TomAiello

I've been surprised by the extent to which "American" is taken as synonymous with "citizen of the United States of America", both here and abroad. I've noticed this phenomenon all over the world, including in Mexico (where a passport official once looked at my passport and said "oh, you're an American", which, at the time, I found passing strange, as I was thinking, "well, you're an American, too, aren't you?"). I guess my point is that Americans are not the only people who use this particular misnomer--it's applied to us by folks from lots of other places, too. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You can not be a personal exception to the forum rules. Even if you want to allow personal attacks on yourself, those attacks will still effect the overall character of the forums. The rule against personal attacks sets a tone for the overall interaction on the DZ.com forums. It is not solely intended as a protection for individual users. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yeah, DVC more made me want to research the historical facts. It's just easy to kick off the discussion with reference to a pop culture phenomenon. This book had some good historical information. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If you'd like I can make up a nice video that looks very similar, and post it on a web site. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I have two of the rebuttal books. Unfortunately, they are generally more angry than informative. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Has anyone read this book? I read it recently, and have since done a bit of extra research into the general topics of Mary Magdalene, the historical life of Jesus, the development of Catholic (and generally christian) doctrine, and the whole Templar/Holy Grail thing. Does anyone have any resources, opinions, or thoughts about it? In particular, if you are a christian, do you feel threatened by these theories? And if they were totally true, how would your beliefs be changed? My thoughts: Even if the whole thing were absolutely true, and I were a devout christian, it would only change my beliefs slightly, from "my precise church is precisely right" to "christianity in general is right, but no particular church has the exactly right line." Thoughts from devout christians? Even if Leonardo Da Vinci believed it, that doesn't make it true. In general, the book matches up with a whole lot of reputable historical texts I've found. Thoughts, anyone? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yes, but... Remember the old Hitler era quote about "...when they finally came for me, there was no one left to protest." The erosion of rights in society generally does have a collateral effect on me. It's possible (although in my mind unlikely) that it might one day have a direct effect as well. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Not true. I've met several Libertarian party candidates including Harry Brown who really seemed quite well grounded and realistic. There are plenty of "not nut" Libertarian organizations out there. I'm a particular fan of the Institute for Humane Studies, perhaps because I met my wife at one if their seminars. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I disagree. The "hired" part depends on if we're talking about private or public employers. I really do belive that private parties ought to have the right to make decisions based on any lame ass criteria they want. Public entities shouldn't have that right. In fact, if I had my way, almost all entities would be private, so that wouldn't really be an issue. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I actually don't believe there is a lot wrong with private level discrimination or bias. If people want to be bigots, that's their right. I definitely have a problem with government mandated bias. Private bias is just a (perhaps undesirable) consequence of freedom. Public bias is a (definitely undesirable, in my opinion) consequence of an overly intrusive state. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't think that's a fair criticism. In an effort to contain terrorist forces, often the successes either aren't realized (because the terrorist attack simply never materializes) or can't be publicized (for fear of compromising intelligence gained). I'd bet there are a fair sight more successes than we hear about. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I hope not. All I can say is that if the draft re-appears, it would override my feelings about taxes and healthcare, and probably change my voting preferences. Indentured servitude, even to the government, is just a nice way of saying "slavery". -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hey Kevin, A (not so) hypothetical. If someone's four grandparents were natives of North Africa (Arab, essentially), the Phillipines (Asian), Germany (Caucasian) and America (around a quarter native american, with the balance various European immigrants), should that person qualify for affirmative action? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I can beat it. My brother qualified for Affirmative Action in college, and I didn't. We went to the same college. I entered three years after he did. The university did not change it's policies in that time. What was the difference? My brother looks more like my Mom, and I look more like my Dad. So the nice lady at the registrar's office, when we showed up to register, checked "Filipino" on my brother's form, and "Caucasian" on mine. So, two kids with exactly the same genetics, family background, and upbringing were treated differently by the system based upon the totally subjective evaluation of some bored bureaucrat. If you're wondering, we really do look very different--we used to win bets that we were related, back in college. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I think it's a case of "lesser evil". I generally agree with you (assuming I've got your viewpoint right) on the quoted statements. I'm still going to vote for Bush. Why? Kerry's beliefs on healthcare spring immediately to mind. Also, the fact that if congress passed a far left law that I found repugnant, Bush would be more likely to veto it than Kerry (even if Kerry personally disagreed with it). It's really not that hard to understand. I vote based largely on political reality, rather than pure ideals. If I voted solely on my conscience, I'd be voting Libertarian in every election (as it is, I've only done that about half the time). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Have a look at this thread in Bug Reports. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Just curious how many people have been hurt on legal v. illegal jumps. I've seen quite a bit of "boogie mentality" at legal sites that has led to injuries. Personally, I've only ever been injured on legal sites. Thoughts? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yes and no. I fold that under the tail before I start flaking, and it ends up wrapped up in the other folds (not the tail). I can try to elaborate a bit, if that's confusing. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Ditto. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Only if you route the bridle between your legs. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

As long as we're on this topic (sort of), does anyone have a current link for the BASE jumping flash game? The one I have doesn't work any more. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

My main experience was: Take it slow. I had two similar injuries. One I took all the time off the doctor recommended, and it healed great. The other I got back on as soon as I could (before the doctor said to), and it healed like absolute shite. Don't rush it. You'll be glad in the long run. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Have you tried booting from a clean disk? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Why do I suspect that I'll be moderating this thread in a short time? Bonfire, what? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In my opinion, conscription falls only a few steps short of enslavement. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com