Leaderboard

Anyone else remember driver education classes in high school where we watched the violent films from Ohio about what happens to human bodies in car crashes? The goal was to get us to think more about our driving, understanding the risks and results, and to drive safer. Maybe we should start gun safety / mass shooting preparedness classes in schools. Videos of the shootings and the bodies of children in the ER and the morgue. Show EVERYONE what actually happens to children when they are victims of insane gun violence. The war-like damage certain weapons inflict on the body would make quite an impression The Emmett Till program? Signal 30 - graphic driver education film.

Fake electors facing real charges. SERIOUSLY real charges.

It will happen but may take decades to overcome the resistance of die hard gun owners. Decades to change the courts and the constitution. Until then the carnage will continue and the whole world will look upon the US with pity and disdain.

Remember Trump’s supporters all cheered when he said the cops should feel free to rough people up like they used to? Hit their heads on the roofs of police cars and all that? The Q Shaman says part of the reason he plead guilty was that he’d spent a very short while in solitary confinement, which he called ‘soft torture’. Seriously. These right wing assholes cheer the idea of cops beating confessions out of suspects, but when the shoe is on the other foot then suddenly being left alone in a cell counts as torture. What a bunch of grade-A fucking snowflakes.

Writing as a retired physics professor, I suggest you don't give up your day job to practice physics. No doubt there is stuff to be refined, and new stuff to be discovered, but no way are we going to find that the Earth (including water) existed before photons (which, incidentally, are not plasma).

Gear sales typically require a rigger to do a full inspection. This protects both the buyer and the seller physically and financially. First an full inspection confirms that all of the gear is fully airworthy ... keeping the buyer alive. Secondly, riggers often act as neutral third parties in financial transactions. When I worked for Square One (Perris Valley, California) I was the middle=man in dozens of used gear sales. Basically, the seller left it with Square One - on consignment. SQ1 riggers inspected and repacked the reserve, AAD and harness/container. We also did a full inspection on the main. We also completed any minor repairs or Service bulletins. That was about $120 in labour. Then the rigger wrote a report and handed the report to sales staff, who shared the report with both buyer and seller. Once money changed hands, SQ1's sales department shipped the gear to the buyer. Since then I have acted as middle-man in dozens of other gear sales. People know better than to try to sell ratty old gear through me because I have a reputation as a narrow-minded, control-freak of a fascist when it comes to parachute repairs. I have also refused to be involved in a few deals that would have seen a tiny parachute sold to a junior jumper. Riggers have to look out for the health of their junior customers if they want repeat business next year.

I've sewn magnets onto a few V2s and Vector tandems over the years. I encased them in pieces of TY 12. They are not perfect but they are a hell of a lot better than the Velcro they replaced.

That would really be peak Vortex if that were the case.

Most plasmas are the mundane free-electron-and-ion sort. There is something called a quark-gluon plasma that can happen under insanely high temperatures and densities. About the only way we see them on Earth is when you collide very heavy particles at relativistic speeds inside an accelerator.

Good lord! It's "The Bible". Either you believe in it with all its conflicting proclamations or you don't. What the Hell, you can even choose to believe in or interpret all or parts of it anyway you choose. At least you can do those things with the level of freedom we currently enjoy in the western world at this moment in history. Likely none of us will be burnt at the stake or tortured to death for apostasy like in some Islamic parts of the world. As far as understanding the nature of existence goes everyone of us including the leading theoretical physicists can only speculate. And I firmly believe that fact will never change over whatever length of time our species lasts for. But we sure will try anyway.

There was a packing course at Campbell River a couple of weeks ago. If you live in Vancouver, your best option is to contact the DZ at Abbottsford. If you tell me exactly where you live, I might be available for private lessons during evenings, etc. Hint: I live at the corner of 6th and 6th in New Westminster, but work near the north end of Boundary Road.

I've been looking for responsible homes for my guns, I would jump at the chance to trade them for cash or booze.

There was definitely light prior to the formation of the Earth. Again, per Genesis 1: -There's the Earth which has been there from before Genesis, but only water - no land. -Then light is created. -Then space (the "firmament") is created. -Then dry land. -Then grasses, plants and trees. -Then the sun, moon and stars. -Then birds and fish. -Then land animals. -Then man. It is interesting to compare this to Genesis 2, in which the order is different. It starts at the "creation of dry land" step from Genesis 1, then proceeds: -Dry land -Then a mist to water the dry land and make it moist -Then man is created. -Then trees, and the Garden of Eden. -Then a big river. -Then all the land animals and birds. -Then woman.

Basically after the Planck epoch, the fundamental forces started decoupling. Before decoupling of the electroweak force, photons could not exist independently. But quarks could, so that already disproves that light was the first thing in the universe. W and Z bosons, as well as gluons also formed before photons could. The universe was then just opaque plasma, and doesn't really become transparent to light until about 370,000 years after the Big Bang. 3 million years after the Big Bang, the universe went dark - and stayed dark (in visible wavelengths) for almost 200 million years until the first stars started forming. So the suggestion that the Bible is "simplified" for its intended audience is laughable, being "simplified" means there was access to the actual truth in the first place. But Genesis didn't say "there were quarks and W and Z bosons, then light, then millions of years of darkness, then light again" because face it, the authors of Genesis didn't know anything about the actual beginning.

No astrophysicist says the Earth existed before photons. Not single one. The Bible is false from the very first verse. "Begin as you mean to go on" as the preacher said.

Interesting they never question the god that continues to make black, gay, brown, LGBTQ, every other human they hate type of people.

Agree, not all are bad. You are the one saying that all GOP politicians do not support any changes. Why do you continue to lump them all together? It's just not true. Oregon's 114 passed with a vote of 50.7%. In Oregon, D is 34%, R is 25%, I is 5% and non-affiliated is 35%. The allegation that this is an R problem isn't supported by the vote in OR. Even if all the Ds voted for it (which is just a silly assumption) they needed some Rs and Is to get to 51%. Peel back the onion on 114. It's interesting that the Oregon State Sheriffs' Assoc opposed it. “We recognize that we must address firearm violence,” said Shane Nelson, president of Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association. “But measure 114 is just not the answer." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Oregon#:~:text=Democrat >%3D 50%,Republican >%3D 30% Look at OR Measure 5 in 2000 on requiring background checks on gun transfers. It passed with 61.8% vote. Clearly there were Rs supporting that. The party leaders and extremes are using it as a hammer to beat on each other. There are moderates on both sides that agree that something should be done. Until the D and R argument stops, nothing will get done.

You are quoting Canadian Professor Jordan Peterson (clinical psychologist) in that he perceives the current fad for trans-gender surgery to be a fad. A fad like teenagers cutting their own skin .... a fad the Salem Witch Hunts ... a fad like another dozen religious crusades .... a fad like a variety of religious jihads ... a fad like the Flat Earth Society ... a fad like disco music .... No, if anything that seed was planted by the 80s videos I was posting in the music video thread that day and something I read in L.A times that I posted here about a year ago: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-04-12/a-transgender-psychologist-reckons-with-how-to-support-a-new-generation-of-trans-teens "She has helped hundreds of teens transition. But she has also come to believe that some children identifying as trans are falling under the influence of their peers and social media and that some clinicians are failing to subject minors to rigorous mental health evaluations before recommending hormones or surgeries. “I think it’s gone too far. . ." Edit Actually no, I remember now. It was from this Bill Maher Segment that referenced that article:

No, we really haven't. Per the The National Shooting Sports Foundation there are about 434 million firearms in civilian possession - and half of those have been purchased since 1991. And with ~20 million guns a year being purchased, that will continue to grow fairly quickly. The more guns, the more gun violence. https://www.guns.com/news/2020/11/17/data-us-has-434-million-guns-20m-ars-150m-mags https://americangunfacts.com/gun-ownership-statistics/

Rates are a good if, for example, you're just looking out for yourself and trying to find the safest place to live, tho you're more likely to look at the rates of a specific city or neighborhood rather than the entire state as a whole. The latter is often disregarded as it may not provide meaningful insights. (unless of course someone is trying to use it to make a biased political point on social media.) However, when the goal is to address or alleviate the suffering of gun crime victims and their families, as well as prevent potential future victims/families, then you might have a different outlook. It becomes apparent that stats about several deaths in low-populated areas hold little significance for the thousands of victims and families residing in lower rate/highly populated states/cities. And when you take the time to actually think about it and break it all down - the homicide rates alone in some of the neighborhoods within those states/cities are pushing 65 with an overall crime rate near 2000. Bottom line is that most people are "good" and it only takes a few criminals to wreak a "disproportionate" amount of havoc, if you will. And btw, there are primarily 2 distinct categories of "gun deaths," both of which affect entirely different demographics.

From the Orient will come a blind pirate. Weighted he will fall from high to low. The fatigued eagle will look in vain. A river flowing north causes questions to multiply.

Hi Jerry, Great. Let him. Let him rescind his guilty plea. Then put him back in jail (subject to release on bail), reinstate ALL the charges and try him. He did the 'cry in front of the judge and sound all sorry & shit' thing, let him face trial, almost certainly be found guilty* and then get the 20 year sentence that he originally faced. * - For those keeping score, NOBODY has been acquitted of all charges. Some have not been convicted of everything they were charged with, but everyone has been found guilty of something.

Is the term “gun violence “ as offensive as people dying from gun violence?

Honestly, I don't know. How far I'd be in favor of restrictions going isn't a question I have an answer to. 15 or 20 years ago, I'd be totally against them. Today? I don't know. I have seriously mixed feelings on it. It's abundantly clear from other places around the world that serious gun restrictions have not produced the authoritarian governments that many (including me) expected. We are getting some seriously fucked up and fascist shit going on here in the US, even with way too many guns. I DO know that I am no longer a 'single issue' voter, and that gun rights have gone way down on my 'selection criteria' for a candidate to get my vote. Again, 15 or 20 years ago that was not the case. The other thing is... Reality. There's more guns than people in this country right now. The money needed to compensate the owners, even at a fraction of the market value, is insane. It simply isn't there. Someone suggested 10% of the defense budget, but even that wouldn't get all the guns. And there's no way the military, the defense industry or the congress-creatures would go for that. This doesn't even get into the questions of how many gun owners would refuse to surrender their guns. How many would try to fight back (and lose). How many cops would refuse to take the guns away and how much of the military would refuse to participate if ordered (which would be an even bigger issue). I simply can't believe it would happen, unless a whole lot of the US changes. And changes a lot. We're definitely stuck.

Hi Bill, Re: elected officials are bad. I also get it: Not All elected officials are bad. Why do you continue to lump them all together? Re: I was talking about is the general population Sure, you can find a small percentage of the D's that do not support any changes. But, IMO they are so small as to be insignificant. It is the GOP, across the board, that is standing in the way of progress. Jerry Baumchen

Hi Rob, And being gay is just a fad. No sweat, it will pass soon. BULLSHIT! Jerry Baumchen

Skyjack, page 38

I'm not Bill, but when I point out how useless and pointless most of the proposed 'solutions' are, I get asked the same question. To answer your questions directly: Trigger locks aren't as good as many like to think. As with any lock, it can be defeated. It's just a matter of how determined the person is to get through it. Trigger locks are ok for keeping kids away from guns. But that's about it. Biometrics have some promise, but it's got a lot of flaws. Keep in mind that ALL of the laws that mention biometric devices specifically exclude police from them. Despite the fact that a significant number of cops are shot with their own gun (can't find the number with a quick search), the cops refuse to use this technology. What does that say about it? Or maybe about the cops? "Secure your gun" laws have some merit. But how much of a difference will that make? How many of the high profile shootings happened with stolen guns? Versus how many happened with guns that were legally purchased? I keep repeating that "I don't know" how to fix it. I don't disagree that it's 'broken', but I don't see any real solutions. Bigun proposed making ALL transactions (or maybe just 'all military style semi-autos, not certain I remember correctly) subject to NFA rules. I never did respond to that, but my response could (should?) have been that it won't work. #1 - Miller vs US Supreme Court ruling basically said that NFA was unconstitutional. It was never carried through because Miller was never re-tried. So the ruling ended up in a sort of 'legal limbo'. Given that previous ruling and the current composition of the court, I can see a challenge to the NFA making it all the way through and watching the NFA disappear in the not-too-distant future. #2 - NFA rules have either the local sheriff or chief of police having final say on whether or not the purchase happens. Under current laws, a sheriff or chief of police who doesn't think 'those sorts of guns belong in our community' can veto any and all transfers. That's not speculation. That's real. #3 - Again, the sheriff or chief of police has to sign off on all transfers. How many of them are going to be willing to take on that much extra work (and responsibility). How many sheriffs didn't want to do the "Brady background checks"? Remember the lawsuits from them? How many have said flat out that they'd not bother investigating, let alone prosecuting violations of 'universal background checks'? The way that Australia & the UK dealt with 'gun violence' was 'confiscation & compensation'. They took most of the guns away from the public (and paid a fraction of the value to the former owners). That will NEVER happen in the US. Given the current Supreme Court (and the average age), it won't pass legal challenges for a long time (likely not in my lifetime). Given the strength of the conservative base here in the US (they're a minority, but Trump still got 75 MILLION votes in 2020), I honestly don't see any real changes happening any time soon.

Or maybe if you want a more positive spin on thing, name 3 things Trump has done that Jesus would approve of?

You seem to have two standard responses: A liberal does something bad. "This is hard evidence that liberals are evil. Period. You ignore the evidence of your own eyes." A conservative does something bad. "Well, it's just tit for tat. Both sides do bad things. Why do you always do this? It's not helpful." And I try to operate using the example of Jesus - which means doing pretty much the opposite of what conservatives do. How many illegal immigrants would Jesus arrest and jail? Who would Jesus ban from Christianity? How many times would Jesus shoot a thief, and what sort of semiautomatic weapon would he use? Where would Jesus railroad homeless people to?

We have enough evil from Gaetz, Trump and Boebert to worry about mythical beings.

Do you have photo's of this particular situation? If the RSL is installed wrong in its entirety it should go back to the rigger rather than try to field-solve it. In general I'd be worried about the RSL shackle or tab interfering with a proper disconnection of the 3-ring system. This gets worse if the shackle is hooked to the harness D-ring (then it WILL be in the way) and exponentially worse if connected to the riser in any other way than the RSL-ring on the riser. I hardly ever use the RSL on my rig, doing mostly CRW and flag jumps. Mine is tucked away deep below the reserve risers, in the same space where the RSL lanyard runs (Paratec Next rig). Often I see RSL shackles connected to the release cable housing below the 3-ring system and tucked away behind the mudflap cover.

Haha! I can totally see this happening in some European countries. If the relative wind wouldn't pose a problem, I'm sure some people would jump with a cigarette in their mouth.