Trent

That goes without saying doesn't it? It doesn't change the fact that something someone else is doing with THEIR DZ may be dangerous or not well thought out, does it? Oh, hello again!

Just curious. I think there may be some safety considerations that DZ's may or may not have considered with this method of organizing their loads. Think about this: Twin Otter DZ puts out Tandems at 10,000ft then continues to 13.5 for fun jumpers and students. Aside from the traffic issues that may or may not be a problem depending on the pilot and policies at the DZ, there is one concern that seems to be overlooked. What do these DZ's do in case of an aircraft emergency that would require jumpers to exit the plane? Many DZ's have 1,000ft as a sport jumper bailout minimum. If I'm not mistaken, the tandem bailout minimum is 2,000ft or 2,500ft. How would a DZ with tandems in the back of the plane by the door suggest that the fun jumpers behind them get out in case of an emergency at 1,500ft? Do DZ's that do this just say everyone goes down with the ship below 2,500ft or have some technique for crawling over the tandems to get out at lower altitudes? Maybe it's been brought up before, but I'd be interested to hear how it is handled, or if anyone may now think that this practice might be a bad idea. Oh, hello again!

Did I say that "wrong" had anything to do with unconstitutional? In this case, Bush's appointment was no more wrong than some of the other recess appointments that have taken place throughout our history. He picks the man that he thinks will do the best job. Seems like too many people think that the people that DON'T get elected should get to make all the decisions. I guess there are plenty of subscribers to the old kid's chant, "First is the worst, second is the best!" Oh, hello again!

You used his appointment to add one more straw to the camel's back though. Fair enough. My comments are also to shut up some of the whining that what Bush did in this case was wrong, unconstitutional, blah blah. I haven't seen it here yet, but there's plenty going around in the media. So it's nipped in the bud. As for whether or not Bush listens to anyone, I can't really say... don't know what goes on in his staff meetings. Oh, hello again!

Here's some more bullheaded presidents who made appointments to the ummm... Supreme Court. Millard Fillmore appoints Benjamin Curtis Abraham Lincoln appoints David Davis Teddy Roosevelt appoints Oliver Holmes George Washington appoints Thomas Johnson ... need more? Oh, hello again!

I can think of 2 right off the bat... Kennedy appointed Thurgood Marshall in recess. Clinton appointed James Hormel in recess. Oh, hello again!

Beer is always appreciated after the day is finished, and I'm sure the spring rolls would disappear too. See you when you get here! Oh, hello again!

Just so all of you guys know, you're always welcome to come hang out... even if you can't afford to jump that day. You can learn a ton just by talking to the right people, watching instructors teach, and even watching how we handle students on their landings. It's even better if you stick around until the jumping's done and have a beer then chat with people after they're done jumping for the day. Glad you all had a good time out here. Hope to see you soon. Oh, hello again!

Yeah, we just got grippers on our new suits... teeny tiny ones and only on the upper thigh. The only time I've even touched them is on the belly-back exit for the speed round. Even then, it isn't necessary. It's nice to have if you're gonna be yanking each other around on certain moves, but I STILL think it's unnecessary. Firefly makes some cool tiny grippers, and she makes it so you can take 'em off if you want. Oh, hello again!

There's more than one way to skin a cat, so here's my 2 cents on sitting slow... First, head-up flying is almost all in your legs. I've heard many people advocate the 90 degree stuff, and while it's a good start, I think it can be slightly modified to make things easier on new freeflyers. I tell my students that sitflying well requires that you keep your weight on your feet or lower legs. In order to make that work, you have to keep your butt above your knees, otherwise your flying your butt and your legs aren't doing enough of the work. It also makes it easier to have the common "rock back" when people lose their balance. Keep your weight on your lower legs and/or feet. Slowing down is tough because it makes you spread out the parts that you're using for balance. Like people here said, spreading your lower legs to the side will work, since you're now using the inside of your calves to add drag. I wouldn't advise keeping your knees together to "catch air" however. You're much better off, spreading your thighs as well to add them to the drag equation, while at the same time giving you more balance. This is pretty tough to do if you're keeping your legs at 90 degrees from your torso. So get above your knees and spread your legs. Use all the surface you have to both slow down and give you more control. Now, if you got that far, you can maintain the wide and slow leg position, and lean back a little. Not so much that your knees get above your butt, or that you're laying on your back, but enough to get the wind on your back and neck. Now you've added a huge amount of surface area to the equation. This will probably mean your legs need to be a bit forward to counter the drive that your back adds, but you're already doing that unless you're in the splits. The more you lean back while maintaining balance on your legs, the slower you go. A nice side effect of this method is that your arms and hands are pretty much free to do anything... docking, flipping off the camera, or even further slowing you down if necessary. But I'd stick to slowing up with your legs and torso first, save the arms for the fun stuff. Hope that helps. If it doesn't make sense... well, it sounds better in person... can't help that! Oh, hello again!

Whichever congressmen and "intelligence" officials leaked it should be brought up on charges. Why make shit classified if you expect the fucking politicians and journalists to get ahold of it. At least enforce shit... Secrets are necessary and they should be protected not used for political hay by these fuckwads. Oh, hello again!

Aside from the usual problems I have with issues like this... What I'm wondering is why some fucking journalist and his source aren't in prison right now for treason! Either someone is talking shit and making something up, or someone is selling out what should be a secret. I'd hope that if the latter were true, that someone is being questioned right now. EDIT- Just another example of the leeches in the media putting their "scoop" before the interests of their country. Despicable. Oh, hello again!

Ooookay... What changed? What part of my posts that I haven't explained to you do you insist on taking issue with? What's twisted about the fact that many of the same people who blame Bush for the WMD issue, thought the very same about it in 2002 and before? How does the existence of OTHER people's opinions that there never were any WMD's change the fact that Clinton, Hillary, Gore, Kerry, Kennedy, Boxer, Clark and others indeed DID think that Iraq was a serious threat? No matter how much you take it personally, the fact is that Bush wasn't the only one on the WMD boat. His shipmates just jumped overboard after the fact to make themselves look prescient when running in an election. What is your point? Oh, hello again!

Read my last post.... or ignore it if it makes you feel better. This thread wasn't about who didn't think there were WMD's in Iraq... it's about who DID. It just so happens that many of the champions of the left who have railed against Bush for going to Iraq are the very same people who talked tough and thought Iraq was a threat just as Bush did. I have never suggested that there weren't people who thought there were no WMDs. Where do you get your material from?? Oh, hello again!

Not me. I said, "...many of you won't acknowledge that since you guys hate our president so much." If you don't share the common disdain for Bush that is prevalent here and in the lefty circles, then I wasn't talking about you. A post in reply to you doesn't mean it's ABOUT you. Actions speak louder than words. Almost everyone who opposes Bush seems to place the blame on him and his administration, when clearly that isn't true. The only people above reproach here are the super-prescient ones who KNEW that he didn't have WMD's before we got there, or the lucky ones who just guessed right. Which facts did you want? Or did you just feel offended that I replied to your post? Oh, hello again!

Come on... we've all seen thes quotes before, and we know that these people said them. The problem Viper is pointing out is legit, but many of you won't acknowledge that since you guys hate our president so much. If you can't see that Bush wasn't the only one who viewed Iraq as a threat, how can any of your arguments be taken seriously? What I find funny is how tough Clinton talked about Iraq AFTER he was out of office. Sounded like he thought something should be done, just not while he was president. Guess he didn't think a few cruise missiles and an aspirin factory would take care of the Iraq problem. Oh, hello again!

Yeah, I meant TOP, BOTTOM, RIGHT, LEFT. Oops. It's fixed now. Scott, I didn't mean to put the grommet down, I was referring to the grommet on the back of the D-Bag where the bridle comes out. I guess top and bottom is relative. What you can try, when closing, is to have that grommet facing UP, but pushing the bag to the right a bit so that your closing loop rests to the left of the grommet. It'll put more material on the right side. OR, you can turn the bag so that the grommet is touching the closing loop attachment. Depending on how you fill out the bag, this might make the closing tighter, since it puts your lines and extra material in on the BOC side of the container. On my newest Wings, I can't rotate the bag... it's tight with the lines against the backpad. On my older, larger one... I have to rotate the bag to keep everything nice and tight. Oh, hello again!

Spaceland couldn't afford our organizing fees so we decided to just sit around and drink. Like pops said, we'll be in Germany competing at the World Games during Skyfest so we're not around. Since we're the only US team now (the other guys backed out) we didn't have much choice. Besides, who doesn't want to go to Europe in the summer? Anyway, Amy is way hotter than we are... why would anyone jump with us? Oh, hello again!

We've had these handles since they came out and have never had them be too loose. The only time it was remotely loose was when we downsized, and even then, an extra turn on the d-bag in the tray provided more than enough tension in the corner to keep the handle in. Some things you might want to try.... - Pack it with the grommet on the bottom of your D-Bag on the RIGHT side of the closing loop. This might give the right corner a little more bulk. - Be sure you get the bag all the way into the tray when packing. Pull up on the sideflaps to make sure it's all the way down. - Make sure you're closing your rig in the right order... BOTTOM, TOP, RIGHT, LEFT. My handle is always tight when I pack it. Like someone else said... the only time it has ever been loose is when I get a lazy or uninformed packer. Even then, I can usually tighten it up by beating on the rig (while closed) to move some bulk to the right side. Oh, hello again!

Congrats. It will land a lot better than the Tri. Glad you're ok. Blues, Oh, hello again!

Yeah, we use it on some routines... we exit with my belly into the wind and Steve head into the wind, foot just barely in my cheststrap. We then roll it forward (I drive forward and head down, then continue to my back). This puts steve on my chest, and me on my back. He usually has his foot completely out by the time we're 1/4 through the roll. The backflyer has to really push down on his heels to give the surfer something to stand on... otherwise it's like someone standing on a dead cockroach. Have fun! Oh, hello again!

Sounds like a shitty way to sell a suit to me! Firefly Suits are great, last a long time, and she's really good about getting things right. Ouragan seems to be really nice too. High quality, slim fit, but more expensive. Oh, hello again!

Like money in the bank!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, hello again!

Yeah, I don't think you should really need them... BUT... We've thought about putting upper leg grips on our new suits for the World Games since the judges seemed to have a lot of problems judging speed. We've never had them before, and don't really want them... but for competition we gotta make the judges job easier. Oh, hello again!

I just wanted to highlight those things so that the America bashers have to do even less work when figuring out how to keep the rage going. It also shows how predictable some of them will be. It's good to know, like many of us said, these guys were not out for blood, but merely doing their jobs. Tragic. But some people will refuse to see that anyway... Oh, hello again!