ozoneocean wrote:

fallopiancrusader wrote:
This is my favorite helicopter to jump out of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C3%A9rospatiale_Alouette_II

Like the one in M.A.S.H ^_^
For the people who forget their chutes “Suicide is painless” XD

How many times have you jumped?

I have just over 600 jumps under my belt

W O W! O_o
That is a MASSIVE amount of jumps! That must cost a mint!

ozoneocean wrote:
W O W! O_o
That is a MASSIVE amount of jumps! That must cost a mint!

Back when I had a lucrative job, I used to do a lot of skydiving. I would burn through about 400 USD in one weekend, doing ten jumps each day. Now that I am a starving artist, I don't jump anymore. I still kept my parachute, though, in the hopes that doing webcomics will one day make me obscenely wealthy! XD

bravo1102 wrote:
The actual M*A*S*H helicopter is the Bell H-13 Sioux which first flew in 1945! An earlier piston engined helicopter compared to the Alouette II which has a gas turbine engine and first flew 12 years later.

I've only flown in a Bell Jet Ranger and a Huey. But I don't jump out of them:-D

However, if you are ever over Central New Jersey, feel free to drop in and we'll do lunch.

I used to do a lot of Skydiving in Williamstown, NJ! I can't drop in for lunch though, because deliberately landing outside of the drop zone is frowned upon by the FAA :(

That's over 24k!
…though I can't talk, I've burned through a similar about on a few weeks of travel before…

Which is why I want to change jobs now. I want to get back to having that sort of cash again.

fallopiancrusader wrote:

bravo1102 wrote:
The actual M*A*S*H helicopter is the Bell H-13 Sioux which first flew in 1945! An earlier piston engined helicopter compared to the Alouette II which has a gas turbine engine and first flew 12 years later.

I've only flown in a Bell Jet Ranger and a Huey. But I don't jump out of them:-D

However, if you are ever over Central New Jersey, feel free to drop in and we'll do lunch.

I used to do a lot of Skydiving in Williamstown, NJ! I can't drop in for lunch though, because deliberately landing outside of the drop zone is frowned upon by the FAA :(

So is flying at low altitude over residential areas but that never stopped any executive helicopter. As my rattling windows will attest.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

I was invited to a great traditional Thanksgiving feast with the family of the little girl I tutor. It was such a great meal of turkey, ham, cocktail shrimp, cranberry jelly with ridges, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato pie, green bean casserole, gravy, and fresh fruit.

Everything was very good, and it was not until the end of the meal that I had to listen to one “liberal idiots” comment and an opinionated discourse of the left-wing brainwashing agenda of California's Universities.

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

I was invited to a great traditional Thanksgiving feast with the family of the little girl I tutor. It was such a great meal of turkey, ham, cocktail shrimp, cranberry jelly with ridges, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato pie, green bean casserole, gravy, and fresh fruit.

Everything was very good, and it was not until the end of the meal that I had to listen to one “liberal idiots” comment and an opinionated discourse of the left-wing brainwashing agenda of California's Universities.

What about the in your face impassioned speech about racism and sexism or the incredulous stare from your mother over how could you even THINK of voting that way? And then a speech about immigration and the second amendment.

Some of us get it from both ends at family gatherings. :(

And there's the debate over the real first thanksgiving in Jamestown.

I wonder what countries other than the U.S.A. celebrate Thanksgiving…

One thing about buying computer parts is this… NEVER skimp on the power supply. One of my niece's roomates (had thanksgiving dinner at the place) asked me why her computer kept shutting off. One look at the thing running and found out the PSU (it's that big box with the fan inside that's in the case to which you attach your power cord) was too weak for what the girl had in her system (which was pretty beefy compared to mine). Even worse… it was a cheap Chinese made power supply which I was pretty sure would've caught on fire and/or exploded had she kept trying to use it.

Nowadays it's recommended that one should buy a PSU that's around 700 to 850 watts AVERAGE power (not PEAK power). Or whatever label that reads how much power you will always have whether the power supply is under load or not. It should have the “80 Plus” badge on it as well. That badge indicates that the PSU is at least 80 percent efficient or better (with the bronze badge around 80 percent to the platinum/titanium badges at over 90 percent). Also be careful about the manufacturers of the things. The best brands are Corsair and EVGA (the brands I can remember off the top of my head).

Yeah… Never skimp on the computer's power supply or you might find your house burning down… It's amazing that a lot of people who put their machines together see it as an afterthought…

I had a machine with a too small power supply. It was initially fine, but when I got the new card…
These days I am SO happy with my little ultrabook. It uses so much less power!


No other country does thanksgiving as far as I know. It is a USA only holiday.

Canada totally celebrates Thanksgiving. It is very similar to the USA Thanksgiving, but earlier in the year.

Lonnehart wrote:
I wonder what countries other than the U.S.A. celebrate Thanksgiving…

I was told the British also observe Thanksgiving, also earlier in the year: July 4

Well, curiosity nearly sated. Just one other question… England celebrating Thanksgiving? Did they always have a Thanksgiving tradition or did they lift it from across the pond (Canada I can understand having the tradition I think)?


I'm so slow… I remember watching the movie Zorro: The Gay Blade as an adult long after I had watched it as a child. It was then that the meaning of the title hit me… I still enjoy watching that movie though. It was so funny watching the legendary Zorro wearing other colors and wielding a whip. Yikes..!

You could say it has a biblical origin. After the flood left the Ark on the mountain, Noah and the family had a feast of thanksgiving. It happens in other places in the Bible so it's a tradition that when one comes through a rough ordeal one has a feast to give thanks.

But like all such practices it is more prevalent than just the bible. Lots of cultures gather to share a meal after surviving an ordeal to thank whatever they think controls such things. The US just made it a national holiday during some particular dark days for the country. American presidents have been proclaiming days of giving thanks since Washington. The Continental Congress proclaimed a few during the Revolution. Crowned heads have been proclaiming them as long as there have been Crowned heads.

Yahoo, we won a battle, feast of Thanksgiving! We had a good harvest after a few years if famine. Feast of Thanksgiving! New heir to the crown, Thanksgiving. Oh wait it was a daughter. Scratch that.

Lonne, Britain does not celebrate it, hahahaha!
Ayes was having a laugh with you about the revolutionary war ;)

It IS an American only thing- and maybe Canada, but let Banes, Hippie, and Ash weigh in on that…
——————-

The BIG DD meetup will now be NEXT week!
On the 3rd of December!
It's the 3rd Meetup
And it's the 300 HUNDREDTH Quackcast!

So you see why I changed the date. ;)

We'd like to hook up on Google Hangouts if we can.

Hope as many people as can be can make it!

Just so you know Lonnehart, my remarks about a feast of thanksgiving for a new heir and it being cancelled because it was a baby girl was an actual event in British history. A real British days of thanksgiving. Britain just doesn't have a national holiday called Thanksgiving. But Waterloo and Trafalgar day both started as national days of giving thanks for the glorious triumph of British arms.

Other nations just don't have it on the calendar as the fourth Thursday in November with that whole Brownist Pilgrims in Plymouth thing. We all know the first English thanksgiving in America was in Jamestown, and the Spanish had a few in their colonies before that. Yippee, life is good! Let's give thanks and share a meal. Make sure to tap as many hogs heads of booze as you can! We could starve the day after tomorrow…

ozoneocean wrote:
Lonne, Britain does not celebrate it, hahahaha!
Ayes was having a laugh with you about the revolutionary war ;)

Heh… I should've seen that. So I'm going to guess that July 4 is a sore spot in British history? :)

Lonnehart wrote:

ozoneocean wrote:
Lonne, Britain does not celebrate it, hahahaha!
Ayes was having a laugh with you about the revolutionary war ;)

Heh… I should've seen that. So I'm going to guess that July 4 is a sore spot in British history? :)

More of a running gag. They could easily have retaken the USA in the War of 1812 but wise heads prevailed in Great Britain. The US was Britain's great trading partner and market. And with the US independent they didn't have to pay any upkeep and could instead make lots of money on the interest of loans made to the US government. The US as an independent country was more profitable than as a colony.

Let the colonials have their arrogant Anglophobia, we know who is really in charge. Monroe Doctrine of no European interference in the Western Hemisphere was totally enforced by the Royal Navy
Rule Britannia.

And most US presidents and Secretarys of state knew it.

I have been SO scatterbrained today in such unusual ways. I was trying to work out why I kept on making unusual mistakes and overlooking routine things over and over then I realised it was the strong headache pills I took yesterday for my migraine. Sometimes the narcotic ingredients can really screw up your brain the day after- not because they're directly affecting neurotransmitters, but because things are over acting in response to the previous effects.

Unfortunately, I know what it's like to be scatterbrained. I have a hard time getting organized. Even worse, I have a worsening short attention span. It's like my brain keeps changing channels just to stay intere… OOH!!! SHINY!!!

I'm scatterbrained at the moment, too much going on and things like my computer are going wrong. In my infinite wisdom I decided to make things easier by getting very, very drunk last night. Two hours sleep and I woke up remembering I hadn't done a featured comic for this week. It was one of those things that I kept trying to do and got side tracked every single time.

Great feature man! You really pulled that one off! :D

Hey, last time I checked, we were called Drunk Duck, not Sober Duck.

I believe I am the only total abstainer around here. The proposed name for the rival sober site was recovering water fowl.com For obvious reasons it was never launched.

Bravo-

I am totally a teetotaler. I have been yelled at because of it, but I am that one friend that remembers (everything).


The military tanks were out driving on the main roads on base today. The tankers in full uniform were riding on top and I must say they look so cool.

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
Bravo-

I am totally a teetotaler. I have been yelled at because of it, but I am that one friend that remembers (everything).


The military tanks were out driving on the main roads on base today. The tankers in full uniform were riding on top and I must say they look so cool.

The number of teetotalers just doubled! ;-D

I abstain every day, apart from the weekends :)
And then no more than 3 or 4… Migraines are a HARSH mistress.

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
The military tanks were out driving on the main roads on base today. The tankers in full uniform were riding on top and I must say they look so cool.

Quite the warlike steeds!

Tanks are by far one of the sweetest rides we have. They're way better than the crappy light armor I get to play with. I get the US Army M1117 “ASV”, also know as “that godd**m thing”, or a “coffin on wheels”.

I keep going through this cycle every friggin' month, where my student loan companies all decide to take their money on the first of the month at the same time. And of course, since banks always process outgoing charges before incoming credits, I wind up $500 in the red with overdraft fees that they won't reverse despite my pointing out that this happens every month because they don't wait 2 damn days to let the money enter my account. The rest of the month is spent scraping all the money I just lost back together, only to watch it wiped out again the next month because of the same crap that I just spent several weeks on the phone attempting to avoid happening again. And people wonder why I don't have any savings, and why I'm always an angry, stressed out jerk around the beginning of the month.

Yeah tanks are sweet rides. Two hours of maintenance for every hour of operation. Riding on top because all the dust gets sucked inside and you can't breathe. Seventy tons of death dealing genius that requires more loving care than a spouse. Combat arm of decision that an NCO has to spend every waking minute making sure no one is slacking off. God, I love the stench of diesel exhaust on a cold morning. That's the true scent of victory. Helicopters over flies, armor takes possession.

Living without glasses for the first time in my life is a wonderful experience. However the pain and discomfort can be excruciating. Rub my eyes to get the sleep out if them and feel like I got poked repeatedly in the eye for a few hours. And then there is post operative sensitivity to changes in the barometric pressure. Owowowowow…

And I work at night. Around trucks and bright headlights. Too loud. Too bright. But I look so cool in sunglasses at night. Owowow.