pirana

Very difficult to prove something is not true, other than by definition (such as the fact that there is no such thing as a round square). The burden of proof is on people to prove their claims are true. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Apologies, Matt Damon played Will Hunting and did the rant I find so entertaining. But I did remember the movie I liked so much that had Leo D. in it - Basketball Diaries (story of Jim Carroll's life). " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Just things like Rathergate that took real planning and effort to make happen. Other - Leo DeCraprio wasn't in a good flick like Good Will Hunting So who was the young dude in Good Will Hunting? OK, I'll look it up. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Actually, there have been approximately 60 instances of end-of-the-world conspiracy scares and world cataclysm scenarios getting enough attention to make mainstream splashes, . . . just in this century. None have amounted to anything more than a bunch of people behaving very foolishly. The world simply refuses to end, but stupid people keep buying into the BS of posers and fakirs. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

That is a very funny clip. My favorite though is still the diatribe layed on Robin Williams by Leo DeCaprio in Good Will Hunting. I think it is his response to Williams trying to convince him that he should give a shit about the world. In a single rambling rant he seems to work in every scandal and conspiracy, true and false, ever known to modern man. Great stuff. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

News on all major networks in this country devolved into entertainment years ago. I think the only dependable source for good news nowadays is from independent individuals who actually experience the events. Problem is you've got to wait for them to get word out since they can not plug into the infrastructure of the networks. This is why what independent journalists bring back or write often reads like espose'. The networks and other mainstream media feed the public pablum day after day, then when someone serious about truth finally gets word out, it doesn't jive with the BS everyone has been force fed for so long. And people like Limbaugh, sheesh. At least he's honest though. No hidden agenda there. A mouthpiece orating from the bully-pulpit of the hard line right. He's not trying to pull anything over on anybody, but he's a million miles from being objective. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

6 that I remember, and none of them skydiving. Hit by a car while riding bicycle (9), hit by motorcycle while riding bicycle (12), hit by truck while riding motorcycle (19), fall out of tree (10 or 11), fall into ravine (24), attacked by drunken rascist with knife (16). I think skydiving has taught me to focus, thereby reducing the number of nasty situations I get into. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Cool. I too put out a smorgasbord for the nearby wildlife. Dinner scraps, garden leftovers, several feeders for deer, birds, wild turkeys, etc. We live in the country but the subdivisdions are going up fast. We have 27 acres, mostly wooded, but have 3 acres fenced, with a dog and cat. I do all the feeding (other than birds) outside the fenceline, and the wildlife for the most part stay on the other side. I'm guessing because of the bounty of food outside the fence and the scent of humans and the dog. The cat is an awesome hunter and makes a quick meal of any small rodent that finds it's way thru the fence. We've got regularly visiting herons, beavers, river otters, ducks, HUGE snapping turtles, even an occassional badger and fox. If it's indigenous to our area, it's on our property. Kind of like our own little wildlife refuge. Anyway, I think in this environment (a slowly building edge-of-suburbia woodland) there's nothing wrong with attracting the wildlife, while keeping them at arms distance. I've never come upon an animal that, at the first approach of us or our dog, didn't take fast flight into the woods; but we still have the kids well trained to never mess with the wildlife. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I used to use: don b, dispensing wisdom wherever the truth is not suppressed. Got it from Nina Hagen, East German punker who had it as a tagline on her album Afrika. I still use it when writing essays, editorials, etc; but I like my new one for casual use. Don of Borg - Cool, calm, collective. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I've always been an adrenaline junkie, and when I say always, I mean since I was 4 or 5. Scared the hell out of my mom half a dozen times before I was even a teeneager. I had pretty much ran out of ways to scare myself - so skydiving seemed the natural thing to try. I started asking around for friends to join me and found several who were interested, but they always had an excuse whenever I pulled out the calendar. So I just picked a date and announced I was going - and I ended up with 4 totally different people joining the party. We did tandems at Baldwin Sport Parachute Center (now Skydive Twin Cities). Awesome 1st jump experience out of a Beaver. I was hooked before we even landed. Went back a couple weeks later and started AFF. I love this sport. It never ceases to stop scaring me. The good kind of scared - the kind that generates respect. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Seeing as I've never been called a fart smeller, I kept wondering how I qualified. What type of logic, or even irrational mind, connects a description of a huka to being a fart smeller. Huka describer = fart smelling, . . . don't get it. Maybe there is no logic. Just take a behavior someone exhibits or admits to, connect it with a strange anatomically based fetish of your choosing, and viola! I think I can play too. Favor requesting = titty twisting. That's the ticket. I can now insult with the best of them. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

O fucking K. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Thanks much. Good to know others have been there and returned for more. Interesting that almost all the responses in both threads and the search I did (maybe all) related to the C4 thru C7 area. My fracture was C6, the bulging discs are C5/6 and C6/7, and spinal cord deformity and nerve root impingement at C6. Better there than higher up, maybe by design? I was going to wait until winter, but given the length of recovery, better do it now so I can be sure to be in the air next spring (Wisconsin jumper - the season is basically mid April til the airstrip is too deep with snow to use). " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Well in Texas I suppose you can call something anything you want to call it, and I would not argue your right to do so. But most of the world considers a huka and a bong 2 different things. A huka has a large bowl, lots of fluid for conditioning the smoke, no carburetor, and usually multiple hoses to facilitate multiple simultaneous users. Using it in a small enclosed room helps. A bong is a single-shot single-user carbureted waterpipe. Kind of like the difference between a group orgy and solo masturbation. I'm sure they know about that in Texas. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I posted with more details under General Skydiving, subject is Neck Surgery. But I'm posting here to maybe get more exposure. Looking for skydivers that have had neck surgery, what for, and how were the results. Any ortho surgeon's, or even MD's out there who skydive? Again, see General Skydiving, Neck Surgery for details. Many thanks. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Been having some serious neck pain off & on for several months. It's related to a "touch" football injury from 10+ years ago. Been thru chiropractic and neuro-muscular therapies. I'd been making some good headway and suddenly it became much, much worse. Got an x-ray and MRI that indicate an old fractured (& healed) vertabrae, some nasty bone spurs, 2 herniated discs, and some nasty pinching of the spinal cord itself and the nerve to the left arm. Meeting with an ortho surgeon tomorrow (6/1). Anybody out there had neck surgery for these kinds of injuries? Results? Satisfied? Any chance there is an ortho surgeon out there that skydives? Or an MD that skydives? Not looking for official Dr to patient advice - just want to hear what others might have experienced, and appreciate all input. La Machine is in the shop (to be specific, La Machine is in the shop AGAIN) so I won't get replies until I get back to my work PC on Wednesday. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I don't see that the new definition necessarily sponsors or advocates the supernatural as a way to explain anything. It appears to me that all they've done is expound on "seeking natural explanations" by substituting "systematic method of continuing investigation that uses observation, hypothesis testing, measurement, experimentation, logical argument and theory-building." Science and religion are only at odds with each other when fanatics at either end of the spectrum overstep the boundaries that are well understood by most people. Science does not tell people how to live spiritually, and religion does not try to solve the mysteries of the physical world. The Vatican does not deny that Evolution is a fact, and Science does not try to disprove the existence of anyone's chosen diety. Having Faith and being Logical are not mutually exclusive character traits. People who think so are usually acting out of either ignorance of the distinction between the two or fear that their personal agenda is being threatened. For the record, I am a hard-core atheist, AND very spiritual. Religion is a group phenomena, spiritualality is individualistic in nature. I do not believe anything like a diety exists, but know better than to say I know that for certain. I respect others who believe otherwise as long as they do not trample on knowledge that is certain. Aplologies for the longwindedness. Such a complicated topic to make clear how one feels in anything less than a short essay. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Mutations are random changes. Selection is what happens as those changes are allowed to either survive or not. In neither case is there any kind of willful intent. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I don't like being slotted, but am curious about how people see themnselves. If I had to be categorized, I'd say most would see me as liberal w/ some conservative leanings. I probably most strongly lean towards classic conservativism (personal freedom & personal responsibility, market forces, minimal government intervention & having it generated from the most local level as is reasonably possible, and so on); which might be considered a version of libertarianism. Anything with liberty as it's root must be good. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I love the old cartoons. We were on vacatrion in April and they had a cable channel I'd never seen that played old cartoons all day. I did not catch the name, but my wife says it was Boomerang. It was awesome, and to my surprise my little girls (who are really into Kim Possible, Jimmy Nuetron, Fairly Odd Parents and the like) really dug it. So my wife went out and picked up a couple cheap DVDs of the old stuff. Some of the things on it were Magilla Gorilla, The Banana Splits, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw, Beanie & Cecil, and so on. I must be old - I remember when Sesame Street debuted - and I was too old then to be considered as it's target audience. But I fell in love with Cookie Monster anyway. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley