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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/26/2024 in Posts

  1. 2 points
    Again? When was that lying piece of shit EVER right? He can't. It doesn't exist. All the 'facts' reported by the FBI, or the "Main Stream Media" are lies (because he doesn't like them). Yet he won't (or can't) provide any actual data to back up his claims.
  2. 2 points
    About 35 years ago I was a new skydiver, jumping at a tiny DZ on Long Island and dreaming about moving somewhere new. I spent some of my free time at work posting on rec.skydiving - a Usenet group that catered to skydivers. It was a different time back then. To be able to get to Usenet at all means you needed a modem and a computer, both pricey purchases, and you needed to be able to get them to work together, which meant you needed some tech experience. As a result, not many people were on Usenet - just me and a few other tech nerds. And there was hardly any spam! Slowly over the years more people figured it out and started joining. I remember TooyT, Barry Brumitt (wrote the first skydiving FAQ!) Lance Kirwin, Kevin O'Connell, Dave Appel and Jerry Sobieski. I also met Amy on there, which changed the course of my life in a big way. I moved to California in '94 both to escape a bad relationship and to skydive. And of course because I found a great company - Qualcomm - in San Diego. By that point Usenet was becoming a cesspool of Viagra ads and foreign bride offers, and filters had not gotten good enough yet to remove all that, so browsing it was painful. So when Willem announced he was starting DZ.com I felt a big sense of relief. He got in touch with me to see if I wanted to moderate S+T and Incidents, which I said yes to. We started with a complement of about a dozen moderators, some of which I got to know really well. I spent a day in San Diego with Andrea watching whales swim by the gliderport, and I spent a few days with Chuck and Katie at Raeford jumping. Derek once built me a tersh just because I was talking about how I needed one (thanks again Derek) and Remi, Karen and I would meet up whenever we were out at Eloy. Seven of us once got together at Eloy and did the now-infamous moderator jump, angled carefully so no one could see Willem's face on camera. I think Eric and Scott were on that one as well. I also met a bunch of other people from DZ.com in real life - Lisa, Keely, Gary, Winsor - and saw them at Perris and at boogies all the time. It grew my circle of friends from Socal jumpers to jumpers all over the US. And even the world; I met some people from the Irish Parachute Club and made a trip out there to jump with them. I recall a lot of drinking. Over time as moderators changed I took on moderation of a few more forums, but to me the S+T and Incidents forum were always the important ones. I got some sort of award - a "skydivers hall of fame" or something from Parachutist for running that, and got on a few podcasts talking about safety and incidents. One of my proudest moments during that time was reading an incident by a newer jumper flying a too-small canopy. He had read one of my many diatribes on "LEARN FLAT TURNS!" and had tried them once or twice. Then one day he found himself flying downwind by accident, and he tried to turn into the wind at 50 feet. He tried that flat turn he had heard about, but there was something off about it (he explained) because he landed hard, tore his jumpsuit and sprained his ankle. The fact that he was complaining about a sprained ankle after a turn at 50 feet under a heavily loaded canopy made me think that maybe this forum was actually doing some good. I learned a lot, too, mainly from the forums I wasn't moderating - forums like General and Gear and Rigging. Based on what I learned about wingsuiting here, for example, I bought a small wingsuit, taught myself how to fly it, started moving up in wingsuit sizes - then met Jari and became one of the first Birdman wingsuit instructors in the US. And over the years we lost people here too, of course. In some ways this place served as a memorial; you could go back and read what Shannon or Taz had posted while they were still alive, and remember them that way. Over the years traffic has started to fall off as people find more social-media options for skydiving, which is a natural evolution. I'm sorry that it will be disappearing sooner rather than later, but nothing lasts forever. It will be interesting to see what happens to the database; all these incident reports and threads on canopy flight have a lot of value (IMO) and I hope we can save some of it. Thanks to everyone who participated on this site over the decades it has been running, and thanks especially to all the moderators who I've worked with - Wendy, Lisa, Andrea, Chuck, Eric, Remi, Meso and all the others. And of course thanks to Willem for doing all the work to set up and maintain this site. See you out there.
  3. 2 points
    I suggest you get out of Mom’s basement for some fresh air: might do you good
  4. 2 points
  5. 1 point
    Have you considered seeing a therapist?
  6. 1 point
    No, I don't need for those claims to be true. They support an explanation for Cossey's error, not facts. We test claims against other evidence,,, Cossey's description of Hayden's missing rig fails when tested against other evidence. However, Cossey's later claims that he was describing HIS rig fits. False equivalency.. Your logic is messed up and inconsistent, you accept Cossey in one instance when there are conflicts but then reject it later when it fits. Then you strawman it by asserting the later claims are necessary to question Cossey's early description. False. Layers of deception.. Be very careful Ryan, I have undisclosed information that will make you look really bad. I am really tired of this nonsense. You clearly have some bias that has overcome your objectivity. I think you actually believe what you are saying, but it is not logical, that tells me it an emotional argument. Believe what you want I don't want to participate in an irrational discussion.
  7. 1 point
    so once again, POST YOUR SOURCES, YOUR REFERENCES, YOUR DATA.... or shut the fuck up
  8. 1 point
  9. 1 point
    It is absurd.. you can always create doubt in anything with enough imagination. There are reports that Cooper checked the cards,, that would explain the card found in the wrong pocket. But, you of all people should know that you don't just accept an unsubstantiated claim as fact, especially when there is contradictory evidence.
  10. 1 point
    That patch is interesting. Yes the '#5' would be consistent with student gear. That 'M... Johnson' written on it is likely the previous owner. But that the patch says both 'SSS' and 'Coss' is interesting. I've always been of the understanding that Emrich was the dz owner and that Cossey was his hired rigger. Student training is bread and butter for the dz business, so the dz runs the school. But that the patch also says 'Coss' makes me wonder, was he partners with Emrich in the business? Some dz's are owned by non-jumping pilots. It's a flying business, and they can fly a lot and still be at home. If Emrich is such, then maybe. But if Emrich is a jumper and instructor, there is no way in hell that he mistakenly grabs that dummy and doesn't know what it is. Ain't happening. My thought is that, especially after learning that the backs are pilot rigs and can't accommodate reserves anyways, yeah, he grabs the cheapest stuff, including that dummy, intentionally. But he wouldn't want the FBI to know that. Why do any of us know that? When the plane lands in Reno, that thing is gone, and that fact should have remained unknown. Why would Cossey blab that to a reporter? I'm sure Emrich had words with him about that, and his statement 'I didn't realize it at the time' is CYA. I also don't buy that they didn't know a hijacking was occurring. Parachutes are specialty devices, you need training and experience to use them. Cossey and Emrich are not going to lend out rigs just for the asking. The flight service guy had to at least explain something like 'I dunno, but there's a jetliner sequestered on the tarmac and the FBI is involved'. ----------------- Yes. It was 120 days for quite a while, but a few years ago it went to 180 days. Some countries have it at a year.
  11. 1 point
    Of course he's lying. Lies are all those folks have.
  12. 1 point
    I joined in 2006 when I started skydiving. This place has been a terrific place to acquire knowledge. I probably spent hours every day refreshing bonfire and reading threads in gear and, for better or worse, speakers corner. In 2018 I became a father and skydiving slowly started fading into the background for me. So did my presence on this forum. My wife and I are now “semi” retired, meaning we kept on to our gear but I haven’t jumped in 3 years. And it was like 5 jumps per year before that. I plan to return to jumping and it will he a shame to lose all this knowledge on this site. It truly is a treasure. But such is life. And as this is my last post, I wanted to thank the moderators and all those wonderful people for their contributions to safety and knowledge in our sport. And also wanted to give a big f u to all the trumpers in here. So long! See you in the other side.
  13. 1 point
    I brought my girlfriend to the family Christmas dinner. My wife and kids weren't terribly happy about it.
  14. 1 point
    Well, they can under the NFA. So, if we agree the NFA is necessary for those weapons, why not an "NFA" for other weapons? That is the battle cry, but was not the original premise. First, it wasn't until recently the 20th century that someone tied the the 2A to the "goverment that turned tyrannical." and told people that Jefferson said it. What Jefferson was speaking about was the Public School Act. " . . . perverted it into tyranny; and it is believed that the most effectual means of preventing this would be, to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large . . ." https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/bill-more-general-diffusion-knowledge/ EDIT: Found it. https://www.cnn.com/2013/01/11/opinion/jefferson-fake-gun-quotation/index.html
  15. 1 point
    Oh, you won't be rid of me that easily. Bill, thank you kindly for all of the knowledge and wisdom you've shared here, and, too often in my case, extreme forbearance. Truly, it is the irony of my life that someone who has such a difficult time following simple rules would end up being a DZO in charge of making others follow simple rules, but there it is. I think now is the time to say goodbye to so many of you, along with a huge thank you for all of the interesting conversations, thoughts and mostly, the opportunities to question my own held views. That is truly a valuable gift and one worth acknowledging on this, the eve before the day of gift giving. If anything I've had to say here had any more than comedic value to anyone, be assured that in exchange I most certainly received the better end of the trade. I wish everyone here without exception the happiest of holidays and that safety and good fortune are your rewards to come. Thanks for the good times, Joe
  16. 1 point
    Not here as long as Bill but I have jumped over the years with a bunch of former and current members, and some of the old Usenet folks too. This includes a 100+ way at Perris with Billvon, and a fancy jump at Quincy with Winsor (we also gave an evening presentation on exit separation one year). Also jumped with Wendy and Andrea at one time or another. And , of course, TK at Z-Hills.
  17. 1 point
    It demonstrates that guns are not the problem. People in certain areas and under certain government are.
  18. 1 point
    Sure - Take out the 5 most violent cities (All democrat run) and put them in their own category. THEN do an average.
  19. 1 point
    Robbery with a toy or imitation gun, ro an unloaded gun is still a felony. It carries the same penalties as a conviction for robbery with an actual deadly weapon. It also carries with it the same perception of threat. One can defend themselves if that threat is real even if the gun is not (no one knew the gun was fake). The main mistake here was him leaving the scene which he'll probably get charged for, but the rest will be justifible homicide. Personally, you know my position on gun control. Until the legislature of both sides changes sumpin; it's not going to change.
  20. 1 point
    https://www.wsbtv.com/video/local-video/armed-citizen-stops-robbery-suspect-midtown-chick-fil-a-police-say/8e8877a1-98fc-4919-a391-bc32bbf6727d/ Well that was handy, wasnt it?
  21. 1 point
    there must be something with drunks and running through fires. i recall one time years ago when i had a walking cast on my leg, we threw a tire in the fire to help it along one night out in the woods drinking. about an hour later when the fire was going pretty good we all took turns jumping through it for some reason, well they all did anyway. i looked at it and thought, "i can do that, it's not that far across", and that was true. it wasn't that far, but i had forgotten about the rim on the tire we threw in. i hit it with my cast and just fell, sat down in the fire. when i put my hands down to get up, it burned like hell on the metal rim i was sitting on. had it not been for the wife of one of my friends (who were laughing their arses off at me) pulling me out, it could have been very bad instead of just painful.
  22. 1 point
    Could someone help me identify these items that belonged to my mom’s cousin?
  23. 1 point
    Hey everyone, Dropzone.com has been acquired by a non-skydiving party. The site will remain active and available in its current format until the end of the year. Please back up your DMs and data before December 31, 2024. Some of you have been asking about the data: As part of the deal, I will retain all the data and content. We'll explore options to see whether it's viable to make it available in some format again. That being said, there may very well be a period where nothing is available. Ultimately we may not find a solution to put it online again without just returning to the same cost and support issues that brought us to this point int the first place. That's quite likely. If we bring any of the data online again, you should expect it to be different... Go follow Dropzone.com on Facebook, instagram or X. (links in the site footer) If there are any developments or updates, we will use those platforms to announce it. Safe swoops Sangiro
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