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Because done properly, it's not just testing. You test positive, you isolate and the people you have contact with get tested. Those who test positive isolate and the people they've had contact with get tested, etc. Compared to the alternatives of locking down everyone and having no economy, and locking down no-one and seeing huge numbers of infections this is a good thing. I've gotta be honest, at this stage of the game I really wonder how someone who appears to be interested and has been actively discussing the subject for months doesn't have even a passing awareness of the concepts involved.

I'm putting together my first rig because I'm taller (6 foot 3) and can't find a whole lot in the way of a complete rig. After speaking with a few instructors I thought settling on a 190 main would be a good start, so I've got a used sabre 2 coming in with about 100 jumps on it. Wings is willing to offer a veteran discount, so I'm going to have a custom container made that'll fit me. I'm thinking I'll stick a used 190 reserve in there as well, but can't find any used, so may have to buy new. I'm looking at the firebird rush reserve. Same with the AAD, so I'll likely buy new. Can I ask Wings to format the container to be able to fit the next down size to a 170 within that same container? I'm hoping to be able to stay in the container for longer than just the one canopy size since it will fit me right. Does this approach make sense? Do you see where I'm doing something wrong or where I could be doing something better? Thanks in advance for any guidance. -Mike

Also - generally it takes some time (7 to 14 days) to progress from infection to ICU, and infections started spiking ~12 days ago.

You've done the correct thing by choosing your main and reserve first, and then finding a container to fit. Don't worry about downsizing for now.

Those are all in there, go back to the book grasshopper. You should understand this stuff. I will throw you one bone. The answer for 96 is right in the explanation the design of the sigma main deployment system.

Not exactly. As I noted, McConnell and the other Rs were doing some pretty disgusting crap before Trump came along. The federal judge appointments are a good example. McConnell & the Senate have confirmed more federal judges than any previous senate. McConnell has encouraged judges that are nearing retirement to retire early, so that they can put their toadies in place, young enough to last for a while. What they've done to the partisanship of the federal judiciary is truly frightening and will take a LONG time to get past. The R base has gone so far out in right field (pun intended) that it's as frightening as the judiciary. There have been a couple major candidates who are truly despicable. Deplorable even. Roy Moore in Alabama is an excellent example. How the hell did he win a primary? Steve King in Iowa was a congresscritter. He lost out on the recent primary, but he has held office since 03. How did he not get tossed once his true colors became obvious. I'd love (really, really love) to see the "Lincoln Project" folks take over the R party. Not betting on it, but it would be nice. But the R base would still be a large group of racist, xenophobic, religious nutjobs. I think their candidates will reflect that for a while.

Indecent exposure

somebody needs to step up their video game

For that you'll need to ditch FPTP elections so there will be enough representation in Congress. "We need a third party" is exactly one of the topics in this video. Mathematics of elections is actually quite interesting:

Bingo. It was a bit unnerving to realize how little my life changed during the lockdown. Fair enough. It seemed to read that way. You are (were) a Trump supporter. That group is, by a large majority, the biggest of the "Covid deniers". Somehow, that's not a big surprise. What platform is that? From what I've read, the GOP convention won't have a new platform for Trump to run on. They're going to recycle the one from last time, which is pretty funny. It repeatedly mentions Obama as president. I've voted almost exclusively R my whole life. Unfortunately, the malaise with them isn't just Trump. He's more of a symptom than the actual disease. When McConnell said he would oppose anything Obama brought up, even if it hurt the country, I was deeply disappointed. When he refused to do his Constitutional duty and hold hearings for Garland, I was done. He doesn't care about the law, he doesn't care about the Constitution, he doesn't care about 'right & wrong'. He cares about power. I'm done with the Rs. For good. I don't like the Ds much, although I'll vote for Biden. McCain was pretty much destined to lose in 08. After 8 years of Bush being the puppet for Darth Cheny, the Koch bros & PNAC, there was very little chance of any R winning the White House. Nope. Wearing a mask is an intelligence test. It deterimines if the person understands basic science. It's deeply disappointing, although not terribly surprising, how many are failing this test. Unfortunately, the price for failure will be pretty severe for some.

Yes, thats correct. Renewing your Instructor rating also renews your Coach rating.

There used to be a distinction between an Instructor rating and a lower Jumpmaster rating, but the JM rating was phased out quite some time ago. Perhaps that now applies to a Coach rating.

I like this version better:

"In a president, character is everything. A president doesn't have to be brilliant; Harry Truman wasn't brilliant, and he helped save Western Europe from Stalin. He doesn't have to be clever; you can hire clever. White Houses are always full of quick-witted people with ready advice on how to flip a senator or implement a strategy. You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks. "But you can't buy courage and decency, you can't rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him. If he does, they will give meaning and animation to the great practical requirement of the presidency." Peggy Noonan, speechwriter for Ronald Reagan.

"I'm not going to read anything that is written like a 12 year-old wrote it." Funny statement from someone who supports a political leader who talks like a 4 year old.

“We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.” Gen. J. Mattis, former SecDef.

Turtle, what they say is true. George F. Will is a conservative by virtually any definition, and has been for a long time. What he has never been was a bandwagon-lover, so as the definition of "conservative" has morphed to "supports our guy no matter what" some people don't think of him as being liberal. Equating intellectual independence with liberalism really isn't a great place to go, if you're not liberal. Eventually the old guys will die, and the ones who are still around will be tarnished by this time. Wendy P.

Hello everyone, my name is John Mullins, I jumped at Fort Hood will a group of Air Force guys. We came up from Bergstrom AFB, in Austin. below is the only pic i have.

What did the canopy coach say about you doing barrel rolls?? I'm guessing it went something along the lines of 'you have to make a very aggressive maneuver on rear risers, and that's really dangerous. Not a good idea.' Fortunately the internet is full of people who aren't the canopy coach, eh?

Jumped there in '86 and '87. ops were sporadic, also jumped and flew for "Aggies over Texas". Used to go down to Fentress as well. Always a good time at Fentress... VMO

I started jumping at Fort Bragg with the XVIII Abn Corps PC before coming to Fort Hood--made 300 FF's the first 12 months. We jumped Holland DZ a lot when there was available aircraft (mostly a Beaver), made a lot of jumps out at Gene Paul Thacker's place in Raeford, NC., so some names run together but here's a few from back in the FHSPC days that I thought of while reading this thread: Warren Seitzinger, Paul Lemieux, Tony Fonseca, Graham Gardner, Frank & Connie Welter, Homer Hudson, Greg "Smitty" Smith, Terry Litts. I'm going to have to see if I can find that picture Tony Fonseca took of the 5 of us jumping with masks and a pumpkin on Halloween. Also think I have one a dozen of us lined up in the pea gravel mooning Ed Avery...pic he took of us flying over low in a jet ranger (Seitzinger flying, of course) while we were waiting for the ceiling to lift. Excellent to hear from you-stay safe...be well.

The main TI's at our small dz are 55, 57, and 62. The 62 yo guy is the most active. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Dave, from what i know the answer you're looking for is around 2.0- 2.2. closer to the lower loading is better since you can add weights to achieve the higher, whether you're going for speed or distance. having answered the q, i have a couple of things to say that the others have stated. I don't know how it works over in Israel, but here in the states there is a little cool factor in jumping a crossbraced. but falling into this belief is just stupid. i jumped crossfire 2's until i was extremely proficient in doing whatever i wanted to do. i mastered hooking in a 90, then 180, then 270's. after having been able to do each turn and have the canopy plane out on it's own exactly at the height i wanted, i then progressed to landing it using rears. the reason i progressed to this point on an elliptical is that it can be much more forgiving if i made a mistake during my progression. it was also easier to learn these skills on an elliptical rather than a crossbraced. i then jumped a crossbraced at over 1000 jumps and i was still scared. it took some time adapting to the new shape of the canopy but but with the skills i had learned on the elliptical, i adapted. i would never think of trying to learn those skills starting on a crossbraced, nor would i ever recommend it, which is what everyone is telling you. if you are really serious about swooping or going to a high performance canopy, you should take a class from a highly trained pro, some of them have been mentioned in this thread. think about this, you girlfriend cuts herself and you think, i know enough to take care of this. so you whip out a bandaid, or if it's bad, you break out the crazy glue or stiches if your really cheap. would you actually perform surgery to repair a lacerated artery or a punctured lung without the proper training, just cause you saw it on TV?