People are dumb....

[Foggy]

Visit The Gorge near Portland, OR to see myriads of stupid sailboarders
sailing in winds funneling thru the mountains at well over 60mph.

BTW they look like they're flying, having the time of their lives.

Aye.
Grandpa used to say, "One man's pleasure is another man's pain."

 

[Pacificcoast101]

 

[AstoriaDave]

Couple young guys down here regularly fly their kiteboards (basically a snowboard set up to run on the water, with a serious parasail and bombproof harness on the body, controllable using the shrouds) on the Clatsop Beach, sometimes in surf, sometimes in the major backwater inside Trestle Bay. They appear to be in control up to windspeeds of about 30 knots, ramping down to sails of smaller area as the wind rises, primarily operating at the water's edge and sometimes in 4 foot surf, max.

These guys are extremely strong, very fit, and very safety conscious. Even so, they are very aware of the risk, and are quick to shut down when conditions get out of hand. And, it is an easy swim and easy retrieval if they crash.

In contrast, off Manzanita, from the Neahkanie Mtn overlook on 101, you can spot guys using similar rigs, running inside, through, and outside the surf zone, out a long quarter mile or more, onshore winds. With a long swim to shore, no way can they retrieve a sailrig if they crash. No Waverunner patrol. Nothing. Freaking nuts!

 

[thataway]

Visit The Gorge near Portland, OR to see myriads of stupid sailboarders
sailing in winds funneling thru the mountains at well over 60mph.

I question that "myriads" of either windsurfers or kite boarders sail in winds of 60 mph. It the very rare individual that can succeed to either kite board or wind surf in winds of this velocity. Plus winds of this velocity are rare in the Columbia River Gorge.

 

[Pacificcoast101]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jmPv9HjJYY

 

[starcrafttom]

I have no problem with extreme sports or windboarding/kiteboarding. BUT 60 knots and 4 fters spaced 2 ft apart is not fun or safe and just plan stupid.

I am not sure what the problem is , other then P.C. bs, with calling a stupid act a stupid act. We have all done something stupid. Some more then other. I do know that it is both important and useful to point out both stupid acts and stupid people. They both serve as examples of what not to do. Condemnation and ridicule are very useful to a society.

 

[Foggy]

This entire topic 'could be' softened, 'if' people would make the distinction
between a "stupid act" and a "stupid person". The difficulty here is getting people
to make this distinction since it takes some thinking (mental work which is often
absent when shooting from the hip).

Both would be a judgement, your opinion only, not a fact. Do you believe there is
a difference between 'an act' and 'the person'?

We all speak and behave with less than perfect style; slip up, misbehave, loose our
temper, do something dumb or stupid and maybe even have regrets - we are
human, right? Would you like to be judged, as a person marked for life, by
another during one of those moments?

So, when I'm criticized in a derogatory fashion, it falls off my back like water off a
duck. I don't take it personally. It's all in the other person's mind, has nothing
to do with me and is none of my business. I know who I am. The other may not.
And, if I honestly did "mess up", I will be accountable, learn from the incident,
forgive myself and go on enjoying the day.

Aye.
M Gandhi used to say, "Become what you want to see in the world."

 

[dotnmarty]

Beautifully state Mr. Foggy. Such an important distinction. Words have meaning and consequences. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

 

[starcrafttom]

Difference between a stupid act and a stupid person? Hard to have one with out the other. Or as another famous person said " stupid is as stupid does" . As far as being softer, which has no useful effect really. " life is hard , its harder when your stupid" Stupid can be fixed but only if its pointed out to them. If they could figure it out themselves , much like my pissing on the fence statement, then they would not be stupid would they???

Well I am off to fix a car , sell two cars, complete a on going drive way and parking lot extension, sell some more houses, fix a tractor so I can finish the parking lot project, sell some housed so i can pay for the parking lot project and maybe , just maybe I can get in some duck hunting.

 

[thataway]

I like the definition:
Dumb, simply put, is when you don't know any better. This could be on an intellectual, mental, or educational level. It could also be due to a lack of exposure to certain behaviors and subsequent reactions,

Stupid, simply put, is when you know better, but you do it anyway.

Then there those who make the same mistakes over and over again...and might be called an "idiot" or does idiotic acts. (with apologies to those who are truly of low intelligence.)

Since this is a week of Thanksgiving--lets say we are all blessed to have the good judgement to own a C Dory.

 

[TyBoo]

Difference between a stupid act and a stupid person? Hard to have one with out the other.

Tom, Tom, Tom. Of course there is a difference. Would you like to go through life being judged only on your grammar?

I have to go with the gentleman who quotes Gandhi on this one.

 

[Foggy]

SNIP As far as being softer, which has no useful effect really. " life is hard , its harder when your stupid" SNIP

Softness (maybe flexibility*) is a sign of life like a tree's branches moving with the
wind and water's action on rock changing it's shape.

Hardness (and rigidity) is a sign of death like the dead tree that breaks apart in a
wind and a dead flower that crumbles between your fingers.

Aye.
*Grandpa used to say "Flexibility is the corner stone (paradox intended) of mental
health."

 

[RobLL]

technical note: people are, in general, not all that good about assessing risk. I don't have any quick links. Some of the worst examples come from news reporting about the dangers of foods, some habits, and medications.

 

[localboy]

Dr. Bob is correct. The title of this thread is now, officially, "People are stupid..."

Dumb is my Hawai'ian "Pidgin English" slang. And yes. Before someone calls me stupid for how I spelled "pidgin", I am not referring to the bird.