wolfriverjoe

I don't see how electric cars "evolved" at all from (roughly) the twenties until the seventies. The only applications that were developed in any real way were industrial and recreational (forklifts and golf carts), and were both lead-acid battery technology. I am not aware of any road capable cars that were produced beyond a prototype level, with the exception of the "City Car", which was nothing more than forklift technology adapted to the road. The real evolution was the EV-1, which was pretty primative. And even that one cost somewhere above $200k, which is why it was leased, not sold. The returned vehicles were stripped of the expensive electronics, and then the empty shells scrapped (except for a few that went, minus electronics, to museums). The Volt is the next step. Early adopters will find it less than perfect. Those willing to wait for the evolution to take a few more steps will get a better model. Rechargable batteries didn't really exist until the space program needed them, and that was slow to develop until fairly recently. The current revolution in battery technology is rather amazing. Lurch and Professor Kallend are right. The increase in capacity and "C" (charge/discharge rates) is incredible. The decrease in size and weight is the same. Much of this has come about because of portable electronics, but it has really shown up in Radio Control models. R/C enthusiasts (fanatics?) are willing to be the test pilots for the most advanced batteries. The high cost, delicacy, potential for fire, and other stuff ordinary users (cell phones, laptops, ect.) aren't willing to put up with are a small price to pay to get the perfomance in the sky that the most advanced Li-Po units offer. And while it's true that a full discharge will destroy a Li-Po, it isn't all that hard to turn an expensive gasoline engine into a chunk of scrap iron (not even usable as a core exchange) by running it without oil. "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

Pray The Week Sunday September 23rd: Malachi 3:18, “So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.”; Father, we pray that the American people will once again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve You and those who do not. We pray that we will choose righteous rulers, that we may live in peace with man and with You the One True God. So if Obama is re-elected, is that "God's Will"? Would that make Romney the "wicked" one? "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 would vote "No." (well, I'd really vote "Boobies", but that's not an option) There aren't a whole lot of undecideds left. And most of those won't be swayed by the debates because I highly doubt that there will be anything new unveiled during them (except for mistakes). "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 would think that if that was to happen, it would be major news. "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 feel your pain. It's beautiful here, and I have a headcold. My sinuses don't feel congested, but I made that mistake once. It felt like someone stabbed me between the eyes with an icepick. I'll sit on the ground and be bummed out. Maybe scoot up to the DZ just to hang out. "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

Ever wonder where crash and burn skydiving videos come from? You film landings for a number of reasons, but I can't understand the interest in filming plain old driving on an ordinary road... Think of the hours and hours of mind-numbingly boring footage for the off chance you might capture something cool... Or maybe I just don't get it. (I think I don't.) With the cheap and available cameras today, a lot of folks are using setting them up as a sort of insurance to capture who is at fault in accidents. Would explain a great deal about why so many of these YouTube driving videos are taken by commercial vehicles. There are a number of trucking companies that have a "Dash-cam" installed. Anytime the engine is running, the cam is recording. My understanding is that they have a 30 minute recording time, overwriting the oldest stuff. The driver has a button to push that stops the recording and saves the footage in case of an accident. A few of them have telemetry data from the truck too. There's an upcoming requirement (2014 IIRC) to have data collection devices (just like airliners) in all commercial vehicles. I don't have a cam, but I already have data collection. Reportedly it saved a driver a speeding ticket, because he locked in the data (push of a button) when he got pulled over and the data showed he wasn't speeding when the cop said 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

It's not that unusual of a fear, but it's really a very uncommon situation. The DZ should realize that you are going to fall pretty slowly and give you instructors who are appropriate for you. I highly doubt you would get one of the "Anvil Brothers" for your first jump. And there's lots of folks who aren't into extreme anything that fell in love with the sky. And who have a bit of confusion about that. The best description of the whole deal that I know of is in cartoon form. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4200157;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Namo takes you all the way from her tandem through her most recent adventure... At the hospital. But it's really a cool story. "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 can understand for a Porche, esp a RWD model, but the EVO and the car I have, an STi, are AWD vehicles and just beg to be driven in the winter. I gave in to mine; with winter tires it is so much fun to drift and slide around in the snow, and with 3 limited slip diffs it is almost impossible to get stuck. The problem isn't traction. I could put Blizzaks on my Porsche and get around just fine, as long as the roads are plowed. The problem is the salt and sand. The sand takes the paint off and the salt rusts it out. You can try to keep it clean, but the carwashes all recirculate their water. They filter the dirt out, but they can't get rid of the salt. So you are washing your car off with salt water. Personally, I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on a car and then even more on mods just to see it rust away. But YMMV.

Step 1 - Don't go back. Period. You might write down all the reasons not to, all the hurtful things he's said and done. If you start thinking it would be nice to go back, pull out the list (by the sounds of the OP, you may well fill up half or more of a notebook). If he calls begging you to come back, promising "it will be different this time", pull it out and read it again. Step 2 Learn to like yourself by yourself. Learn that you don't need a guy in your life to be a whole person. That will take time and effort. And may well require outside help. Even though you're not with him, anyone that helps abused spouses could point you in the right direction. Some may scoff at the idea of support groups, but getting together with people who are in a similar situation, and especially those who have gotten out of it can be very good. Maybe ideas of what you should do, maybe ideas of what you shouldn't do, sometimes just knowing that someone else is going through what you are going through is a big help. Step 3 Get out and do stuff!!! The best way to feel better about yourself is to help someone else feel better. Volunteer. At the animal shelter, the homeless shelter, the battered women's shelter, the old folks home, the hospital. Where ever you feel most comfortable. You list several activities other than jumping in your profile. I'll bet just a small amount that you have mostly abandoned them because he didn't want you doing stuff without him. So put on the running shoes, or break out the bike and get to it! Physical activity will help you feel better. You may find friends to join you (I'd very strongly suggest that you stick with women friends for at least a little while). Or you may just learn to enjoy the solitude. You aren't weak, you aren't a "whiney sissy pants." You're someone who has been abused and is suffering from the effects of it. You are taking the first steps in breaking free by asking for help, and that is wonderful. So maybe get more help. Friends, family, professional help. Whatever it takes. Good luck, and please keep us posted. "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 agree that respect tends to work better than antagonism, but what about when the other party has no respect for you? The Taliban destroyed any and all representations of other religions while they were in power in Afghanistan. Including centuries old statues of Budda. Complete and total antagonism towards anyone else. To many, not responding to that behavior shows weakness, not respect. But, as has been said, if enough people take an "Eye for an eye", before too long, everyone's blind. "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. Unless in defense. Start a war with us? We'll blow your asses out. I don't have a problem with that. Are you saying that we're the gutter but Iran's the sewer? So let's go down there where they are? I'm quoting this one, but you made some valid points about how tough of a situation this is a little further on. I'm mostly in agreement that acts of war should only be committed in self defense, but how far should we allow Iran to get before we attack? Do we have to wait until they actually have an atomic weapon and have used it before we attack? Best guess is they'd attack Israel, but that's not certain. I don't have see a real problem in "lowering ourselves to their level" and using proxies and puppet groups to disable or damage their abililty to gain weapons that are that destructive. Of course, there is a reasonable argument that if they do manage to join the "Nuclear Club" that they will actually calm down a bit and be more responsible. It goes along the lines of: If they obtain this level of power, they will become targets of that sort of power. Hopefully they will understand that if they actually use their nukes, then Tehran and maybe a couple of other cities will become smoking, glowing holes in the ground. Right now they really aren't under that sort of threat. If they get nukes, they certainly will be. It all depends on how rational the leaders really are. Are they more interested in staying in power? Or in fulfilling "Allah's Will" even if it means that they won't be around to see it. Troubling and 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

So committing acts of war are wrong? Tell that to Iran. Using puppets groups to attack Israel, both in Israel and all over the world. They've been doin that since '79. Has nobody else noticed that whenever international pressure increased on Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas got frisky? And who bankrolls and directs them? Sorry, if you want to talk of "Moral Highground" in a conversation that involves Iran then that high ground isn't very high. "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

Yup. Comma between the first "It's" and the "'You're'" It's one of the "Internet Rules." I can't remember the number, but Lefty is right. Kinda like rule #34. Not arguing your point. I agree with most of it. Not arguing the correction of the misuse of "your", that shit drives me nuts. But I've long given up on trying to fix everyone, although if someone slams me hard, I will tell them "If you're going to insult me, please do it with correct grammar and spelling" "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, it's sad to put a car away for the winter. But it's a lot, lot sadder to see a really cool car destroyed by salt. I'll be putting my Porsche to bed fairly soon. I'll be happy knowing it's safe and sound until the roads are in an appropriate condition to drive it.

Don't underestimate the absolutely devastating impact a serious stalker can have on your life. I agree that the chances are low, and I don't think you are being careless or foolish. But a stalker who has decided he must have you and will not let anything or anyone (including you) stand in his way can be a truly life-altering (and quite possibly life-ending) situation. "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

When the handshake gets more complex than the dive you've planned, it's going too far. What's really sad is when the handshake is more impressive and better executed than the jump??? Well, I learned to do the silly hand-slap, fist bump, wave your fingers handshake in both Canadian and Mexican this year at SDC Summerfest. And, yes I'm guilty of doing it all the time. "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 don't know about you, but I see just a little bit of difference between deliberately targeting civilians and targeting infrastructure. Iran has been defying pretty much the entire world over their nuke programs. The only real dispute has been how far different countries are willing to go. And don't forget that Iran has a whole lot of it's own citizens not very happy with the government (and it's reaction to their protests). It's slipped from the headlines, but it hasn't stopped. Blowing up powerlines is basic sabotage. I wouldn't be too surprised if it was Iranian nationals backed by foreign help, advice and supply. "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 don't think that would be too hard with a little bit of effort. Get video or pics NOW of him smoking in the landing area and tossing his lit butts on the ground. Take him to small claims court for damages to any gear. With evidence of his behavior, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. And if he knows there's 27 8 x 10 color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one ready to be used as evidence against him in a court of law, he may change his behavior. "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 one? http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=118275; "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

she was 800meters (around 1/mile) from the road... people who shoot pics at that distance to catch a set of boobs (royal or not) are voyeurs and should be treated accordingly. Had she been in front of a window "à la Amsterdam" and someone had seen her and taken a picture with his camera, it is very different. This was very intentional This. There's a huge difference between being in front of a window that anyone passing by can look through and being on a private estate, with a reasonable expectation of privacy, only to have that invaded by a photog with a very long lens. She is a very public figure and knows it. She had the choice to go there and chose it. AFAIK, she has done a decent job of presenting herself. When they are out in public, they are constantly followed by the media. But even public figures should have a right to privacy in private places. And I really don't blame the paparazzi or the publishers as much as the voyeuristic public (note: "As much" doesn't mean "Not at all"). Those pics wouldn't be worth the time and effort if the "Royal Watchers" didn't suck up every bit of the slime that's presented. And I know that laws vary around the world, but California has passed laws that prevent this sort of "Peeping Tom" behavior. http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/extreme-example-california-anti-paparazzi-laws "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

Thanks everyone. I just took my first "walkie" without him. We used to do about 3 miles every day that I was home. That got reduced last year as he got less able, and this summer we were down to one lap around my block. I took the "Quarry Walk" alone for the first time in 14 years. We had a few different routes that we took to keep a variety going. This one goes down past the gravel quarry, along the river and past a couple parks. It was very peaceful. I am really missing him. I keep seeing him out of the corner of my eye. I have a couple acrylic blankets that are brown and tan with a tiger print. His coloring would make him very nearly disappear when he lay on them. Now I look at the blanket and almost see him there. I know this is a normal part of the grief process, but it's hard to take. In response to a few particulars: 'Twardo - The words don't ease the pain or make it any less, but they do make it easier to bear. Fullmoon - He had a good life, and made mine better too. That's the deal. TiaDanger - Sorry to make you cry. I've been crying off and on since Sunday when it became clear that the end was at hand. That's ok. Crying is cleansing. Each tear takes away a little of the pain, but leaves the memories intact. And he impacted many lives. He was directly responsible for teaching a little girl not to be afraid of dogs, and teaching her mom why people love them. She didn't understand the unconditional love a dog brings until Skyler became a part of her life for a time. His "lessons" caused her to decide to get a dog (the daughter asked "Can we get a Skyler?") and they ended up adopting one that looks very much like him from the shelter. So there are many good memories. And when the pain has lessened I will think of him and smile. Edit because I got a name wrong "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

With skydiving, as well as sex, once you master the basics, plus some, then you might consider introducing a toy. If you don't become proficient first, adding the toy could be uncomfortable, painful, embarrassing, or downright humiliating. Probably expensive, as well. Wow. I mean really, wow. I never would have thought of it that way. But you are absolutely correct. I'd really hate to have to explain to the ER doc how a boogie board ended up there "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

You can only search by user name, AFAIK. You can't search for their real name, and a lot of people don't even put it in their profile. "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

Publicity. Noteriety. His name in the news and his face plastered everywhere. Not my idea of a good way to get your name out, but I'm not him. He's just a really, really successful troll. He wanted to stir up some shit and was successful. The Slate article that was posted says it best: Ignore the trolls. Don't respond, positive or negative. That's what they want. It validates ther pathetic existence and makes them feel powerful. I apply that to the trolls on here too. "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

Didn't you watch Mad Max? Doesn't seem like a nice place to live...seems selfish to insist on living like kings and letting our grandchild battle dregs on motorcycles on the highways. Oh I never considered MAD MAX as an intellectual primer. But props to you for thinking outside the box. And BTW in the end the good guys ending up winning. So.. Your point is.....? It wasn't an intellectual primer. It was a bunch of stunt guys who got to make a movie. Aussie parallel to the Hal Needham/Burt Reynolds film "Hooper." And it didn't have a "happy ending", simply vengance fulfilled. History has shown that the breakdown of a society leads to chaos and anarchy. Lots of violence and death. Sooner or later one group wins out, and the groups that didn't win usually suffer. The closer the parity between the groups, the longer it takes to establish a dominant one. And the more suffering and death. "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