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It's a barbaric, mistake prone process that serves no real purpose other than to "punish" someone to make the victims relatives and bloodthirsty onlookers feel better. It's more expensive than life in prison I believe, It's irreversible and I suspect the wrong people get caught more often than they should. All civilised societies no longer do this..

A few months before I got out of the tandem game (after 10 years and probably 5000+ tandems): I exit on a handcam jump that had outside video as well, and right out the door I realize I didn't buckle my full face helmet. So I'm flying the entire jump with my right hand on my head, filming with my left, and cursing the camera flyer who decided (not for the first time) to film everything while carving around us on his head. Apart from that helmet annoyance and the freeflying camera guy, we get to 6000' uneventfully, whereas I reach back with my left hand (wasn't going to sacrifice my helmet for the opening shot), pull, and nothing happens. I switch hands, hold down my helmet with my left, and pull the right handle. Nothing. Now we're getting to 5000', and everything I know about release blockages and drogues in tow on Sigmas flashes through my head. I give the left handle another go, then say a quick prayer and fire the reserve past the trailing drogue. It clears, and we have a brisk, but totally manageable deployment, and I fly us down, hoping the people on the ground aren't too freaked out by the drogue dragging behind us, trying to get some good canopy HC footage to make up for what would definitely be suboptimal freefall. We land, and I look back to locate my drogue. And it's not there. And that's when I realize it's still in the BOC, where it's been the entire time because I was too busy holding down my helmet and filming the jump, and the camera guy was just trying to keep up with us, and we went straight to reserve from drogueless terminal. And I was generally pretty proud of myself for not being one of those TIs who need the drogue to get them stable, but the dumbfuckery I managed to cram into this jump still makes me a bit sick to my stomach.

We tend to treat our animals better than our elders. I am a strong proponent of Assisted Suicide.

"They're shoving it down our throats!" That came up in a recent Facebook 'discussion' about LGBT representation in popular media. The other guy's argument was that only like 2% of Americans were LGBT but like half of the characters on TV were gay, and that was the evil woke media shoving it down our throats. So I took the opportunity to do some research. First off, percentage of LGBT people. A Gallup poll taken recently showed that 7% of Americans considered themselves LGBT. That number seemed suspicious based on my experience, both because it seems a little low, and because a pollster asking someone "are you gay?" is less likely to be answered truthfully. (Consider a cold call where someone asks you "have you ever stolen from work?" That poll will likely lead to an artificially low number, since people will consider the chances that that information gets back to their employer.) So I did a little more research. A second study found that when "normal" polls are taken, they underestimate the percentage of LGBT people for that reason. They used a poll employing "item count technique" that hid their actual responses. Here's an (overly simple) example question: "If you are male, add 1 to your number. If you are Hispanic, add 1 to your number. If you are gay, add 1 to your number." That way each individual does not tell the pollster if they are gay or not. But since the percentage of males and the percentage of hispanics in America is well known, those biases can then be mathematically removed from the total, giving a more accurate percentage. Using this method, pollsters determined that about 15% of men and 20% of women in the US were LGBT. This also seems more in line with my own experiences. As an example, the Perris women's 8 way team Moxie was more than half LGBT, and that's a lot more likely if 20% of the women skydivers there are LGBT as opposed to 7%. Note that that study was done in 2013, so it's not that recent. But I don't think the percentage of LGBT people in society changes much over time. Then I went back the Gallup poll. They broke it down by age, and sure enough, over 20% of people 25 and under reported as being LGBT. This makes sense based on the fact that they grew up during a time where gay marriage was legal and there was far less stigma associated with being gay. When I look at my cohort (Gen X) the reported percentage was 4%. As a cohort that grew up during a time when being called gay was a big insult, and "smear the queer" was a popular game, this makes sense. The next question was whether LGBT people were over-represented in TV. For that I went to FOX News; I figured they were going to inflate the number as much as possible to push that particular right wing talking point. Sure enough I found a story that talked about how gay characters were at an "all time high." ABC had the most gay characters at 5%. (This was based on a study from 6 years ago, so if anyone has newer numbers, feel free to post them here.) So I discovered that yes indeed, a specific sexual orientation is being shoved down our throats, and networks are doing this by over-representing straight characters in their shows. https://www.nber.org/.../working_papers/w19508/w19508.pdf https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/study-number-of-gay-characters-on-tv-at-an-all-time-high https://news.gallup.com/poll/332522/percentage-americans-lgbt.aspx

To hell with the attacks, let's see some handcuffs.

I am new to the forum and wanted to see if anyone has seen an experience like my 1st jump. In February, 1970 shortly after getting out out of the Marines I decided I wanted to skydive. I signed up with the local skydiving club, Amarillo (TX) Skydivers.I paid my money, took the training, and on 7 February, 1970 I was scheduled for my jump. I jumped from a Cessna 182, at 3000 agl on a 28 Double "L" main on a static line and a T7-A reserve. In my log book under remarks my jumpmaster wrote "1. Streamer on first jump. Fault of jumpmaster, when packing rig I used 550 line separator approx 14" long, secured around suspension lines at skirt hem, failing to remove prior to stowing lines. Student had excellent arch on jump. Reserve deployment excellent. Ignorance on my part completely." my fiance talked me out of jumping again.I have credit for one jump, first, last and only! I believe God took care of me that day.

On the Grimerica podcast it was claimed that none of the witnesses ID'd McCoy, however this is untrue:

Speaking of sacrifices, today is the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre. 26 murdered, most of them 6 or 7 year olds. Freedom is not free.

When I was a youngster, I'd think "gee, she's good looking." Somewhat later I found myself thinking "I wonder what her mom looks like." Now it's more along the lines of "I wonder if her grandmother is too young for me."

I agree with Gowlerk, but I also think that the death penalty is 'too easy' for the perpetrator. But having said that, a lifelong incarceration for crimes currently punishable by death should indeed be lifelong. Not 30 years with option of parole. I also feel that punishments for what I view as truly heinous crimes such as rape and pedophilia are way too light. But that is a different discussion.

Hahahaha that’s hysterical

That is what I was referring to. McNally also tied the money to himself with twine that he bought from a hardware store. Anyone wondering what a Duane Weber hijacking would look like should look no further than Martin McNally's adventure. Damn entertaining story though.

I am OK with the death penalty for specific crimes (mass murder) in theory, However I am only OK with it if we have a perfect, or close to perfect, justice system. We don't have that yet. So until we do, I am against the current implementations of the death penalty.

The whole ‘shoving it down our throats’ thing used to be much more common than it is now, but was only ever code for one thing - being visible at all.

This is precisely it. Just makes the most sense that he would bail closest to where his (probable) original transportation was i.e. near Portland. As others have said, if he didn't care where he bailed out then why not wait another 15 minutes or so and he'd have been over remarkably better terrain for which to make a parachute landing. I don't think it's a coincidence that he bailed out near where the hijacking began.

From a tactical point of view, the fueling stall delayed Cooper's original timeline. Having the door open and stairs out and accessible, means he can theoretically leave any time he wants - anywhere along the flight path he has agreed to. It sounds like he didnt think the pilots could detect his leaving? Very likely Cooper is keeping track of time because a 'timeline' is part of his original demand. I think he bailed where he originally intended to bail except later than he wanted, and he sent the plane on a long flight consuming more time thinking/hoping nobody would detect where he had left - all of which depends on him having a parachute on and being to leave even before the plane has become airborne again after landing at Seattle. He got everyone to comply with his demands which is precisely what he wanted! His "plan" worked because people complied. Cooper worked psychology to get what he wanted. That much is obvious and was obvious the minute he rejected Flo in favor of the more rational: Mucklow who was effective and compliant. Cooper's hijacking relies on psychology vs brute force. Cooper is a thinker vs a reactor. Cooper is a manager vs a worker - something Mucklow picked up on and reported, but nobody paid any attention. Rataczak reacted to this with anger, frustration, and confusion! Cooper's demands are and define his plan!

The MAID program is Canada more or less is what you are saying. (which you probably know) It is still evolving and more changes are probably coming. It has basically been driven by our Supreme Court telling the government that it must find a way to pass appropriate rules recognizing that citizens have a right to this and that there needs to be clear rules to prevent abuse. A stumbling block still not dealt with is a way to help people who are not yet 18 years old but are in a place where they may have good reason for wanting the end to come. https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/end-of-life-support/get-the-facts-on-maid/

We shouldn't have for profit prisons either. More financial reasons than legal reasons seems to lead their thinking. Even some State guidelines on incarceration are odd. Unless it's been changed, Ii Florida, if you're taken to jail, you will stay there for a minimum of 48 hours in order for the county to receive State funds for the cost of housing you. This simple rule has cost people their jobs, which can create a cascade of financial disaster for them.

Apparently we should thank the brave parents who send their small, innocent children to be sacrificed before the god of guns. /s It's maddening that we as a society accept this as opposed to protecting our children. It's a sad statement of a country that chooses to spend more time, money, and effort to kill fellow humans than to care for each other. This speaks to the lack of gun control as well as our military budget. We are a nation of violence. We are failing our future.

More people are buying guns because they are afraid of mass shootings, which leads to more mass shootings.

Here is a list of school shootings since then. Look at the dates and intervals between dates. School shootings are a growing problem since Sandy Hook, happening more frequently. Sad state of affairs.

In my mind I am still 16 years old and I still find that many of the same things that were attractive then are still attractive. At the same time I know the difference between right and wrong and I have enough self discipline to consider not just what is right for me but also what is right for others. Especially others who may be vulnerable.

It serves the additional purposes of ensuring that a mass murderer cannot kill anyone else, and providing a strong deterrent to such behavior. I count those as having value. The value of making people feel better about the crime is zero (to me.)

Exactly this. In theory, maybe. But people have ulterior motives, and those will come out in practice. So nope. It doesn't elevate us to want to kill someone else. But then I also think that many (no, not all) serious criminals have such terrible mental health problems that a brilliant lawyer could get a diminished capacity ruling on them, and we need a way to have people who are that mentally ill segregated, too. Any system is eventually going to be abused; lots of people spend their lives and mental energy trying to game the system. So let's make it one that isn't terminal, eh? Wendy P.

There are definitely people who deserve to die for the things that they have done. But that is beside the point for me. I am against government killing because it is too much power to give to the government. And recently it has come to my attention that running the machinery of death in prisons is a big source of PTSD for many involved in carrying it out. Overall I don't think it is morally wrong to punish by death, but rather that it is better for all of us not to do so. It has always been inconsistent in its application and there is always the chance of mistakes in guilt to consider. We are better off without it as long as we can afford the cost of lifetime incarceration. Which practically means that unless our civilization is in existential crisis we don't need it.

Devil's advocate here: He only inferred that because Cooper wasn't jibber-jabbering with the other passengers. He may have internally been very concerned. It's just like how people might say that Cooper wasn't nervous during the hijacking. What that actually means is that he wasn't outwardly nervous. He was a human being...of course he was nervous. He just did a remarkable job of hiding it.

Which one. How about doing a demo with 1400 a foot ceiling exiting over a lake. I landed right on target.

and was only wearing a reserve when he jumped, which knocked him silly when it opened. His hijacking is certainly the most comical. He lands hard on his butt, lays next to a tree and sleeps for 8 hours, then wakes up and is given a ride to the local town by the literal Sheriff of that county, then stays in the same hotel with FBI agents who are hunting him. Completely bonkers. Couple all of that with the drunk who rammed his original 727 upon takeoff.

The pilots figured he wouldn't know how fast they were going, so they tried to kill him with speed. McNally "jumped" at over 300mph.

Hahneman jacked a plane in Pennsylvania and ended up jumping in Honduras. Fly and I will probably always disagree on this, and that’s OK. I feel like he jumped out where he jumped on purpose because that’s close to where his original transportation was (presumably).

My Rickerby, given to me by Rags!

Hence, the Prisoner of War Medal/Ribbon

My software indicates that she used the name "Collins" at some point during Duane's life.

Ah the good ole days, before MySpace, Facebag, etc took over I would spend hours watching the main page of the "Bonfire" refresh. I still check in here about once a year.... but it's not the same as the early 2000's to be sure!

A dropzone making correct safety decisions in terms of wind/weather conditions is in my view never a bad thing. Having been at some dropzones where I (at +- 6000 skydives) skipped loads due to weather conditions on landing, and then seeing guys with 51 jumps go up because 'the limit is 50 jumps', it can at times feel like a jump-limit was set with DZ income in mind, as opposed to safety. In the 6 or so weeks I've spent at the dropzone over 2021, I've seen the DZ limit jumping at 50/100/500 jumps, but in almost 100% of those, I had already taken myself of the load. There, at lower jump numbers, its sometimes worth trusting the judgement of people with more experience and eye for local conditions. The landing area is indeed not the lush patch of grass you see on other dropzones, for a large part caused by the all year round warm to hot weather. Summer season (June to August) we also avoid, as it just gets too hot. Though jumping from early to mid-day, and then chilling at the pool of your hotel, is never a bad thing. My main gripe with the surrounding area is not too much to do (sea/beach is an hour away) in the direct area surrounding the DZ, but enough good restaurants to not stress about that too much, as in the end, we're there to jump

One evening last week, my girlfriend and I were getting into bed. Well, the passion starts to heat up, and she eventually says, 'I don't feel like it, I just want you to hold me.' I said, 'WHAT??!! What was that?!' So she says the words that every boyfriend on the planet dreads to hear... 'You're just not in touch with my emotional needs as a woman enough for me to satisfy your physical needs as a man.' She responded to my puzzled look by saying, 'Can't you just love me for who I am and not what I do for you in the bedroom?' Realizing that nothing was going to happen that night, I went to sleep. The very next day I opted to take the day off of work to spend time with her. We went out to a nice lunch and then went shopping at a big, big unnamed department store. I walked around with her while she tried on several different very expensive outfits. She couldn't decide which one to take, so I told her we'd just buy them all. She wanted new shoes to compliment her new clothes, so I said, 'Lets get a pair for each outfit.' We went on to the jewelry department where she picked out a pair of diamond earrings. Let me tell you... she was so excited. She must have thought I was one wave short of a shipwreck. I started to think she was testing me because she asked for a tennis bracelet when she doesn't even know how to play tennis. I think I threw her for a loop when I said, 'That's fine, honey.' She was almost nearing sexual satisfaction from all of the excitement. Smiling with excited anticipation, she finally said, 'I think this is all dear, let's go to the cashier.' I could hardly contain myself when I blurted out, 'No honey, I don't feel like it.' Her face just went completely blank as her jaw dropped with a baffled, 'WHAT?' I then said, 'Honey! I just want you to HOLD this stuff for a while. You're just not in touch with my financial needs as a man enough for me to satisfy your shopping needs as a woman.' And just when she had this look like she was going to kill me, I added, 'Why can't you just love me for who I am and not for the things I buy you?' Apparently I'm not having sex tonight. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young