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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/09/2023 in all areas

  1. 3 points
    The underlying cause of this incident is Americas lust for and love of killing machines being allowed to grow unchecked. But someone will be found to blame.
  2. 2 points
    Stats for this will be all over the map, if available on a mass scale at all. Student programs and retention efforts vary widely from DZ to DZ, and many don't track it beyond a guess. I can tell you from experience that the best student retention at my DZ came from getting first jump students to stay after hours for our parties. Seriously.
  3. 2 points
    Western religions seem to have progressed a bit beyond burning heretics at the stake, but blasphemy is still a capital offense in some nations, and I believe a fair number of right wing "Christians" were involved in the Jan 6th insurrection (aka "legitimate political discourse") with bloodshed on their minds .
  4. 1 point
    This is different,, Tina detailed Cooper's face for "Sketch A" a few days later... then almost a year later when the sketch was to be redone she claimed she didn't see his face.. That is not the same situation you are describing.
  5. 1 point
    You may be right, but I can't say the road from "story changing" to "hiding something" is as direct as this makes it sound. Just because some deception involves someone changing a story, doesn't mean that all changed stories are deceptive. It seems illogical to admit the very thing you were intending to hide, and then later decide to go back and hide it. You can't unring a bell.... I've told this privately, but my life was literally saved by a first-responder. I was not alone (there were probably 30 of us), but I directly interacted with him over the course of probably two hours. And yet, if he were sitting next to me right now, I would not know it. I know his name and some general elements of how he looked. If you showed me 10 pictures of people within that general outline, and there wasn't anything that stood out about any of those 10 (like a huge schnozz or blond hair and big ears), I'd be as likely to say that any of them were or could be the guy. I might also, in retrospect, have to consider that maybe I didn't get as good a look at him as I thought--even though I know for a fact I did. But I'd have to wonder even for myself, not being able to really pinpoint this person I interacted with, if maybe I just didn't see him as well as I thought. (Which, again, I did.) In times of trauma, we do not code memory the same way. This cannot be discounted (and frequently is in this case). It's risky to compare someone in what was clearly a trauma state, to someone in their right mind, and IMO unwarranted to say that her inconsistencies are deception, any more than mine would be.
  6. 1 point
    Probably the same accident. I was told this story, had it explained to me by an FAA guy from the FSDO in Dallas. Guy named Gene Bland. Pilot broke the plane in some way. Took wings off? He had good radar plots giving him speed across the ground. He had video and impact data showing the impact angle. From that he calculated the air speed of the lawn dart. They had video of the opening of the canopy. He believed that he had good numbers on the deployment speed. He knew the pilots weight. Based on those numbers he thought that the loading should have been not within what it was certified for but he believed that it was within what it had supposedly been tested to. Bland was like a dog with a bone. He wanted to force them to redo the heavy drop test. No one else cared. He lost that fight. You could see from the canopy how the lines failed. It's easy to understand the mechanics if you just play with the diaper. The phantom was never the strongest canopy out there. You could argue whether it would have survived or not. It never got the chance. It did not blow out it's crown. It did not split a gore. It did not fail in any of the ways that canopies blow up. The diaper failed to stage the opening and it broke in a very predictable way because of it. To be clear, I like Ashudo phantom stile diapers. It was just a failure of imagination. Thinking of the folded canopy as one solid thing rather then as a dynamic flexable object capable of moving and shifting. All you would need is a loop in that crown line. A peace of tape with a loop. An eye in the line. Maybe a heavier tape on that seam. I've been caught out on that as well. I snapped a tape above a diaper on a canopy I built. It was a pain to sew that thing back together and when I did you can bet it had a heavier tape on that gore. Don't confuse it being a bad design with it being an incomplete design. It's just missing a small element. Full stow choaker diapers put the same stress on that tape. I think all canopies should have heavier tapes on that seam. The military apparently agreed on the C9 with the quarter bag. Lee
  7. 1 point
    Maybe if he was to choke on a chicken bone, he could be misremembered in a manner beneficial to all. One can only hope.
  8. 1 point
    Gen'l Curtis LeMay's stated intent was to reduce Japan's population 'by half.' If that goal wasn't achieved, it wasn't for the lack of trying.
  9. 1 point
    Well the courts finally got around to dealing with Alex Jones lawyers. Norman Pattis had his license suspended for six months. For releasing the medical records of Sandy Hook families. Now the families need to go after him for damages. He likely has a couple bucks c/o Jones bank account from years past. Payback is a bitch.
  10. 1 point
    Looks to be working now...
  11. 1 point
    Dear Slim King, Please consider that the largest single "bump" in North American employment curves are Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964, which makes them 77 to 59 years old. By now most 59 year old doctors have earned enough that they can afford to retire. Thousands of doctors, nurses, X-ray technicians, etc. retired during COVID-19. Those that are still on the job are working plenty of overtime and suffering burn-out ... so any excuse is a good excuse to retire. I don't blame them. As for the debate between Obama-Care versus Trump's magnificent medical insurance plan versus whatever Biden will come up with ... most of us non-Americans are baffled by how a First-World country can survive without universal healthcare. Meanwhile, citizens in most other First-World nations (e.g. NATO and the European Union) take universal health care for granted. And yes, I have some experience with the sort of health care dispensed by a major corporation (Workmens' Compensation Board of British Columbia) and it "bites the green weenie." I am equally amazed at how major corporations (e.g. American Health Management Organizations) can continue to dupe the working class to fight their battles for them.
  12. 1 point
    This has moved away from punishment for crime to who is responsible and should pay for acts of war. We are all survivors and we are descended from the ones left standing. We all share responsibility which is why almost all war crimes go unpunished. It is in our nature.
  13. 1 point
    Since starting jumping in 1977, I have sport jumped and instructed at a wide variety of schools in a variety of countries: Austria, Canada, France, West Germany and the USA. Retention rates were in the 1 to 5 percent range for most schools. When we look at static-line and IAD, retention rates are 1 to 5 percent to A license. The majority of s/l or IAD students only ever wanted to do a single jump, to prove their machismo. Retention rates among tandem students is even lower, perhaps 1 per 1,000. That is because the average tandem student is only interested in a carnival ride and bragging rights. Selfies and bragging rights at that evening's party seem to be their dominant motivators. Many tandem students freely admit that they lack the intellectual capability to learn everything needed to survive a solo jump. The only schools that have a significantly better retention rate are those that sell package deals (10 or 20 jumps) to Solo Certificate or even A-License. How many students continue jumping after that drops rapidly after a year or three. The most frustrating schools to work at were those that sold accompanied freefall jumps one at a time. Since many students could only afford one or two jumps per month, they forgot too much between jumps and repeated too many levels. Rob Warner, CSPA Rigger Examiner, instructor for s/l, IAD and PFF USPA Instructor for s/l and IAD Strong Tandem Instructor Examiner
  14. 1 point
    Um, why yes . Especially because all the pre-software-upgrade pictures are gone now, including both titty bar and naked post whore glory Wendy P.
  15. 1 point
    It's a really good question and highlights the complexity of 'treating' criminals rather than relying on punishment. Playing devils advocate you could say that as a hired killer was paid and therefore financially motivated a suitable punishment is to fine them more than they are paid. Whereas a guy with anger issues may never truly get his anger under control. My question is what do we do about people who for whatever reason are not able to be rehabilitated or reformed? A specific example, in Western Australia we have an arsonist who has been active for over 50 years. He is high risk, as every time he is released from prison he re-offends.He is putting lives in danger, and I would argue that if he has not changed in 50 years he is unlikely to ever do so.
  16. 1 point
    Not if it saves you $$$ in Viagra, or calms your anxiety about the Big Bad Biden coming to take your guns.
  17. 1 point
    AOPA, who has a much stronger database, has the rate of private student pilot completion at less that 20%. They track this information much more closely than USPA as it's required by law since 9-11. I'd assume that we're in a similar situation. The FAA maintains the data on their website for all to see.
  18. 1 point
    Hopefully it comes back. Having multiple forums to discuss the case helps keep the discussion equitable.
  19. 1 point
    I wondered that too, the poster has a short post history but it goes back 6 years, one alludes to being in the military, which makes sense, as military planes are the only ones I know that can pressurize and still have doors that can be used to skydive from. Not sure what prompted the question, as you would think ops for military would have standardized a long time ago on procedures, but maybe there are some new ideas for pressurizing on flights that are being debated.
  20. 1 point
    Hi Deisel, As a new rigger, you might want to attend any on sewing machine adjustment/repair. I always found those very interesting. Jerry Baumchen
  21. 1 point
    Dear sfzombie13, Sailors will tell you that you need a rag to inspect steel cables. There are two methods of inspection. First, you can slide the rag along the steel cable to check for broken strands. Secondly, you can slide your bare hand down the cable, then use the rag to staunch your bleeding hand. Hah! Hah!
  22. 1 point
    Good times at Woodstock. He sold me my 1st racer and I still have it.
  23. 1 point
    The VISO II™ comprises three instruments: - Digital Alti-meter- Stores detailed altitude information about the last jump for later review. - Digital Speed-Meter- Stores detailed speed information about the last jump for later review. - Jump Counter- Electronic logbook, storing and displaying information about the last 200 jumps. - Can be used to keep track of the number of jumps on a rig.
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