DrewEckhardt

Don't die, don't get hurt, and don't become much worse in freefall or under canopy.

Carry on. Two BASE rigs with 240s fit into a bag sized to the US 22 x 14 x 9" maximum allowed carry-on size.

F111 pilot chutes are less likely to lead to premature deployments freeflying.

Velocity = acceleration * time Integrating you get distance = 1/2 acceleration * time^2. Acceleration due to gravity is 32 feet/seconds^2 or 9.8 meters/seconds^2 so Height = 16 feet * t^2 or 4.9 meters * t^2 with t expressed in seconds This produces a result that's too high for taller objects because acceleration is not a constant - it decreases as velocity increases since drag goes up and acts opposite gravity.

The US and UK elect our legislative bodies using a first-past-the-post system where a simple plurality within that district elects all its representatives. Two dominant political parties are the natural result of such a system. Your vote doesn't directly count in such a system if - You favor a third party, since your candidate can't be elected - You favor the other major party from that which holds the plurality in your district since your cancidate can't be elected - You favor the major party in your district which holds a strong plurality, since you'll get the same number of representative votes for your party regardless of whether you personally cast a ballot. Germany and Italy have proportional representation in at least one legislative chamber. Under such a system, your vote always counts. Minority parties get a few candidates in, and a larger plurality by a big party nets more seats.

I figure out what I'm willing to pay from completed auctions, use E-snipe bidgroups (it won't bid after it gets a win) with that amount plus a small random adjustment, and have the bids scheduled with a six second buffer. You gotta accomodate human nature.

I bought a B5 A4 in 2000 instead of a Passat (a B5 A4 with more rear seat leg room and a lower price tag) because Audi would sell me one with a V6 + Quatro + manual transmission and VW wouldn't. An S4 would be substantially more powerful.

My wife and I have flown to foreign cities without an agenda or hotel reservation and had lots of fun.

Clouds.

I plan on drinking beer. Lots of beer.

Depends on the state. More enlightened places like Colorado legally relieve residents of liability when they use force in self-defense within their domiciles.

Both are sub-optimal. A 12 gauge would be more powerful than either and not kick too much to prevent follow up shots. Birdshot of some sort would limit over penetration. A 1911 will be far less reliable than a .38 revolver and the recoil less manageable for an inexperienced shooter. If my storage requirements allowed for it, I'd take the 12 gauge. Otherwise a .38 revolver with frangible ammunition (Glaser Safety Slugs) in a push-button safe. A Glock 17 in 9mm would be more manageable than the .45 and mechanically more reliable than a 1911 close in price BUT polymer framed pistols sometimes stove pipe if you don't hang onto them tenaciously enough so they're still a bad choice for inexperienced shooters.

No. 88.7 vs. 91.5. He'd see more of the $12K in Houston than Austin. Also note that you need to consider individual circumstances. While house prices were nearly identical between where I moved from and to, I didn't want a half million dollar property. Available town houses were newer and therefore more expensive, properties lacked basements so I needed a two car garage for the workspace, and the same size living space would have doubled my mortgage payments at the same term. I moved again to a more expensive location, but am thinking of a small condo (I don't need extra bedrooms) + rented work loft. "Metro area" is pretty inclusive. Average prices in one area might get you within a couple minutes of work in one area or sitting in traffic for an hour or two a day in the other. For the same commuting time your housing costs could double. Disregarding all the other reasons not to move, you need to figure out where you might like to live relative to work and look at actual rents or property values in that area. You also need to consider relocation costs if the company isn't going to cover them. If you have realtors comissions to pay, need furnished temporary housing, etc. you can spend $50K+ getting from point A to B. And the general job market there if it doesn't work out for whatever reason. Moving sucks.

I wouldn't move to a cesspool for less than $5M a year. That's enough for a year's salary to cover retirement in a nice location after the year's up and the government gets paid.

Neither. 1) Most people need to have balance in their lives. Even if you lean heavily in one direction (like work 80 hours a week) that leaves 1/3 of your waking hours being crappy. 2) This assumes the great job is as represented and lasts . You don't want to be left with nothing good. Rent/mortgage, housing size, or commute time compromises might more than offset that; and on the other side your current employer may be able to accomodate a salary increase if you ask.

Overall, I'd just like to say that I am a bit puzzled at the lack of regulation involved in this facet of the sport. I consider packing to be a VERY important part of skydiving, and why there is no standardized training method for all jumpers is questionable to say the least. Opinions ??? Packing your main isn't that complicated. Stow the brakes on landing and uncollapse the slider. Lines in the middle, fabric outside, slider against the stops, don't push the nose in. Cock the pilot chute. Make sure there's no canopy between bridle and D-bag gromit. Close according to the manufacturer's instructions, keeping the pin between your pull-up cord and closing loop on extraction to prevent premature wear. The parachute will open reliably. If it's a modern design it'll do so comfortably. You might not have a collapsible pilot chute & slider on your first gear... but thinking about it could make it a habbit. Like CGUMPS with U for undercarriage on final in a Cessna 172 without retractable ger. Added training packing is just going to make it quicker and less work. What sort of training and techniques are effective will depend a lot on the individual and gear involved.

1 month. I decided a while ago that there is no job stability; just different reasons to change. Example: Small company gets acquired, new owners screw things up so badly that the entire engineering organzation who'd been there over six months quit. Oops! Example: Big company, small division. Lots of fun on the first project. Great co-workers. But we finished under budget and ahead of schedule in two years! Moved onto smaller things (not many choices in a small office). Left for career growth. Example: Small company. Great products. Lots of fun for two years. Great co-workers. Management chased small customers and ran out of money. I worked for the new owners. They decided they'd rather not have us arround so I left with the rats (hints: no new projects, no hiring to replace losses, the ship is sinking) Example: First technical employee at a brand new company. Started with a great idea. We had $8M to hire a bunch of great co-workers. I figured we couldn't go wrong. (I was more naieve before turning 30 and being taught phrases like "Prosecute the opportunity" by venture capitalists). Worked 80 hour weeks and had lots of fun. $12M series B. Still had lots of fun. Unfortunately, the executives hemhoraged money on a second office "Can't grow fast enough... unless we become a silicon valley company!! ", decided to sell the product to the wrong people "It's hard to build a sales channel... so we'll just make BIG sales to the global 2000!" Then they paniced, had a stealth second product run out of the "new" headquarters, laid off half the company, gave me another 1/8% of the company, my co-workers quit, and I left before getting another job. The founding CEO is currently doing federal time (I'd heard a 72 month plea) for sociopathic tendancies (not defrauding share holders). Example: Huge company. Good pay. Great benefits. Four month courtship to make sure it was the right move. Talked to everyone up to the VP level. Painful reloaction (moved away from friends of 15 years, turbine DZ 15 minutes away, etc.) Work didn't match what was described. Co-workers left for greener pastures before I got there. While other people there could "retire in place" and I'd only have to return my relocation costs if I "voluntarily separated" that didn't suit my style so I left in 5 months. Oh well. I have gotten to work with some of the same people for seven years.... when the company goes, you can take your co-workers with you.

Inconceivable! Maybe Bush 43 just has an over-developed sense of vengance? That'll get him in trouble some day.

I'm a SHE, not a he!!!!! FEMALE!!! My lineset only has 300 jumps on it, isn't that a bit soon for a new lineset? The steering lines shrink fastest; I've never gotten 300 jumps out of a set. The rest of the line set shrinks more slowly, although I did reline a Monarch 135 with an alleged 300 jumps on it due to a worsening built-in turn. By 500 jumps my Stiletto 120 with 550 lines was getting wonky on openings, and at 600 jumps I measured 6" of shrinkage from the original length on the outer lines (4.5" shorter than they were suppoed to be compared to lines farther in that had shrunk less).

My favorite carniceria sells carne azada soft tacos made with real steak for $1 each. A coke does run you $1.50 for a medio litro, but it comes in a glass bottle and is made with real cane sugar. You don't have to eat swill to eat cheap, but you may have to pay cash for the privledge.

There are four candidates officially on the gubernatorial ballot (Democrat, Green, Republican, and Populist) plus three write-ins. While votes for five of the seven won't get them elected, votes for third parties do correlate to the Democrats & Republicans paying more attention to their platforms. Perot's loss was followed by attempts to deal with deficit spending, including a brief period of budgetary surpluses (according to accepted accounting practices).

Perhaps even in another country,

There's your problem. Surface parcel post takes 4-6 weeks and they can't guarantee delivery. In which case you should have had them sent Global Express Mail for delivery in 3-5 business days. For small objects, shipping by plane isn't appreciably more expensive.

It depends a lot on taxes, how small a place you're willing to live in, how far you're willing to commute to work, whether you want to own property, what your family situation is. For example, $500,000 (on which you'd want to come up with a $100K down payment and need about $100K in income to meet conventional affordability metrics) could buy you anything from half a studio apartment to a McMansion in the states.

... anyway... for experienced skydivers, isn't still that there are only 2 Drop Zones in the U.S. that require AADs for experienced jumpers... or did I miss something... again... It's more than that. After our DZO saw the Frankie video from the ranch (you can watch his slider coming down in his shadow on the ground) the only turbine dropzone within a four hour round trip of where I lived required all free fliers to have AADs. Since moving, I've found that the only year round turbine DZ within a four hour round trip claims to require AADs on their web-site.