MF42

A dust devil is a small funnel-shaped vortex that wind can sometimes form. Kind of like a tornado, but much slower and smaller, sometimes only 10 feet across. They're only visible when they pick up dust, hence the name. It would be very unusual to find one in no-wind conditions, or in high winds. They form when gentle winds blow across some object at a certain angle that causes the wind to spin into a vortex. Once the vortex is spinning it's fairly self-sustaining and can travel surprising distances away from the initial object. When I was a kid I loved running up to a dust devil and tossing in a handful of leaves. It was fun to watch them twirl away into the sky. No fun hitting one under canopy though. Matt

Well, since you asked...

Damn! They'd be scraping ugly off of her for a week! Matt

Matt Fisher = I'm the farts! Matt

Adapted mine from "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." What's really bugging me is I can't remember whether or not somebody else used it before me. Matt

Beef, onion, and a few jalepenos. Matt

"Slap me and call me Susan!" Matt

I really enjoy solving puzzles and fixing things, but I wouldn't call it a rush. Occasionally I get to see some unusual/cool aircraft that are usually only found at airshows. That's always fun. Test flights to see if we fixed the plane properly can be fun. About the only adrenaline rush in this job comes when I have to observe or adjust something on an engine while it's running. Did you know that once you get within two or three feet, a spinning propeller is almost completely invisible? Watch your step! Matt

Armageddon. Terrible script, but cool special effects. Matt

Folding bedsheets makes about as much sense as making the bed look neat every day. Why? What could it possibly gain me to do either of these things? As far as I can tell, those are minutes deducted from time that could be better spent either having fun in various ways or being productive.

The wire looks just like safety wire, sometimes called lock wire, used to secure hardware on aircraft. Matt

AFF3 attempt #1: didn't pass, but got to experience all the excitement of landing out for the first time! Without damage!

A decent set of well made, truly sharp knives.

0:1:1 First time landing out.

Ok, I just spent about three hours stumbling from cool site to cool site when I should be getting to the DZ. This thing is very cool! Thanks RhondaLea!

Yeah, I really don't mind looking uncool. I've been a nerd all my life and don't expect to change anytime soon.

I'm a non-drinker and realize that I'm clueless about beer, so I just asked a few different people at the DZ, and bought what seemed the most commonly requested brand. Pretty simple really.

Understood, thanks!

In my recent FJC my instructor advised me to clear the cables, and that is what I've been practicing. I'm curious about why you qualify your advice "especially @ your current experience level." I don't understand what experience, or rather the lack of experience in my case, has to do with clearing the cables. Why might it not be a good idea to clear them? And don't worry, I'll keep practicing what I was taught until my instructors say different. Just curious. Matt

As part of my due diligence research before choosing a dropzone and starting to skydive, I rented Terminal Velocity, Drop Zone, and Cutaway. (Blockbuster didn't have Point Break.) I'd have to say that none of them can really be considered good, but Cutaway had the most visually entertaining skydiving sequences.

My boss frequently refers to "doing the dick dance", but I've never yet figured out what exactly he means by that. In context, the phrase apparently describes a frustating waste of time. Does this mean we're all dancing with our dicks instead of fixing problems? Maybe our dicks are dancing? Is it the customer's dick? I really don't get it. Matt

Growing up in Oklahoma we generally ignored all tornado warnings. If the storm was particularly violent most people stood out on their front porches just to watch the show. If an actual funnel cloud was sighted anywhere nearby then the drill was to move into the innermost room of the house, away from windows. Having said that, the tornado that tore the roof off my apartment several years ago was not preceded by official warnings of any kind. I was leaning out a window, watching the lightning show, when the wind suddenly picked up. Then it REALLY picked up. For the record, it did not sound like a train; I don't know how that little myth got started. It sounded more like standing close to a large turbine engine. I turned and ran towards my bathroom but the damage was done in about five seconds, so I never got there. That roof tearing away was the most terrifying sound I've ever heard. So, I guess my point is this: tornadoes are a lot like earthquakes. Completely random and unpredicatble destruction, scary while it's happening, but most people get through them just fine. I hope you don't live in a trailer though. Matt

That's great!

Buddy of mine really liked "Son of a motherless chicken!!!" Matt

How did the song go? "C is for cookie..." is as much as I can remember. Matt