tvashtarkatena

Don't even think about going mano a mano with me here, Porter. It could get ugly.

I'm a huge fan of FF bags. Several days ago a spilled a pot of hot water all over my bag: didn't soak through at all. Whatever brand you get, probably the most important criteria is to get the highest fill down you can. Aside from being warmer for the weight, it maintains it's loft longer and revives better after washing. I had a Marmot bag years ago, so my information is dated on that brand. I hated it: clammy, poor quality down. Perhaps they've improved in the last 10 years. A friend did me a favor by borrowing and subsequently losing it. I also purchased a Marmot pack 4 years ago. Absolute piece of shit. I don't know whether it's the brand or the individual model, but I've crossed Marmot completely off my gear list.

I really don't think so [video:youtube]NbhXmSBlS_U

By observing the stalking, you've become part of it. Room for 3, please.

Did you try motoring without the outrigger? Your triple should be pretty stable, but I don't know much about slapping a motor on a kayak. You can sail downwind (Spirit sail or kite) without an outrigger, but any other point of sail requires additional stability and a keel of some kind. My boat has a 4 foot long leeboard on an tilt up axle. The drag on my inflatable sponsons is significant, but probably not anywhere near as much as your extra kayak. Easy Rider also offers hardshell outriggers, but both options are a bit $$$...way cheaper than building or buying another kayak, though. The Batwing sail, leeboard, and outriggers came from here: Balogh Sail Design

Escape...if you can, avid consumer of my bullshit.

I've got a pair of Karhu approach skis (120 cm, integral skin, universal binding for any boot) I'm selling for what I paid for them: $120. PM if interested. They've got great floatation for winter and the bindings afford excellent control.

Well, here's where you and I go our separate ways. I grew up in a family of very modest means. My father was certainly anything but lazy; he was a career Navy man, and they just weren't paid much back then. He grew up very poor; not because his father was lazy, but because his father was killed in an industrial accident when he was a young boy. He worked his way out of poverty, much to the benefit of myself and my siblings, but was stricken with a chronic illness, which drained a good deal of his savings, despite his military benefits (which are not as comprehensive as many of us might think). I think you should closely examine your remarks and the harsh sentiments behind them; I'm not sure the problem is with the poor. Frankly, the laziest group of people I've ever worked with were very well paid software engineers. Get to work at 11:00, leave by 5:00, surf the net while at your desk. Many of the poor work several jobs and lead brutally hard lives in comparison. And get out a bit more. You might find that your assumptions may well be nothing more than someone else's propoganda.

Once more, with feeling: "The courts of the State which carried out the seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and may also determine the action to be taken with regard to the ships, aircraft or property, subject to the rights of third parties acting in good faith." That would be our courts. Your solution would be cheaper, that is true, but more prone to embarrassing failure. What if the pirates kill the marines, either by sinking the vessel or outgunning them? After all, they are acquiring more sophisticated weapons by the month, given their increased success in the past 2 years. All it would take is one such incident, and that would probably be the end of that; black hawk down redux. Probably better to use overwhelming force. I think it would be a good thing if the rules of engagement for our Navy were normalized with most of the rest of the world's fleets. It would remove any ambiguity with regards to going after these fuckers. Heavy patrols for six months, then spot patrols thereafter would probably mop up the problem pretty effectively.

Your logic is seamless. Your stereotype of the mentally ill is as borrowed and 2 dimensional as your cardboard cutout view of humanity in general. Fortunately for the rest of us, you're all talk and no action.

What's the top speed of your rig when the motor's cranking in flatwater conditions? One of my boats is an Easy Rider sailing kayak (trimaran rig with inflatable sponsons). It maxes out at about 6 knots in perfect conditions under sail.

PP: What key words did you input on rhetoricagenerica.com to create this hard hitting paragraph?

Some time ago I read a book about the use of L Dopa to successfully treat catatonia induced by encephalitis (Sachs?). What struck me was the lack of correlation between physiological damage and quality of recovery and function, which seemed to depend more on 19th century terms like 'strength of will' and the 'force of character'. The author wrote extensively and sympathetically about the unique nature of each individual's condition, and how much it informs the experience of those who do not share the same perspective. Thankfully, we are primarily value based creatures with unique, unpredictable natures, rather than members of a sophisticated insect colony. Or perhaps we are the latter and fail to realize or refuse to accept it, and are therefore all delusional? We could never be entirely logical animals, because our existence is neither likely nor logical. It is meaningless until we give it meaning, and even then that meaning is entirely subjective and dependent on observers who never entirely agree; a situation which, by its very nature, is absurd. Thankfully.

I have a Tarptent Cloudburst and it is pretty good in the rain. Didn't do so well in a blowing spindrift storm, though, but hey, that was stretching its design limit a bit.

Strong work on an interesting adventure. I'd love to see a detailed picture of your outrigger kayak if you have one to post.

It should also be mentioned that the U.S. still has the best college and post graduate education in the world. That's why everyone else sends their best and brightest here. I'm sure that a layer of generic, standardized 'credentials' would make it even better, though. I should also be mentioned that, apparently unbeknownced to certain posters, a myriad of established development disciplines already have their own credential programs that are kept up to date by practitioners.

It would seem that the 'HIV doesn't cause AIDS' gene is being efficiently removed from the gene pool.

Deep or not, it's a nice place to visit, but a dump by any measure compared to Washington. Love's me sum a those babybacks, though.

'Credentials'? For what disciplines, exactly? And how would such 'credentials' be determined 'objectively'. By whom? 'Experts'? Essentially, you're advocating for a higher level of No Child Left Behind, a program which has really REVOLUTIONIZED our education system. It's an idea borne of someone who views human beings as standardized units of production, rather than unique individuals. There was no correlation between the productivity and creativity of the many designers and technologists I've worked with and their 'credentials'. Zero. People are good at what they do because they love it, they work hard at it, and they start with a seed of innate talent for it, not because some national academic oversight committee determined how much they were worth. THe most talented design engineer I ever knew got his electrical engineering degree from some podunk college in power (as in the grid) engineering (that was his 'credentials') He built an custom IC development department from scratch. How would such a committee, far from the cutting edge of invention, develop and maintain 'standards' for such invention, particularly at today's pace? Yeah, you get the idea. Credentials beyond standard college degrees (which are themselves dubious at times) are excellent gatekeepers for none-creative professions: doctors, pilots, and the like. These disciplines are already more than adequately saddled with credentials, of course. Apprenticeships and a more robust system of credentials might benefit some non-academic vocations: machinists and the like. For creative pursuits, such as the develepment of new technology, they are time, energy, and money wasters. By way of example, and there are many, many more, Bill Gates never even finished college.

A simpler solution might be for the U.S. to just ratify the U.N. Law of the Sea which states: "On the high seas, or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any State, every State may seize a pirate ship or aircraft, or a ship or aircraft taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest the persons and seize the property on board." According to Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress may define punishment for piracy. If pirates are captured: "The courts of the State which carried out the seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed, and may also determine the action to be taken with regard to the ships, aircraft or property, subject to the rights of third parties acting in good faith." Pretty clear and simple. No American Express necessary.

Madeja look Got my down sweater on right now. I wear it all winter. Love that thing.

Call me crazy, but connecting this one woman's kooky theories in the enlightened U.S. with Mbeki's in unenlightened Africa is a bit too much of a stretch for me. Lumping it in with the anti-vaccine movement that we all know is destined to destroy the planet as we know even smacks even more of a raver's self indulgence. Better check all the outlets in the house to make sure they're right at 120 v while you're at it. BTW, JayB, you could have just linked to the previous 40 page thread you almost single handedly authored on this very same subject a few months ago. What, did you get a calendar reminder on your Blackberry to bring it up yet again or something? I'll bet with a few phone calls you could get into Lyndon LaRouche's next pamphlet. Who knows? In the near future you might find yourself leading a small army of like minded foot soldiers marching towards a more vaccinated future, armed with your very same sense of outrage.

How close is the obsession vaccine to clinical trials?

Up next, Robby Takak on the Defense Department's microwave weather control device....

More accurately, I'm sure we'll be hearing more from you regarding these folks in the future, whether we want to or not.