Droopystop;
IO540 often pontificates on subjects he knows nothing of. Like you I have flown many hundreds of rig NDB approaches in the grot to a minima most pilots would find surprising (200' and .75nm), and while GPS is great that needle on the Nav. display is a very useful tool, and like anyone who is taking their aviation as seriously as those who fly offshore I am a firm believer in having every nav aid, even an antique, working for me from take off to touchdown.
I no longer fly offshore, but still fly with all the beacons going as well as the GPS, and if an NDB is the best for the route it will be used as well as GPS/INS and anything else I can find.
I recently lost an on-board GPS system due to a processor failure, due to the cockpit set up the transition to "old style" nav was quite simple.
VH