narcimund

How much did Microsoft pay for this article? Seriously, JDF is right. open source software is just as likely to have unintentional security holes at first, but the more developers there are scrutinizing them, the more likely it is to be well secured over time. Closed source software has the benefit of secrecy. This means the holes that exist will only be found by the black hats. The general public won't ever find out, but you can bet the IRC channels run by crackers will be full of the news. It's like the cliche, "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns." First Class Citizen Twice Over

Yes, people WANT to be bothered on holidays. Bother them! Fight against this crappy social tradition of isolation. Go forth and be social! First Class Citizen Twice Over

Five years ago we were sitting at home together on Christmas day reflecting on our estranged families and the impact of holidays. For us, like many people a holiday is a full day of sitting at home alone, afraid to call or visit friends because certainly everyone else is doing something interesting with their families. Well, that Christmas day the two of us decided to try something new. At about 5 pm we each called 5 friends and said, "If you're busy, congratulations! But if you're free this evening, why don't you come on by?" Well guess what? EVERY SINGLE PERSON dropped by and was glad to have somewhere to go! And that was the origin of our Thanksgiving and Christmas Closing Night Parties. We open our house up for anyone who just happens to be uncommitted Thanksgiving and Christmas evenings. Usually we have around 25 people but sometimes up to 60. The lesson we learned: EVERYONE is bored and lonely in the evening on Christmas and Thanksgiving. Don't be shy, call them and get together. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Ok, last suggestion: get a small bodyguard. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I've got it! You need a hand transplant. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Try the grip extenders. I hear they work great for big hands. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Whuffos think skydiving is what the utterly screwy daredevils do. Skydivers think base is what the utterly screwy daredevils do. I wonder what is it that makes base jumpers just shake their head in wonderment? First Class Citizen Twice Over

Different sports? Yes. Completely different sports? Hardly. It's reasonable to compare them because there are so many critical similarities and relationships. The two are alike the way softball and baseball are alike or the way chimpanzees and humans are alike. 99% identical DNA with some interesting differences in the remaining 1%. It's especially interesting to compare when there are differences. First Class Citizen Twice Over

It's about as interesting to me as any carnival ride. If I was there eating corn dogs and admiring the 4-H displays anyway, and the line was short, and they didn't want more than a couple of dollars, and the equipment looked clean and well maintained, then I might go for it. Unless another ride looked better. First Class Citizen Twice Over

This sounds a lot like "How do you stop someone from skydiving?" The answer is the same: You can't and you shouldn't try. If you've reminded her of your worries, that's all you can do. If your friend is an adult, her decision to base jump is the final authority. She might have very good reasons for doing this. And maybe she doesn't, but it's her life to enjoy or risk as she chooses. You have two choices: continue to be her friend and accept the fear and stress, or walk away. You don't have the option of stopping her. In some consolation, not all base jumps require great landing accuracy. Perhaps she's got objects with huge fields. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Besides, male flight attendents ARE mostly gay. Most executives are male. Most secretaries are female. Most ditch diggers have big muscles. Most priests are catholic. Fuck stereotyping, it's true. But I sure as hell wouldn't mess with a flight attendent. Those guys know how to keep their airplanes secure and I don't care what kind of swish or lisp they've got. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I hadn't started being serious. What serious person would say Kimbers are fashionable acccessories? Have you ever tried to combine brushed titanium with sequins? Besides, it makes such an unappealing squared off bulge. No one would EVER believe that was real! Not every gay person's response to a joke about gay people is self-righteous and whiny. Believe it or not, we're not ALL committed to de-humoring the world. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Don't let your preconceptions about the sexual orientation of someone cloud your preconceptions of their ability to inflict lethal force. Gay people have a long history of being attacked suddenly and brutally. We've learned to fight back. So that heavy purse might just contain 27 ounces of titanium and lead. Besides, Kimber makes such fashionable accessories! First Class Citizen Twice Over

The governmental rules and regs are mercifully light. God knows the rest of our lives are manipulated and regulated and prohibited FAR beyond reason. But in skydiving, the USPA is a voluntary organization with internal rules for its members. Don't want to follow USPA rules? Don't join. Make your own rules. If they're pleasant and functional, people will frequent your DZ. Otherwise they'll go somewhere else. Simple enough. Now if only the rest of our lives were this rational. First Class Citizen Twice Over

That would be good old Ted Mayfield. Very pleasant to have as a small town, rough and tumble DZO, but he had some qualities that weren't compatible with authority. I wonder where he is now. The old DZ land is currently up for sale in 4 to 50 acre blocks. It's being sold as airport frontage, although the strip itself is barely being maintained. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Interesting idea, Drew (and others who said similar things.) Sometimes that works but sometimes the relationship is part of the statement. That's why humans created the words! For instance, a skydiver who has a whuffo girlfriend who jumps for the first time isn't going to write, "Jill jumped!!!" (Who's Jill? Who cares?) Instead he's going to write, "My girlfriend jumped!!!" and we'll all congratulate him. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Your "Once and Future Wife". That's cute. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I got to jump with Roch Charmet three times at Sheridan Oregon in 1985. He was a strange fellow, and to describe him fully would sound like I was disrespecting an elder. But it's only fair to be truthful. At the time I met him, Roch was a possessed man. I think he was in his fifties, but somehow seemed much older. He had scraggly white hair and beard and his hygiene was atrocious. Crouching in a small Cessna with him wasn't always pleasant. But most of the time Roch exited at 1500'. It was cheaper to get out low and made a faster turnaround and he was a driven man. I don't know if he got any enjoyment from skydiving except in sheer numbers. I don't know how many jumps he had at the end, but at the time he had recently become the first person to make 10,000. Sometime shortly after this Roch died at Sheridan. He was the world record holder for sheer number of jumps at the time and I think that made him happy. Roch signed logbooks with a little rubber stamp. My logbook shows in blue ink: "ROCH CHARMET Instructeur no 119" First Class Citizen Twice Over

This is so last year. We're on our third Mortal Enemy For All Time since these guys. Keep up, will you? First Class Citizen Twice Over

N/A

Watched threads automatically email you when something new is posted to them. I keep asking for watched threads to be visually marked somehow so you can find them by scanning through the threads list. I keep getting ignored. First Class Citizen Twice Over

There's a weird, indescribable phase between initial dating and marriage. Nothing really works here. "Boyfriend/girlfriend" sounds so junior high school, "partner" sounds cold, "lover" is a bit too intimate for introductions. So if you're in a serious, committed relationship but haven't married yet (or possibly are forbidden by law from marrying *cough* *cough*), what do you call the person you're relating with? First Class Citizen Twice Over

That's good. I am DEFINITELY not going stowed from 42 ft. First Class Citizen Twice Over

As an owner of a web design/hosting/advertising firm, I can tell you there is no way you can perform in those fields with Windows. It's just handicapping yourself. Mac is the only platform for the creative professional. For the heavy lifting, unix boxes. FreeBSD for the high end or Linux if you're playing around. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Well, all I know is my boyfriend who used to be sane and reasonable just left for a four-day base trip with some sketchy forum moderator with a reputation for shenanigans surrounding obvious exit points! I blame this forum. (Can I go next time? First Class Citizen Twice Over