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I'm hoping the primary system doesn't survive this election cycle. I think we got better candidates back in the days of the "smoke filled rooms".

I definitely don't suffer from a lack of political diversity. I've spent the better part of my adult life working in the oil and gas industry in TX. Most of the people I spend my days with are quite a bit to the right of me, politically speaking. You can say a lot about me, but you sure as shit can't tell me I 'only surround yourself with those like minded'. Most of the time, my coworkers and I don't talk politics. When we do, it doesn't involve sharing asinine YouTube videos.

Well, except for all that silly coral dying Wendy P.

Hi Mark, I was thinking about something similar earlier today. If Trump wins & gets the Senate, kiss it all goodby. This is why this election is so important. Jerry Baumchen

Fastest start to a high intensity Atlantic storm season ever.

His biggest problem was wasting waaaaay too much time with his malfunctioning main.

Hi Jerry, Good point about the exposed reserve pilot-chute. The most complex reserve deployments involve internal pilot-chutes which look pretty and are difficult to snag accidentally. A Vector loop needs to clear 5 grommets before the pilot-chute can launch. If the AAD gets scared, it still needs to clear the 5 grommets, plus one more in the inner bottom flap. To launch the free-bag requires clearing a total of 9 grommets plus a cutter. A single-pin Mirage requires the pilot-chute to push 5 grommets aside before it can a launch. Launching the freebag requires clearing a total of 7 or 8 grommets plus a cutter. A Racer pilot-chute needs its loops to clear 12 grommets plus a pair of cutters. Yikes! A single-pin Teardrop may look the same as a Racer - from a distance - but it only has 7 grommets plus a cutter. If the AAD gets scared, the loop still needs to clear 7 grommets to launch the pilot-chute. Reflex has an exposed, single-pin pilot-chute, but the loop still needs to clear 6 grommets plus a cutter to launch the pilot chute. If the AAD gets scared, the loop still needs to clear 5 grommets. To summarize: most Pop-Tops fit your criteria of fewer grommets above the pilot-chute, but loop(s) still need to clear ALL of the grommets before the pilot-chute can launch. The semi-exposed pilot-chutes found on Javelin, Dolphin and Wings only require pushing 3 grommets aside to launch a pilot chute and 6 to launch the free-bag. Even a dud cutter cannot interfere with deploying a Javelin reserve because the cutter is mounted below the free-bag. The ADVANCE container was basically a simplified Javelin minus the reserve side flaps. Launching an ADVANCE reserve pilot-chute only required pushing aside 3 grommets. Launching the free-bag require clearing a total of 4 grommets. The basic problem is that most piggyback containers were designed back when bulky, 26' Navy conical reserves were the height of fashion. Since then they have just built smaller and smaller versions. Not all the components scale down gracefully. For example, most reserve pilot-chutes are still based upon the MIL SPEC MA-1 pilot-chute with a 6 inch crown. That 6 inch crown does not scale down graceful to the narrower containers that are fashionable today. After a few Mirages suffered reserve pilot-chute hesitations, I concluded that the fewer grommets the better. So I challenged myself to build a container with the fewest grommets possible. My first prototype had only 2 reserve flaps and 2 main flaps. It had an exposed, single-pin pilot-chute. There has no hard (aluminum or composite) cap and no grommets set in the pilot-chute. The reserve ripcord cable laid against the jumper's spine (ala. Racer Reflex and Teardrop). During ripcord deployment, the closing loop only had to clear 2 or 3 grommets plus slide through a sleeve. Then the loop still had to clear one more grommet plus the cutter to launch the free-bag. If the AAD got scared, then the loop had to clear a single grommet and slide through a sleeve to launch the pilot-chute. An AAD deployment still required the loop to clear all 3 or 4 grommets. My main container only had 2 side flaps.

Those are flash suppressors or compensators not sound suppressors (silencers). A sound suppressor slows down and cools gas to reduce the sound of gunfire. A flash suppressor reduces the visibility of flaming gas. A sound suppressor also reduces muzzle flash, it’s a side effect of the gas containment. A flash suppressor, on the other hand, offers no sound reduction. All a flash suppressor/compensator does is redirect the sound from front to side or side to front. Final note: A sound suppressor (silencer) doesn't eliminate all sound. For the most part, it reduces the sound by X db and there is a an after Y number of yards formula that the sound can't be heard.

Two Items: 1. Pseudo-Inflation. Most businesses don't know how to marginalize their business against the CPI, so when they hear inflation, they do a 20% markup on all times to stay ahead of it. They hear it again and add another 20%, etc. 2. Home prices. Zillow's artificial housing index algorithm.

Jerry, I tested this for you and it appears there is such a subtle change for the select item to the text box to enter, You might try it again and see if you can enter data.

Yes. Not because I expect a rejuvenation event but only because, as we didn't foresee his botch job debate, there are any number of pitfalls for Trump. Logic as we used to know it indicate Biden's chances are reduced now. Again, if a solid replacement, and a way to do it can be divined, I'm in. In the meantime every alternative needs to be open for discussion and I'm going to look for the guy who wished that I live in interesting times.

Hi Joe, You are not facing reality. This election will be decided in 6-7 states by the 'undecided' voters. Many of those that have been on the fence about Biden's age, had their minds made up Thurs nite. You cannot push water upstream. Joe Biden had one chance to show that an old guy can do the job. He failed. Even his speech on Friday, the next day showed him slurring his words at times. Jerry Baumchen

IMO there's no reason for bump stocks or binary triggers to be publicly available I understand the suppressors. They reduce recoil and are commonly used for hog and coyote control. I'm not as concerned about them because they are highly regulated. Recently discovered a company in CA that makes a recoil reduction product that also "redirects" the sound but it's not classified as a suppressor. Infinite Product Solutions – Barrel Thread Adapters, Cleaning Kits In S Africa guns are highly regulated yet suppressors are a $200 over the counter item. One can own 4 guns: two rifles, a shotgun and a handgun. An application is required and permission from local enforcement is needed. No semi or auto rifles are allowed. If the gun is lost or stolen one can end up in jail. They will visit your house, inspect your security practices and one better have a great excuse for how it disappeared. If it's used in a crime one will go to jail. They are tracked and regular renewal is required. When a sportsman takes a rifle to Africa the serial number is recorded and listed on the flight ticket. When exiting the country that same gun better be in ones possession.

I like a whole lot about him; the biggest problem organizationally is that he's not high enough profile. With Biden potentially dropping out, the standard succession would have Kamala Harris being the candidate; nearly everyone is pretty sure she'll be eviscerated, whether fairly or not is moot. I can see the appeal of running someone who will appeal to the more liberal end of the Democratic party, to energize them and get them to vote. It's part of why the Republicans tolerate Trump. Everyone wants the other party to run a centrist candidate; it's the NIMBY of politics, I guess. What a shame. And he may not be interested (of course, neither may the others who have been proposed by the movers and shakers of SC). But yea, if the Dems ran him against Kamala, I'd vote for him in a NY minute. And he might last until OAN or someone made up a "baby daddy" situation. Wendy P.

If the D party dares to nominate Biden in spite of the fact that he clearly is not up to the job then they deserve to lose. Good luck America. Maybe God will bless you.

I watched this but could not determine how the maards system was involved. ie. no attempt at a cutaway that i could determine and if he had an AAD most likely was not falling fast enough for it to deploy the reserve. Disclaimer.....this is only my "not well informed opinion"