livendive

"The Manchester University graduate, who now works as a risk assessor in Ohio, said the theory starts from the assumption that God has a 50/50 chance of existing, and then factors in the evidence both for and against the notion of a higher being. Factors that were considered included recognition of goodness, which Dr Unwin said makes the existence of God more likely, countered by things like the existence of natural evil - including earthquakes and cancer. " These two paragraphs are pretty telling about the quality of the "study" and its findings. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Here ya go Jim. And no, lightsaber guy, I couldn't find where it has already been posted.

Here's one of our girls Ally & Gracie, the day we brought Gracie (the bulldog pup) home. There are also a couple I took of the Yakima river that froze up a bit this winter. The resolution is poor due to having to shrink the filesizes down. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Lots. How many fewer could you buy for 30k? (after taxes and lost wages while travelling/competing). Now if you handed me a bowl of hog testes floating in alligator vomit, or boiled bovine rectums with a couple live slugs on the side, or some other Fear Factor delicacy and said "I'll give you 30,000 dollars (net) if you eat this", I'd think a little harder about it. But that's a lot different than "If you eat this you'll have a 1 in 6 chance at 30,000 dollars", right? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

A huge amount of money? Sure it was a million this time, but normally it's only 50 grand. I'd do any of the physical and pest (e.g. spider/snake/rat) tricks, but I would NOT eat some of that stuff just to "gross" 50k. I don't even get it. That's not a fear, it's just revulsion. I'm not afraid of the food, I just don't want the taste/textures in my mouth. Anyhow, considering the taxes I'd pay IF I won, and the time off work whether I won or lost, I can't see learning what some of those things taste/smell/feel like just for the *chance* to net 25 grand or so. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

So is your rednasian butt still on the menu in Pahrump?

Does being a surreal person count? I've probably jumped with a dozen or so DZ-commers (including two greenies) and there are others who have occasionally talked on the phone to this alter ego of mine for several years. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I'm devastated! Well at least I can hold on to the dream. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

It may be a forum faux-pas to quote yourself, but it's relevant dammit. It took me two months, but I just received a job offer over the phone. They want me to start Monday and are offering 54% more per hour than I was making...to do MUCH more interesting work. It's only a 3 year project, so I may have to go through this cycle again in the future, but for that kind of salary improvement, I could do this every year!

So last weekend was our bulldog Gracie's first birthday. She's a VERY food-oriented hilarious slob, as any proper bulldog should be. This coming weekend is our boxer Ally's second birthday. If she perceives any sort of threat around our house she gets a little vocal and intimidating, but is otherwise a dainty little princess who likes treats but doesn't get all worked up about food. Given how close the b-days are, we had a little joint birthday party for them Tuesday night, and I snapped some pictures of them with their "cakes" (apple crumb cake treats from petsmart with peanut butter around them and cheddar "candles" on top). Given how perfectly in character their reactions were, I had to share some of the pictures with *someone*, so you all got nominated. If you don't like seeing pictures of people's dogs, don't bother opening the attachments.

Who's got the best score? I got 35. "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

My girlfriend and I visited the "Travelling Wall" last week and it got her thinking about a letter to the editor she clipped out of the newspaper some 15 years ago. Well she dug it up and sent it to me today, and I thought it was pretty poignant, so I'm posting it here: "The Wall I have seen the Vietnam Wall. I do not forget its touch. I cannot remove the vision of its black lists from my eyes' memory: small squares which escalate to monolithic blocks of cold flesh; the tiny tablets rise over my head, or rather, I descend step-by-step beneath them. But it is not the wall which holds my gaze. Three men stand guard at the entrance to the wall. Rather, their stationary pose connotes a desire to flee, but they are unable to flee a threat which they do not know, nor cannot see, nor touch, nor hear, not taste. Their eyes, however, leave little doubt: they smell fear. I smell with them, and I am taken back to the jungle I have never seen. My feet, like theirs, turn to stone. How should I, mere mortal, not share the feat of these three colossal men of stone, whose obvious manhood belies their youthful visages. It is obvious they are larger than I am or may ever hope to be, but that helps me to share their emotion: I cannot forget that men who belong on a pedestal stand in fear. -Bruce Hunter" Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

USS Denver, LPD-9 USS Implicit, MSO-455 (Reserve) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

..why does this make me think of the great kahuna burger? Not the "Royale with cheese"? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I'd probably go if it was in late November/early December like it was 2 and 3 years ago, but now it's too short of a notice. Why'd they move it up 3-4 weeks? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

25 year old pervert: 0 This is GREAT! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Race couln't mean less to me, however religion is a bit more relevant. While I have friends who are religious, they only become and remain my friends because they live and let live. I'd start avoiding a friend who constantly tried to push their religion on me about as quick as one who couldn't see me without trying to sell me Amway crap. In an intimate relationship, I believe that similar religious beliefs are important. I don't think I could get into a relationship with someone who wanted me to attend church with her every Sunday or who routinely brought up her god as a serious reference point in discussions. Similarly I would expect that a devout christian/muslim/jew/whatever would experience repeated dilemnas when I refused to accept her beliefs (or, more specifically, the approaches/actions that those beliefs dictate.) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I'm about 5 miles from Rattlesnake, which was invisible yesterday. In fact I couldn't even see Candy Mountain, which is less than a mile from us. Spending more than a minute outside made for a nice grit in the mouth, which was quite pleasant during my daily workout (not). Today, walking through our yard kicks up little puffs of moondust with each step. Still, other than our patio furniture and the odd potted plant being blown around, we took no damage. I'm kinda proud of my tile-roofed shed for taking it like a champ (I built it from scratch with zero construction experience or DIY advice ). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

"Who locked/deleted my thread/post?" I have no idea. I got a message saying there was a reply to my post, and when I clicked to see it, I got a "you are not authorized to view this page". When I searched my posts, I couldn't find a response to that thread, so it must have been deleted. I assume that either the thread or my post was not to a greenies liking. I have no idea whether I was the "guilty" party, nor what the "crime" was, but since I don't even remember what my post was in that thread, I don't really care. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Here are a few of the Hanford fire that swept through a couple years ago. I can't find the really dramatic ones (taken at night). They ended up having it contained by the weekend, but we were sharing our airport with the smaller firefighting A/C. It was pretty cool climbing over it, and watching the acrobatics of the bombers flying HARD at around 300 feet. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I don't have any of our 206, but here are 3 of our Twin Bonanza. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Me? Blues, Dave ABG#1 "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I remember that. I might be wrong, but I think the first time I posted on dz.com, it was on a used gear something or other and there was no such thing as these "forums" as we see them now. I don't remember many people being around here then. Then I disappeared for awhile, checking back occasionally but not realizing there was such a thing as "forums" (I wasn't looking for/selling gear), till, I don't know, sometime last year? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

if you're drunk and you know it go to the pub. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

It's a quarter after 12 here and I just got home from playing cards at a friends. I ain't drunk yet, but just opened a bottle of wine and will be there soon enough. Pub anyone? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)