely ask for disclosure of all fees in advance and in writing. Again it was only about $10 so I will not give myself a headache over the issue. Just irritated me at the time. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Gracias, I am probably not going to pursue the issue as confronation is really not my thing but I was curious. I guess it is lesson learned. In the future I will ask for written disclosure of all fees in advance. Cheers, Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Check out this CNN article about Vlad. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/07/06/russia.putin.reut/index.html Poor guy should retire...he is badly in need of rest. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

My wife and I recently took a small trip and stayed at a moderately priced hotel. Upon receiving our bill we noticed there was also a marketing fee added on to our bill. We were not informed that this was part of the fee nor did I spot it on the website where I got the phone number. I realize that they are not obliged to inform you of all governmnent fees (like the France Airline fee for thirld world countries), or taxes but marketing is part of the firms private cost structure. Basing your price quote on your variable costs but then after the fact billing for a component of your fixed cost sounds a bit unethical to me. Does anyone know if they are allowed to do this. I did not get into an argument with the desk clerk over this as it was only about $10, nor will I bother following up on it with the company, but I am curious. I welcome the opinions of anyone in the know on this. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

The man is very lucky. Mob mentality can be frightenning particularly when you have fouled upon a national symbol. Either way I am sure the man woke up real quick when confronted with the angry crowd. Kudos to the police who saved him. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Thank you. Hence my disclaimer on the bottom of every post. I often find myself frustrated with the conduct of so many people in society that I tend to want to fire off with those comments as a means of expressing my dismay at a certain incident or action. That said, if a discussion does gain momentum in a positive direction I usually try to contribute to the momentum of the debate in as constructive manner as possible. Cheers, Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

OK your right. I was initially very angry with the little punk for what he did .Anyway, they have now caught them however as young offenders their names cannot be released. Perhaps they should be at least forced to volunteer with disabled veterans as part of their sentence so they can wake up a little bit to just how wrong their actions were. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Ssshhh...quiet. Adults are trying to hold a debate and you are interrupting. Please step away from your parents computer...it is probably past your bedtime. If you need attention just tell your mother. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Wow. I am very right wing but even I find this to be a wee bit over the top. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Actually seeing him wearing a skirt with painted toe-nails and responding to his master who addresses him as bitch might have been closer to justice. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Howdy Bill, Just saying that people who disagree with him might want to tell him what they think of him. It's not as though he was trying to be discrete. He wanted to be seen. Let's assume you're talking about a (legal) expression of his opinions. Are the following OK: Publishing the address of a school where a pro-Abu Ghraib senator's children go to school, and saying "maybe we should see if they think torture is OK if it can be done to their kids!" Posting the home address of a judge who put a suspected gang member in jail, so that gang members can find him to freely express their opinions of his actions. Again, I think he's a dirtbag for peeing on the memorial, and I hope they find him and prosecute him. But absent the element of illegality, your (or my) opinion on whether or not he's respectful or not changes nothing about whether he is entitled to the same level of privacy as you or I. *** I guess I felt that by doing his act in front of the public he willingly relinquished his right tp privacy. He seemed to want to be seen. Despite my earlier rants I do not truly advocate harming the guy but I do think that since he chose to make a spectacle of himself he has chose to put his actions on the froint page. All kinds of people who are arrested get their name and picture published. He seems to enjoy publicity. Anyway, Cheers, Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

A healthy military and a willingness to manage relations with the POTUS does not mean that one has to go off to every war he sends his troops into. It simply means that if we don't go it's because we do not approve...not because we can't. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Me thinks you misunderstood me. Notwithstanding my steaknife vasectomy comment, I simply feel that if these guys feel so strongly about their disrespect for veterans they should be willing to make eye contact with every teacher, employer, co-worker...etc, and explain why they felt it appropriate to piss on the memorial for young men who died horrible deaths to protect their rights. They have the right to freedom of expression and society has they right to confront them on that expression. These guys chose a public forum for their expression and have therefore chosen to relinquish their right to privacy on their expression. If Johnny Buttplug decides to express himself in full public view he should be man enough to face public scrutiny for his actions. He knew where to go to express his opinion of the veterans who fought, so why shouldn't John Q. Public know where to go to exercise their right to freely express their opinions of his actions. If he feels a bit embarrased... well he was a big enough man to piss on the graves of men better than him, he is a big enough man to look people in the eye while they express their opinion of his actions. Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

Yooouuu softy! Richards My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.