yoink

What can I say? It's very simple: we fit together and it just feels right.

Probably Rubio.

My concern at the moment is that there isn't a candidate I actually like or trust - from either side. Hillary (I believe) is willfully deceitful. I don't trust her as far as I could spit a rat, so I'm left with Bernie by default. I don't think any other candidates have a shot. I'm not even sure Bernie does to be honest. That said, while I like most of his views, I'm not sure Bernie would make a good president. I've not seen any of that forceful cuthroat-ness in him that I think a leader needs. He's got not enough, Hillary has too much. I think whoever wins at this point is going to be a disaster to a greater or lesser extent.

Congrats. Weren't you trying to meet people through online dating just 6 weeks ago? Must have worked pretty well!

This.

Why ouch? I'm dead serious. If people don't know what the 45 degree rule is, that means it may not be propagating as much. That's really good for us.

That's great!

altogether now... 'it's not guns that are the problem.' It's obviously people without them that are... they're the guy's getting shot, after all. DUH. Why is this even news anymore?

Absolutely carry the XRay card and documentation. There's an official letter from the CAA on the BPA website explaining that the Cypres isn't an exempted item. I don't believe suce a letter exists for other manufacturers. That said, I just put mine into a locked hard case and then into the hold anyway. It's insured... why wouldn't you? IMO trying to take a rig as carry-on is just adding stress to travelling. I can live without it.

No. Even if it is a problem, the number of people getting hurt by running into obstacles vs people who get hurt by turning low isn't remotely comparable.

Did he say what he did? Did he refuse and try to educate the examiner, or did he nod and smile to get the rating then ignore him?

You and Ron would get right on...

I actually don't mind getting a canopy without links. I find doing the layout quite therapeutic! However, in a thread a while back someone mentioned that attaching a main canopy to the risers is something that has to be done by a rigger. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4755492;search_string=rigger;#4755492 Is that correct? Because if so, it adds an extra step for a user before they can jump their new canopy...

What are you implying?

C'mon, this is a British publication.

'Well, when I said 'pass away' I meant it METAPHORICALLY. The clues are all there in the Bible. Wednesday represented a very real 'passing away' of our awareness of Tuesday, and that obviously, signifies the end of times... A date? oh. Let me get back to you on that.'

This is such a bullshit argument. The entire point about firearms is how good they are at their job and that's why they need regulation. I didn't hear anything about the military giving you guys bread knives when you were deployed to attack your enemies with... You've said that your guns are securely locked up. These fuckwit parents and others like them are people who are doing your corner the damage. Gun rights advocates should be MORE pissed off than gun control ones in cases like this... They're letting your team down. That would show a level of sanity which could be a basis for negotiation, but instead all we ever hear is 'it's not the guns fault', or 'ban cars'. It's like talking with children... I tell you what. You want access to guns. You PROVE to me that you can be responsible with them and that you're serious about making others with them responsible...

I think you're being deliberately obtuse. I can't believe you don't see a difference between guns and smoking. How about this. An adult has a pack of cigarettes which they use legally. Their son steals a pack, takes it to school and uses it. Net effect? Zero. Now replace the cigarettes with a pistol. Net effect - people shot. The problem with guns is how good they are at their job. It doesn't take years of exposure to have an effect. Just a split second. I'm not too worried about criminals with guns - as Dan stated earlier they do tend to shoot each other more than civilians, and I can teach my kids ways to stay safer. We don't mix in the same social circles by choice. How do I teach my kid to stay safe in school when anyone else could easily bring a gun in? They HAVE to mix in the same circles.

I don't understand. Why does he have to 'be' anything.

This 'best' thing is idiotic. There were parts about living in the UK that I miss and things I think they do right. There are also parts that I really didn't like. That statement applies equally to living in the US. Have you ever lived abroad for an extended period of time, Turtle?

The US doesn't have a monopoly on nutjobs, unfortunately. I don't see that his nationality has anything to do with it. Nothing about him is specific to Brits that I can see. That's why nobody else is making a big deal about it... Please feel free to educate me if you think there's some reason why it's particularly relevant. If he was still in the UK it would have been harder for him to get hold of the guns to murder a load of his classmates. Not impossible, but definitely harder.

That sound your hearing is any credibility you ever had in this forum disappearing. You need to stop talking for a while.

This is reasonable and is something I could get behind. As is your take on when to use deadly force. You can bet in the same situation I wouldn't stand idly by and watch my wife get raped, either. Again, you're not the guy I'm afraid of owning a gun. If everyone was like you - trained, cautious and slightly paranoid (meant in a nice way!) I'd be much less concerned about the gun laws as they are. The problem as I see it is that many people who are pro-gun ownership are so scared that any sort new control mechanisms put in place will inevitably lead to an eventual devolution of their personal rights and as a corollary, their individual safety and freedoms, that they push back and push back hard. The counter argument to 'put in place gun control laws' shouldn't be 'arm everyone!'. It should be something a little left of that and then we can start negotiating, but the problem is that it's such an emotional issue that everyone takes the most extreme and rabid stance possible.

You are the anomaly. You are trained to deal with high stress situations with lethal force. Most people who want the right to carry guns everywhere aren't, and that's the problem. Everyone thinks that they'll go all James Bond in a situation like that but it's a fantasy. If it was so easy why would government agencies spend so long programming people to deal with those situations...? If memory serves didn't a couple of policeman mow down a load of bystanders in NY not too long ago while trying to shoot at a criminal? If they're that bad at it, joe public isn't going to be any better... The truth is that having more guns in public in untrained hands can only make the overall situation worse. Both with easier access for criminals to steal them, the liklihood of people with mental instability to have access to them, and the potential for more bystanders to be injured. Can you imagine what would happen if 6 or 7 people were armed in a situation like this? Someone panics or accidentally hits an innocent, someone else thinks they're part of the problem and shoots at them, and all of a sudden it's a free-for-all. I will never be convinced that having more people carrying firearms is the solution to these problems. I just don't trust people that much.

Unfortunately gun advocates are so concerned about any limitation in gun ownership that there will never be any middle ground available. There will always be the argument of 'x kills more people than y' or 'that might solve a, b and c, but not x so it's pointless'. I'm kinda with mhol - not with who cares necessarily, but personally I'm getting jaded to reading about these incidents. I don't really raise an eyebrow when I hear about a fatal traffic accident on the evening news anymore because it's so frequent, and it's getting that way about mass shootings in schools / colleges. It's not shock or horror when I read about it anymore; it's 'Again? Really?' That's fucked up. This apparently, is the way it is. This is what the US has accepted is the cost of gun ownership.