VFR "picking his way thru" heavy cells with XM Radio weather

"Peter R." wrote in message
...
I was listening to LiveATC.net's feed of Syracuse, NY, yesterday (Sunday)
during the approach of a large thunderstorm line that was moving towards
the
airport from the south. At one point a VFR a Cessna 172, approaching the
airport from the west, checked in stating his intention to land at SYR.

As the C172 progressed, the controller called the pilot to report that the
aircraft was eight miles from and heading directly towards a line of
extreme
weather. The pilot responded in a somewhat unappreciative tone that he was
"painting" it. [snip]

The more I fly, the more I believe that the body of pilots that regularly do
things that most will consider "stupid pilot tricks" is larger than what
many people think. The odds are that this guy will get away with this
multiple times before he gets bit. Of course there's also a small chance
that he may never get bit hard enough to scare or kill himself.

I bet if there was a reliable way to find the number of pilots who have or
do fly in the clouds while "VFR," it would be eye-opening.

Marco