DrewEckhardt

I used to vote for who I believed in. Then I was convinced that I was wrong about certain politicians being no worse than their opposition, just different and tried tactical voting. The "less bad" guys I voted for rolled over and made no difference.

A couple years back I looked at 5 years of fatal accidents and didn't find that many DGITs. I've only known one person who killed themselves violating Brian Germain's Wingloading-Never-Exceed chart which makes sense when you think about it - most landing accidents aren't fatal, lots of people are taught judgement by Intense Physical Agony (also from Germain) inflicted by their non-fatal accidents, and the rest learn enough from our near misses to be back on the chart by 500-1000 jumps. Having averaged nearly one day a week at a drop zone for a decade, subjectively it seems that most of "Those Guys" make exactly one trip to the emergency room. I can only think of a couple that didn't (one friend managed to survive a Stiletto 120 at 1.6 pounds/square footh with 200 jumps and a 5000' MSL DZ elevation). Repeated trips are also rare. It hurts to break things. You can break things at a low wing loading (I got my titanium at .75 pounds/square foot) but it's a lot harder (I had to pick weeds hiding a woody bush to land in, while small parachutes "turn on their own" or "fall out of the sky" due to incorrect pilot input when landing and avoiding obstacles) and your bones are more likely to stay inside your skin.

I don't think so. Any manufacturer would want to get their R&D money/investment back... Sure, but that doesn't have to come directly from canopy sales. Getting a few qualified pilots under the fastest wing is going to build brand awareness, like they have in the car world where you have "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday." At least part of Audi's growth has to be attributed to the R8. Engineering exercises produce knowledge that gets applied to building other products. Elliptical planforms provide lower touch down speeds and increased control sensitivity. While first introduced on high-performance wings (Stiletto, Blue Track), those planforms have found their way all the way down to student gear (the Navigator)

So buy a Lotus, Pilot, Sabre2, or Safire2 of 135 square feet. You'll have to do more to screw up and will more likely to walk away from it when you do. I don't like how the Spectre flares either, but there are alternatives in the same performance class.

When a jumper with 127 jumps downsizes from a Spectre 135 to a Cobalt 105 loaded at 1.3 pounds/square foot what is the expected outcome?

Flying the canopy until it stops producing enough lift does not produce the slowest landing speed. For that you need to actively manage your energy flying so that your feet would be below ground level and coming back up to land. Brian Germain's no-wind/seagull landing article gives a good description. Changes in canopy technology increase the wing loading at which merely flying the canopy until it stops ceases to be pleasant although the point is still there and gets lower when you increase density altitude (Colorado is exciting at 8-10,000 feet on a hot summer day) or add a tail wind (which you'll eventually land with). Since your canopy doesn't get bigger when you have a tail wind or vacation at a high-altitude DZ, mastering that technique before you need it would be a fine idea.

Unless it has a full-auto or burst position on the selector ($10K + tax stamp and used is your only option there) I don't think its worth buying an AR15 without a match trigger, float tube, and decent barrel. Chose barrel length+profile and sight/upper receiver configuration to suit your application (obviously you would not want to hump around a 10 pound gun for protection, a flat top is not legal in service rifle competition, and match sight apertures too small for low light situations.) When you're spending ~$1000 on a gun it better be more accurate than you are and have a decent trigger so you can use it. I'm very fond of my Armalite Action Master (flat-top, detachable handle with the small aperture match sight and 1/4 MOA adjustments, detachable front sight, 2-stage match trigger, float tube). I know that if I do a good job it will shoot 194-8X with inexpensive Federal American Eagle 55gr FMJ. Some one who knew how to use it would do better. When I get it out I think a lot about selling my FAL and buying an AR10. It doesn't always hit the black part of a target. No way to tell if its me or the gun and not even enough to consistently hit a soda can at 100 yards. I did get a lifetime supply of 20 round magazines for it while we lived with the ban. A friend's 16" Colt (no float tube or trigger) was a lot better than the FAL but still not enough for plinking. Whatever you get, buy extra extractor springs (which may not last 2000 rounds) and military surplus magazines (which work). A lifetime supply (few dozen) of magazines to get you through a ban would be good. I prefer 20 round magazines for shooting prone or off the bipod.

I'm a software engineer. I'm currently working for a big company. The senior manager and one of the tech support people are women. Everyone else I've seen on my floor is male. I'd be surprised if we were even at 1:50. As a married man I like that. There are women on other floors but that's irrelevant since I stay parked in my cubicle when not peeing or attending meetings. At my startup one of the founders wanted to hire more women. He's currently serving six years for having sex with a fifteen year old girl so I'm not sure his motives were entirely altruistic. We had a female office manager, two in technical administrative roles, one manager, one project manager, and two engineers. I think we peaked at ~50 people so that's nearly 1:7. I married the smart, funny, caring, wonderful female engineer. Quality is better than quantity! In engineering school 5 out of 300 CS under graduates were women which would be 1:60. I think the ratio is better now.

Ride harder. That'll keep you warm. When that fails add an ear warmer, gloves, and windproof shell like you'd use for skiing. Add wind-proof pants when it gets colder. If it gets snowy add cycling booties, face mask, and ski goggles.

You might double-check me on this, but I don't think it's the age of the PD reserve as much as it's the number of X's on the panel that show how many reserve repacks it has before it needs to go back to the factory for inspection. You get 25 X marks (use & repack) or 40X marks. This will be approximated by the packing data card that may include some "pencil packs". If the rig has been in continuous service since 1992, with a 120 day repack interval it'll have gone past that point. If its been sitting in a closet for parts of that (quite likely) it won't.

That still yields a $700-$800 container. I paid that much for my last used Javelin including the reserve. You will spend substantially less on your whole package if you find a complete used rig that some one wants to get rid of to buy new gear, get out of the sport,etc. Since you've yet to graduate and "make real money" that's probably the path you should take. Spend your savings on wind tunnel time and/or jumps. You fall into the normal size-range for guys and should not have a problem finding something which fits well if your torso to leg length ratio isn't out of wack. Take your height, subtract your inseam,and subtract 20. That should yield your approximate harness size. For example, I'm 5'10" with a 30.5" inseam. 70 - 20 - 30.5 = 19.5 which is spot on for at least one of my custom rigs. Some manufacturers explicitly state main lift web length (ie, javelin C-17 would be a 17" main lift web with average male sized yoke), you'd have to measure on some. Manufacturers keep the original information on file by serial number so you can check before buying. If you can't find something that fits, the wings at half off might be a good deal. You probably don't want to struggle with getting a canopy that's a size to big in the bag. You need to be careful on the AAD because a lot are over-priced. Total cost for you should be $11-$12/month over the rest of its life after you figure in the battery replacements and maintenance costs. A rig built for a 190 will get you through ~450 jumps - ~150 each on a 190,170, and 150. 150-200 a year is reasonable as a recreational skydiver depending on weather and budget ($3500-$4500/year). After that you may be ready to downsize to a 135; the container will hold down to a 105/107; if you want to go smaller you'll jump a cross-braced design that packs up bigger; and you'll be at a point where you'll be happy indefinitely with the container. I think I've had the same container size for the last 9 years. They fit my 105 for swooping, were built for the 135 I use for wingsuits, and I can squeeze a Lightning 143 in for CRW.

Its your money in the end, but you do realize that the smiley face would never be visible, right? Except when packing during the time between when the canopy is placed on the ground and successfully bagged which will take a new jumper a relatively long time. Cost should be pretty inconsequential compared to the $6K you'd spend on a new rig.

Parachutes (and pilot chutes) can be printed with a dye sublimation process.

In lots of places, simple possession of less than an ounce is classified as an infraction (like a parking ticket) and not an enforcement priority (even better than a parking ticket). Growing marijuana (presumably for sale) gets you into asset forfeiture and felony territory.

You're implicitly acknowledging that you're a practical person who'd rather give the government finger prints and $100 than risk arrest + loosing a $500 gun + paying your lawyer $200 an hour to sort the mess out. Rights exist whether or not the government recognizes them.

If carrying a concealed weapon is a right, why would you need a permit from the state? You need a permit because the government infringes on that right, just like they do with free speech which can be limited to a designated protest zone away from media coverage of themain event. Or like how they deprive people of their property without due process to build stores and higher-income housing that may return higher tax revenues. Etc.

So what do I do when a single highway company buys up all my local roads and hikes the user fees by 2,000%? Buy a powered parachute and fly it out of your back yard. If you want some protection from the elements, buy a helicopter. With tort reform that shouldn't be unreasonably priced. The most likely transition between our current government and a libertarian one would probably give the highways and parks to a corporation wholly owned by the citizens. We probably wouldn't approve highway sales, and would probably vote the board out if they tried to hike prices too much.

Yes but it requires realizing the loss (selling the stocks and not just having a decrease in your net worth on paper) and may take a while. Capital losses offset capital gains. If there's any left over you can offset up to $3000 of ordinary income (married people don't double that). Anything left carries over to subsequent years. When a stock becomes completely worthless (company goes out of business or is sold with nothing going to the common stock holders) you mark it as sold in the last day of the year for $0 and take the appropriate losses. I've sold worthless stock from two startups so far and am hoping the shares I own in a third don't suffer the same fate. There are some rules about how long and short term losses offset the corresponding gains, you'd have to read the appropriate publications or ask your accountant.

The highway police were paid for with the access fee you paid to the highway owners to use their roads. If the highway owner has opted for an autobahn like system you don't get a speeding ticket. Most likely fire protection is included in the toll you pay to use the highway. The Really Big Fire Department of America, Inc. could honor your subscription card wherever you are. The local department could have a reciprocity agreement with your local fire department who you already paid. Or upon production of ID indicating you aren't a resident (and just waiting until you need service to pay for your fire insurance) the local company provides service in exchange for a lien against your car. Or Fire Fighters Local Cooperative #467 do it in exchange for service. Or the individuals at the Charitable Fire Company do it for free because they think free fire protection is worth a few days of service a month or they were paid by people who thought that way. You'd probably get saved (rescuing people's a decent thing to do and best part of the job!) if you didn't have charitable aid and didn't pay, although your car would only survive if that was the best way to prevent damage to other cars or the infrastructure. Tourists or the Republican Historical Preservation Society pay for the White House Museum. The military is unnecessary because states have no rights individuals don't, and individuals don't have the right to invade other peoples' property. The people have a vested interest in providing for their own defense if some foreign country decides to invade. Some of us keep rifles and provisions in our basements. Some might want privately owned war ships as in the time of our founding fathers.

The Libertarian party believes income taxes are theft and that services should be paid for by user fees, like the rural fire departments that have a paid subscription service. Of course without handouts they're not electable especially in the first-past-the-post voting systems which produces only two viable political parties that are largely alike.

Income tax rate in Seattle: 0% Income tax rate in Georgia: 6% after the first $7000 Average wage in Washington state: about $40,000 Even with a pack-a-day habit you come out ahead in Washington.

NO IT WON'T! This implys that twine, shoe lace, cotton string, 1000lb dacron, HMA etc will work. All of these things MAY work and probably have been used as closing loops. The big thing is that you don't want your main container to deploy prematurely and potentially wrap your main around the tail after climb out. 1000 pound spectra works and shows wear so it can be replaced before it fails. Gutted 550 Dacron works and shows wear so it can be replaced before it fails. Other materials may have a smaller margin between usable and failing.

I'm whining about my rights because the belief that rights should not be denied without just cause is the foundation of a free nation. Again, where is it written that you have a right to take a concealed weapon into a public school? The Second Amendment. It doesn't say the right to bear arms shall not be infringed, except in public schools.

I haven't noticed any elderly people starving on the streets recently. Right now Social Security is a horribly regressive tax, accounting fiction, lousy retirement plan, safety net for elderly poor, disability insurance, and life insurance all rolled into one. We need to throw out the separate tax, stop hiding the government's spending problems, provide a real retirement savings plan, and pay for the rest with general funds like every other line-item on the budget. The last time I looked at it, the tax meant that the working class are paying a marginal tax rate up to 12.4% higher than wealthy people did on their salary and 27% more than they did on other earnings. That's broken. Current Social security "surpluses" are used to offset the spending deficit, making the picture look much rosier than it really is. Even Clinton didn't have a balanced budget. That's broken. An average earning male born after 1966 will get a .5% inflation adjusted rate of return on Social Security. Low-income black males with a shorter life expectancy are likely to have negative return rates. Inflation adjusted bonds return 1.8%. Long term the stock market averages 7%. And no one can leave unused Social Security savings to their children! That's broken. Depending on your circumstances, you could invest half your money in bonds, half in the stock market, loose the entire stock market investment, and still have higher retirement benefits than you'd have with Social Security! Assuming the retirement age isn't increased, FICA taxes don't go up, and social security benefits increase with inflation (all of which Congress can change with a pen stroke) I'll need to outlast my statistically expected lifespan by five years to get a 0% inflation adjusted return on my investments. If I took my current investment out, made the same contributions in the future, and got a 3% inflation adjusted rate of return from investing in low-risk high-quality bonds I could get $134K a year for the same 15 years: over 4X my social security benefit $72K a year until I die at 100: over 2X my social security benefit $44K a year forever: nearly 30% more than my social security benefit with $1.5M in today's money going to my heirs As it stands the numbers are $32K a year with a big fat zero going to my heirs. That's broken.

Titanium has a much greater elastic range, so although it has half steel's stiffness you can bend it much farther before it deforms permanently. Personally I just skip the things. I bought one with a heavy spectra cord and found that it was _much_ harder to get the closing pin in a proper length loop than when I was using a wider pull-up cord. Between that and the added time to attach and detach the cord closing took longer than not using the tool.