funjumper101

What the polls say now is completely meaningless. Take a look at past elections. Once the Dem nominee is selected, the real campaign will begin. I hope that the Dems can do an effective job of exposing how erratic and scary McCain is. It should be enough to make the swing voters that decide elections to vote against him. Hilary is same old, same old partisan BS. Obama comes out of the Chicago political machine. I'll have to hold my nose against the stink and vote Dem anyway. No way I'll ever vote for a rescum for a very long time, if ever. Quite a change for a kid that used to stuff envelopes for the John Birch Society. One of the best quotes ever - "A working person voting Republcan is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders." For the younger folks, Colonel Sanders is the man who founded Kentucky Fried Chicken, now known as KFC.

Good info from Moveon.org. I look forward to the righties interpretation of this info. The sources for the statements are provided. Read them for yourself and see what you think. Let us not forget that McCain is also highly biased AGAINST general aviation. Do you want your DZ to close or your jump tickets price to skyrocket? 10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't): 1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1 2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2 3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3 4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4 5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5 6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6 7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7 8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8 9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9 10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10 Sources: 1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008 http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html "McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008 http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/ 2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us "Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/ 3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/ 4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/ 5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008 http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007 "McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007 http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/ 6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80 "McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home 7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022 "Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008 http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/ 8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/ "McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008 http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251 9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008 http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html "Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/ "McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/ 10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008 http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/

Why? Why is sticking obstinately to a particular point of view praiseworthy? Situational ethics seems to be the modern way of interacting with the world. Either you have core values that you believe in, or you don't. If you can't stand up for what you believe in, then you aren't much of a person. Even if your values don't agree with mine.

In California, something over 60% of the prison population is jailed on drug related convictions. A complete waste of jail space and law enforcement resources. We seem to be too stupid to learn from history. The Volstead Act was supposed to free the US from the great scourge of alcohol. It was made illegal and lots of resources were applied to enforce the law. All it did was make criminals out of ordinary citizens, create a huge business opportunity for people like Al Capone and Joe Kennedy, and created a network of organized crime that continues to this day. Prohibition doesn't work. In my view, it is also anti-American. What ever happened to personal freedom, and its conjoined twin, personal responsibilty? Why should the goverment control what recreational substances the citizens use? It is no ones business what adults do on their own time, as long as they aren't hurting anyone but themselves. Ever read any of the independent research about the success or failure of the DARE program in the schools? IIRC, the New England Journal of Medicine published a major study of how (not) successful the program was. The study showed that DARE students had a much higher rate of use and abuse of illegal drugs than non-DARE students. Having read through the DARE materials, I totally understand why. They are full of outdated and disproved information. In other words, a load of lies and BS. Once the kids figure out they were lied to, they start experimenting. One of the other creepy things about DARE is that they indoctrinate the kids to look for signs of drug use by the parents and encourage the kids to report it to the cops. Recreational marijuana users have been turned in by their own kids. Reminds me of the best times in the USSR. We all should be very proud. DARE continues to this day, in spite of the fact that it produces the opposite result of what is intended. There is a lot of money available for DARE and the program continues on. We wouldn't want to appear to be soft on drugs, after all. "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up!" seems to be the way many people approach the issue.

McCain is not very bright, has a thin skin, and a very bad temper. A terrible combination for anyone in a position of power. He has been a bully and an asshole as much as he could get away with throughout his whole career. His colleagues don't have much respect for him. Neither does anyone who really looks into the content of his character. He divorced the wife that waited for him while he was a POW, then married a rich gal whose money has gotten him where he is. A classic example of Republican "family values" and their undying commitment to "the sanctity of marriage". He is also an enemy of General Aviation. He got all pissed off at Phil Boyer (president of the AOPA) when Boyer was testifying in front of a committee that McCain headed. I can't recall all of the details, but McCain went ballistic when he couldn't browbeat Boyer into agreeing with him. The transcript of the exchange was great reading. Boyer is cool, calm and collected while McCain goes off bigtime. McCain is in favor of GA user frees, limiting GA access to airports, and voted AGAINST a bill banning torture. Vote for McCain if you want a bad tempered old man who is completely ignorant of basic facts about he biggest issue the next president will face. For those that don't keep up on it, he doesn't know which side of the Iraq civil war the USA supports. We support the side that is supported by the Iranians, in spite of being pissed off about the Iranian participation. Odd, but true. Vote for McCain if you want General Aviation to keep withering away and your jump tickets to cost a lot more money.

Even though many of my views could be described as very left wing, I too am quite contradictory. I think that the Second Amendment is very clear. We have a "right to keep and bear arms". In context of a "militia" is how it was written. If you look up what was considered to be a "militia" at the time, it pretty much adds up to locally national guard kind of units, aka, citizens organized to provide local defense/security, by the citizens themselves. Militias weren't organized or commanded by the state governments or their representatives. The "Minutemen" that fired the "shot heard 'round the world" were members of a militia. The other important issue for me is "consent of the governed". The people AND the government need to be armed. If only the government has guns, we become subjects, not citizens. The Swiss model for Civil Defense should be implemented in the US. Every adult should know how to use a firearms and have at least one in the house, under appropriate security, of course. Not quite a liberal or lefty position. CH was a great actor and a profoundly principled man. He did not waver in his principles, even when pilloried by the liberal faction of the press. You may not have agreed with his values, but you have to respect him for sticking by them. The best way that I can sum up the left/right controversy is that "My values are very different than yours". When I try to communicate with a Rushmc or an MNealtx, I have to remember that I see the world the way I see it, and they see the world the world the way they see it. It is unlikely that any one of us is going to have an epiphany and suddenly "see the light". It simply isn't going to happen. It takes a long time to accumulate enough info to change. I went from an avowed "Republican Conservative" to a very liberal progressive when I finally realized that no positive social change ever came out of conservative philosophy. A prime example is if conservatives had been successful in the fifties and sixties, the south would still be segregated and the folks of black African ancestry would still be second class citizens. I have used conservative and progressive because Democrat and Republican are meaningless in this context. I have challenged the righties to come up with an example of a positive social change that has come from conservative philosophy. Never got any kind of response... because there aren't any examples to be provided.

Parents who homeschool children frequently do so so that they (the parents) can indoctrinate them into the parents world views. Some of those world views are pretty scary. The Jonesboro Baptists are home schooled... Having worked in a public school system and dealt with some of those parents, I support the ruling 100%. Ignorant white folks who are "all messed up on the Lord" (great Cheech and Chong line) made up the majority of the parents who "home-schooled" their children. They usually did a really bad job and set back their kids intellectual and social development. Once the home school "attempt" was over and the kids came back to school, much effort was expended in remedial education to get them back up to speed with their peers. In the story that you link to, it is clear to me that the parents, in this case, seem to be in the category of "ignorant white folks, all messed up on the lord". Using a "religious" school as a coverup for their feeble efforts is par for the course, in my experience. The story is also very clear that the judge applied the law, as clearly written, regarding the requirements for a "home-schooled" educational scenario. It appears that the "educational establishment" broke the law to accomodate parents. Be pissed off at the parents and the educational establishment for not following the law, not the judge for the ruling. Once again, righteous froth is whipped up by those that are ignorant of the facts of the matter. If you plan to teach children (any children, even your own) to a professional standard, IE, NCLB standards, school curriculum standards, etc, you should be required to have a professional credential. Why is that a bad thing?

Cheese with wine is one of my favorite things. There is nothing like an excellent syrah with Mahon cheese. Pinot noir and a raw milk dry aged cheddar, with croccantini crackers... heaven. Cheese without wine is pretty good, too. Now you have me thinking about hitting the cheese shop. Bye, bye, $40.00 or so. I'll bring your list and see what the owner has to say.

Sorry, Bill, there is nothing nutty about expecting the government to abide by its compacts, and fighting them when they don't. The US Government has a history of signing contracts (treaties) then deciding not to honor the terms of the contract. The Feds have proven, especially during the current administration, that the Constitution, laws, and contracts are merely guidelines. All can be ignored when expedient. And the sheeple don't seem to care.

Nice to hear that Mr. Douglas will be back in the air. There was a C47/DC3 at Perris back in the 80s that had amazing floater bars. If I remember correctly, the bars above the door appeared to be from a city bus. Hell for strong. The step was aluminum. The bars stared a good 5' in front of the door and ended at least 10' behind the door. The local 20 way team was dirt diving with what looked to be everyone floating. Big folks on the outside, little folks underneath. Very impressive. Never got to jump at all that trip. The weather sucked the whole weekend. A few hop 'n pop loads got off. That's it.

Back when people were all flat flying, this wasn't such a bad idea. Now that there are wing suits, tracking dives, etc, this has become not such a good idea. I used to do this. Not anymore. It is safer to stay nearby and break off at the correct altitide, IMO.

Townhouses can be good or bad. It depends. HOA issues - A poorly run HOA can make life miserable. Deferred maintenance on common areas can mean a big assessment that is NOT optional. For example, the building(s) ten years old and the roof was crappy when it was installed. The HOA kept the association dues low by deferring things and didn't build up reserves for likely expenses, like replacing a roof. The HOA meets and decides to replace the roof. They figure it will cost X$$ and assess each unit a charge for the excess expense. These unpleasant surprises can be thousands of $$. Make sure that you check out the HOA's finances. Take a look at unplanned assesments. You likely should talk to a real estate agent that can help you learn the ins and outs. There are good books, too. HOAs can have restrictive rules like no dogs over 20lbs, no guest parking on premises, all cars must be garages at night, no resident parking in the guest spaces, etc, etc. Sometimes the rules aren't enforced, then a nit-picker gets on the HOA board and starts enforcing rules that used to be ignored. The politics can get intense. It also sucks when you have crappy neighbors. A friend is stuck with a condo that she can't sell. The downstairs neighbors are morbidly obese and snore so loud that the floor and one wall vibrates in the MBR. Hard to believe, but true. It is a nasty noise that comes through. This is a known defect that must be disclosed if you sell. The HOA can't help. It isn't illegal to snore really loudly. The folks she bought the condo from didn't disclose the issue and moved out of the country after the sale. The fat fucks are assholes and think that it is funny. Someday they'll die or move. Until then, she's stuck. She spent a lot of $$ on new carpet, padding, etc. It helped, but didn't fix the problem. Many people ignore their HOAs, don't attend meetings, don't keep up on the financials, etc. They get interested fast when things have turned bad. In summary, make sure that you really understand what you are getting yourself into. Buying a place is the biggest purchase you are going to make. You need to make sure that you fully comprehend what you are getting yourself into. Visit the place at night, on weekends so that you can see what it looks like. Talk to the neighbors a bit. Ask them about the HOA. Good luck.

QuoteGood idea about the observation jump, I hadn't heard of that before. Not sure what they would think about that being it's in a King Air and they really pack us in tight. Come to think of it, though, if you pay your jump fee, it's no different to the pilot. I'm curious, though, about what exactly you are observing. Is it the exit of the jumpers? Did watching the jumpers go help with your anxiety? Quote Back in the day, observer rides were a lot more common than they are now. It used to cost just a jump ticket. A ride to altitude should cost the same, if you get out, or not. I have seen gear rental charges added to a jump ticket for an observer ride. This covers the staff time to gear up and train the observer, and retrieve the oberver and gear when the airplane lands, so I am told. For a non-skydiver, or very new student, the experience is pretty intense. Getting geared up, boarding the plane, the cheers as the wheels break ground, the commentary on the way to altitude, the door opening, the climbout, and the exit are all a new environment. You can't help but pump a bunch of adrenaline. I wasted a lot of money on AFF dives that I should have been able to complete, but didn't. Too much adrenaline = bad performance, for me. Two for ones were really expensive and discouraging. One of the instructors suggested that I take a slot on the first load of the day as an observer and just chill out and enjoy the experience. This worked really well for me. A fun ride, cool to watch the exit, and riding with three comedic up jumpers having a blast was a great way for me to chill out and get ready for my own jumps. I did two observer rides on two different Saturday mornings. They helped me considerably. YMMV

There is no shame in passing on making a skydive if you aren't ready for it. You weren't ready to make a jump, so you didn't. Good on you. When you are ready, you will. On the basis on your description of how you felt, I call your decision really good judgement. Hold your head up high and pat yourself on the back. You did good. If the DZ allows it, try doing an observer ride. You get a good chunk of the skydiving experience without planning to make a skydive. Way back when AFF was relatively new and I was a student, I found that doing an observer ride before an AFF jump burned off a good portion of adrenaline. Less adrenaline in my system = way better performance on the AFF dives. A couple of observer rides saved me a lot of $$. No repeating jumps anymore. My awareness of what was going on went up a whole lot. YMMV

What positive social change has come about from conservative philosophy? Simple question. Why don't you answer it? Surely you must have many examples... WRT to opting in for basic education for students, you make a massive distinction between sex ed and other forms of education. Your authority on this matter is self proclaimed "because I am the parent", as though that confers on you some magical power to be the sole judge of what curriculm will be taught to your kids. I point out that your absolute statements can be extended far beyond what you intend. You don't get the point at all. What is to stop another parent from claiming the right to "opt in" to curriculm such as Algebra or English Lit? After all, learning abstract thinking skills and being exposed to bad stuff like Shakespeare and John Steinbeck might expose a kid to outside influences that the parent strongly opposes. You call this a "stupid assumption". I call it a logical and reasonable extension of your philosophy, applied in a way so as to expose the philosophy in full. Being a parent doesn't make you the sole abiter of what curriculm will be taught to your child in a public school. What exactly would you be protecting your own from? Factual information, presented in a format and setting the kids are used to? Basic human physiology, including reproductive organs and the risks of using them, need to part of the basic stuff taught to every single student. Just like reading, writing, and basic math. Part of the skills needed to function effectively in society.

You want me to by default give up my rights. Sorry, that is wrong. As I have stated before one of the attempts of a school here was to send the permission forms home with the child. If they did not get it back it was infered you agreed to let them attend. This was not by acident it was by those who think like you do From what you write, it appears that you have some serious issues with sex and it's role in a normal healthy human being. What happened to you? Why do you think that parents should have to "opt in" for sex ed? Do you support the concept of "opting in" for English and Math class? How about Science and P.E.? What makes sex ed so different, in your view? Why do you think that you (as a parent) have the right to keep your child from classes in basic knowlege needed to be an informed citizen? In my opinion, anyone who is too uptight to let a school teach basics to a student is NEVER going to be able to discuss the issues with their child.

IF THEY ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE THIS IS PART OF WHAT IS FUCKING BULL SHIT!!!!! You and your liberal I can fuck who I want to fuck liberal mind set bull shit are part of what will destroy this country if it is allowed to happen. I will fight you with every fiber of my being to make sure this does not continue. This attitude is a disease on this county and if you truly belive this should be the norm screw you. Prepare for a war I am engaged in the cultural war you speak of. Narrow minded conservatives are ripping this country apart. Rotten to the core, with the best of intentions. Smart folks must fight the ignorant. As it ever was... If a person is under 18, do you believe that the parents have complete and total ownership of that person? The right to say what that person can and cannot learn? Who and what that person can and cannot believe? Does this "ownership" translate into any meaningful restrictions as to what the parents can and can not do? How do the restrictions come about? Why do you think that a person has no rights at all for the first 6412 days of their life? Indentured servitude, and forced apprenticeships used to be one way that parents got troublesome children to "make something of themselves". Sounds pretty good to me. When can we start this again? Or are these practices and customs no longer legal? Why were they made illegal? The parents agreed to the terms. What was the problem? Parental rights are superior, aren't they? Why did the government have to get involved? Stinking liberals always see shades of grey when the issue is clearly black and white. Parental rights trump children's rights in every case, no matter what. Don't confuse me with the facts. My mind is made up. Hey Marc, How come you didn't answer any of my questions? Too much for you? Too challenging? Do they make you think about things from an uncomfortable perspective? I think that is is because you find yourself defending the indefensable. The point that I clearly made is that children have rights. They are not chattel, owned totally and completely by their parents. They can't be sold or bartered. They can't be forced into being little automatons by their parents, no matter how hard the parents try. Willfully keeping children ignorant about critical health matters is a horrible form of child abuse. The question I really want an answer to is "What positive social change has come about from conservative philosophy?". There are plenty of examples of progressive philosophy bringing about positive social change. Two perfect examples are women's suffrage (the right to vote) in the early part of this century and the civil rights movement that started after WWII. Can you provide any examples of how conservative philosophy has positively impacted the USA? Didn't think so... You and your conservative bretheren have done a fine job of ruining the USA. In my lifetime the USA will become a second rate world power, much like the UK after WWII. And the sheeple will be wondering what the hell happened.

IF THEY ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE THIS IS PART OF WHAT IS FUCKING BULL SHIT!!!!! You and your liberal I can fuck who I want to fuck liberal mind set bull shit are part of what will destroy this country if it is allowed to happen. I will fight you with every fiber of my being to make sure this does not continue. This attitude is a disease on this county and if you truly belive this should be the norm screw you. Prepare for a war I am engaged in the cultural war you speak of. Narrow minded conservatives are ripping this country apart. Rotten to the core, with the best of intentions. Smart folks must fight the ignorant. As it ever was... If a person is under 18, do you believe that the parents have complete and total ownership of that person? The right to say what that person can and cannot learn? Who and what that person can and cannot believe? Does this "ownership" translate into any meaningful restrictions as to what the parents can and can not do? How do the restrictions come about? Why do you think that a person has no rights at all for the first 6412 days of their life? Indentured servitude, and forced apprenticeships used to be one way that parents got troublesome children to "make something of themselves". Sounds pretty good to me. When can we start this again? Or are these practices and customs no longer legal? Why were they made illegal? The parents agreed to the terms. What was the problem? Parental rights are superior, aren't they? Why did the government have to get involved? Stinking liberals always see shades of grey when the issue is clearly black and white. Parental rights trump children's rights in every case, no matter what. Don't confuse me with the facts. My mind is made up.

WELL THEN, I am glad YOU have more power over what MY children learn than I FUCKING NOT!!! This is a Liberal view that has to be stopped Your signature line says it all. Basic education regarding bodily functions/systems and protection from transmissible disease should be a part of every child's formal education. Regardless of their race, creed, religion, or national origin. Much like reading, writing, and basic math skills. A foundation of factual information against which reasonable judgements can be made. There are those parents who are so "messed up on the lord" that they think that their kids should remain ignorant as long as possible about those things that the parent doesn't like. I do NOT support the right of parents to keep from their children basic knowlege of how the human body works and how to prevent common diseases from infecting their bodies. Choosing to be an ignorant moron as an adult is pathetic. Choosing to make your children ignorant morons is reprehensible. Funny how you invoke the "liberal" boogeyman when it comes to basic, fundamental education in simple scientific matters of biology and disease. What is "liberal" about this? It is common sense to provide children with a basic foundation of knowlege, for the health and safety of society as a whole. The more education that a person receives, the more "liberal" they become, for the most part. The less education a person has, the more "conservative" they are, for the most part. Can you provide ONE example of positive social change coming about through "conservative" philosophy? Is ignorance really bliss? For conservatives, that seems to be the case. "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up", sums it up pretty well. Creationism is religion disguised as science and has no place in a science classroom.

I think that the actions of the woman are entrapment. The plantiff should find a decent lawyer and file a civil suit for damages. The criminal charges should go to a jury trial. Hopefully the jurors will include at least ONE person with a brain and a healthy disrespect for authority. This sting reminds me of what happened in Westford, Massachusetts, many years ago. MA is the only state I have ever been in that has freeway rest areas that do NOT have bathroom facilities. That's right, A rest area without a legal place to piss. Pretty pathetic, but true. At the time, there were no signs anywhere that there were no bathrooms. You found out after you pulled in, parked, and started looking for a place to go. The Westford town police were making a ton of money hanging out in the bushes and arresting people who did the normal, natural thing, IE, pissing in the woods at the lame rest area with no bathrooms. This bullshit went on for years, so I am told. The sleazy LEOs finally picked on the wrong person. IIRC, it was high powered lawyer from NYC that was also a member of the bar in MA. He lit up the town and the Commonwealth of MA for some serious cash via civil suit. MA still has freeway rest areas without bathroom facilities, but there are signs that say so. The signs were part of the settlement of the lawsuit. I think he donated the money from the suit to charity, but I may be wrong. Next time you get a jury summons, show up and try to get on a jury. I once managed to get a jury to vote to not convict a kid that was charged with some really bullshit charges. I was amazed at how STUPID most of the jurors were. The morons were all set to convict, even though the kid's lawyer had totally blown up the case against him. The argument I heard was that "He wouldn't have been charged if he hadn't done "something wrong". Too much respect for the law, too few functioning brain cells, ZERO critical thinking skills. I wouldn't have made the jury, but the DA had used up all of his "punt the intelligent juror for no good reason" cards.

The Skyride scumbags have a web site for Skydive Medford. Is there a real DZ (not a Skyride bullshit web site) in Southern Oregon, near Medford/Ashland? The DZs listed in Oregon are all in the middle to the northen part of the state, as far as I can tell.

I pulled this from the rec.aviation.piloting usenet newsgroup. begin quoted text >>> The parents of Bryan Jones, a 34 year old Microsoft engineer who was one of nine skydivers killed in the crash of a Cessna Caravan, are suing Cessna. The Caravan was returning from Star, Idaho, to Shelton, Washington. The parents are alleging that the Cessna Caravan was defective and should not have been flying in icy weather. The airplane is not certified for flight into known ice, although the plane in question did have boots.

"You fucked up. You trusted us." Hardbar to Flounder in Hardbar's shop, after the road trip in Animal House. The remains of Flounder's brothers Lincoln were part of the scene. I have worked for companies that seemed to follow that quote as a business model.

reply] Here is the story of the worst poser I ever encountered. Most of what you can read about him on this website occurred after my run-in with him: http://www.ousterhout.net/zoom.html Zoomie is currently operating the web site www.aero-news.net Just as bad and biased as the shitty magazine he used to publish. There are some legit journalists that write for the site. They tarnish their reputations by associating with a nutter like Zoom. I dropped my 22 year EAA membership when the EAA announced in their weekly email news that they were going to cooperate with Zoom on the latest edition of his shitty books about homebuilt aircraft. The EAA rep defended their actions as supporting a legit journalist. What a load of crap. The rep knew about John Osterhoudt's web page, but refused to read the content and was rather unpleasant about the whole matter. Helping the dirtbag behind the scenes to ensure accuracy is one thing. Promoting the author via email news as a legit source of unbiased info was and is totally unacceptable. The EAA continues its long downhill slide...

Most of California doesn't get rain for months at a time. When the first rain finally comes, all of the oil, grease, and coolant that has been on and in the pavement comes out and makes the roads VERY slippery, compared to dry pavement. The combo of rain and gick is almost soapy. Normal ops in SoCal traffic is to follow the car in front close enough to prevent anyone from cutting in front of you. That translates to about 1 to 1.5 car lengths. This spacing is maintained right up to prevailing traffic speed, which sometimes gets up to 75-80 mph. Quite spooky, if you aren't used to it. This spacing does not change when the first rain comes. The combination of constant tailgating and slippery pavement = lots of accidents. The same thing happens in the mid-Atlantic states when there is an inch or two of snow. Accidents everywhere until the drivers adjust the the new conditions. I hope that Shrub gets a clue and doesn't veto the increase in CAFE. Most likely, he will.