The biggest hazard is the stupid people who congregate at the fence at the end of the runway to "enjoy" the jet blast from departing aircraft.

I've seen people blown all the way across the street into the ocean from the raking hot jet blast from departing Airbuses and 747s.

I lived in St. Maarten for 12 years, and it's a great local sport to go to the Sunset Beach Bar on weekends and enjoy a Heineken while watching the inebriated stupid tourists (locals know better) get pummeled into the sand.

... hop on a Winair flight over to Saba (that "dormant" volcano off in the distance) for a landing at the shortest commercial landing strip in the world.

From inside the De Havilland Twin Otter, it appears that you are about to crash into an oceanside cliff, until the aircraft hits the runway and abruptly stops before plummeting off of the cliff into the Atlantic at the other end of the runway.

I've heard tourists scream in terror at the moment of touchdown on this flight, though there has never been a commercial aircraft crash at this airport.

And for the ultimate terror flight, there is a flight once a week that goes from St. Maarten to Saba and continues on to St. Barths. This is an airstrip at the foot of a small mountain (or large hill, depending on your point of view) which requires a rather dramatic last-second dive before pulling up for your abrupt landing.

Hopefully you will not overshoot the runway and end up in the ocean (this has happened numerous times, but never on Winair).

Both the St. Barths and Saba airports require a special pilot certification before you can land an aircraft there.

Enjoy your holiday!

or even downloaded them - now I know not to bother...

there are trojan horse programs that harvest email addresses from an infected computer; this person's address could have been stored in one of those - an email message does not necessarily come from who it seems to.

I was getting IMs from my wife, telling me to visit a certain website, except it was not her sending them - someone's computer had picked up her IM name and friend list, and was trying to infect me.

In any case, jeez, what a bunch a tattle-tales you all are. Reply to the sender and say, I don't know if you sent this or not; if you didn't, look out - if you did, don't do it again...

My cousins were sending me racist shit - they live in Lynchburg, Va - and I just told them, knock it off. They told me the same thing when I kept sending them links to "impeach Bush" sites.

Now we just exchange family photos...

Freedom of speech includes freedom to be a jerk. And so many here want someone to lose their job over it? Show some compassion and back off. Try not to reduce yourselves to the level of factional fascism that is already tearing apart this country...

We're still talking about this? The world is melting down before our eyes (so to speak) and this is the most important subject in some people's world?

Sad. Wake me when it's over.

Nancy Botwin from Weeds...

...Republicans practice abstinence and Democrats practice birth control.

Guess who will be more successful at breeding?

and I approve of this message. Had I been aware of this (since I never watch Glenn Beck, O'Reilly, etc) I would have written to protest and threaten to cancel my coverage.

Instead, I will be writing to them as a satisfied customer who is pleased at their decision.

I would encourage others sharing my views to do likewise.

no effort required - look your best, as long as you are not actually physically present..

people still read magazines?

(actually, no, they just look at the photos in the supermarket checkout, then replace the magazine on the rack).

...were brilliant and entertaining. I remember them well. Never saw Ferris Bueller - guess I'll have to request it from Netflix.

The guy might have had flaws, but John Hughes' early work was that of a genius. Molly Ringwald's eulogy in the NY Times was right on target.

The traditional mass media is dying its last gasp, and with it, their audience. Nobody reads newspapers - certainly nobody under 30. Magazines are on life support - even celebrity gossip mags are failing.

Older folks watch local TV news - but their kids are all on Facebook and Twitter every night, or browsing their Blackberries and iPhones or texting each other. Even email is passe.

The old media businesses are losing their clientele, so they need to stir up shit to try to maintain ratings - good luck. This is only perverting democracy and making the United States one of the most ignorant, shrill countries on the planet - at least if you solely consider the whining of conservative white people.

Funny how the rest of the world recognizes how "grass roots" astroturfing by the medical, pharmaceutical and health insurance industries is frightening and misleading stupid white men. What kind of message would you expect from a communications medium funded by their advertising?

To borrow a phrase from George Allen of macaca fame, "real America" has turned multicultural, and there is no going back.

Too bad, so sad, tough shit, shut up. Walter Cronkite is dead. Get over it.

don't have to forgive him, but he has to earn a living like all the other millions of ex-cons. he will never be able to vote or own a firearm again, so he will be paying for his actions the rest of his life in one way or another.

no excusing what he did, but he did time in a real prison, not some country club like Bernie Madoff.

let it go already - unless he received the death penalty, he deserves to get on with his life...

take the time you're spending demonizing and go volunteer at an animal shelter...