swingset

Actually I do... I've made the decision not to carry a weapon, therefore I'm fighting with my fists/elbows/legs and knees, it's all I got, it's all I need. If it's not good enough, and I end up killed, I hope the justice system would investigate the situation (as it seems to finally have done in this case)

No, you have no idea if you'll have any fight in you in an assault. You have no clue if the person who hits you is armed, or is a kid, or is just fucking meaner than you. You have no clue if that first punch hits you in a way that disorients you, you have no idea if you'll have the use of your arms, or that you'll be able to stand up, or run, or even think clearly. You don't know if you'll get knifed, or your attacker has a friend, you don't know if you'll get knocked out, or beat the fuck out of someone. You have no clue....except that you're going to be unarmed. That's your choice, but don't tell me you know how the assault will go down.

but he wasn't, he was a full grown man, like myself, and he was illegedly attacked by a teenage kid...

He was a chubby guy attacked by an athletic kid who was taller and faster than he was and might have had the element of surprise. See above for reasons why that doesn't always go your way. Trayvon was a big kid, not a weak child.

At this point, I'm satisfied with how it's been handled, I'm content with letting the justice system run it's course.

I'm disgusted at how it's been handled, from the awful race-baiting to the rush to judgment, to the biased reporting and the ridiculous political pressure that's fueling this charge. But we'll see what comes out in trial.

This whole story is unfortunate. Zimmerman is an idiot and I have no sympathy for him. You wanna' be a cop? Then join the fucking police force. Pursuit of a "suspect"' date=' on foot, while fucking armed, is asking for trouble.[/quote']

I think he shouldn't have gotten out on foot, but it was clear at that point (Martin began running) that Zimmerman highly suspected Martin was up to something bad or was a possible burglar. He attempted briefly to follow him, then quit. That's the most important detail - he QUIT FOLLOWING.

Does that action of following Martin after seeing his weird behavior, however little you think of Zimmerman following the guy, justify Martin attacking him?

Why didn't Martin just go home? Zimmerman quit following him, again. From what we know there was no real confrontation...and Zimmerman clearly lost Martin so whatever happened up until then is really immaterial anyway.

Why don't you have any scorn of Martin? Don't you think he could have avoided all this just as easily by not acting weird, darting in and out of the townhouses, and just leaving instead of getting physical?

#4 and #6 are where my story would have changed.

#4, I'm not getting out of my vehicle to run down a young black man, just isn't happening, it's like a walrus chasing a cheetah...Perhaps I'd have followed with my car, but not likely, once the LE was contacted, they were handling the situation...

#6, if someone jumps on my back and starts slamming my head, I'm not reaching for a gun, I'm throwing elbows. The only time I'd reach for a gun (even if I carried one) was if I were faced with a gun.

He didn't run him down, there's no evidence about that. He tried to figure out where he was going. Observing isn't hostile pursuit. And, he also did as instructed and gave up that to return to his truck.

I don't think he should have followed Martin on foot, but following a suspicious person who's darting in and out of townhouses isn't a crime, again.

As to your second point, it's sure easy to armchair quarterback when you're not in fear for your life...you have no fucking clue what you'd do in the dark if someone got the better of you and you found yourself on the ground with NO CLUE WHATSOEVER if they had a gun, or a knife, or would just split your skull with their hands. People kill each other, even teenagers, with fists every single day. You can't be in that split second, fight-or-flight situation and do any mental math about "gee, is this guy a teenager, or is he armed, or should I jump to my feet and give him a flying-roundhouse-taco-kick". You're in the shit, and you react with the tools you have to survive. Martin chose fists, Zimmerman chose a gun. If Zimmerman had been unarmed, he might be dead. Witnesses corroborate his testimony about this stuff, btw.

Zimmerman brought the fight to an end, because he was losing the fight it's not his legal or moral imperative to be a badass....maybe he's weak or sucks at fighting...whatever...hell he could have been 66 years old, or a woman, but none of that matters. He was being attacked and that's justification to defend himself.

This is not about how any of us would handle it. It's about what went down, and who initiated the violence. Legally, that's all that should matter.

The only issue I've had with zimmerman (based on what i've heard) was how he was tryng to act like a police officer, judging someone before he had any information, and honestly using a firearm on an unarmed person. I'm almost as old as zimmerman, and there is NO WAY i'm pulling a gun on a 17 yr old kid (i wouldn't pull a gun on anyone, but definitely not a 17 yr old kid).

Put yourself in his position:

1. You're not on NW duty...just running an errand. So, that whole aspect of him being armed and in the NW program are rather null and void. But, it's an important distinction.

2. Your neighborhood has been burglarized a lot lately. Also very important. One of those thieves was spotted - a young black man. Not reported very much, but important detail.

3. You come back from your errand and in the evening drizzle a young black male with a hoodie is wandering around, kind of aimlessly, seemingly out of place. This arouses your suspicion, so you call it in.

4. When you see what he's up to, he acts MORE suspicious by darting in between two townhouses where he doesn't belong. 911 operator (who has no legal authority whatsoever) tells you not to follow him. You're thinking something is up, you get out to see where he went. You lose him. (my sole criticism of GZ is following him, which was tactically unwise but not illegal or in any way justification for being assaulted).

5. 911 operator tells you LE is inbound. You break off looking and go back to meet LE. On the way (according to his testimony and not refuted by anything we know of) Martin attacks you.

6. Martin knocks you down, hits you, and is slamming your head into the ground. Does Zimmerman know this is JUST a 17 year old kid? Does he just take the beating to see what happens? Does he know this attacker is unarmed? Better yet, is he under any legal obligation to just take the assault and hope for the best?

I think you see a villain in Zimmerman through the convenient lens of the media, and aren't seeing the problem....which is that Zimmerman didn't really do anything illegal or wrong by checking out someone suspicious, and he apparently didn't initiate the conflict or the violence. And worse, that once attacked he could not lay on the ground getting beat and see anything but stopping the fight.

Martin, if the aggressor (and it's pretty clear he was), is the criminal in this act. Yet, you default to seeing Zimmerman as the bad guy for looking after his neighborhood. Nothing he did was legal or just cause for being attacked, even if it was more than YOU might do if you see someone acting weird in your neighborhood.

Was looking for a city to watch good fireworks. Had our daughter in Missouri last 4th. Who would have thunk my redneck friends wouldn't be blowing shit up. So I kinda owe her a 4th of July celebration.

Ahhh, sorry misunderstood.

A dead man cant lie, but a guilty man can...

Witnesses, physical evidence and audio all seems to back up Zimmerman. Could it be that's why there's no arrest?

Keep deluding yourself.

Yes you keep saying that, self defense, self defense, self defense... if the glove don't fit, you must acquit...

assuming you're 100% correct, and Martin came at zimmerman in a full rage with a bag of skittles... Why would he do that? was he provoked?

Doesn't matter. Nothing legally justifies assaulting someone...certainly not following or questioning them. Once you get physical, you're the aggressor and you're the criminal.

Where is his due process? Where is his innocent until proven guilty? Where is his trial?

He waived all that when he attacked Zimmerman, who at that point was walking AWAY and back to meet the cop. His innocence would be in no doubt if he had not made it physical. He did this to himself.

if defending yourself from an unarmed attacker half your size (that you provoked in the first place) includes plugging them in the chest with your sidearm, you've got bigger issues.

Trayvon was not a little boy, and you pre-suppose that Zimmerman provoked him. Also, we don't know how that attack went down. Hit wrong, someone large can be overtaken by someone smaller....but as I said Trayvon was a tall athlete...Zimmerman not so much. Once Zimmerman got hit, and it became assault he is under no legal obligation to lay there and take it or restrict himself to fisticuffs. Fists have killed people, even a single punch. His injuries are consistent with his testimony, and a few more slams to the ground might have killed him. He was right, and prudent, to make the fight stop...and he did just that. This isn't the schoolyard, and it's not on a victim to let the beating continue to see how severe it might, or might not be. The attacker took his chances, and lost.

that's assuming that zimmerman is as innocent as he claims, that's a "best case scenaio"

Witness and evidence obviously support Zimmerman, or he'd be in front of a grand jury. And that IS the scenario...like it or not.

You live in the best curvy road part of the state, and you want to know about curvy roads? Really?

Do you leave the house? If so, have you observed any nice roads?

I'm not trying to yank your chain, but seriously you're in the sweet spot for good roads, fire up Google Maps and find major roads that look like noodles. Go explore. You really can't fuck up.

You can google Phantom fireworks locations, they're pretty good. There's a mega-store on Rt. 70 near Baltimore, OH.

As for camping, the WV state parks all have decent camp grounds. Not as plush as some of the KOA's, but cheaper. I've stayed in Hawk's Nest, and several in the Monongahela NF and enjoyed them all.

Nice scoot, congrats!

I've banged worse.

Define "cruising".

Is it riding slow? People on sportbikes do that.

Is it riding cruisers? People take them to track days and stunt with them.

Is it riding in a formation? Well, ok, that might actually be specific enough...but it's not something you'd need a whole forum for.

Is it riding in vests with patches on them? That would fall under gear I'd guess...you know, latest in embroidery technology and which side of the chap goes out...etc.

I guess I don't understand the term to begin with. How is it different from just riding your bike?

6 day work week on 3p-11p shift... Good thing I like the people I work with.

Yeah...that's a life-killer. I work 5-1am which isn't quite as bad.

I have a stupid ass schedule and get a weekend off every other month.

I feel your pain, worked weekends for 10 years. I'm on nights now so I have my days free, so if you wanna hit the trails through the week sometime that's cool...usually have 'em to yourself which is nice, no dodging dogs and joggers.

Will do maybe we can get a ordn mt. bike ride.

I'm down for that....have most days free and any weekends.

Heated grips FTW. Then your gloves really don't matter much, and you can ride with a nicer pair that still gives good feel.

Nice bike, late to the party but I got back into mtb's this year and I'm having a good time. Bought a nice 29'er last fall and have been hitting the trails whenever I can. Finally got into decent shape so I'm always looking for someone to ride with.

I ride Alum since it's on my way to work a few times a week, and of course all the other Central Ohio places...Mohican, Dillon, the outlaw trails in Heath, Chestnut Ridge and AEP and have a few single-track loops here at my place (good for killing yourself).

Hit me up if any of those are in your future. I'm not fast, but I'm stupid and that makes up for it.

I've got the same basic layout on my DL1000, I'd agree too that it's likely just the seal that's been knocked bad and it's not hard at all to repair.

I'd do the inner/outer bearing, mechanical seal and water pump gasket and check the impeller and shaft (for scoring) while you're in there. That will be cheap, unless the shaft is fucked (and I'd bet it's not).

Interdasting, thanks for the read.

Mental note: Islam sucks.

Busse Combat would be a great knife that meets your criteria.

This is a used bike checklist I found on a site a while back, still very useful.

What to check when buying a second-hand bike.

VISUAL - ON STAND

Plastics, tank, seat :- splits , repairs, tyre rub, seat foam deformed or hard.

Frame :- dents under frame rails, repairs, alignments, tightness of footpegs.

Pipe / silencer:- dents, leaks, repairs.

Engine / gear oil :- level, colour.

Radiators :- bent , repaired , evidence of leaks, coolant level / colour.

Controls :- light smooth action on cables, sponge in brakes,

Handlebars :- straight, tight, rubber into top yoke, grip ends, slack in levers.

Seals :- fork legs, rear shock, output shaft, gear shift, any oil leaks / repairs around sump plug.

General :- heavy spannering, replaced nuts / bolts, fuel tap, oil leaks.

Chainset :- wear, alignment.

MECHANICAL - ON STAND

Wheels :- dents/ repairs, spoke tension, spin to check rim, tyre, disc alignments, pad/disc wear.

Front end :- wheel bearings, fork bushes, headset- wear and roughness.

Rear end :- wheel bearings, swing arm bushes, slop in linkage.

Suspension :- do all adjusters move.

Seat off and check air filter for fit, holes and cleanness.

Gear shift lever / kickstart tight on shafts.

OFF STAND

Feel suspension, ride position.

START AND RUN ENGINE

Compression, ease of start.

Noise :- tick over, clutch in/out, rev up, exhaust note.

Electrics :- On /off/kill, lights Hi/ low, brake light switches, indicators, horn, neutral light.

Can you get neutral with engine running.

TAKE FOR A RIDE

Does speedo work /odometer move.

All gears up and down and smoothness of change.

Try for clutch slip, test brakes, suspension.

Flat spots , hot restart.

PAPERWORK

Proof of ownership, MOT cert, Tax disc, V5, previous owners.

proof of year, work done receipts, handbook.

DECISION

Yes:- cash, receipt, means of transport.

No :- justify

Maybe :- names and phone numbers, set time for yes or no.

I'm out. Have a safe ride.

Triumph T100 is a great bike that several women I know have enjoyed. Great seating position, good linear power, good standard maneuverability and a good looking scoot too.

Here we go....lets bash Chevy before we even know what the problem is.

I already told you what the problem is, it's a Chevy. Jeesh.

All you had to do was say "Chevy".