BDashe

Bet they'll never take money from the Feds again. Let's hope the industry learns this lesson once and for all, and is able to act before Congress gets any more of what we in the Army call "GFI's" (Great F**king Ideas). So the taxpayer investments turned out well.

Umm...sooo...it's Bush's fault obama changed his mind on wire tapping? Or am I reading this wrong? So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I figured a few things like this may get flipped once he took office. It is very easy to criticize from the outside. Suddenly you're responsible for the USA and need to maintain domestic security, and probably his own ass from death threats and such. weird how that works, when youre on the inside and know shit others dont/cant. I am not surprised in the least, the asshole is a politician after all- shaking babies and kissing hands. Go figure the second coming is actually human and a politician. Who woulda thunk it? though maybe since there is controversy over where he was born, that just maybe he was immaculately conceived... personally i never had a problem with this as I have nothing to hide, i understand the slippery slope effect, but fuck it, i doubt they're after any of us for our public intoxication conversations... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

There was an early report that the captain had jumped in the water a 2nd time in the rescue event, but then that was contradicted. I am still skeptical that the snipers on the fantail is what really happened. 1. SEALs are known to have this ability to operate underwater which could get them very close to the pirates w/o being observed. 2. A tactic that was successful at neutralizing pirates, could be useful again in the future, so why give it away? 3. Shooting from a platform that is bobbing and rolling, at a target that is also bobbing and rolling, can't be easy, especially when a hostage it present. And with 3 perps on board, the shots would need to be simultaneous in order to avoid giving the perps a chance to harm the hostage or dive for cover. +1, ive been wondering if it didn't go down differently as well, and they played it to the media as a very quick death without the pirates even realizing what hit em to make it appear more humane. 3 synchronized shots to the head in with hostiles in 2 different areas of the lifeboat? I mean who knows, maybe it happened that way, good snipers are nasty fuckers, especially from 75 feet; or maybe it was, um, a little more hands on... regardless, i think it's awesome. on another note, based on lots of literature and 1st hand accounts i've read/discussed with guys in the Teams, SEAL teams are known and trained to be an autonomous force and make these decisions on their own. So maybe they went in, fucked some peoples' worlds up, changed the story a bit and gave O the decision cred for publicity reasons. granted, being on a highly populated ship with lots of media coverage/needing up to date info for the public doesn't make conspiracies any easier to create, not exactly like being in an isolated jungle observing shit like this that no one ever knows about. So, did obama give an order? maybe, maybe not. did he need to? Not really, only reason in this scenario would be because of how public the whole ordeal was. Did the SEALs snipe the pirates as we're told? Maybe, maybe not. At the end of the day though: USA/SEALs 1, pirate assholes 0 So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Any other big dick awards you'd like to announce a few times? So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

So the righties are happy some bad guys got killed, and are not be too happy/are surprised that O actually gave the order and of course are also stirring the pot with hypotheticals like 'bush/mccain/insert-righty-here would be a war monger in the same scenario' which may or may not be true. The lefties are waiting with mouths open for that hypothical bait the righties are throwing out and are so eager to say 'See our guy can do anything! he took out 3 unskilled pirates with one of the best trained SEAL platoons!' that they don't care it is just bait since they had a win in a small battle. Can we at least, try and de-politicize this event and agree for a moment on a Hell Fucking Yeah for the SEALs for getting a little public love and re-demonstrating they are some bad assed mofos on OUR team? That has to send a signal to the rest of the pirates out there, even for as many threats as they put in the headlines now and in the future, you know they ain't feeling too comfy knowing they can be hunted so easily... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

It's like flying with your friends. Except windy. My wife did not forsee how windy it would be prior to getting in the wind tunnel. Nice. I brought my fam to the tunnel a few months ago since all but my little sis refuse to try jumping... and i wanted to show off my newly established head down tunnel skillz. My mom says 'I didn't like it, it was too windy' had 2 friends back out of doing tandems this weekend, not an uncommon occurence. Just kick em in the nuts, tie em up and chuck em out! kidding of course. I gave up. I just tell em I'll give em a call friday to see if they still wanna jump on the weekend and figure it out for themselves. typically the call is ignored or 'something comes up, but let me know when you're going again!' 'Oh, next weekend? um, I dunno, I'll get back to you...' edit: or it's like shooting hallux in the face with a 12 gauge- it feels amazing until you realize there is nothing that can describe seeing his unharmed smiling outlaw face spitting buckshot back at you... true story! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Actually, like ryoder I have been waiting for the good news since last thursday i think it was when the word was out a SEAL team was ready and waiting. Took longer than I expected to get em out there though, and take action, but awesome nonetheless. I was genuinely worried O was not going to pull the trigger on this one. Very happy he did, though it was a small test, at least he followed through and let our boys do their thang. Obviously pirates are vowing revenge etc. now, and have warned to expect attacks on US ships to go up and kill hostages, however i think a war of attrition is in our favor if we have some guys in the Teams out there... AOL.com said they 'parachuted into the water' to join up with the Bainbridge. Lil' skydiving love for us

Was flying back from Pepper Garcia's with a buddy of mine while in high school (he started flying @ 16) back to CMA (which has a nice restaurant by the transient parking, good hot dogs!) anyway we're in a 172, just reach an altitude of like 9K heading down south. We spot a brushfire in the condor reserve and call it in, and see little lights heading where we had identified the issue. That was pretty cool. He is feeling really good about himself when my garcia's decides to say hello. I let loose a long hot one- don't think i've ever seen him so p*ssed, and I can't stop laughing. "You do that again and you'll never fly with me, I'm kicking you out of this f*ckin thing!!!" etc. etc. took a good 5 minutes to clear with both windows open! After he cooled off, we then discuss skydiving since he had threatened to kick me out of the plane. I remember looking out the window and down and saying "No f*cking way... maybe ONCE to see what it is like, but that's it! To hazardous of an environment, way way too scary and dangerous to do more than once!" Ahhh, how times change... Edit: Harris Ranch= BOMB!!!! just hope that the winds are blowing to the east or to the north when you go... otherwise you'll have the lingering aroma of fresh cow manure So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

3,000 feet in 15 seconds in a head down dive... 136 mph in a dive! Teach me your ways of flying that slow on your head! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

My dad used to keep a light plane there back in the day when we were down south, used to go there almost every weekend. Loads of fun and good memories! We moved and he sold the plane So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

If you're not familiar, Van Nuys Airport has TONS of history behind it. very cool place. If you're a flying buff, rent, steal or buy One Six Right, it's all about that airport: http://www.terwilligerproductions.com/onesixright/ This has probably been posted before, but it is pretty cool. edit: Also in the LA area check out Santa Paula Airport (SZP). There is a good restaurant there (french toast is amazing) and they have TONS of WWI era aircraft. Everyone brings their planes out the first sunday of the month, very cool! http://www.amszp.org/ So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Oh, bill. You always know how to make me giggle! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

And then they all get banned. Yet continue to make money, friends, skydives, and tunnel flights. Crazy to think there is a world outside these forums. Is getting banned the worst punishment imaginable for guys like you? Must be like being put in solitary. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

C'mon now, we're all friends! No one is judging you here. There is no need to run back and hide in the closet once you've come out. To each their own... Congrats on the rig, welcome to the many, many large holes that will soon encompass your wallet! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

QuoteI know I dont know much of anything in comparison to you dave, but that was a great analogy regarding the snow. Good work getting your point across. reply] How'd that handjob feel dave? he he he he he... just kidding! sort of... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I'm sure your tracking and 4 + 8 way skills are up to par... It isn't instability that is the main issue; though not in the case mentioned in the OPs thread. Most people with 20 jumps can get stable on their belly from any position. considering you pull on your belly, it's important to be able to have a great understanding of how to fly in that orientation. It is also iportant understand how freefly jumps differ in unexpected situations than RW jumps. Many freefly rules/proper techniques can't be learned without coaching. It is best to be safe about learning to freefly by utlizing good instruction, as well as to maintain proficiency in the flat orientation. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Thats why you talk to a freeflyer before huckin it and learn that backflying is the first form of freeflying to be learned I hopped into freeflying around jump 30, and I do wish I had spent more time on my belly, or at least mixed it up more than I did. Fortunately i gained some belly skills back in the tunnel, but Im still only a marginal belly flyer at best. In my opinion, freeflying definitely helps belly skills in the long run because you learn more about manipulating the air, and how your control surfaces respond to the air- esp backflying. Obviously being a good freeflyer doesnt make you a good belly flyer, but it help the learning curve when flying belly. As for starting freeflying early, is it a bad idea? Could be if you aren't smart about it. As long as proper coaching is involved and belly flying isn't completely neglected (like what I did for my first 300 jumps) it can be a good thing. It is also imperitive to learn backfly skills first, something a lot of people skip. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

from your article: "...in danger from malfunction of the mother's birthing machine." That has to be one of the single greatest quotes I have read in 10 years. I wonder how long it will be until i hear a p*ssy referred to as a 'malfunctioning birth machine' again... is that like a vaj with VD? or does that just make it a defective birthing machine? So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

With no ground obstacles stirring up some chop... 5 mph more than with em!!! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

In no way did my comments about your currency distract from the point of my post. Look chicken little, if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Just poking a little fun based on observations, feel free to poke back a little of course. I think saying that I/we slammed you is overstated, maybe we just touched a sensative subject.... Obviously i dont like you very much because of who you choose to be. though now you've gotten me off topic... However your currency and knowledge of modern day skydiving does have some weight on whether you know about the relevance of your statements being accurate to the current skydiving community of which is being discussed right here in this very thread! additionally, i absolutely address the affiliation of skyride, as well as whether or not the boogie was a scam in my posts, as well as respond to your comments that are not in line with the thread topics that you started which are now suddenly important to you. I'm not sure what planet youre on, but clearly youre beyond rational debate if you opt to completely neglect and ignore much of what I have said over this thread and several others. Good day Mr. Little. edited- added some clarity. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I suppose we're all lost causes in that regard, since your team can't seem to understand where my team comes from. I am not skyride, we are not skyride. If you diagree with the boogie in poor taste, fine. If you try to direct business away from it because of a fictitious scam, you're a bad person. The invite is open ended, anytime, boogie or no boogie. I'd be willing to red eye in from across the country for a weekend to jump with you guys @ AST if you were to make an attempt to experience first hand the things you hate so much from the first person perspective vs. through the bias outsiders' kaleidoscope of rumors and hearsay that you thrive. And it is Brett with 2 T's :-) So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

credit due that I admitted? as if this is the first time I've said this? Really? take your shades off buddy, or go to an alzheimer's clininc. Second, this is not my company, nor do I work for any dropzone or skyride. I work for a company that does $30 billion annually, I go to ASC and AST to spend some cash and visit good people and friends. Look, like i've said before, I understand everyone's problems with skyride. Personally I dont care because they were in a grey area of the law, and if you have the balls to go there, then go right ahead. I wouldn't do it, i understand why they did, and I understand why you disagree with it. Additionally, Ben and Cary have been nothing but good to me over the years. Why would I bother em about somethign that can be considered legal and doesn't really matter to me anyway? Next, I am not diverting or deceiving anyone about anything. I step in to let you know when you begin to do exactly that. Your problem is you've lost sight of what you stand for. And listen close cuz this is where you and i have some squabbles. Youre so proud of yourself for standing up for skydivers and whuffos everywhere (you can identify readily with both given your currency), youre so content with your little D^4 saying that any opportunity, chicken little, you get to say sLyride and announce the sky is falling you take it. When you start to say some innaccurate and at times wildly slanderous things about my friends that i know to be so far off base that you fall victim to youre own D^4 saying; and then threaten my fun, thier fun and livelyhood, I'll step in and slap you on the wrist. If I was enough of an @$$hole I could come after you with a legal team claiming libel with regards to the dropzones themselves. You'd potentially have me with skyride, but the DZs are where you're wandering in uncharted territory Mr. self-righteous... I'm not going to spend time or money doing that, so I'll just keep stating the facts about the DZs themselves from my moral ground, while you continue to spin yourself up so much eventually you'll have an aneurism and i suppose skyride wins then, though at a tragic cost by your own hand. I think (and chuck feel free to cancel my theory here) but I think the boogie started as fun, then they added the philanthropic aspect which you guys couldn't handle so immediately began to say was a scam. Chuck defended it because they were actually raising money, he thought they would raise more than they did (though still not much) based on initial indicators prior to and just after the boogie, so he would step up defend his stance as any of you would. When factors out of his control with the shirts fell through, the amount shrank, and gave you all the inspiration you needed to spread the word without having the first clue of what actually transpired. Now you ask me, why do I/we keep inviting you out to jump with us? First off I could teach you a thing or two about skydiving, so I'm sure it'd be fun for you to gain some skills. Also because we'd like you to see the dropzone side of things. Given that you want to make a difference, a visit may actually allow you to "divert" and narrow your efforts to something that may actually help your initial endeavors vs. the wild goose chase that you are currently on. It also beats working yourself up towards an early grave (not a threat mods!!! just noting self destruction) and spoiling the fun for the innocent and regular ASC/ASTers as well as the dozens or hundreds more that will undoubtedly be around in the future. edited for a couple grammer issues, prob still some around in there... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Ok... so I'm half way through the thread, and your mantra for skyride still applies to you more than anyone. First, I have neer stated AST and skyride are unaffiliated. However what I have stated in detail while citing multiple parallel examples so that I could try to provide some clarity to someone as jaded as yourself could understand- is that the ONLY connection to skyride AST has is that the funding to start the DZ came from the owners of skyride. so cash was provided, however operations are completely independant- again their operations interact as much as competing hotel chains, or competing airlines. Now jumpdude, please refrain from twisting my posts in other threads. clearly you're just "deflecting, diverting, distracting, and who could forget decieving" to our level. All we want is to make as much money and ruin everyone else's fun as fast as possible. though I probably shouldnt make a statement like that since you'll interpret it as fact instead of being laced with sarcasm as intended. And spence- I know of at least 2 people from california coming to the boogie, likely as many as 6, as well as a couple from colorado. We should contact the national media and let them know the infection is spreading! As always, we are inviting you guys to come out and join in. though I assume it could potentially damage your arguments if, heaven forbid, you actually had a good time and began to understand that the DZ's arent hell bent on screwing everyone over! Lastly, as I have said before- it was a boogie first and fundraiser second. It's great for you guys to keep thinking for your own interest in slandering a DZ that the purpose was to generate vast revenue streams for the humane society, really- good for you! Time well spent! Pat yourselves on the back! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

This is the closest thing to a legit answer to my post than anything so far, and I got the answer I was looking for- 'nothing.' What happened could have happened and probably has happened at many other DZs in the country and world, yet you have squabbles with some individuals and try your damndest to tie it back to skyride just so you can rant and rave a little more, get in your cliques and poke fun at people or try to get em in 'trouble' like dorks back in middle school that had nothing better to do to entertain themselves and look good for the teacher(s)(analogy not insult). So i sort of got one answer to the relevance of cat aids to skyride and this post, are there others? Also, is taking a dog humane but a chicken and dead squirrel not humane? or does inhumane animal skydiving only apply to ASC and AST? So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983