GD64

Ronhend....a great letter. The former agent needs to prepare for an audit, and/or failed brakes on a mountain road at night.

Earp......I don't know. From a personal experience point of view all I can say is Sturgis heat in August, running 90 mph plus in a pack of air cooled V-twins feels hot from crotch to ankles (motor heat) but cooler on rest of body vs frying the whole body in downtown stop and go traffic.

turtle......as an aside, but possibly relevant, check out who the general contracting firms "usually" are on these builds. I would guess it (freestanding er's) to be a bit of a niche, thus maybe only a handful biding on each job. I know from my perspective (electrical), health care facilities tend to be quite challenging . I bring this up because you could possibly do some sort of "internship" with the general contracting firm or one of the sub's. Seeing with your own eyes would be a nice supplement to your formal education. Also in the consulting biz, especially when starting out you are only as good as the last successful project you were involved in. So the more projects you can address the better. As you may very well know solving issues some large, some small are a constant process that start well before ground is broken. Mother nature, suppliers (especially in niche builds) can hold you hostage and force you to switch horses in mid-stream. Then a whole new challenge......broken contracts etc., etc.. Followed by barristers representing the damaged parties. On time and on budget is the ultimate goal, but very rare due to "extra's" that most every job has. So meeting these challenges and making them as painless, non-time consuming, and drama free as possible to your end customer will go far. I wish you success in your venture. I believe anything involving healthcare is a job forever if you want.

I remember good times partying and jumping (in that order) with "John Boy"! See you on the other side..."Sport Death."

Probably not. I read an interesting idea about how in any given population the number of crooks is relatively constant at around 10%. The difference is how people go about being a crook. So, for instance, when people have no opportunities to commit white collar crime, perhaps the crime tends to be committed through violence. Got a reference to that? That idea has a lot of interesting corollaries. Sorry, bit of a hack, but article in Libertarian News. Org, by Michael Suede dated June 5, 2014 addresses those numbers in an article regarding percentage of criminals in America.

skycop........even though I have criticized LE from time to time I do recognize (to some degree) what a tough job you have. I recently attended my best friends brothers retirement party (25 years in large metro area). As the night wore on and things got loose, it seemed the number one complaint across the board was the "revolving door" justice system. The same criminals being put back on the street over and over again by judges and prosecutors. They expressed that sure, there are budget concerns, but a lot of the decisions made on who goes to trial is made for political purposes. Moving on up in the future, and all the free exposure (nightly news, etc.) can't hurt. Anyway, their take. I'm not sure what the answer is for 10%-15% of society that acts this way. The three strikes thing in Cali didn't really seem to work that well. IMO too many people with drug offenses that became "strikes". Maybe limit to violent criminal acts. But perhaps one of our resident barristers would make a case for unconstitutional sentencing guide lines, iduno.

melch.......as far as "no one saw this coming".....well, just a few day's ago (New Years Eve) The press to include the Guardian and BBC reported the "940 burned vehicles as a 12% improvement over last year". Huh? In spite of 90,000 police, gendarmes, soldiers and emergency service workers to protect the public. The articles used words such as high rise structures and the like, to be politically sensitive to the Muslims where this primarily took place. I want to know where Kalland was during that time period? Also, any visible burns on his hands or anywhere else So basically the fires were already stoked up (yes, I know this has been happening yearly for awhile),and what apparently changed this year was, very few arrests were made to hopefully pacify the community. We now have radical Islam intimidating the "ruling elite", the media, and their subjects on a global scale. I would guess many people in the above mentioned saw it coming but were intimidated into silence by fear.

Penn Jillette said some interesting stuff about Muslims. It's been frequently said that people on the left won't criticize Islam, though they have no problems criticizing Christians, Mormons, Jews, etc. Then he said that he himself criticizes religion. Except for Islam. Reason is that he wants to live. That people - himself included - are fraid to criticize or satirize Islam is the greatest indictment of all. That you would lump is the "prophet is avenged" for some publiction with a person using deadly force against an attacker is understandable. You're scared, too. lawrocket........there is a recent vid out there (internet) with John Cleese saying the same thing almost word for word. Here is is, but I'm not sure he was totally serious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ULvKtcmWgo They zero in on Islam at 1:30. Hey ryoder.......thanks for that. Yes, I see what you mean about totally serious? However, my first impression (and after watching a couple of more times), still "think" he means that, but as a simple Mercian I could be missing the English dry, witty humor completely? A very talented man, and I knew you appreciated his work after seeing a recent post of yours "about the war"

Penn Jillette said some interesting stuff about Muslims. It's been frequently said that people on the left won't criticize Islam, though they have no problems criticizing Christians, Mormons, Jews, etc. Then he said that he himself criticizes religion. Except for Islam. Reason is that he wants to live. That people - himself included - are fraid to criticize or satirize Islam is the greatest indictment of all. That you would lump is the "prophet is avenged" for some publiction with a person using deadly force against an attacker is understandable. You're scared, too. lawrocket........there is a recent vid out there (internet) with John Cleese saying the same thing almost word for word.

"I'd prefer that me and that female skydiver just have a good jump." Whoa, I thought for a moment we were headed towards a X-rated thread drift?

NWFlyer......... that's really funny!

champu.......I get what your saying. I've made another attempt at humor (be it poor). Don't know exactly how to change from serious, to semi- serious, to light hearted, to ridiculous, and get whatever chosen mindset through in a post. Maybe just an internet thing. Certainly no malice or disrespect meant to you in any way.

Yes..................and if I remember my scenes correctly he said "are you going to pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?" Then he spit ta-backy.

rushmc........I "think" I know what Ernie was trying to do. However, there are several irony's resulting in his exercising of his first amendment rights in this manner. He gave away "techniques" to the possible scallywag's. Thus if they can read a newspaper, they will be better prepared for their next venture. He also did a disservice (IMO) to other conceal carry holders, as well as the ones he has trained by possibly shedding them in a "paranoia light". Which, whether true or not, is never something you want the local populist to feel about an armed citizen in their community, let alone a prosecutor in the case of an actual "bad guy" shooting. There will be enough fallout as is, even if legit. Besides, the info he was putting out there is available to those who what it. He should have just kept running his ad for his conceal carry course (total assumption on my part) and kept the info "in house". Over 90% of "observation info" put out by current trainers, civilian, government agencies, and military trainers comes from one source.......Colonel Cooper (R.I.P.). Any trainer saying different is stretching the truth a bit. I would say the same thing about pistol craft, however, that's definitely a whole new thread.

Nah, Air Force is good. Three hot's and a cot. Real food vs "SOS" or worse.

When you are young, military, or just out, no steady girlfriend, kids, mortgage payments, pets, alimony, etc..,etc. enjoy those times for all they are worth. It may be awhile before you get back to that mindset...if ever. Some one I'm sure will say this before I get posted "bring beer". It's the way to intro yourself and start to fit in. You will be the target for some, and a curiosity for others. Dust off your bullshit meter because that will peg from time to time. Just like the military, and life in general, when your a f-ing "cruit" keep you mouth mostly shut and you will learn quicker an alienate fewer (there's always some that are lost causes). Observe and listen and beer....you will go far. Help out others when you can. N.C.... was at Bragg for a little while. Oh that money thing you mentioned.....train up and get a good job and you'll skydive more.

Yes airbornesid, hideous looking indeed. Put a nose piece on and it would resemble an older SCUBA mask.

weaver or isosceles?

Not sure about W, but I think Bubba tumbled down a flight of stairs at Gregg Normans FL digs? Kind of like some skydivers around a late night fire.

Hope that's not "open carry?"

Roy.........Two thumbs up! Perfectly stated!

This is just another example of the "everyone deserves a trophy crowd", whose actions and teaching are sending the wrong message to the youth of America. This pathetic message is being sent via taxpayer money as well (the school didn't pay lawyers out of their own pockets). Bad calls....fact of life (shit happens). Damn, grow thicker skin. There are a lot more important things in life then "bread and circuses". I know there are a lot of good kids out there, however, there are also a lot that are coddled and constantly told how special they are. They will have a much harder time adjusting to adulthood, IMO. The boss is mainly interested in the bottom line and not into coddling, because those 12-14 hour work days leave no time for that. The coddled ones will probably never be entrepreneurs because they will run out of lawyer money if they are taking every perceived slight to court as they were "taught" in school. Life isn't fair.......so fucking what! Rant out!

*** No, it wouldn't. Being beaten and robbed, even raped, is unfortunate. Being shot to death is terminal. One can recover from the former, but not from the later. Quote I would guess there are a few hundred million females in the world that would disagree with your summary on rape. Being beaten and robbed, even raped, "is Unfortunate." That is some world view you have?

*** Now, if just all toddlers would kill their gun-addicted parents, we'd have a better, less violent, society !!! I don't feel sorry for the victim. Not one bit!!! Quote That's some pretty cold hearted shit!!

Yes promise5......I have been on a few sites where you guys/gals ride to the rescue. We always joke about pipefitters and plumbers with their "bigger hammer" mindsets. However, when you show up and start swinging those axes there is no comparison. I think you all are Paul Bunyan want bee's........ I get it though, let that fire breathe