AndyMan

I think a much better simile would be: "So what would you think if they wanted to confiscate my parachute rig because of a few other people who operated their skydiving gear dangerously and hurt or killed third parties." It's kinda funny when recognized experts shoot themselves in the foot, ultimately it's when innocent people get killed that people call for guns to be banned. If there were a lot of whuffo's dieing on the ground, I probably wouldn't care if they wanted to take my rig, since I wouldn't be using it anyways. Fortunately, for the most part skydiving only puts risk on the participants. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I agree. The Gimli Glider story is truly spectacular. C-GAUM is still operating wtih Air Canada. http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=C-GAUN&distinct_entry=true I wish I could find a good review of the Air Transat incident, it seems to be equally compelling. C-GITS is still operating with Air Transat. http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=C-GITS&distinct_entry=true _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

They generally do, yes. If you were to try to bail on a commercial plane that was running out of fuel, keep in mind that you could end up being criminally charged with contributing to the crash, or endangering the public. That might not be such a bad thing if the plane did crash, but it would suck pretty badly if that plane ended up landing normally - like most do. There have been 4 total - commercial jetliners that crashed from fuel starvation. 2 landed safe, 2 crashed. The first, a United DC-8 in 1978 near Portland, the NTSB remarked: "CRW MEMBERS FAILED TO CONVEY CONCERN ABOUT FUEL EXH TO PIC UNTIL ACDNT WAS INEVITABLE.". Only 10 fatalities. The second, the Air Canada 767, landed safe. The third, an Columbian Avianca 707 crashed near JFK, read about it here: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001212X22401&key=1. Of the 158 passengers, only 73 were fatally injured. The fourth, the A330 that landed safe in the Azores. So, in all of modern aviation, a commercial airline has only run out of fuel 4 times. That's not a lot. 2 of them landed without any injuries. 2 crashed, and in both cases a majority of passengers walked away. Again, if I'll point out that if you had been on any of these planes, and had done anything to try to bail out, you would have been arrested and probably gotten a few years in jail. You probably would have ended up feeling pretty foolish, because even if you'd stayed in your seats and done nothing at all, you probably would have walked away. Your dad flies commercial aviation? Commercial avation and general aviation are two very different things. I'm with you - I wouldn't hesitate to bail out of a private plane the minute it shows mechanical issues after talking things over with the pilot. That's very different than with a commercial plane, though. I disagree. In General aviation, any landing that the pilot can walk (or crawl) away from, is "not so bad". _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Air Canada was the Gimli Glider, a B767. Air Transat was the Azores, an A330. Clickies located a few posts up. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Planes do not fall out of the sky when they run out of gas. They've still got wings, after all. http://www.wadenelson.com/gimli.html Boeing 767, now known as the "Gimli Glider" http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/08/24/airtransat_010824 Airbus A330 lands at The Azores, a tiny resort island off the coast of portugal. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Well, I suppose that's possible, but more importantly think about the air pressure. Low pressure outside, high pressure inside. Most commercial airplane doors that I've looked at simply can not open when there's a big pressure difference. The doors physically have to move into the cabin before they'll open. You can't do that with the pressure difference. Even if you did manage to get the door open, you'd be jumping out a side door into a 350+mph wind, which is undoubtedly going to cause you to impact part of the airplane, either the wing, the fusellage itself, or the tail mounted engines. The exit itself would be incredibly risky. Beside, the question is largely moot. Airplanes generally don't just fall out of the sky. Even the most serious mechanical issues usually result in a perfectly landable airplane, and have a perfectly good runway within range. The only time I would even consider it would be if there had been enough structural damage to the airplane itself that a: I didn't need to open the door, and b: it was obvious that nobody would not survive the landing. Fortunately, those situations are rare. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The single most important thing to successfull homebrewing is cleanliness. Clean everything, especially the bottles. Instruction for bottle cleaning: Fill bottles with with hot water, then add dish soap and shake. Rinse with hotwater to drain. Fill again with hot water, then add a teaspoon of bleach to each bottle. Cover and shake. Drain, and rinse with excessive amounts of hot water. I don't know anything about that specific kit. The other advice I have is to do not over-ferment. A lot of kits come with excessive amounts of sugar to speed fermentation - which if you leave it too long can cause your kit to explode. This isn't particularly dangerous, but it sure can be messy... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You said it man. Nobody fucks with the Jesus. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I don't tip for takeout, ever. Fast-food, or otherwise - if I'm picking it up, the cashier deserves the tip no more than the cashier at a 7-11. I tip generously for eat-in, and delivery - usually well over 20% if the service is good, but have no qualms leaving exact change if it's not. Before anyone lectures me, yes - I have been a waiter and know exactly how hard they work. Tipping for poor service only encourages it. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It's no different than safety belts. Safety belts and airbags have their own risks. Clearly, it does lower risk. I'm absolutely amazed and dumbfounded to see this even questioned. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Congrats! Craichead and I moved into our first place mid-January. Home ownership is cool. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I don't think anybody disagrees that they should not be relied upon. I only disagree with two very small points. The first is the assertion that it's innapropriate to add additional safety gear for riskier jumps. That practice is common in every activity I've engaged in. The second is that I think people who choose to always jump with one should not be ridiculed, mocked, or otherwise criticized in any way. It's their choice. I do not think someone who chooses to jump without one prooves anything, other than a lower risk tollerance. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm pretty sure that other thread was locked for a reason. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think the only purpose of The Bonfire is to keep the crap out of the topical forums. Get rid of The Bonfire, and the topical forums go to hell. I think the only purpose of Speakers Corner is to keep the crap out of The Bonfire. Get rid of Speakers Corner, and the Bonfire goes to hell, and crap starts showing up in the topical forums. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It's definately cool stuff. I had to link straight to this one, just because. http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/06.html#p My favorite is the happy face reaper. http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/03.html#p __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm going to jump on this bandwagon. My own personal week 4: 1 lbs for the week. 6 lbs for the duration. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think you need to do a bit more research. Yah, I suppose it could happen, but monkeys could fly out my butt. The WTO regulates legal trade. Before the WTO can do anything, that legal trade must already be happening. In other words, the WTO does not regulate the lack of trade. The WTO has never ordered any soverign nation to allow import/export of something it does not want to trade in. It only regulates the terms and condition of trade that's already taking place. As a comparison, some Canadians are worried that the WTO will some day order Canada to sell it's fresh-water to fuel suburban growth in Arizona. Currently, the WTO regulates how water bottled for individual consuption is exported, but does not regulate bulk water exports - either by pipe-line or tanker truck. As soon as tanker trucks filled with water start driving across the border, than the WTO will have authority to regulate tanker-trucks full of water. Likewise, as soon as a water pipeline is built, and water starts flowing south, the WTO will have authority to regulate water exported to the US via pipelines. The WTO can not order the bulk export of water via truck or pipeline on the basis that water is currently exported in 12 ounce bottles. With the WTO, there is no "thin edge of the wedge". Either a product is imported/exported in its current form, or it's not. If it's not, the WTO does not get involved. Since there is no legal market in the import/export of marijuana, the issue is outside the scope of WTO, or NAFTA for that matter. Neither was written for that purpose, nor are they used for that purpose. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Last week a British grafiti artist (dressed as Inspecter Clousseau) broke into 4 of New York's most famous art galleries, and installed his own art! Picture of him in action are here Reuters had this to say: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Many a visitor to New York's Museum of Modern Art has probably thought, "I could do that." A British graffiti artist who goes by the name "Banksy" went one step further, by smuggling in his own picture of a soup can and hanging it on a wall, where it stayed for more than three days earlier this month before anybody noticed. The prank was part of a coordinated plan to infiltrate four of New York's top museums on a single day. The largest piece, which he smuggled into the Brooklyn Museum, was a 2 foot by 1.5 foot (61cm by 46 cm) oil painting of a colonial-era admiral, to which the artist had added a can of spray paint in his hand and anti-war graffiti in the background. The other two targets were the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History, where he hung a glass-encased beetle with fighter jet wings and missiles attached to its body -- another comment on war, Banksy told Reuters on Thursday. "It was just an outsider's view of the modern American bug, bristling with listening devices and military hardware," he said. An art Web site called www.woostercollective.com has posted pictures of the artist -- wearing an Inspector Clouseau-style overcoat, a hat and a fake beard and nose -- hanging up his work at the four museums and describing how he did it. Speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location in Britain, Banksy said he conducted all four operations on March 13, helped by accomplices who filmed him and provided distractions where necessary. "They staged a gay tiff (lovers' quarrel), shouting very loudly and obnoxiously," said the artist, declining to give his real name or any personal details beyond his occupation as a professional painter and decorator. It is not the first time he has staged such stunts. Last year he smuggled work into the Louvre in Paris and London's Tate, attracting attention in the British media. "My sister inspired me to do it. She was throwing away loads of my pictures one day and I asked her why. She said 'It's not like they're going to be hanging in the Louvre.'" He took that as a challenge. "I thought why wait until I'm dead," he said. His preferred creative outlet, graffiti on trains, was growing more difficult due to greater security so he decided to branch out into infiltrating museums. "I tend to gravitate to places with less sophisticated security systems," he said. Officials at the Natural History Museum declined to comment on security. Museum of Modern Art officials said only that the offending picture was taken down on March 17. It was unclear what gave the game away but Banksy's version of Andy Warhol's iconic images of Campbell's Soup Cans showed a can of Tesco value tomato soup, a discounted brand sold by a British supermarket chain. "Obviously they've got their eye a lot more on things leaving than things going in which works in my favor," Banksy said. "I imagine they'll be doing stricter bag checks now." He said the painting in the Metropolitan Museum, a small portrait of a woman wearing a gas mask, had been discovered after one day, while the others stayed up for several days. The paintings were fixed to the wall with extra-strong glue. Asked how he managed to escape notice while putting them up on a busy Sunday at the museums, he said: "They do get pretty full, but not if you put the pictures in the boring bits." --end quote. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

This comes closest to my thoughts on the matter. I was very much against the invasion, and if we could repeat history I would still be against the invasion. Reality is different though, and we can't repeat history. Hopefully we won't repeat history in other countries like Iran. The invasion has already happened, and this presents opportunities for change. So far, some of the changes have been positive, some negative. Some of the positive changes are compelling. Reasons for staying in Iraq are a lot stronger than the "moral responsibility", it's also a pragmatic responsibility. Backing out now would squander all the work done, and would make Iraq truly a hotbed of terror. Iraq wasn't a threat to the US when the war started, but if the US were to back out, it could very well become the kind of threat that Afghanistan used to be. Iraq is well on its way to regaining itself as a great nation. I'd hate to see that fall apart. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think he means one of the GM Hybrids that will likely be built in China. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You may very well be right. I don't know. I do know the WTO idea is a crockpot of something stinky. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Yay! Is Back! __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Did it leave buring tire marks like in Back To the Future? I've always wanted a car that could do that. Speaking of which, may John DeLorean rest in peace. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Craichead and I are hitting Brian Germain's seminar the days before, and likely sticking around. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Craichead and I will both be there. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.