DrewEckhardt

Since each of your child's friends families has a 50% chance of having at least one gun in the house, it's important to teach your children the rules of safe gun handling which make accidental shootings impossible.

So you are happy with the level of violent crime in the US? If you are right and its not the guns then it is most likely the culture that leads to violent crime (Gun or otherwise) but hey if you're happy with that... I personally wouldn't be. Nothing needs to be done about the guns. We need to do something about the circumstances that leave limited attractive alternatives to gange life. Add apprenticeship and trade programs to primary school curiculum. Provide more state and federal funding. Give college or trade school to any one who graduates highschool. Bring outside talent in to inner city schools - if we can pay contractors six figures to head for the war zones of Iraq we can do the same thing domestically. It wouldn't be cheap, although reducing the money spent on prisoners ($40K per year per prisoner in California) could offset a lot of it. The hard part here is that education as a value and the drive to succeed in a career usually gets picked up from people's parents. I value education and am an engineer because my parents did and my dad was an engineer. His dad was an engineer and even my grandmother went to college (math major). My great grandfather was essentially an engineer (applied geophysics) with a PhD. It never even occurred to my sister and I that people did something other than go to college and get a job which requires an education. You have to jump start that some how. Legalizing drugs and prostitution would cut the primary reasons for turf wars, but there has to be an alternative more attractive than jobs for unskilled labor.

Not for most people. When you first start jumping just being in the sky and getting out of an airplane is very exciting but there's only so much you can do on the way down alone which is interesting. Most people end up in some form of social skydiving discipline, where formations get built in various body positions (lying down, sitting, standing on your head) or with various aerodynamic accessories (a flying squirl suit or open parachute). The obvious exceptions here would be freestylists, sky surfers, and swoopers. On the last one flying small fast requires you to get to a point in the sport where you have enough experience to probably survive. Only one of my friends joined me for my first jump and she never made a second one. I was going to get another friend out to the dropzone and he was going to take my fly fishing but that never happened. Otherwise in over a decade in the sport none of my non-skydiving friends have even come close to joining me but that's OK. If you aren't too much of an asshole, buy your beer when you accomplish firsts (giving the other skydivers a chance to meet you) and jump some place where there's a culture of bringing new people up to speed to keep the sport going you'll have other people who already skydive to jump with that you're unlikely to see outside the dropzone apart from at the ocassional jumper-party unless you share other hobbies in common (I've gone snowboarding and ridden motorcycles with people from the DZ). That pretty much spans all ages and occupations - I've jumped with 18 year olds and 70 year olds; fishermen, contractors, doctors, engineers, flooring guys, lawyers, electricians, teachers, pilots, police, resaurant owners, carpet cleaners, massage therapists, photographers, etc.

My question is what makes people have that tendency towards violence? I don't suppose that Americans are any more prone towards the tendency than any european nationality, If shootings are excluded, I don't believe the data show Americans to be more violent than Europeans. The really significant anomaly is in shootings. But it can't have anything to do with the availabilty of guns. Oh no. If it had anything to do with the availability of guns, blood would have run red in the streets of small rural towns where boys kept rifles and shotguns in their vehicles so they could hunt on the way to and from school. If it had anything to do with the availability of guns, the murder rate would have been higher before the Gun Control Act of 1968 when it became illegal to sell guns through the mail If it had anything to do with the availability of guns, the murder rates where any one could carry concealed would be higher than the places where handguns are effectively illegal. It doesn't have anything to do with legaly available guns. It's about economic and social issues that are much less comfortable to admit and a lot more difficult to fix.

Nothing clearly needs to be done. The absolute rates of legal gun ownership have no correlation to the number of people who get shot (although making guns more or less available decrease and increase crimes against people respectively). White people living in Seattle where any one can get a permit to carry a concealed weapon) don't get shot and killed any more often than those living just the other side of the border in Vancouver where handguns are illegal. The aggregate rates are rather different but so are the demographics. In Vancouver the minorities are more affluent than average. In Seattle, the black and Hispanic per-capita income from the 2000 census were about half the white populations ( $18,328 and $17,216 respectively vs $35,641). Economic disparity leads to crime and murder, with the black and hispanics having 36.6 and 26.9 per 100,000 murder rates versus the white populations 6.2 and Vancouver's 6.4 at the time of _Handgun Regulations, Crime, Assaults, and Homicides: A Tale of Two Cities" (Sloanm at el). In America, we have lots of predominantly white, black, or Latino neighborhoods. We have defacto segregation according to race and economic class. In America, public schools are paid for (through property taxes) and controlled (as in the curriculum) by the local populations. Students generally attend local schools. A black child who lives in a black neighborhood that's statistically poor does not get the same educational opportunities that a white one does. Combine educational opportunity and attainment with a fathers' earnings being the best predictor of his children's economic future and you have a real problem. If you want to fix America's murder rate, you need to address the underlying problems which have created a situation where gang membership looks like a good career choice. Those are both economic and cultural. America is a big place. In locations where nearly everyone has good jobs we don't kill each other appreciably more than the rest of the world.

It's a marketting term. Any non-rectangular canopy (tapered or curved on leading and/or trailing edge) that meets market expectations regarding canopy responsiveness to control input is elliptical. Non-squares with less aggressive handling characteristics are tapered or semi-elliptical according to their makers. Brian Germain defines "Fully Elliptical" as a canopy with more than 20% of taper which I'd assume means the difference between center and tip chord. Such canopies are forbidden to skydivers with fewer than 300 jumps and add one size to the smallest recomended and allowed canopies.

1. Multi-millionaire playboy, just sitting back and letting the dividends roll in. 2. Big bank CEO. You get a golden parachute that's several times what a normal person needs to retire on regardless of how poorly you do your job so there's no pressure to perform. Unfortunately, I lack the money for the first option and am not scummy or connected enough to be a bank CEO. Maybe if they started an affirmitive action program for people who are human not slime and I got a nice suit + haircut?

Like in Switzerland, with all those machine guns in the basement. Like in Jamaica, with a current murder rate of 44/100,000. Or Mexico (where they got rid of nasty things like hand guns in 1968) where it's 13/100,000. In the United States as of 2005 it was 3.3/100,000 white people even including places with strict gun control and the resulting high crime. Head for Vermont where you don't even need a permit to carry concealed and it's 2.6/100,000 residents of all colors. Go some place nice like Fairfax County, Virginia and it's .3/100,000. Gun-free London is 2.4/100,000. It's pretty easy to weigh the evidence and take appropriate action. With the National Crime and Victimization surveys showing that the injury rate is lower among crime victims who resist with a gun versus complying or any other form of resistance and crime rates dropping faster in the places with liberal carry laws more states are taking notce. Some people don't feel too good about that though, and would rather live with higher violent crime rates.

Which are non-free gun zones in the US? Places like Florida and the state of Washington which are shall issue concealed-carry states, in places that are not schools, government buildings, or private offices which prohibit guns.

And the opportunities for crime created by the governments. With legal drugs there wouldn't be any financial motivation to engage in violent turf wars over a black market. WIth legal guns in Mexico there wouldn't be any need to smuggle them in.

You're not suggesting that (like divot) the locations are picked because of that are you? I'll suggest that crazy people are more willing to go on shooting sprees when they think they migt succeed. Nope. It's the same thing as pointing out that rape is less frequent when potential rapists have reason to fear armed victims. In 1966 Orlando police responded to the rape problem by training 2500 women in firearms use. Rape decreased 88% and burglary 25%. I blame the criminals and legislators which enable them.

In New York city only the politically connected are allowed to carry firearms. On college campuses like Virginia Tech usually only the campus police are allowed to have firearms. Most of the shootings happen places where most people aren't allowed to carry guns and there's a low probability of being oposed by some one who is armed. When people have guns, the outcomes can be different. With the Pearl High School shootings in more gun-friendly Mississippi, the vice principal ran out to his car and grabbed his Colt .45. The rampage was over after he pointed his gun at the shooter. Media bias means such incidents don't get covered well - only 19 out of 687 news stories covering the event mentioned the vice principal with his gun.

If a Delaware corporation with physical head quarters in Colorado paid me not to sue them for failing to change incentive stock options I earned while working in Colorado 2004-2006 and exercised there in 2006 to non-qualified options when they extended the exercise period (this made me liable for taxes on a penny per share worth of gains that I need to file amended returns on) and the settlement was made in 2008 when I was living in California is the payment "Colorado source income?" I'd argue that the payment is a settlement for damages, and not income from CRS 39-22-109(2)(a)(II) A business, trade, profession, or occupation carried on in Colorado; which is the only potentially relevant piece of law. As a matter of principle when I have to file three additional tax returns over this little money I'm going to make the minor additional effort to avoid giving the governments a cent more than I'm legally obligated to. On Monday I'll call the Colorado Department of Revenue and maybe the accountant I've "laid off" but I'm curious.

In my experience those are two out of the three funnest things you can do with your clothes on. Did the bike thing for a while, including some drag racing. Fun, but not as fun as skydiving. As for Base jumping, so far I'll have to take your word on it. What's the 3rd thing? Back country snowboarding (or presumably skiing) especially with a helicopter for lift service.

In my experience those are two out of the three funnest things you can do with your clothes on.

The fully-automatic M16, AK47s, and sub-guns showing up in Mexico effectively can't be purchased in America. The weapons with no serial numbers (as in not removed serial numbers, but originally manufactured without serial numbers) can't be purchased from gun-shops in America. Only the nice firearms used by wealthy people for self-protection come from here. I like this first-hand report and editorial: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle512-20090329-05.html

The banks' credit card interchange fees average 2% of the transaction value. When you choose "credit" in the typical retail environment the bank + credit card company partnership makes as much profit as the merchant. The banks' charges for on-line debit card transactions can be a flat 10 cents. When you buy $200 worth of groceries the bank gets some fraction of $4 (I don't know what the split is with mastercard/visa) when you use your credit card and part of $.10.

Yes. We get it on Netflix and find it amusing.

Which is about 1 in 5000 licensed drivers with average chances of being drunk or young. With skydiving it's 1 in 1000.

When you made the choice to have children they should have become your first priority. Does your wife earn enough to cover your housing expenses, day care, and college when your child is old enough? If the answers to any of those questions are "no" you need substantial life insurance, long term disability insurance, and either short term disability insurance or enough savings to cover the time before that kicks in (perhaps 3 months of no pay check).

I've packed my own reserves, actually used one of the pack jobs, and don't (yet?) have a ticket. I know other people who've done the same. Wanting to pack your own reserve is entirely reasonable.

In theory, FAR 105.43 says that "The reserve parachute must have been packed by a certificated rigger" with no exceptions for supervision and the implication that the 20 pack jobs needed for a ticket can't be used. In practice if you're a reasonable person known to your rigger, know how to pack reserves, and give him money for his time he'll probably supervise, sign, and seal. If you have a young rigger or an older rigger who really trusts you because you've got more experience, you may be able to get it signed and sealed without much supervision. Being a BASE jumper helps with experience - it's the same pack job, with the BASE flavor usually being more meticulous and the reserve much more work to bag and close (especially if you follow the silly trend of tight tiny containers which feel like bricks - after it's small enough to fit an airline carry-on it just doesn't matter). Making it looks good sometimes requires practical experience and/or help on where to put bulk so there aren't any creases, the cypres doesn't stick out much, pop tops sit flat, etc.

Short-lined canopies like a Stiletto 120 have 10 feet of line. A manageable difference in riser length like 4" is about 3% of that. I'd be surprised if it made much of a difference but accept big differences in feel or being able to crank the risers farther.

No everyone who loses their house is not an idiot, but they were a gambler. See, anyone who signs up for a 30 year mortgage is assuming they will be employed for 30 years. 30 year mortgage payments + taxes + HOA fees on my first home were low enough to be covered by unemployment insurance, if I became disabled and my current insurance was paid for with pre-tax dollars I'd still be spending under 36% of my income on debt service, and I had space for two room mates who'd have cut that by a factor of 3 which would be less than I'd spend on a studio apartment. The payments were low enough that when I didn't receive a paycheck for six months I had enough money saved that it was an annoyance not a real issue. When I bought the place my costs were about the same as if I rented it and the town had about a 2% vacancy rate so if I had to move to get work and couldn't sell it I'd probably be able to rent it. Continuous employment only becomes an issue when property values get too out of line with the rest of the economy and/or middle class people end up living hand to mouth. Having a property as an anchor only becomes an issue when prices get out of line with rents. While technically a gamble, me buying that property was pretty safe.

Yes. Insurance companies vary in what they cover. Validating that yours covers parachuting before you get hurt is a _fine_ idea.