winsor

Bear in mind that I'm an Orthodox Infidel, and consider the concept of "sin" to be little more than fuel for humor. As Elvis Costello said, "there's no such thing as an original sin...." Anyhow, the whole idea behind sin is guilt. This country is neurotic as hell when it comes to sex, and I think it contributes to the general impression that Americans are pitiful lovers. To limit sex to the missionary position for purposes of procreation is simply laughable. I have read many religious texts, and a lot of what hangs people up is what they read into what is there. I seem to recall Lot getting his daughters knocked up in the OT, and it was reported as a good thing there, so the "sin" aspect of things seems situational at best. Lying is despicable. I couldn't care less about it's legal status or place in the Commandments; I find liars loathsome, and seek to avoid them. Sex is good clean fun, and anyone who thinks it's icky is doing it wrong. Far from feeling guilty about it, the more I get the happier I am. Liars are the lowest form of life. I detest having anything to do with people given to prevarication. I'm not sure how the concept of sin relates to much of anything beyond crowd control. Blue skies, Winsor

Orwell was an optimist.

I jump with neophytes for free. I'll be damned if I will have anything to do with this particularly bogus bit of rulemaking. This is a case in point where change is not improvement, and you do not necessarily get what you pay for. Blue skies, Winsor

If you want to jump with an undersized reserve, pack REALLY carefully and try not to get blindsided before pull time. I jump main loaded at over 2:1 with a reserve at about 0.85:1. When I'm down to my last handle, I want to get as much nylon overhead as I can. Blue skies, Winsor

Anyone who would be swayed by your results would likely have picked up on some of the existing footage that clearly demonstrates the invalidity of the 45 degree concept, but having a source of information devoted to debunking the misconception could be useful. Bad science has a life of its own. I just verified your results, once I figured out which two numbers you were adding. For clarification, you add *Groundspeed* to *Headwinds at Opening Altitude* to get your effective speed for separation at opening altitude. Making preliminary calculations part of your preflight procedure isn't a bad idea. You can get winds at opening altitude from Flight Service or a heads-up pilot, and groundspeed can be had from a GPS if one is installed in the jump aircraft. As an aside, to get fps from kts you multiply by 5/3 => 60 kts is 100 fps and 90 knots is 150 fps (assuming I correctly recall that a nautical mile is around 6,000 feet - I'm too lazy to look it up). Thanks Bill, Winsor

His old man was big on a Constitutional Amendment having something or another to do with the flag. I thought that was stupid then, and I think this is stupid now. I can't bring myself to believe that anyone is dumb enough to care all that much one way or another. As long as everything is voluntary and above the age of consent, what difference does it make? Why does it seem that anyone running for office in this country is a national embarrassment? Is it that nobody with the tiniest bit of integrity would be caught dead with their name listed amongst the others on the ballot? I keep wishing I could say "it's only a movie...." Blue skies, Winsor

Chris Rock is the Stepin Fetchit of today. Above and beyond whatever talent he has, his career has been that of playing a negro stereotype. I find racism as repellent when embodied by David Duke as Al Sharpton - and don't see much difference between the two modes. If someone wishes to play the race card, you can deal me out. Blue skies, Winsor

There are physiological specifics that you can't fake. They are hardly universal, but if a woman displays them she wasn't faking. I really don't understand why anyone would bother to fake it. I never do. Blue skies, Winsor

QuoteSteve, you've obviously done or been involved in far too many scary things.... But this is pretty scary: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=271512#271512 ------------------------------------------------------------ Also: While I missed it, the pilot at Turners Falls SPC in the late 1970's flew the Beech under one of the bridges, legend had it. He was definitely crazy enough and physically skilled enough to have done it, too...reply] Three of the people on the plane said "go for it!" The fourth was not amused, and turned him in to the authorities. In the hearing he was asked if he would do it again, and he responded "yeah." Wrong answer - they pulled his ticket for life. Blue skies, Winsor

Really? I guess I'm naive, but I just can't imagine anyone caring that much one way or another. I know rather a few gay skydivers, and was under the impression that they were treated about the same as breeders. I could be wrong. HIV is bad news, and it is unfortunate that it is viewed as a treatable chronic condition by many in the gay community - an impression fostered by pharmaceutical ads in gay publications (if CNN is to be believed). Giving up tandems is probably a good idea, judging by how many TMs I've seen get nailed by students jumping up and down before the harness was unbuckled. As far as being rejected is concerned, I'll jump with you (if you don't mind flat-flying). Blue skies, Winsor

Yeah, and if you polled one population or another you could support any number of demonstrably incorrect conclusions. This is a definitive case of the classical fallacy of relevance "Argumentum ad Populum ." Physics is not amenable to solution by quorum. Blue skies, Winsor

I have four liters of booze for the guys at the DZ, since I can get it for cheap overseas and figure I may as well bring in my allotment. Nevertheless, I am impressed with just what evil shit ethanol can be. The last time I touched the stuff personally was the day before my niece was born, and she's now applying to colleges. I intend to die at a ripe old age without ever touching it again. I feel badly to hear of your brother, and hope his life has otherwise been a full one. He certainly has a caring family, which is more than some people will ever have. Blue skies, Winsor

I stay in 5-star hotels only under protest. It drives my crazy having all these goddamned syncophants fawning over me, and I tend to snap at them. They don't like it, I don't like it, and we all breathe a sigh of relief when I leave. My only fixed requirement is being able to shower daily. As long as I can stay clean, I'll put up with a lot. Blue skies, Winsor

Fully a third of the graves I visited in France last week (out of over a quarter of a million) said words to the effect of "A Soldier of the Great War Known but to God." Medals do not a hero make. Lyndon Johnson cadged a Silver Star for catching a ride ONCE on a bomber that turned back halfway to the the target, and traded on it for the whole of his political career. George McGovern piloted a B-24 in combat, but NEVER mentioned it when campaigning. To say that everyone who saw combat demonstrated the same level of valor is to dishonor those who did, indeed, display conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty - though the call of duty may have, in itself, demanded an unbelievable level of courage in the first place. Blue skies, Winsor

Two jumpers - identical twins with matching equipment. One has a normally opened parachute, and the other has a baglock. Do you think they will have the same terminal velocity upon landing/arrival? Why or why not?

Belief has no impact on Physics. "The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. That is, however, the way to bet." If you go against the odds, you are counting a little too much on luck for my liking. Arranging exit order so as to increase the likelihood of a collision is a very bad plan indeed. Blue skies, Winsor

What hijack? In both cases you have the same reaction. "Sir, there is a disease afoot which is killing in droves!" "Okay, so what's the down side?" For any other disease with the transmissability/fatality characteristics of AIDS, quarantine would be a matter of course. For quite a number of reasons, the freedom to spread the disease is a legally protected right. You can't have it both ways. Blue skies, Winsor

You're mixing apples and oranges. (V^2)/r can greatly exceed g. Blue skies, Winsor

Read Bamford's "Body of Secrets."

Pour a mixture of bleach and ammonia down their holes. It won't kill them if they see fit to run like hell. It will, however, kill you if you breathe the vapors. Use of a surplus gas mask in good condition is advised. How to stay nonlethal? They use rubber bullets for crowd control, but I'm not sure if you can find any for a .220 Swift. Blue skies, Winsor

You can expect to die on: January 13, 2030 at the age of 76 years old. On that date you will most likely die from: Horrible Accident (22%) Cancer (19%) Alien Abduction (12%) Heart Attack (8%) Homicide (6%) Drowning (6%) Auto-Erotic Asphyxiation (5%)

I have an almost-new NOVA you're free to use.

The disadvantage of quoting scripture to support your position (as John R. did) is that someone like me will ALWAYS find a verse or ten that directly contradicts that position. That's why religion is so wonderful. It sanctions just about anything if you know the Bible well enough. Not only that, it's all THE TRUTH (tm).

I have mixed feelings about the film. Though I thought some of the film was very well done, I was left asking "what was the point to all that?" To my way of thinking it conveyed the spontaneous and capricious quality of the violence of combat, and some of the goriest footage was entirely consitent with survivors' accounts of the morning on Omaha. Nobody contests the idea that it was a total clusterfuck. My father, who crewed a couple of LCIs in the Pacific during a string of amphibious assaults termed it "a sensationalistic piece of shit." One of his contentions is that all the camera angles had nothing to do with the viewpoint of anyone that was actually there, and were for shock/entertainment value only. I suppose if it gets across the idea the warfare is absolutely ghastly in any form, and should be considered only as a last resort, its approach can be defended. Spielburg is given to rather shallow, one-sided presentations of very complex subjects - which may account for his success. Blue skies, Winsor

"Sniper" included a scenes based on a number of Gunny Hathcock's exploits, but was an embarrassment in general. Hollywood could fuck up a wet dream. Blue skies, Winsor