JDBoston

Actually, I think he's saying that it's exactly the culture (to the extent to which you can generalize for any ethnic group) which is the problem. Just the way I read his post. Joe

Second that. It's ALL about being a memorable candidate in a big stack of resumes. Skydiving makes you more memorable. Case closed. And anyone that would hold it against you is a boring douchebag. Joe

Predictably, I think, this thread has degenerated and turned into a bunch of unfocused partisan namecalling. There are really a couple of distinct issues here: 1) Should the US be able to hold large numbers of people as neither POWs nor citizens, and instead make up ad hoc definitions of what we can do to them, and make it all very secretive and not charge any of them with anything but just hold onto them for a couple years? My opinion: No. Shit or get off the pot. There is NO excuse for holding people indefinitely w/o trial, unless they're clearly notorious and guilty like that guy Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Make it clear what they're in there for (i.e. charge them in a court, military or civilian), and let them go if it's a bunch of BS and we're just too lazy or incompetent or overburdened to get around to closing their files while they sit there and rot. 2) ASSUMING they ARE reliably determined to be involved/complicit in terrorism, Al Qaeda, whatever - should we be allowed to torture them to get info out of them? My opinion: Yes. Doesn't need to be Inquisition-style thumbscrew, alligator clips on their nuts kind of torture, but it's amazing how easily most people break with enough sleeplessness and unpredictability. That's unkind treatment, sure, but it doesn't strike me as uncivilized or over the top if you're sure they have info that can save lives. There was actually an article in Harper's on it recently, I think. One interesting point the article made is that sheer physical pain is often the least effective method, because as soon as the captive realizes it isn't as bad as they'd imagined, their resolve and confidence strengthen. I admire the force of conviction in people who are blanket anti-torture (strict definition), but I wonder if they would feel the same way if their beliefs were actually put into practice by the police forces responsible for protecting their communities. Anyone who thinks policemen (and women) don't occasionally have to use threats of violence, cause physical and emotional discomfort, lie, and so on in order to trip suspects up and get info out of them is not living in the real world. It sucks if they apply those things to the wrong person, but they're not perfect and I certainly wouldn't want to do their job so I'm glad they do. I think the second question is a bit more interesting, if only because the first one seems so clear-cut to me. Did I miss anything? I know I'm not calling anyone any names yet, just give me some time once people start disagreeing with me ; ) My $0.02, Joe

Thanks. Now I'm gonna have nightmares. For the sake of my own sanity I think I will believe that this is BS. Joe

I talked to him after, and I think he said he had about 250 skydives (and a few BASE jumps?? not sure) before getting paralyzed in a biking accident a couple years ago. Joe

Hell yeah. That was nasty to watch. Ugh. Joe

That is a VERY sexy picture.

Good suggestions, but if I see someone below me or above me tracking who doesn't seem to know I'm there, I don't wait for them to do something, I take the initiative and get the hell away from them. Seems to me like sitting there waiting to see what they'll do is just begging for trouble. If they're above you, why not just stop tracking, let them continue on past you, turn 90, and dump ASAP? Or veer so you're not tracking in line with them, then pull when you're clear enough of them. If they're below you, again, either stop or veer. Depends on your altitude when you notice them & where the other folks on the dive are, and whether you know where those other folks are. Personally, I do NOT want to suck it down waiting on someone whose awareness and skill have already been shown to be dubious. Unless you're on a big way with a zillion bodies all around you, you're likely to have a lot more space around you on deployment than you think. Of course, not getting in that situation in the first place is somewhat better. Thoughts from exp'd folks? Joe

Here I am! Jim, Kevin, good to hear from you guys - I'm glad I was able to fool at least a couple people into retaining a positive opinion of me ; ) Hope you guys are doing well. Feel free to drop me a line anytime - my email address is in my profile. For all you Jumptown folks - yeah, I miss you too. AWWWWW..... Myriah and Goose, if you can tear yourselves away for a minute and email me I would love to see pix of the wedding. By the way, Myriah, nice screen name. Who thought of that one? And PJ and Ian, I hate to say it, but I do need to focus on RW for a while so I don't end up like you guys. No what am I saying, I love to say that. We need some better base people for the hybrids anyway. I'm in Lexington KY right now on my way to visit people in Louisville and Cincinnati. I was going to spend last night in WV, after driving from Charlottesville VA, but once I got to WV and realized that it was full of West Virginians, I decided to push on through, tired or no. What they say about it... it's all true. Man, what a place. Like Rob said, my website (www.joedeal.com) usually has some info on where I am & where I am going. For instance - Bridge Day next weekend. And after Bridge Day, I think I may head to that WV town where they saw the Mothman back in the fifties or whenever it was, and see what THOSE folks are like. That should be a trip. So the adventure continues... and I'm looking forward to meeting more of you cool people out there! Joe

Eh? Who & when was this? Joe

IMHO, it's usually a better idea to get the pilot chute OUT of your burble than it is to do something that's almost guaranteed to give you line twists on a non-student wing-loading. I would try not to make a habit of that twisting thing (without knowing the exact movement you're describing, of course) - you generally want to be as symmetrical as possible right after you deploy. Thoughts from others? Joe

Can I get a hell yeah. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Mmmmmmmm......... CASA............. Joe

I have a Racer I got about 1.5 years ago and the only velcro it has is inside the top flap to keep the two halves of it together. Tuck tab riser covers, and walrus teeth on the top flap. I freefly in it all the time with no problems and have had a reserve deployment on it that would have sent me to the doctor if it had been any quicker (well, it was at terminal, so maybe that contributed too ). Very comfortable, great customer service, etc. Shop around and see what you like. If you're buying new, I think it's honestly pretty hard to go wrong with any of the major rig manufacturers. Joe Joe

Tri, baby, Tri. Word. Joe

Yes, that's what I assumed ... it's hard to do both at once . I'm still curious though - personally, I consider going down on a girl (or her going down on me) as foreplay, thus it often comes before sex itself, even the first time. And I can think of many times when that's all there was, and it didn't ever progress to sex. Joe

Why not? Joe

For me, permissiveness clearly ends when the public good or safety is compromised - i.e. abolishing speed limits, selling automatic weapons to everyone, etc. They banned smoking in bars & restaurants because it was a very real OSHA/public health issue, not just a 'lack of tolerance.' Smoke is bad for people. If you are working in a place where you are forced to be in a cloud of smoke all the time, it is bad for your health. Hence the ban. I have plenty of friends that smoke but my attitude is hey, tough shit. I absolutely love the ban. Back to the issue of this thread, if two gay people want to spend the rest of their life with each other, then in my mind they have every right to do so and should get the same financial & other benefits as a couple of straight people. Or if the government wants to create a different kind of 'union' for gay people and call it something besides marriage, but give it the same tax benefits etc., whatever. That's fine too. On the other side of the argument, I think all the pious references to God's idea of marriage are a bunch of BS. It's a convenient way for people to try and excuse their bigotry. If they actually lived all aspects of their life by the letter of the Bible, as I think someone else illustrated in one of these threads, it would not be quite what they think. So basically they're hypocrites. IMHO of course. Joe

That's true, but to me, it's a very different kind of variety than the kind you get from totally different people, with different bodies, turn-ons, turn-offs, etc. Both are good. Toys are nice too. And costumes. Joe

My $0.02 is that variety is the spice of life. I'll leave it at that. Joe

Hahahahahaha.... good point Ron! It's interesting that the majority so far says that oral sex makes someone a "sexual partner" - though I suppose it's logical. But do people really keep track of those the same way they do of people they sleep with? Hell I guess I could probably ballpark it. Joe

FWIW, I heard tonight from someone who has worked for the Boston Police Dept. for about 5 years that the false claim figure is actually 30-50% (for reported sexual assaults of all types, which covers harassment-type things such as grabbing as well as more serious incidents). He also mentioned that approximately 2-3% of the total cases in this category go to trial. I have close female friends and ex-es who have been sexually assaulted, and I have VERY strong personal feelings on the subject. IMHO, it's an extreme affront to real victims that there are people out there making stuff up. And no means no, period. "Not being able to stop" is total BS. Like someone else said earlier, pick your knuckles up off the ground and act like a human. Vallerina, I would be interested in hearing details on your sources, because I would rather not believe that the truth is what this guy said it is. But apparently that's his experience. Joe

Well, if they're unrated, then they ain't an AFF-I. They're just... a jumper. Yep, find another DZ. Life is short anyway, and it can get a lot shorter if you cut corners in skydiving. Joe

I think it's just something people tell whuffos sometimes to get them off our backs about the danger issue. I would hope that not that many people actually believe it. I remember reading somewhere that your chances of dying on 1 jump are about equal to your chances of dying on a 400-mile drive. The one nice thing about skydiving in comparison to something like highway driving is that most of the danger comes from/is handled by you yourself, and you're not quite as likely to die because of someone else's fuckup. I think. Joe

Cutaways from what kind of mals? And I assume the 3rd was a Cypres fire? Joe

A couple thoughts - in mental illness, there's no such thing as walking in someone else's shoes. It's different for everyone. You have no idea what other people do or don't feel like, whether they're depressed or whatever. There's simply no way for you to, just like there is no way for us to know what you have been through the last 3 years with your son. You can't go from saying that no one understands what you have been through to saying in the next paragraph that you understand what they are going through. You can't have it both ways. Also, this really is a scientific subject. It's all based on brain chemistry. Yet there are still a lot of cliches and generalities floating around. IMHO, Tony Robbins-type generalizations without some hard studies and evidence behind them really aren't worth jack in a discussion about this stuff. But that's just me. Nothing personal. Joe