Shawndiver

I love my Vasque's for camping, hiking, xc hang gliding. But I am amazed at the mileage I get out of my lowly HiTec boots! ($30 on sale at Big 5) _________________

Happy Birthday Mad John!

The torch relay in San Francisco was a complete farce. By changing the route all they accomplished was to dissapoint thousands of spectators who were there to witness a once in a lifetime opportunity, and disrupt traffic thoughout the city for hours. This stunt was merely to be able to say, "See! We did it!" They could have accomplished the same thing by landing the plane, having the torch run around the aircraft on the tarmac and taken off again, saving the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in security costs for a publicity stunt that fooled no one. If the situation was so out of control, they should have just canceled the event. China has made its own bed with its human rights record and their broken promises to improve it, which was a stipulation to granting them the Games in the first place. The fact that they refuse to take any responsibility for their actions, blaming everyone else for the events that have occured and the hostility towards their policies merely fuels the fury felt by so many. China claims that the Olympics is about sport, not politics, but that image died years ago. Money, politics and prestige is what they are all about now. Even the spirit of the athletes involved has been corrupted beyond recognition. Amateur athletes? I seem to recall that the American basketball team last time was made up of professional NBA players making tens of millions of dollars. Countries importing athletes from other nations to bolster their teams. Not to mention the drugs... I really want to believe in the spirit of the games, and it is uplifting to see the occasional underdog come through and admire the dedication of some of the athletes just to get there. But when these moments are overshadowed by corruption, politics, and greed, the entire human race are the losers. Ok, rant over, I feel better. _________________

A couple of observations: Jackrabbit starts with her hands on the risers above her shoulders. Pretty much a guarantee that you will yank down or put more pressure on one riser than the other resulting in an assymetric inflation. Her hands should start down by her hips and behind her with the risers in an open palm, allowing her guide as necessary, but not yank on the risers. Fully upright while running. Especially in a no wind situation, getting your upper body in front makes it much easier to control and get the energy necessary while running downhill. My old instructor ( a woman) used to ingrain it into our heads while screaming "Push with your tits!!!" as we started our takeoff run. Never lifting her head to check the canopy during takeoff run. You don't have to stare at it, but quick glimpses allow you to see how the inflation is progessing, also very important to make sure you do not leave the hill with a lineover or debris in the lines! Lastly, I can't tell you how many times I have watched P3's and P4's waffling and sweating on a mountain launch because of a no wind situation, and their lack of practice using a forward launch. I have helped extract more than my share of canopies from the bushes below launch due to muffed forward launches, or watched experienced pilots simply back off launch (not a bad decision if you are not sure of your abilities!) due to no wind! Yes, I know she is just a beginner, I am sure she learned, but she did ask for tips and tricks... _________________

The video has been reposted on the site with this statement: On the 28th of March LiveLeak.com was left with no other choice but to remove the film "fitna" from our servers following serious threats to our staff and their families. Since that time we have worked constantly on upgrading all security measures thus offering better protection for our staff and families. With these measures in place we have decided to once more make this video live on our site. We will not be pressured into censoring material which is legal and within our rules. We apologise for the removal and the delay in getting it back, but when you run a website you don't consider that some people would be insecure enough to threaten our lives simply because they do not like the content of a video we neither produced nor endorsed but merely hosted. _________________

Hey! I just put one of those into the Blue Hole at the Belize Boogie! I can tell you that at 1:1 loading it comes straight down in 30mph winds... _________________

ARTHUR: Cut down a tree with a herring? It can't be done. KNIGHTS OF NI: Aaaaugh! Aaaugh! HEAD KNIGHT: Augh! Ohh! Don't say that word. ARTHUR: What word? HEAD KNIGHT: I cannot tell, suffice to say is one of the words the Knights of Ni cannot hear. ARTHUR: How can we not say the word if you don't tell us what it is? KNIGHTS OF NI: Aaaaugh! ARTHUR: Sir Robin! ROBIN: My liege! It's good to see you. HEAD KNIGHT: Now he's said the word! ARTHUR: Surely you've not given up your quest for the Holy Grail? MINSTREL: [singing] He is sneaking away and buggering up-- ROBIN: Shut up! No, no. No. Far from it. HEAD KNIGHT: He said the word again! KNIGHTS OF NI: Aaaaugh! ROBIN: I was looking for it. KNIGHTS OF NI: Aaaaugh! ROBIN: Uh, here-- here in this forest. ARTHUR: No, it is far from this place. KNIGHTS OF NI: Aaaaugh! HEAD KNIGHT: Aaaaugh! Stop saying the word! The word... ARTHUR: Oh, stop it! HEAD KNIGHT: ...we cannot hear! Ow! He said it again! ARTHUR: Patsy! HEAD KNIGHT: Wait! I said it! I said it! [clop clop clop] Ooh! I said it again! And there again! That's three 'it's! Ohh! KNIGHTS OF NI: Aaaaugh!... _________________

Nothing new here, the British perfected this art form back in the 70's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w _________________

C'mon Lawrocket, how can "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law" not be on your list?!! _________________

Two sides to this in my opinion. If the kids are only allowed to pursue passive options, sure makes the adminstrators job a whole lot easier, and they can crow about how new age and touchy feely good they are in making the children non aggresive and feel good. Until they get to the real world of course... I would also bet that a good percentage of those parents who say they want their kids to be in competition and active play would not hesitate to slap a massive lawsuit on the school district the first time Chucky or Susie comes home with a chipped tooth. So perhaps the administrators who set these policies are simply looking out for their jobs, not what they actually feel is "best for the children". Plenty of blame on both sides! _________________

Well, He's got to come back now for at least part of a season, it would be a shame after a career like his to end it with an interception that cost your team a trip to the Superbowl! _________________

Chico Freako Follies The Velocity Waltz Speedstar Best Of The West Speedstar When dinosaurs, DC-3's and Beech 18's roamed the Earth... _________________

We have a ton of red tail hawks that hunt out at Fort Funston (hang gliding and paragliding site) that are very used to us. When they are hovering looking for prey you can sometimes fly right up beside them and hover six feet away and enjoy the sharing the sky with them. If you piss them off they will yell at you, go inverted with their talons extended and dive away. Amazing to watch!

Condolences and vibes to you and Max, you did everything you could to make RePetes last days comfortable. Blues, Shawn _________________

Monty Python and the Holy Grail ("Course its a good idea!")

Would've been funnier if the garbage men had just used the hydraulic "tongs of death" that they use around here to just huck the box and him into the top of the truck. That garbage man does need to up his meds a bit though... _________________

Very sorry to hear about your kitty. Something you might consider for multiple day visits that might give her some comfort is to bring a small blanket or toy that they are familiar with from home. Just to give them a reference that not all is strange and different. I am not that familiar with cats, but I know it works with the dogs I have had over the years. Check with your vet as well to make sure their policy allows it. Best wishes for you both! Shawn (edited for multiple signatures) _________________

Bought "Flash" on sale, and also found a used copy of "Wizards" for $3 the other day. I know I had seen them both years ago, but didn't remember a thing about them, which meant I was definitely in the right mental state to watch them back then! _________________

My girl Lucy, a white english labrador, and the sweetest dog you could hope to meet.

"$129 tandem...the cheapest anywhere!" False advertising. Lodi tandems are $100.

This is a human being that willfully and intentionally raised a sentient being for the express purpose of torturing and killing that being, and deriving pleasure from the agony of that killing. I don't care what culture, race, creed or shoe size you are, if you think that intentional torture and abuse are acceptable as a source of pleasure, then you deserve the same fate as your victims. I have to accept that bullfighting is legal, but if a matador was gored in front of me, the only reason I would look down would be to not get blood on my shoes. If the acceptance of how much torture and agony a animal should suffer for someone's personal pleasure is based on IQ and awareness, then is it ok to beat a person in a vegetative state or brain damaged to death? This has nothing to do with how animals are killed or treated as a food source, or hunting. In the example of the beheading of doves, were the doves shot poorly so the hunter could experience the pleasure of pulling its head off? Or was it the fastest means of putting it out of its misery? I personally, do not hunt any more, but I understand that the vast majority of hunters do try to do it as humanely as possible, and any hunter who intentionally wounds an animal for the sake of watching it suffer qualifies for what I stated above. And yes, there are poor hunters out there that have no business holding a weapon. But that is another topic. Chickens may suffer greatly as they are processed for food, but that process was not designed for the express purpose of torturing chickens. And yes, the process needs to be improved. So, while I cannot condemn a person that works on the process line in a chicken factory (assuming they are doing their job in an efficient manner) I would put someone involved in cock fighting right up there with the matador. Deliberate torture and intentional cruelty towards another animal for the sole purpose of garnering pleasure from that animals agony and death is wrong, period. But that is just my opinion. Please raise your hand if you disagree. _________________

Back up Blow Away Rebuild (properly this time) Restore Trying to modify system partitions rarely ends well! _________________

Rigid wings are a form of high perfomance hang glider, they use a carbon spar and leading edge that are independent of support wires that you find on traditional hangliders. The lower cables you see on the rigid wings are actually used to activate spoilerons to turn, as opposed to weight shift used on hang gliders. Rigid wings are much higher perfomance in speed range and glide ratio compared to flexis. They are also twice as expensive! _________________

Unbelievable. Rest easy now, JP. Thank You for all the good memories. Condolences to all who knew him and are feeling the pain of his loss. Shawn _________________

Seen On A T-shirt at the Reno Air Races: "I told my parents I wanna be a pilot when I grow up... and they said I couldn't do both!" _________________