kschilk

Thanks for posting this! As a WWll enthusiast, I've always been fond of the "Fork-Tailed Devil". A P-40 Kittyhawk was found buried in the woods, in Russia (somewhere near St. Petersburg), about 2 years ago. Always cool to see the old warbirds resurface, after all those years...like the P-38s that were found buried in the ice, a while back. "T'was ever thus."

Wow....that one hits pretty hard. Touching and powerful! Thanks for posting that! "T'was ever thus."

My bust. I now see that the operative word in your previous eas "met"...and no, I've never "met" ANYONE who extolls the virtues of hemp....smoker or not. I'm in the U.S. and here, most are like yourself and totally oblivious to the other uses for hemp. Actually, you wouldn't want to smoke hemp, since it's simply a "byproduct" of the plant and comes from the stalks of the plant....the leaves are what is generally smoked. A little common sense here, though....... I seriously doubt ANY smoker is going to want to see the source of their buzz, turned into rope, clothing, fuel, etc. Comparitively, imagine the reaction of a steak-lover....if you were to take a nice, juicy sirloin and use it for a doormat. "T'was ever thus."

Geminis are two faced......Taurus are thoughtful and loyal! That's a lotta' bull!!! You are right!!!! And I'm Taurus and I will take that as a compliment!!!!!! I'm a Gemini and my ex was a Taurus...not a good mix....obviously. When I married her, I was thinkin'..."Cool! A Taurus, bein' a bull....she oughta' ALWAYS be horny!" Boy was I wriong!!! "T'was ever thus."

Geminis are two faced......Taurus are thoughtful and loyal! That's a lotta' bull!!! "T'was ever thus."

George Washington had a hemp plantation, as did many of this country's founding fathers and I've seen no evidence that they EVER smoked it. The marijuana laws were initially instituted, specifically to justify the expulsion of non-whites form the American southwest. Though some of them used it for religious ceremony, most were growing it for making rope or purely for medicinal purposes. Hemp was used extensively by earlier civilizations, for making rope and parchment...it's one of the planet's heartiest, resilient and most useful plants. http://hemporganic.com/whyhemp.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp http://www.hempcar.org/hempfacts.shtml "T'was ever thus."

Well, around here....it's part of AFF. I was instructed on how to do it before my first jump and had to perform one, on every subsequent jump. Unfortunately....licenses, certifications, qualifications, etc. for ANYTHING, are pointless....so long as people with drivers' licenses, continue to crash cars...pilots with licenses, continue to crash planes....and skydivers with licenses, continue to routinely fly their canopies into the ground. "T'was ever thus."

While serving in the U.S. Navy, I was the Command DAPA (Drug and Alcohol Program Adviser) for about 2 years. As a prerequisite to the position, I attended the gratuitous brainwashing sessions and bought the whole fairy tale...hook, line and sinker. Being educated on the Navy's drug testing program and with access to courts martial transcripts, evidence and findings, I soon realized that the math wasn't working out...something (many things) didn't add up. I noticed inconsistencies, things like.... -Only 10% of samples taken, were actually tested but I was seeing "lab results" for 100% of the samples. -Sailors accused of "popping positive" were adamant about their innocence, even long after conviction and discharge. Most didn't fit the profile of even an infrequent user. -Random testing was being performed COUNTER to the program "Instructions" (rules) and most often, there were serious violations in the collection of samples, "chain of custody" and in the time requirements for sample delivery to the lab. -Although the director of the Navy lab claimed there was NOTHING that could produce a "false positive" result...they allowed a substantial variance, for "substances that CAN produce a "false positive". -The samples were collected by the Master At Arms, which was mostly staffed by absolutely uneducated and unqualified personnel. Unfortunately, the MAA was what we referred to as a "shitcan billet"...where the derelicts and habitual screw-offs were sent for lengthy TADs (Temporary Assigned Duty), as punishment. It was either there or to Base Security....I know that sounds rediculous but unfortunately, that's the way the Navy works (at least, back then. There was much more that sent up red-flags...but I think you get the general idea. Curious, I made my own investigation and consulted with not only the drug lab personnel there but also, numerous civilian "labs" and medical personnel...both military and civilian. I also sought out and reviewed articles and documents from such organizations, such as NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and even "High-Times" magazine...mostly for info about other drugs. What I found was shocking and totally debunked the effectiveness and accuracy of not only the Navy's but ALL drug testing programs and proceedures. Needless to say, when I presented my findings to my superiors....I was promptly relieved of my DAPA duties. I expected that. For those who prefer to put truth before propaganda, you might find this interesting. This basically mirrors the report I'd submitted. http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/testing/testing_faq.shtml#1. I wonder how many innocent people were courts-martialed and given "dishonorables", for taking perfectly legal, over-the-counter pain medication? "T'was ever thus."

That one's gettin' framed and goin' on my skydiving wall....an' I thought the comedy writers were still on strike. Good one! "T'was ever thus."

I've always felt that ALL gear-checks should be performed BEFORE boarding the plane...but that's just me. I can't help but be curious about your reasoning, though. What does a license have to do with anything? Why would a licensed jumper with maybe only 25 or 30 jumps, be more qualified to perform a gear-check than an unlicensed jumper with, say....100 or so jumps?! I do my own thorough (i.e. anal) gear-check before donning my rig so I'm not worried if the student misses anything. Generally, I try to have their instructor (if not yet a grad) present, so he can sign-off the gear-check on their proficiency card. I too can feel my pins, loops, flaps, etc. while wearing my rig but without an eyes-on check, well....I prefer to leave "using the force" to Luke, Darth and Yoda. "T'was ever thus."

I seem to be one of the few (read...very few) at my dz that regularly asks for a pin-check...and I ALWAYS seek out a FJC student or recent grad, to do it. The training is still fresh in their minds and they tend to be far less complacent about it. Yeah, maybe I'm a wuss but I won't jump, without my "safety net". "T'was ever thus."

"T'was ever thus."

You mean they're startin' to maintain those things now?!!

The "Survival Series" is available on a 2 DVD set and includes Pack Like A Pro, Trouble Free Zero-P, Fly Like A Pro, Breakaway and Ground Rush. Kinesthesia is a good vid for body flight. Packing Made Simple is the newest packing vid (that I know of) and I most highly recommend it. The computer animated gear-check and "how it works" segments for the 3-ring and RSL are a nice touch. "T'was ever thus."

I'd suggest that you get an A license proficiency card and keep it stapled to the inside of your logbook. Many of the tasks on the card are things you'll be doing through your AFF training. Try to get them to sign-off on the proficiency card, as you complete the tasks and make sure it's also logged in your book, for a back-up. "T'was ever thus."

Ditto. "T'was ever thus."

I was using a .300 Savage, Model 99 and fired it, with a slight snow-blockage in the very end of the barrel...and no, I didn't know about it 'til after. Anyway, the bullet exited the barrel and hit the target but the barrel bulged noticeably, almost exactly in the middle. Kinda' looks like the force was heading back my way, even with a only slight restriction in the barrel. No cracks or splits but it stretched the crap out of the bore. "T'was ever thus."

I thought the recommended skydiving diet was Snickers and Mountain Dew. Sugar and caffiene is the nectar of the Gods. "T'was ever thus."

Skydiving has only one quote and everybody uses it......."Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!!" "T'was ever thus."

Normally, I don't care much for music vids...unless they're live concert clips but that wasn't bad!

Yup you used a gun, and that's off limits. /sigh Yep....the humane thing to do is to run 'em down and beat 'em to death. "T'was ever thus."

My first jump in the rain.....my Australian buddy was going out first and spotted the plane. He turned to me with a big smile and said "Rain's shawp, mate!"...then left. I counted off for separation and followed him out....the whole time, wondering what he was talking about...and why the smile? He had a full-faced helmet...I didn't. I had it all figured out, in the first 500 feet....what a dick! "T'was ever thus."

Laura ain't much to look at but that Barbara....she's sooooo hot! "T'was ever thus."

My apologies, folks....failed to notice it was already posted. They're shootin' me at sundown....might even make You-Tube! "T'was ever thus."

I wouldn't call them bigots. Racists is the better term here....and you left out Oprah! "T'was ever thus."