DrewEckhardt

It'll probably save your life but broken bones and other serious injuries will be more likely than under a larger reserve when you're making your first landing under it off the airport, around obstacles, perhaps on a hard surface like concrete, and perhaps following a low turn to avoid obstacles like power lines or fences you didn't notice sooner. If you wouldn't jump a 160 every day when everything is going right you don't want one when things have started to go wrong and are getting worse.

It's more fair than a progressive tax system. It's less fair than capitation (where we divide the government budget by the number of people and send them each a bill) although unlike a poll tax it's viable in the real world.

no, the thread is about the 1% thinking they own the road and repeatedly crashing our economy... Well, they DO own the government. Nope. That's the more exclusive .4% (of Americans making campaign contributions beyond the $250 the FEC requires reporting of with the bulk of such contributions to some candidates being at the $2500/person or $5000/couple statutory maximum), PACs, and corporations big enough to employ their own lobbyists.

BASE canopies are also nice for casual classic accuracy from planes. While consistent landings on a 2cm disc might be a bit much, your packing mat or middle of the pea gravel isn't and you can have a comfortable flare from 2/3-3/4 brakes instead of a full-sink crash. Find yourself something like a used Javelin J7 (I paid $800 for mine with a Raven reserve) and have at it. That'll do you more good when you want to jump into tight landing areas than 10,000+ skydives (apparently not enough to avoid crashing into the trees on a landing area that's a whopping 40-50' long) under a small canopy.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/05-7 They're doing great. 97.7% of Americans living in poverty have a color TV and 78.3% have air conditioning. When I visited poor towns in Mexico they didn't have electricity, windows with glass in them, or safe water to drink The bottom 90% get a better deal on income tax than they do in the rest of the OECD 24, with America having the most progressive income tax system (ratio of the top decile's income tax burden to income share) out of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, The Slovak Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, and The United Kingdom. The fact that some guy working on Sand Hill Road makes 10X my salary has little to do with whether I have enough to support my family. If the bottom 99% rose up and took 100% of the top 1%'s earnings we'd only have 20% more which would hardly be life changing especially after prices rose to match purchasing power. OTOH, the government giving special treatment to key industries (buying mortgages, making special bankruptcy provisions for student loans, exempting the health care industry from anti-trust laws) has a huge effect on how much of our paychecks we have left over. Real home prices doubling, the cost of education increasing at 4X the rate of inflation, etc. do that. The whole 99 vs 1 thing is a tiresome distraction from those real issues.

The perks of living at home with mom? I mean how do you save up well over $250k? Get a decent job, live "beneath your means", don't breed or adopt children (they can be more expensive than super cars), and don't have other expensive hobbies like ones involving airplanes and parachutes or hookers and blow. You can also buy used and save a bundle - the white one looks like a mid-1980s Testarossa which wouldn't carry a six figure price tag.

When I started skydiving in 1995 the DZ charged $25/jump with no all-day discount or $106 - $142 for 3-4 jumps a day in current dollars.

As far as your employer dropping you immediately that's normal. Their contribution and your payroll deductions only covered November. A question about that. Have you ever known an insurer to take premiums in arrears? Yes. That's how COBRA works. That's how you usually want it to work. The full cost for family coverage (medical only) at my last few employers has been about $1500 a month. If you get into another plan before the enrollment period (60 days following the later of a qualifying event and notification, but I wouldn't want to hedge my bets on proving when notification didn't occur) and creditable coverage gap allowance (63 days) for group plan pre-existing condition exclusion pass without anything too bad happening (paying $300 each for a couple office visits beats $3000 for insurance to cover them) you didn't opt for COBRA and didn't spend $3000. If something bad happens in those sixty days or you don't get into a more affordable insurance plan (private insurance can be a lot less expensive when your chances of being old and having pre-existing conditions are 0% instead of whatever the group aggregate is or worse if you can get it when you're older and/or sicker) which covers any pre-existing conditions you cough up the $3000 to pay for coverage retroactively and get used to a $1500/month insurance bill. It's actually worse than it sounds because as an employee you got to pay your share with pre-tax dollars. With a 28% Federal income tax rate, 9.55% state rate in California, and other taxes like the 1.2% California state disability insurance you might need to earn $2448 a month just to cover your insurance (medical expenses including insurance are only deductible when you're itemizing and to the extent they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income).

An original Sabre is not going to do that unless you've modified it using something like an over-sized slider with a pocket on it to catch air and slow down the opening. Kids these days whine about them "opening hard." The only things the Sabre 2 has in common with the original is that it's made by PD, starts the name with "Sabre", and is a nine-cell parachute. It fits current market expectations for soft but long openings. Brian Germain tuned the Samurai (not appropriate - it's aggressive and likes to dive) and Lotus (tapered 9 cell, should work great) for gentle openings that didn't take that long so they're somewhere in-between although both have been discontinued so you'd need to buy used.

What about subrogation? Although I wouldn't sue you, my health insurance company has the right to pursue potentially liable parties to recover their costs and might do so after paying off a six figure claim. For something like a bad landing that seems unlikely to go anywhere "I made a bad parachute landing on public property" (and nobody else could possibly be at fault) but things may be more ambiguous with equipment malfunctions.

Right. No change in real value has been par for the course since 1945. With inflation averaging about 3% that's what we saw printed on price tags. The current long term inflation trend is about 2% and dropping. http://www.multpl.com/case-shiller-home-price-index-inflation-adjusted/ http://inflationdata.com/inflation/images/charts/Annual_Inflation/annual_inflation_chart.htm

If they want sure why not. A great time to do so. That's a big part of why so many people are unemployed, under-employed, under-paid, and out of the work force (and therefore not technically unemployed) today. When prices got too out of whack with incomes and rents the "economic growth" from people's home-equity ATM spending ceased along with many of the jobs it supported.

No. It's a good thing for powerful corporatist interests. Assuming a hypothetical 1% tax rate, 30 year amortization, and ignoring insurance/maintenance costs/mortgage deduction tax implications: Some one who walks away from a $2048 tax and mortgage payment at 6% on $300K (tax assessors don't like to drop values so they can be paying taxes for a place worth $300K when it's worth $200K) and rents the place next door for $1000 can spend more on consumer goods than if they refinance their over-sized mortgage at 4% for a $1682 payment. They can spend _a lot_ more on consumer goods if they stop making mortgage payments entirely until the bank gets around to kicking them out in a year or two. A few years down the road when their credit score will be back they might buy again. Using current dollars and simplifying the arithmetic a little: Assuming a negligible down-payment program fostered by the government (the Realtors' PAC is the biggest and not going to be quiet about doing away with things like FHA loans with 3% down) they might get a 5% mortgage on half the amount for a $930 payment so they keep spending a lot more than if they refinanced. They'd still be spending a lot more with a $1240 payment if the price didn't drop beyond the $200K current dollar price tag (rising above that is unlikely because housing doesn't appreciate faster than inflation in the long run) which made them eligible for HARP. If they did the "smart" thing and put the $682 delta between refinanced mortgage and rent into accounts with a zero real rate of return (I get 2.25% on the first $50K at my credit union so that may not be a fantasy) for four years they'd have the $30,000 needed for an 80% LTV ratio at $150K and have a $770/month payment on a $150K property and after five years they could do the same on a $200K property for a $1025 payment which they might refinance at 4% with fully recovered credit for a $930 payment ($1078 with 3% inflation) which the $1682 "deal" exceeds by over 55% including inflation. Nope. It's nice for people who bought at inflated prices before mid-2009 (who are under-water and eligible for a low-rate refinance) and people looking to move or down-size (because it's propping prices up). It's nice for the banks, bond holders, and mortgage insurers. It's nice for cities and counties collecting property taxes. It's not nice for people who don't currently own because it's propping up both purchase prices (keeping underwater inventory off the market instead of allowing more defaults which would produce more downward pressure) and rent (everyone not buying has to live somewhere making it a landlords' market). It's especially not nice for young people who are more likely to be un-employed, under-employed, and/or paid less than during more positive economic times and their parents who have their sprouts living with them or are making up the delta between their children's salaries and the cost of living. It's slightly not nice for people who continue to live in houses bought before the bubble. They've already refinanced to the lowest interest rates but are paying higher property taxes because of the propped up prices. It's neutral for people who bought in the last two years. They're less likely to go under water and have problems selling if they need to relocate, but are paying more in property taxes than they would if prices were allowed to correct faster.

As a wise old guy who everybody knows and sits on the ground when the winds get squirrelly you'll be talking to youngsters more than other skydivers and it wouldn't hurt to have some instructing/training aptitude to combine with your words of wisdom.

You don't want a Stiletto (I say that although I love mine, put 600 jumps on it, and think it's a good all-around canopy for non-swoopers) and also don't want to downsize at the same time you transition to a much more aggressive design (Stiletto, Katana, Crossfire, Samurai, etc. in no particular order). The Stiletto is more responsive to toggle input than any other PD canopy whether that input is intended or not - John LeBlanc made the following designs less sensitive after observing jumpers having problems with roll-axis stability on landing. Less size amplifies the effect and when I switched from my Batwing 134 to my Stiletto 120 the thing didn't always swoop in a straight line until I got a better feel for it. That makes it easier to break or kill yourself. Here's a fatality from a low turn under a Stiletto loaded at "just" 1.2 pounds per square foot http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3709212 You do want something that's not rectangular since that gets you a lower stall speed and wing that's more responsive and fun to fly. The PD Sabre II, Aerodyne Pilot, and Icarus Safire 2 are all options that fit that bill, aren't too extreme, and "fly like nine cells". They feel different and fly a little different with various people preferring each model so you'd want to try all three. These modern designs also open softer than older ZP squares like the Sabre and Monarch which is a good thing as long as you are pulling at 3000 feet on terminal jumps not 2000 feet (If you add an 1800' USPA recommended cutaway decision altitude to an 800' opening distance you get to 2600 feet). There's nothing wrong with how Spectres fly and land but I didn't care for how they flare compared to nearly all the nine cell canopies (Turbo Z/Sabre/Monarch/Bat Wing/Stiletto/Blade Runner/Crossfire/FX/Samurai) I've flown. Trying a 190 and getting used to landing with plane-out and "the two stage flare" would be a fine idea even if you end up buying a 170. If you're running on landing and don't have complicating factors like a tail wind or distance landing in a swoop competition you're doing things sub-optimally and want to dial that in before trying the smaller faster model. It'll also let you make an apples-to-apples comparison with your existing canopy so you can tell what's canopy design and what's a size side effect. Much more aggressive designs are going to point themselves at the ground with less input and if that's what you eventually want it's prudent to get there in steps so your muscle memory and perceptions aren't too far behind the canopy. Many also stay in a dive and build speed longer before returning to trim speed which also makes getting their incrementally a fine idea.

You don't need to spend $3000 to have a US-built rig which fits. You can get a used container and have the harness resized by the manufacturer with $400 being a reasonable ball park (call with the serial number before you buy and get an exact quote). You can buy a rig from a company which hasn't jacked up their prices because popularity (being in business for a long time, team sponsorships, boogie presence, etc.) and military contracts let them. For instance, new Wings start at $1350 from Square One. Delivery time and customer service can be better that way too. Some large old companies also have no-frills options to get market share at lower price points (and perhaps brand loyalty) without cannibalizing their flagship product sales like the any-color-you-want-as-long-as-its-black Shadow Racer at $1425 via Square One or Rigging Innovations Genera.

Little Dieter Needs to Fly Dieter Dengler makes eye contact with an American pilot destroying his village during WWII and realizes that he needs to fly. He immigrates to America at 18, serves 2 years in the air force without flying, and joins the navy where he gets a seat in a Douglas Skyraider. One one of his first missions he gets shot down in Laos and is captured by the VC. Man on Wire A French wire walker and his friends sneak into the twin towers, string a wire between them, and he spends 45 minutes on it nearly 1400 feet off the ground.

Hmmm under 10 is high winds? What's the point in even skydiving if that's the case? I'm not talking about high winds (as defined by the USPA as above 14 mph). In fact I'm talking about 8 mph. That's not enough wind to be landing backwards and something doesn't add up. Maybe your wind speed indicator is mis-calibrated or the woman is scared of landing and hanging on her brake toggles. I've personally jumped my Fox 245 seven cell out of airplanes loaded at .8 pounds/square foot in winds up to 20 MPH where AFF students + A license holders were grounded and they were using tandem catchers and did not land backwards (only slightly forwards). I did fly my down-wind legs in brakes facing into the wind with very short base-legs to simplify accuracy. My experience was not inconsistent with Eiff's 22 MPH claimed forward speed for their Classic at .7 pounds/square foot. More modern designs are trimmed flatter and have less drag for more forward speed. Paraflite claims 28 mph of forward speed at 200 pounds load under their Intruder 300 military canopy but don't specify whether weight is total suspended (.6) or payload (the harness/container is 17 pounds, add maybe 25 pounds for main and reserve, so you'd be at .8). The effects of going smaller also aren't that pronounced in terms of airspeed, with the textbook effects of wing loading being speed proportional to its square root or a 12% gain going from a 170 to a 135. Paraflite claims a 2/2.8 MPH speed increase going from their 360 to 300 intruder at 200 and 300 pounds. It does make a bigger difference in how much ground you cover (30 MPH of airspeed with a 20 MPH head-wind is 10 MPH ground speed, which is double what you get with 25 MPH of airspeed and 5 MPH of ground speed) but you needn't run into problems there as long as you refuse to get out down-wind from a safe landing area.

Because it's exciting and fun. 1) At some point you're going to jump in less than ideal light conditions (load gets delayed, jumping near mountains where actual sunset is before legal sunset, etc.) and the experience may help. 2) To be a "Master Skydiver" (the title formerly associated with a D license) you ought to have done more than just the basics. 3) Dropping the requirement wouldn't be fair to all the existing D license holders who did their two jumps (We could say the same thing about live water jumps).

It's Canada, eh? Kids should be playing hockey and pucks aren't banned.

Make your start date contingent on when you leave your current employer "I'll start two or four weeks from today depending on..." and give notice at the end of the month after you've collected your commissions. Many positions take months to fill and for such positions your new employer can be very flexible. Offer to stay for the two weeks at the month end and if your current boss doesn't want to work with you that's her problem.

Most employment in the United States is "At will" where either party can terminate the arrangement at any time, for any reason, with no notice. Burning bridges is bad for employees. You want to work with the same competent co-workers again, whether recruiting them for a position at a company where you're working or joining them someplace else. You want a positive reference, and just because they're not allowed to say anything by HR doesn't mean they wont "Our corporate policy is to only confirm title and dates of employment, although I'd break that policy for a good former employee. John Doe worked here from 6/1/2008 - 6/1/2011." You might want to go back to the company in a different position or capacity and don't want a "do not rehire" in your file. Burning bridges is bad for employers. Returning alumni are the best new hires because they've proven they can work in your environment. They have acquaintances who you might want to hire. Some professional networks are tight, and word gets around about companies that don't play nice. So usually both sides play a bit nicer than required - employees give advance notice and help off-load their work, companies respect that advance notice and let you work until your last day, most companies pay for accrued vacation even when not legally required (California requires it), and some companies give severance and notice when lay-offs happen (perhaps with some of the payment contingent on a form that says you won't sue them). Where you actually have a contract (not an employment agreement) that's different; although even VP positions are often at-will.

Check out any school in western washington. there are two turbine DZs in the Seattle area, Not within an hour drive when it's sunny (although theoretically an 80 mile 1.5 hour drive I once took three hours to get between Shelton and Seattle. While willing to pay speeding tickets it's usually not physically possible to speed on nice sunny days) and when it's cloudy (much of the year) you'll be doing hop-and-pops from a Cessna. The weather is something like this [URL]http://www.komonews.com/weather/blogs/scott/119421644.html[/URL] where the headline is "Seattle at 41 days (and counting) since last official sunny day." except for a few short months in the summer when it's very nice like much of California is nearly year round. [QUOTE] and we have some of the best mountains (mt baker, crystal, stevens), too. plus, whistler is drivable. [/QUOTE] Moisture from the Pacific ocean and low altitude means the snow is heavy, wet, and quickly skiid off compared to the Rocky Mountains. I made the mistake of living on the East Side for six months and in Seattle the following 1.5 years and suggest that you look elsewhere unless coming from someplace with worse weather (people from Boston seem to do OK). The music and restaurant scenes are good, the local BASE jumpers and skydivers are a nice crew, but they don't make up for the rest of it.

Mile Hi Skydiving. Super Otter, King Air (I think they've added a second one), and Turbo 206 (there's a swoop pond). Some people don't like the vibe (Frank's emphasis on tandems grows each year) although you can arrange to meet your skydiving friends out there and bring your own fun.

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