wolfriverjoe

A little. but considering they haven't used any of my information to direct market me. I use a different middle initial on the applications for these kind of things to see who sells my information to whom. Somewhere I had heard that the stores really don't care who you are, you are just a number to them. They do care about your buying habits and trends. "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 guess you (and a bunch of others) just knee jerked rather than reading. "So Charles Branas's team at the University of Pennsylvania analysed 677 shootings over two-and-a-half years to discover whether victims were carrying at the time, and compared them to other Philly residents of similar age, sex and ethnicity. The team also accounted for other potentially confounding differences, such as the socioeconomic status of their neighbourhood." No, I read it carefully. They were looking to see if shooting victims were armed, not if armed citizens were victims of shootings. They may have compared similar non-victims to victims, but I see no comparison to the general public or to non-injured gun owning public. And as the article I linked noted (and it was from the same city) shooting victims tended to have prior criminal histories. "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, then keep looking around the site. Very, very un-PC. "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

Many times the monstrosity is very carefully concealed. Keep in mind that Ted Bundy (serial killer) was a very charming guy. Other times the person has a bad case of selective perception and doesn't see how monstrous the "dream fulfiller" really is. How many times have any of us said "What can he possible see in her???" Or "Can't she see that he's a total asshole??" "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 do realize that the Onion is satire right?? Some of the best around, but pure satire. "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't be Sirius? Ugh... What? Are you homophoneaphobic? paronomasiphobic. Not punny enough for you? All right, it is a damp, cold, rainy day here, and I'm just sitting here PWing. I tried to resist, and did for 3 posts, but damnnit I'm punnaphopbic "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 give someone a ride from Atlanta... I'll be going that way with my truck. I'm startin' in Jacksonville, NC area, so if anyone needs a ride along the way, let me know. I'll be more than happy to give someone a lift. I'll be there for the whole event. How many can you take? If you don't fit inside, just attach a box to the roof with a coathangar. DUH! "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, how many shooting victims in the hospital had been carying a gun?? And how many shooting victims had been involved in a gunfight?? Without a control of unshot people who carry a gun. Without any reference to how many were committing a criminal act. FWIW, a significant percentage of shooting victims are involved in criminal activity of some sort. Interestingly, THIS came from Philadelphia 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

You ever been to Newark, NJ? There's your answer. That or Alabama. "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

SOF's crystal ball was fair at best. They did recognize the Iranian nuke threat fairly early on, and were one of the few I noticed that pointed out how often Hamas or Hezb'allah would get frisky whenever Iran was on the hot seat. And they were screaming for real action against the Islamic fundamentalist groups in the mid 90's when Al Queda was coming to prominence (USS Cole and African Embassy attacks), saying that if they weren't dealt with promptly there would be more serious attacks in the future. But they were mostly Viet Nam era guys, and spent the later 70's (before my time) and 80's fighting against the Soviet supported conflicts in Central America and Africa. They were big proponents of the "Domino Theory" and supported the Contras in Nicaraugua, the governments of El Salvador and Columbia, UNITA in Angola (where there were a lot of Cuban troops) and Rhodesia and South Africa against the Mozambique-supported insurgents. They completely missed the coming fall of the Soviet Union (so did everyone else), but correctly felt that the bear wouldn't change it's spots (mixed metaphor, but I couldn't resist). They falsely felt that Mexico and China would be military threats. Although China is more of an economic adversary, the steps they are taking in Africa and Asia are a little disurbing. And the violence from the Mexican drug dealers is clearly a parallel (who really runs some parts of Mexico??) But they recognized from the minute that Hugo Chavez took over what he really represented. "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

Do yall not have duct tape over there?? Yep, but we used up the last roll sticking the wings back on. Actually our Caravan is relatively shiny and new, but it's very cramped with a full load. I'm thinking we could maybe tape a cardboard box to the roof and put a couple of jumpers in there, free up some space inside. Just have the DZO get one of the old FedEx Grand Caravans with the belly pod. I bet you can stuff 5 or 6 more in 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

Yes, sort of. He could have come back as starter if he hadn't retired in the first place. After he retired, the Packers took him at his word that he was done. They even asked if he was sure he didn't want to come back right before the draft. They then made their decisions based on his being retired. Rodgers was the starter. Letting him come back after that point would have really screwed up their long term plans, and would have driven Rodgers away. And he was their only real backup to Farve (and who knew how many more seasons Farve was going to play?) They weren't willing to let him change his mind after that point. They weren't willing to let him play "I'm leaving. No wait, I want to play. No, now I'm leaving. No, I'm staying", which wouldn't be fair to the rest of the team. And yes, I'll agree that he went to the Vikings to stick it to Ted Thompson. The bullshit with his interview with Greta Van Sustren and how they "wouldn't let him come back and compete for the starting position" was (IMO) whining that they wouldn't let him change his mind. The Vikings took him because he (even at 39, even with no training camp) was better than the other QBs they had. I'm curious how much his last minute apppearance at the Vikings training camp affected the morale of the team (especially the other quarterbacks). One more thing - It was very interesting to find out how many folks around here were Packer fans and how many were Brett Farve fans. I'll bet you can guess which camp I fall in from the way I'm posting "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

Ok, how many of those in the study were carryng legally??? How many were using the gun for a criminal purpose? And the study didn't even consider those who carried guns but weren't shot. It was a study of shooting victims, not armed individuals. "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

Who is SOF following today? Over the last 3 years? /Marg Unfortunately, not really anybody. They went downhill fast in the past 4 or 5 years. Very little "on the scene" reporting. A lot of "reports" that were little more than reprinting what was released by the military combat reporters. Attributed to the original writer, but when you see a byline including a rank, it loses what little impartiality it might have had. The guys who did the real cutting edge stuff in the 80's and 90's have gotten old (a few have gotten killed, RIP Lance Motley) and it seems that noone is willing or able to replace them. LTC Robert Brown, founder and publisher is well into his 70's now, he won't be climbing the hills in Afghanistan any more (he was there in the 80's). He was the one who had the quote from the first Gulf war (something like) "I had expected to ride the lead tank into Kuwait City, but I'm stuck with all the boobs and idiots here in Riyadh". It's a real shame, I was a subscriber for about 25 years, since 83 or so (and have all the issues), but I let it go about a year ago. "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

Sangiro complains and gets a noncommittal response. SkyMama complains and they promptly take it down. At least we now know who is really in charge. Now know?? It took you until now to figure this 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

Yeah, the one he quit when he quit for the first time. Don't recall it that way. Packers wanted to go with Rodgers as the starter. They didn't agree on that. Well maybe he did quit. I dunno. The Packers needed to know if he was coming back or retiring, and needed to know before the draft in order to know what they were going to need for picks. In a moving and emotional press conference he announced his retirement, saying "I just can't do it anymore". He made the decision. He could have come back, but chose not to. The Packers took him at his word, even offering an opportunity to change his mind. After the draft, they had made firm plans for how they were going to operate "post-Farve". Then he changed his mind. The Packers refused to screw over Aaron Rodgers after all the planning and preparation he had done, and Farve went to the national media to whine and cry. And then the fight began "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

sure... anything for you guys... Gonzo you're slipping... Click Here at your own risk (SFW) "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 that's funny. Hope he's got a witty british-style response! Dave Ok, who's got the popcorn?? I'll argue with the prof on some things, but not this "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

READ THE POLICY!!! There is usually a section labelled "Excluded activites" Go to the enrollment meeting and ask these questions. That's what the insurance rep gets paid for. Just make sure any answer you get is written into the policy. "Ok, you say I'll still get coverage if I'm injured running with the bulls in Pamplona. Can you please show me where it gives the exclusions so I can see that it doesn't exclude that?" You will still be able to get the policy, even if skydiving is an excluded activity (not anymore with AFLAC), it's just that the duck won't come to your house to pay your bills (bad joke in reference to stupid commercial) if you are injured "participating in an excluded activity". And remember that there is a big difference between health insurance (pays medical bills directly to the doctor/hospital) and disability insurance (pays a set amount directly to you to spend on whatever you want). A lot of disability insurance policies have exclusions for "extreme" sports activities. Skydiving, racing, mountaineering and "adventure travel" are commonly excluded. AFLAC recently changed, but until the change excluded payment for disability caused by (among other things) skydiving. "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

Congrats! To both of you. Now if you both go to a different DZ you won't have to jump alone. (this is a mostly serious comment - going with another jumper means you won't have to depend on finding another person to jump with) And I'll bet you'll have to use a club to beat back all the guys who want to "coach" her. "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 am interested in seeing how people rate their own abilities without having definitive preset standards. If we give absolute standards to go by then it would be easy and opinion would not matter since the cold, hard facts would tell the truth. I know it hurts to have to think, but I'm sure most here can handle the task. OK, I made it through central Boston (MA) without an accident, which is clear evidence of amazingly high driving skills. Yes, it is. Bostonians are among the worst. But you drive regularly in Chicago, don't you?? Where you drive is as much of a measure as ticket/accident count. Anybody can keep a good record in (insert typical small rural town here). "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

While I would agree that the threat was not recognized or down-played for much too long, "only" is perhaps a bit hyperbolic. At least 110 publications & citations dealing with Taliban between 1980 & 1990. /Marg Perhaps a bit, but not that much. 110 articles in ten years? I'm not going to dig out all my back issues, but SOF probably had that many article in the same time period. They had people on the ground for much of the time. They also brought out the first samples of the new (at the time) AK-74 and it's 5.45x39mm ammunition. And while I didn't look at all of the cites, I didn't see any "major" media articles. And no, SOF isn't all that "major" Yes, the major papers and periodicals had stuff from time to time, but continuing coverage that allowed an overall picture to form was strikingly absent. Afghanistan was not the only conflict where this happened. The Karen conflict in Burma (or Myanmar) the Shining Path rebellion in Peru, the West Timor/Indonesia conflict, along with a lot of the Central American, African and Balkan civil wars were covered extensively by SOF, including aid and training teams sent in. Very few other publications sent reporters to the countries, let alone out in the field there. Admittedly the coverage was far from unbiased. There was a clear level of antagonism against any communist group, and one of the mottos was "Death to Tyrants". But they gave publicity to people who were getting slaughtered. And aid. They were one of the few groups getting supplies into Sarajevo during the seige. As to the troops, I agree that "door kickers" aren't needed. But troops for basic security (the cop on the corner) and training are essential. The fairly recent Marine offensive that based Marines in a specific villiage and kept them there is a great example. At first the Afghans were leery. Americans had come before, then left. And then the Taliban returned to punish the "collaborators". Giving them the confidence that we won't abandon them next week will do a lot toward "winning the hearts and minds". The Marines had a similar "Combined Action Platoon" program in Viet Nam that was reasonably succesful. Working alongside and training local troops to defend their own homes and families. Of course because there was little "body count" or "ground taken" from the enemy, the powers that were in charge failed to see the benefits and ended it, abandoning the villagers to the VC, who then "dealt with" the "collaborators". This style of "home defense" also was successful against the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) in Peru. A training platoon teaches the villagers how to defend themselves, provides arms, and leaves a squad or even just one or two soldiers for organization and ongoing training. When the terrs showed up, they met organized resistance, not helpless peasants. "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

Skydiving parallel - ask for a show of hands at the DZ of people who are really good at tracking and see how many think they kick ass. Then go up on a decent size jump and see how many of them actually suck balls at breakoff time... Exactly!! "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 for the update. I can live with three times a day. I know you need ad revenue to run the site. Might I suggest an angry e-mail to your LOCAL Subaru dealer? They pay into an ad fund to pay for this shit. If you tell them these kind of ads will make you buy from a different dealer, they might get the message. "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

Ok, I just got it a minute or so ago. But the main ad only appeared up on top, not on the side. When it was really bad it was in both (like the Chutingstar ads usually are-no offense Mike) "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