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If one needed a conservative Constitutional Professor why would they choose John 'The Torturer' Woo? The guy made his career making amoral, illegal arguments for the sake of political expediency.

Congrats, and yes I miss Tom being here. I know you will do a good job.

That would make sense, had not Trump stated that his objective was to defund the Post Office and prevent mail-in voting.

Well done, yo, telling the new Mod she ain't as smart as someone who has yet to prove he's as smart as you say he is. I hope you have plenty of room in your demerit box.

The guy who really pisses you off but doesn’t actually attack is exactly who the ignore button is made for. Wendy P.

I dunno man, my old boss told me I was really testing the limits of Casual Friday.

Routine maintenance is one of three completely independent reasons given out by official sources - the inconsistency in the messaging lends weight to concerns that something iffy is going on (concerns, not proof). This is also coupled with reports that many sorting machines have also been removed - and anecdotally these million dollar machines in some places have been literally scrapped, so can't be replaced. I'm taking that last part heavily salted until further evidence shows up. While this all could easily still be innocent, the timing is at best just phenomenally short-sighted. Trump has literally admitted to interfering with the mail service because mail-in ballots could hurt him in the election, even though it is a much safer route for voting in the middle of a pandemic. To start removing the public face of that service immediately afterwards - without clearly stated, consistent and transparent reasons - is just plain dumb optics. It is reasonable to question these actions without it bumping up to the level of a conspiracy theory.

So where's my like? If I'm gonna retire at 400 I need some support!

That almost always affects sibilants or fricatives, not plosives like "t".

Yeah. I just noticed it the other day. She had edited out a PA on a post. The bottom of the clearly censored post had the note "Edited by wmw999". I gotta say, there's been a need for another mod on here, and I can't think of someone who would be more even handed and reasonable. Congratudolences to Wendy.

Some people are best ignored. When there was a cry for Rush to be banned I disagreed. I like diversity and not an echo chamber, it is nice having posters where I disagree with their world views, because it challenges my views and gives me a different perspective. For the most part the posters who have different viewpoints have the backbone and conviction to consistently defend their viewpoint. However there is at least one poster here, where their sole objective is to troll. They add no value whatsoever and are brazenly open about it. I think their behaviour detracts from quality discussions and the overall “user experience” in speakers corner. I’ve come to the opinion that continued blatant trolling should ideally result in a permanent ban.

Don't you find it odd that it's happening in so many states at the same time. No because it's routine maintenance and it makes sense to move low volume mailboxes to areas with higher traffic that need them, especially now given the anticipated influx from mail-in balloting. People really need to relax. It's not that hard to find a mail box, and if you can't be bothered to go to the post office, here's an idea - just give it to your mail carrier or leave it in your own mailbox for pickup. If it was Q saying that this was part of the deep state's plan to fix the election, you people would be saying "hey look, another kook and their stupid conspiracy theories."

Perfectly normal reaction the first time you do any new scary thing. For most people, the nausia disappears after a few more jumps. Altitude sickness ... errrr ... low oxygen density is rarely a problem during skydiving because few jump planes climb more 14,000 feet above sea level. For comparison, airline cabins are pressurized to 5,000 maybe 8,000 feet ASL, but much of that is to accommodate grandmothers with weak lungs. Time also affects hypoxia (shortage of oxygen), but jump-planes rarely fly more than 5 minutes above 10,000 feet, so that is not an issue for people with healthy lungs. Yes, clearing your ears (Valsalva Maneuver) can reduce sinus pressure, reducing the risk of head aches, nausea, etc. I usually clear my ears two or three times on the way up and once after opening. Low blood sugar can cause nausea ... even fainting ... after opening. We did not understand this until we had been doing tandems for a few years. Basically, any scary sensation causes your body to produce huge amounts of adrenaline and burn through blood sugars at a rapid rate. Once the skydive slows down ... after opening ... you relax, maybe even pass out. The cure is nibbling on snacks and sipping water all day. Also consider that fear levels drop by half during every one of your first few jumps. Fear will never go away, but the curve will flatten out in a logarithmic way. If you get too relaxed, and no longer fear skydiving, then you should quit, because you have lost track of how dangerous the sport really is. Smart skydivers are always a little afraid, but learn how to channel that fear into equipment checks, pre-planning, altitude checks, etc. Older (pre-2000) tandem harnesses were more likely to put too much pressure on your stomach. Modern tandem student harnesses have lower belly bands, so are less likely to cause nausea. If you feel nauseous under a tandem, simply ask your instructor to loosen the belly band a bit after opening. Many tandem students complain about leg straps being too tight, but fail to realize that all their weight is resting on those leg straps. Tough! OTOH loose leg straps can bruise during opening shock, so better for your instructor to tighten leg straps a bit too much ... rather than lose you at opening time.

Not uncommon at all. I got it on my tandem and on a few jumps when doing my AFF, however they are AFTER the jumps, like 15-20 mins post jump. I jump in Canada and I have an off season of 4-5 months and my first jump back I get the same feeling just not as intense. I personally think it has to do with pressure and decompression (maybe lack of oxygen as well I dunno), not sure how to explain it, but if I jump and depressurise my ears at altitude and when under canopy I feel nothing after BUT if I dont anything more than a 360 I feel it creeping on me. I have done 3 high pulls and same thing if I dont depressurize when opened I feel like shit. I do get nauseous if I read something in a car, so could be related.

When I was starting my journey into skydiving, I was warned numerous times by the DZO and the staff that the tandem harnesses and the student rig harnesses can induce nausea due to pressure on the legs. I never experienced anything other than crippling fear and bruised thighs ... but i have heard that nausea is not uncommon.

Perfect. Observe how the packer's do it and a lot of them will share tips & tricks for a beer.

Try asking someone more experienced to take a look at how you're closing it and show you tips and tricks. As you progress, you'll learn it's less about strength and more about the details such as where you push your rig for leverage while pulling the cord, which direction are you pulling the cord (along the grommet at 90 degrees is much easier for me than pulling straight up), etc.