wolfriverjoe

I already responded to this, but something popped up that gives a direct answer. In the last (approx) 100 years, six were nominated and confirmed. This doesn't include two nominations by LBJ when Warren announced his retirement (he hadn't retired yet, so technically there wasn't a vacancy). http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/17/mike-honda/mike-honda-shares-accurate-graphic-about-past-supr/ "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

There's about 10 seconds of flight footage. I'm not sure if it's a full scale version. I don't see anyone inside. The windows in the one in the air are heavily tinted, the windows in the one on stage are clear. The way the thing "bobbles" in flight makes me wonder how big it really is. I have my doubts. Show me unedited footage of someone getting in and taking off, where I can see them inside the thing in flight and I will admit I'm wrong (I certainly could be). But I don't see anything convincing in that video. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Not an expert, but no. If there's no collective pitch control, then auto rotating simply isn't going to happen. As was noted, any mechanical failure is going to be disastrous. And I question the reality of this thing. While quad rotor units are very popular in the miniature world, that sort of stuff doesn't really scale up. Weight increases as a cube function. The power needed to operate that "little thing" is going to be pretty significant. And motors to generate that sort of power aren't going to be light, adding to the weight question. I have my doubts that the power system (batteries, motors, controls, wires, rotors) can be done at 100kg. And that doesn't include the rest of the thing. Electric model helis are pretty popular (I got into them a little bit a few years ago). The battery tech and motor tech was pretty advanced, and has probably advanced even more. But it was really 'cutting edge', maybe a bit beyond. Batteries were pretty powerful, with charge & discharge rates far beyond what you'd see in consumer stuff (phones, laptops, ect). But the "price" for that was that they were very volatile, with fire being a very real danger. And even the "big" ones were still not very big. Maybe 6 foot diameter rotors. Look at the size (area) of the main rotor on even a "little" helicopter (full scale). Then look at the area on this thing. I have real doubts that it can actually lift a person off the ground. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Well, obviously Ron feels that Muslims are the "enemy" and he believes that Obama is usurping power to destroy America. And to him, beliefs and feelings are more important and trustworthy that facts and logic. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

That's the scary part. Trump isn't tapping into the dissatisfaction with the political status quo. He tried that. So did Steve Forbes and Ross Perot. When the discussion was "I'm a political outsider, not a professional politician", the poll numbers were pretty low. It wasn't until Trump started spouting off about the Mexicans and Muslims that he saw any real result. And it was huge. The sheer numbers of racists and bigots and xenophobes who came crawling out of the woodwork and out from under rocks was revealing. There are still a bunch out there saying "I support Trump because he is anti-establishment", but they have to either ignore a lot of hatred or they believe in it, whether they admit it or not (even to themselves to a certain degree). "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

What exactly is the point? That the Supreme Court should be limited because the Rs are throwing a temper tantrum? That Obama shouldn't do his job because he has less than a year left? Just because there is an election coming up, that doesn't stop the SC from doing it's job. They will be in session this fall, as usual. Why shouldn't there be a full slate of justices? When in the past has the Senate refused to even consider a nominee? I guess I make it 4/4. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

What?? Explain, please! There was a long time conspiracy believer (I hate calling them "theories") who preached long and hard about Sept 11 being a plot by the US (nanothermite, Jenga, ice blocks, nonexistent airplanes, all that shit) and also preached about the Rothchilds, Illuminati and a few of the other "world domination conspiracy" crap ideas (no aliens IIRC). He posted that he had bought a tent from WalMart, used it at a DZ for a while, then took it back for a full refund. He first claimed that he was justified in doing it because of WalMart's bad behavior. When told that it was still fraud and that "two wrongs don't make a right" he backtracked and blustered and it was generally hilarious. He got banned, came back a few times as a sockpuppet, got perma-banned, kept coming back, got his DZ IP addy banned, still came back. He seemed to think that it was a great accomplishment to create sockpuppet accounts and post on here. I guess he thinks that Sangrio and Dizzy dot are part of the "world domination." Edit to add: Wait a minute. You've been around longer than me. You should remember this... Fine, fine gentleman. Yeah, that's what he was. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Not really. The thing I've found is that skydivers are more open with each other about everything. So people who wouldn't talk about this sort of stuff with their neighbors, co-workers, the people in line at the grocery, ect are willing to talk about it at the bonfire after jumping, sitting around during a weather hold, or any other down time at the DZ. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Nice. But that's a rather small moose. (yes, I know it's not a real pic) "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

My bank exchanges money at the published rate for no fee. If your bank does the same, I'd do that. Any advantage you might get on rates will be eaten up by fees. I go up into Canada fairly often, so I usually carry $20 or so of their money. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Ah, like what? Heck, just out of interest how many times in the last 50 years (that was the time period being thrown around before, right?) has the issue of a Supreme court nomination even arisen in the last year of a President's term? This was bouncing around on FB a couple weeks ago. I don't think they limited it to 50 years. The answer was 21%. (no real surprise, the math says it should be 25%) Never before has an opposition Senate refused to even consider a candidate. Some didn't make it out of committee, but the blanket "we won't even hold hearings" is unprecedented AFAIK. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

I'm kind of fond of this prison break (attempt). The cops reaction and comments are pretty good too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nirF2O1HnMI "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Well, the truck that was pulled over was one of the "safety/support" vehicles for the ride. Driver had no license, people were standing in the bed while it was driving down the road. There are reports that some of the bikes were blocking traffic and stunting and such. Both of which are stupid and dangerous. But putting a cloud of pepperspray out for the riders to go through is not the proper way to handle that sort of thing, IMO. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Well, it would be if you or I did it. We shall see what the officer faces. Or doesn't face. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Not by me. With the exception of the "incapacitated pilot" (stroke?) and maybe the detached aileron (proper preflight may or may not have caught it), all of those were "shouldn't have been there in the first place" situations. The real question is how many are the "I probably shouldn't do this, but I have the BRS, so I'll give it a shot"? And how many are just plain "got in over their head" that would have been a fatality (or multiple) if they hadn't had the BRS? #9 soulds like a "standard IMC death spiral". Same thing that killed JFK Jr. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Because one side is actively condoning, encouraging and inciting violence. Amazes me how some people don't see a difference in that. Trump is not offering any policies either. It is all motherhood statements, nothing with any "meat" tied to it. Trump has his supporters so fired up that putting muslims and Mexicans in a camp with a monthly "shower" would be applauded and cheered if suggested. That is scary and nowhere near: the other side is just the same. ^This. Big time. I didn't mean to imply that anyone doesn't do it. What I am saying is that Trump is doing it to a degree we haven't seen in a long time. Attracting people who were "in the closet" for a long time. There seem to be a lot more of them than anyone expected. And saying things that are really scary. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Oh sure. I type out a long, thought out, carefully worded response. And you sum it up in three words. Thanks a lot. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Honesty and openness. Really. Keep reading. A lot of people have been asking for a while: "Why do middle class and lower-middle class people support the Republicans? It goes against their personal interests." And it does. The Rs support big business, big banks, big agriculture, big everything. Often at the expense of the "little guy." Yet they receive a lot of "blue collar" support. You'd think that the Ds, who support unions, taxing the "big guys" and a variety of social programs that help the "little guy" would get that support. But the Rs also support gun rights, abortion restrictions, immigration restrictions, less help for the "lazy welfare bums" and that sort of stuff. They don't openly support racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance or that sort of thing. But the Ds openly oppose that sort of thing. So the bigots, racists, xenophobes, religious zealots and such oppose the Ds. They don't exactly support the Rs, but they don't see another choice. Remember when Obama made the "Bitterly clinging to their guns and religion" comment? He should have added "And their bigotry, xenophobia, racism and hatred." It's been noted that Trump is simply saying all the things "these people" want to hear. And that the Rs have been hinting at it for a long time to attract those types of people, but wouldn't say it openly for fear of offending folks. So now Trump is being open and honest about it. He's courting the hatred. The "Anyone not like me isn't a REAL American and should shut up and leave" crowd. And as it turns out, that crowd is a lot bigger than anyone thought. He's telling them exactly what they want to hear. It hasn't been socially acceptable to be a bigot or to speak out against groups for a while. Trump is changing that. And all the people who felt that way, but were unable to voice those opinions are now coming out of the woodwork. And it scares the living shit out of me. I don't want to go "Full Godwin" on this, but Trumps actions scarily mimic a certain Bavarian corporal. Find a large, angry group of people. Find a group to blame. Make inflammatory speeches telling them basically nothing. But feed their fears, give them a scapegoat and tell them that attacking that scapegoat will "make America better." Someone noted that the Rs have created a monster and it's now out of their control. I think that assessment is very accurate. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

An interesting take on a Trump rally. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/11/1499735/-Trump-Rally-No-Joking-Matter "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Yes. Overuse of antibiotics is pretty stupid. It hasn't really reached the tipping point, but resistant TB is pretty serious. So are resistant infections. And I agree that raw milk can be done safely. But I wouldn't accept a sample from anyone where I didn't know how it was gathered, stored and shipped. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Kristallnacht II anyone? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht Jerry Baumchen I was thinking about mentioning how stylish their brown shirts were, but decided not to go there. You have to wonder what the "Trump Youth" would go after? Convenience stores? Mosques? Taco trucks? Lawn Care businesses? "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

And Get Sick. Go figure. They Pasteurize milk to kill off the pathogens. When they first started doing it (a loooong time ago), it was heralded as "saving lives", which it did. However, there are large groups of people who want "natural" things. You know, they want people's "natural immune system" to fight off diseases like measles and whooping cough... And polio. And they want to drink "Raw Milk" because the human digestive system needs cow bacterial cultures. So, when West Virginia became the latest state to allow unpasteurized milk to be sold to the public, one of the bill's sponsors handed out samples to all the lawmakers. Who then promptly got sick. Raw milk can be safe. But it has to be handled very carefully and correctly. Obviously, not by politicians. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

^This. Big time. No reason to pull that sort of stunt. No reason for the instructor to tolerate it. I have a feeling that this is as much USPA covering their asses as anything else. Edit to add: I just read the thread over in Wingsuits. I see some of their points. It's pretty unenforceable. Flybys can be done safely. But that doesn't justify putting students at extra risk. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Yeah. He and his supporters are pretty tough when they outnumber the protesters by a huge margin (like 100:1 or better). When enough protesters show up that they can stand their own, Trump cuts and runs. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Not entirely. They tend to do really good at picking stocks. For some strange reason. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/24/members-of-congress-get-a_n_866387.html If you don't like the Huffington Post, simply search around. It was just near the top, there's lots of articles on it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo