skydiver30960

Full story: http://www.fox14tv.com/story/14929489/3-baxter-springs-firefighters-fired-for-looting How about criminal charges for the looting! No indication in the text or video that Knox Boxes were involved. As such, is it fair to include in this discussion? Three policemen could have been involved, or three city streets workers. As it is, the firefighters could have thrown rocks through windows or walked into partially collapsed structures for their looting. The video clip even mentions that it wasn't clear if the firefighters were on duty or not. But, just for argument (because this is SC, no?) let's just say I was to give you that this one case MAY have involved Knox Boxes: while I can't provide actual numbers, I would counter your one example of malfeasance with the (I would bet money) THOUSANDS of times every DAY across the US that a Knox Box saves a property owner money and/or aids emergency workers in their duties. Elvisio "don't fear the Knox Box" Rodriguez

I DO know a flying Elvisio... does that count? Elvisio "" Rodriguez

In my mind it may not even be that they think it's good for them, it's the honestly incredible job they've done marketing those kinds of drinks to kids. Same thing with all the energy drinks. My personal boycott of Red Bull (and all similar drinks as well) continues, but for some reason doesn't seem to be affecting their overall profit margin, for some odd reason. Elvisio "caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, will make your workout LESS effective" Rodriguez

But how many broken doors will a business owner tolerate due to a false fire alarm? Or constantly fielding "wellness" calls to check on grandma when the nearest family is hundreds of miles away and she isn't answering her phone? It's a sad fact that firefighters spend much more time responding to false alarms than they do real fires. If we kicked in a door or broke a window for every false alarm, it'd be a nightmare. Dude, I totally agree with you WRT making them MANDATORY. But in your line of work don't you see firefighters using these things ALL the time? ETA: I guess maybe it's a regional thing. But I would stress that this is far from "new" technology. These things are all over the place in the jurisdictions I've run fire and rescue in, and I've never heard of a theft coming down to a violated Knox Box. I talked to my partner who used to be a career firefighter and he said the same thing. Again, I highly recommend their use, but would not recommend mandating their use. Elvisio "they're everywhere" Rodriguez

So, for those not familiar, what they're describing is a Knox Box. This is a special, nearly bomb-proof box that a home or business owner would affix to the outside of the building, the interior of which is just large enough to hold a small number of keys. The idea is just what is mentioned here: that in a fire or medical emergency, firefighters (usually) or EMS providers (much less frequently) could use their proprietary key to open the Knox Box and get the keys to the property rather than spend the time forcing doors or climbing through windows. As a (former, and hopefully someday once again) volunteer firefighter, I'm really familiar with Knox Boxes. They are immensely helpful to firefighters and EMS providers, which means it could save YOUR life. The potential for abuse of the system is extremely low. If I owned a business, would I install a Knox Box? Yes, absolutely. Once I own a home, will I install a Knox Box? Yes, if the circumstances of the structure mean anything more than a broken window to replace if access is needed by emergency personnel. Am I in favor of a city REQUIRING their use? ...not such an easy sale. Definitely a case of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Elvisio "Knox Box Rocks!" Rodriguez ETA: for the record I voted Bad Idea; based on the thread's intent, rather than the validity of the Knox Box itself.

Thank Heavens. Is it true that there are 14 (now 13) B-17s still flying? I would have thought the number to be much smaller. Elvisio "silver lining" Rodriguez

0 : 0 : 36 Humps/Jumps/nonstop hours spent naked in my apartment. I wasn't even motivated enough to put on underpants this weekend. Elvisio "screw 'no-pants tuesday', going all out" Rodriguez

Speaking of deranged mad scientists: here's a little something for the Joss Whedon and Firefly fans on here. DEFINITELY worth checking out. Based on the pilot flying the thing apparently their target demographic is derranged mad scientists. http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Dr._Horrible_s_Sing-Along_Blog/70115760?trkid=496624#height1637 Elvisio "Laundry Day is awesome" Rodriguez

One thing I remember from nursing school was how they helped us differentiate between a neurosis and a psychosis. A neurosis was just a particular or peculiar behavior. A psychosis was when that behavior interfered with your ability to: 1.) Do your job; 2.) Take care of yourself (i.e. hygiene and nutrition); 3.) Maintain your normal interpersonal relationships. So if you're doing all this new stuff and keeping up with the rest of your life, then rock on! If you're doing all this stuff so you can attract younger chickies to fool around on the wife and aren't paying your bills and getting fired from work for too many "surfing breaks" then you might have a problem. For me, I figure I just stopped maturing (note I didn't say aging, just maturing) somewhere around 27. It's been good so far, we'll see how long the muscles and bones hold up. Elvisio "no need to cheat on my wife, she's a hottie" Rodriguez

Your quote reminds me that when I started this tread I was looking for a picture that made the Internet rounds a while back of a dude working underneath a car that he had propped up to about a 45 degree angle with a single 4x4 or something similar. Couldn't find it, oh well. Elvisio "sorry, no block and tackle yet" Rodriguez

Resurrecting an old thread... I just watched the new version start to finish on Netflix; I'm now three episodes into the old (1978) series. After only three episodes I've already come to two verdicts: Newer Series wins for effects and plot development; Older Series ABSOLUTELY WINS for hotness. With all due respect to Tricia Helfer (quietly wipes drool from corner of mouth) the ladies in the 1978 series are totally smoking hot. Elvisio "wife moving out to AZ in a few weeks, none too soon" Rodriguez

I'll buy your first walking stick. Done. Paypal's ready to rock when you're ready to roll. Elvisio "perfect for the Saguaro National Forest" Rodriguez

Mebbe it's just the old skydiver in me saying the same thing I say to all the swoopers, but isn't that thing a little short on square footage? The lifting surfaces, I mean. Or is it the "biplane" setup that makes it seem that way? Or as others said, is it just a design hoping to get people to give them money? The "press release" says it was going to fly in April. Alas, no pics of a working prototype yet. Elvisio "anything that will get me to work faster" Rodriguez

I like the 2x 12 ramps. I've seen them used before and had forgotten about them. They may be the trick. And Johnny Marko: you're my hero. Elvisio "Lowes bound" Rodriguez

Somebody here has/had a sig line about how the world was doomed when twenty-somethings needed a shop to change the oil in their cars instead of doing it themselves. I used to be that guy. BUT, lately I've been more and more hands-on with maintenance. Hey, I have to, I own a Jeep . I also own a (relatively) new Honda Civic. I did the first oil change in the repair bay of my old VFD, complete with pit, so it was easy. Now that pit is 2240 miles away, and I'm staring at my Civic in the driveway trying to figure out how to get it done. While I can easily fit myself under my Jeep, there is no way I'm going to wedge my fat ass into the 5" gap between the body of that Civic and the ground. All I can come up with: steel ramps under the front wheels, chock the hell out of the rear wheels, apply emergency brake (usually routed to rear wheel or wheels), and work fast. Any other suggestions? Elvisio "flatflying is OK, but don't want to be a flat flyer" Rodriguez

Where did you get it? Elvisio "money on the move" Rodriguez

If that's true, I'd be glad to hear it. I thought I was some kind of freak of nature with a gut that approached faster-than-light speeds. Elvisio "Rectum? Damn near killed 'em!" Rodriguez

Dude, if that's not a typo, then your life DOES rock. Yep, my life rocks. I'm living in a new town doing the job I spent the past seven years of my life preparing for. My wife had a great job interview in town yesterday (nothing official yet) but opportunities are starting to arise for her and she'll be moving out (finally) to join me next month. Elvisio "bring on the Arizona heat" Rodriguez

They definitely subscribe to the theory that "less is more," check out the wiki page and the description of the "Micro Space Craft (MSC)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_Brahe_%28spacecraft%29 Yikes! Elvisio "like climbing Everest with a Clif bar and a bottle of water" Rodriguez

Sorry, Dude (capitalized in honor of your avatar), but THIS is the obligatory link to include in this thread: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjPxDOEdsX8 The resolution SUCKS because it's an old video. Read the description on the youtube page. I recall this as being the first video I ever saw on the internet. It was shown to me by, you guessed it, one of my engineering professors in the late 90s who thought it was the perfect example of what engineers will get into if they're not kept properly occupied. He was right! Edit to keep it on topic: I'm a gas man. I really prefer the flavor of charcoal with mesquite chips added, but it's too much effort considering 99/100 times it's just me and my wife eating. Elvisio "nurse now, but the enigineer still festers in me like a pustule" Rodriguez

VEEERY different meaning coming from you than from any other woman with whom I'm acquainted... Elvisio "my wife hopes he's straight b/c she says funny is super sexy" Rodriguez

I think it is thermal lensing, or density-gradient lensing. It's an AN-2. Elvisio "hate me, I deserve it" Rodriguez

Yeah, cheap 550 cord was my prime suspect. As far as the noose thing goes, it's food for thought. For whatever reason, I just get wigged out by the feel of metal jewelry against my skin. The chain-inside-paracord idea is a good one, except that I wear the loop around my neck pretty tight to my neck. I know that's totally paradoxical with my issues with jewelry, but I never said I made sense to anyone! So, I've been using the setup with two separate knots that slide along the cord so that it can be big enough to get around my neck but then tighten down to the point I'm comfortable with. I'll go back to the drawing board and see what I can come up with. EDIT TO ADD FOLLOWUP: If anyone knows of any sites or big stores (i.e. Michaels) where I'd be able to find a selection of plastic necklace clasps, I'd love to hear it! -Thx Elvisio "paradox personified" Rodriguez

So, since I got married I have worn my wedding ring around my neck on a piece of gutted black 550 cord. Most of the things I do make it safer to wear it there instead of on my hand, plus I never was realy comfortable wearing jewelry (I don't even like to wear a watch). I've done so for about four years now. I'm in the habit of changing out the cord every so often; not because it gets funky but because I worry it'll start getting funky if I don't. When I moved to Arizona I left my 550 cord stash back in VA and scored myself a replacement bunch from the local army surplus store. And ever since, I've noticed the 550 cord SHRINKS, and I mean a LOT. I'll make a new lanyard with plenty of room to spare, and it'll get smaller and smaller over a few weeks until I can barely get it over my head any more. And hold off on the wisecracks about my fat head. Ever had a similar problem? I don't recall this happening in Virginia. Is it the heat in AZ? Chemical reaction with all the sunscreen I've been using? Exposure to that great AZ sun? Or did I just get crappy 550 cord from the army surplus? The wife is coming into town for a job interview next week and she's going to bring the "good stuff" (and the 550 cord, ha!) with her and I'll see if that fixes the situation. In the meantime I was just wondering if anyone here had any input... Elvisio "refer to Foamy's Kavorkian scarf" Rodriguez

There is no way USPA could front the money to underwrite "skydiver's insurance". There is no way any other existing insurance company would underwrite such insurance because there is no way it'd ever be profitable. Skydivers are very, very good at racking up insanely large hospital bills. Now, you're right, THEORETICALLY it could be made profitable if the company charged enough. But the monthly premium would be so high we'd all scoff at it and walk away anyhow. Elvisio "ICU stays are expensive" Rodriguez