RhondaLea

This would be what is known as Monday morning quarterbacking. And on behalf of all my dead friends--whose bodies I stopped counting quite some time back when I ran out of fingers and toes--I resent it. I understand how K feels--and so should we all, because we all go through the same stages of grief, and her post exemplifies the stage of angeranger--but Jan's response to this post, in particular, was totally on target. And Ron's posts, while not so succinct, were also to the point. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Actually, it was BD '97 and '98, and the part of the article that I (being in the line of work I'm in) think of as the "statement of facts" brought back a lot of memories, all of them wonderful. If these were the guys who were following Marta around in '97, I remember them. At the time, someone (Who? Who? Who? Damn, I'm getting old, because I can't recall...) told me they were doing a documentary about the Sorcerer. As 736 mentioned, all the jargon is not pleasing (a true bastardization of the English language, if ever there was one, and I thought lawyers were annoying with their "terms of art"). After slogging through that morass, the end felt like a puff of stale air--it seemed like an awful lot of work to reach what I believe to be a somewhat skewed conclusion. Edited to add: The flaw at the core of the study is they failed to take into account that many of the jumpers at Bridge Day are 1) first-timers, 2) one-timers and/or 3) Bridge-Day-only jumpers. But the flood of recollection in between made it a worthwhile read. rl P.S. If any of you haven't read it and still want a copy, let me know. If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Continue to live. rl [#666666] "The meaning of life is to do the next thing." Spider Robinson

Everyone gets theirs in the end. It may take awhile, but the universe must balance. You don't need to do anything at all; it will be done for you. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I am not a member, but merely a fond observer. That being said, anyone who wants to lure me into criminal behavior is at least obliged to provide me with the required materials for the task--in this case, I need your email address, because I'm pretty sure I can't PM you a PDF file (287KB). You may either PM it to me or send me an email. rl rhondalea@gmail.com If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I'm tempted to spend the 10 bucks and see what else they have to say in the full article. Don't bother. I'm going to get it. You can look at mine. Edited to add: Copyright violation complete. It's on its way, Tom. Has anyone yet focused on the fact that the journal in which this was originally printed is targeted to criminologists? You guys are apparently a model for something, but without the full text, I'm not quite sure what it is. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Walt, He hasn't lost any part of his foot? It's just raw? Must hurt the poor little bastard like crazy to try to climb like that. I'm not even going to speculate about how he got the bottle stuck on his paw and then managed to break it off. But if he has an entire foot, the prognosis is a whole lot better than if part of it is missing. Just don't underestimate the pain he's in when he climbs. I'm really not sure how he manages it--scoons use the back feet to provide the momentum--they look funny when they climb--but they need the front to hold on. He's a real trooper, this little guy. But so are you.

I urge anyone who wants to self-treat with herbs to obtain a copy of this book: Link to Commission E Monographs at Amazon.com There are other good books about alternative treatment available out there, but they are hard to find if you don't know something about alternative medicine to start. This books is a very good start. I believe the FDA has a database also whoops! no, not the FDA: Agricultural Research Service-Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

You forgot to mention that he used 83 periods ["stops" for you English] in that last post: enough for 27 complete ellipses and a remainder of two for the next go. I also think the one sentence might have been better written: "There was a mark and I over stopped it." Then again, I guess I'm just having an English kind of day. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

For shame, for shame... I retired the whip a long time ago, Peter, but for you, I'm going to dig it out of the back of the closet. Poking at someone's genuine (albeit wholly misguided) paranoia is not nice. Not nice at all. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I am glad that full stop (US=period) was not a comma............. still confused at the typo 1) did you mean to put in the full stop 2) did you mean "some people are children" 3) OR did you actually mean what the comma would have achieved? How can you use an ellipsis (x4) and not know what it's for? Ellipsis defined rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

You've started with an erroneous conclusion which invalidates the rest of your argument. Which has nothing to do with their motivation for jumping. Packing is an important part of skydiving, and very few people can reasonably justify employing packers. Exceptions in the current skydiving climate include instructors, videographers and teams, but one hopes that they pack for themselves at least some of the time just to stay current. For the rest, it is a matter of throwing money at a problem to make it go away, because these days, a lot of them never bothered to learn to pack. They have no money because they spent it all on jumps and equipment and beer. And, oh yeah, they kicked in their last few bucks to some guy's femur fund. In the end, it comes down to someone's underlying motivation, not how many dollars they have. Someone who is truly motivated will come up with the cash, but how does one instill motivation in those who have a lot of money and not much else to recommend them? There is a segment of the population that works hard all week, makes a ton of cash, and then--bored to death on Saturday and Sunday--invests it in the newest and coolest of leisure activities. In the last few years, USPA tried to market skydiving to the masses, and sure enough, it worked, much to the detriment of the sport. Is that what you want for BASE? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

It sucks no matter who it is. Personal friend or no, s/he is still a loss to the entire community. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Gak! This image is Not Suitable for Home either. You're supposed to be punishing him, not the rest of us. Will your rig's therapist offer a discount if we chip in for group sessions? I figure the PTSD from this experience is good for at least a couple of years of thrice weekly appointments. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

First formal dinner...girlfriend's house to meet the parents....I drank the fingerbowl....nobody said a word for the longest time. DUH! mmmmmmmmmmm lemony This happened--definitely--at the Kennedy White House and--reportedly--at Windsor Castle. Both the President, the First Lady and the Queen of England purportedly drank lemon water to keep their erring guests from humiliation. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

This discussion is so worthwhile, it deserves its very own thread. If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I've had good doctors (well, okay, one), and I've had bad doctors (all the rest). I have spent most of my life with a whole lot of wonky symptoms--both mental and physical--because the medical community did not listen. I was even diagnosed with MS because with all those MRIs and CAT scans and the rest of the tests and referrals, my doctor just couldn't put his finger on what could be causing all those symptoms. The truth of the matter was that he thought I was crazy. At that point, I became my own doctor, made my own diagnosis, and found a physician, who, although he looked at me real funny and rolled his eyes, went ahead and ordered the fucking thyroid panel I asked for. He stopped rolling his eyes when the test results came back. I had a very high TSH and--surprise, surprise--anti-thyroid antibodies. I was, at that time, 35, and I had been symptomatic for hypothyroidism for 20 years and symptomatic for Hashimoto's thyroiditis for 7 years. Now it's twelve years later, and I am still fighting the medical community, although my current endo is amenable to experimenting a little as long as I don't suppress my TSH, which is really the only thing that makes me feel okay. As to sugar and artificial sweetners: artificial sweetners cause blood sugar to rise just as does sugar. Unrefined sugar (dried cane juice) contains chromium and other minerals which help prevent blood sugar spikes. Sugar is better than artificial sweetners, by a long shot, but only if used in moderation. We simply use too much sweetner, period. I use stevia extract (which has its own issues, so do not take this as an endorsement--I use it because I like it) in my tea. Other than that, I rarely use sweetners at all because I'm hypoglycemic (as a direct consequence of hypothyroidism), and unless I'm very careful, the resulting insulin spike makes me very sick. I believe you if you say you are a caring medical professional, but caring medical professionals have not been my experience, and the lack thereof has has done lasting damage to my life. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Walt, The key to survival for a wild animal is to appear strong and healthy. Any show of vulnerability turns even the most ferocious predator into prey. I looked at those pictures, and I gagged. I never gag. I don't want to raise your BP again but although that raccoon may appear to be in no immediate distress, his leg is a disaster, and he is suffering. Here is a link that should solve the problem: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/rehab/orphan/ I can guarantee you that the series of phone calls you will have to make will be a pain in the ass, but it'll be a lot less wearing that watching the scoon from day-to-day until it dies. Whatever you do, don't touch it. Don't even get near it. The rabies risk is simply too high in Texas right now. Edited to add: Not so bad in Houston, actually, now that I've looked at the map, but still not worth the risk. rl P.S. I don't know how to respond to your description of me in your addendum to that other post...but truth-in-advertising really does require you to balance it with a recitation of my many flaws. If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

It's not about a higher standard. It's about those very bad moments when you are reminded that you've outlived all too many of your friends. But it's also true that each of us has the right to make his own mistakes--even if those mistakes are lethal.

That's not the point. The point is that the incidents you listed are aberrations, not everyday phenomena. Just as most people don't run into Ted Bundy, most people are not going to run into the guy with a grudge and a thing for superglue. The skydiving community is a microcosm of the rest of the world, and it comprises all the personality types and personality disorders you find in the general population. But who out there in the real world posts about all the ways serial killers do in their victims and pretends that such acts are a regular occurrence? Paranoids, that's who. And here, you are dead wrong. The reason sociopaths (and narcissists, who are just as dangerous and far more common) are so successful for extended periods of time is that they are so hard to detect. They mimic caring and concern as well as--if not better than--the most caring and concerned person you know. Sheesh! This thread truly sucks. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

"Girl Squirrel" was an adolescent when I got her. It took me awhile to twig to the fact that she was totally blind. I hand-fed her until she figured out how to eat on her own (she loved grapes, but only if I peeled them--no seeds, please). Then, in spite of her disability, she took over the household--dogs, cats, birds, turtles, etc. and so on. She reigned as queen. She got loose one day, and I never saw her again, so I'm thinkin' something got her. She bit me once--because I scared her--locked on and wouldn't let go and my hand blew up to twice its normal size. But I'll tell you what. She was as social a critter as ever lived, and she loved me. Squirrels become what they are because man and his fellow predators give them no other choice. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I've had raccoons bare their teeth at me. I've had them bite me. Hard. I've bitten them back--harder--if you really want to know, because that's what mama scoon does, and I stood in loco parentis. Gray squirrels too (and boy, does that hurt, because they don't let go). I've just never seen what you're describing, nor have I heard of it until now. About the deer...we ended up with a problem when we released some of our hand-reared fawns on park property, and after that, we had to release them elsewhere. A deer will rear up and put its hooves on you. In a fawn, this is no big deal--they do it to get to the bottle. In an adult, serious injuries and even death can result. One of 'em broke my boss' collar bone greeting her with too much fervor. The myth of "forgetting how to hunt" is a myth no matter who propagates it. It's a similar tactic to that used by the turtle folks to obtain a ban on small turtle sales (turtles do not carry salmonella, but they can "catch" salmonella if they're fed salmonella-contaminated food). As for the cougar, he has not forgotten how to hunt. He's still hunting, but now he's found easier pickins. I'll grant you that if one takes on the commitment to feed wildlife, it is not a commitment to be taken lightly. Critters don't think like we do, but even more than humans, they are creatures of habit, and they do not understand when you say "no more." Ask the guy in Lakeland, FL who was feeding alligators. Oh wait...you can't, he's dead. If people are idiots about what they feed and how they feed, they can expect bad consequences, either to themselves or the creatures they hope to help. But it is possible to do it in a way that is dangerous neither to the wildlife nor the humans. It just takes a little more education than most people are willing to give themselves. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

This is strange. My recent mama scoonie co-existed quite peacefully with the neighborhood feral cats--they even shared the same food dish, although it was not my intention to feed her. Scoonies don't growl. They do make a trilling, gargling sound that, after all these years, I can no longer imitate, but I suppose to some ears it might sound like growling. It is the equivalent of a cat's purr. It is also the sound they make when they're begging. I've never known a raccoon to start a fight with a cat or dog. But they will finish any fight that another creature starts. We feed birds, and no one bats an eye. At the nature center where I worked, we fed the deer and maintained a salt lick so the visitors could sit in the blind and watch them. There are good reasons not to feed bread and corn to waterfowl and there are even better reasons not to feed bears, but if you're prepared for the small nuisance of squirrels in your feeders and raccoons in your garbage cans, the entertainment value more than pays the nuisance tax. And no wild creature will ever forget how to hunt for itself. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Call if you need bail money. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

What does that tell ya? Critical Thinking on the Web rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb