PWScottIV

That is so bizarre... I just happened to be watching it and randomly happened to read your post. It actually didn't totally occur to me till I followed the link that the same movie was playing (didn't switch the channel to watch it). Gravity Waits for No One.

I'm very happy with my L&B "Optima" audible. It has up to 6 different alarm altitudes (3 for freefall and 3 for landing pattern). It also has a swoop cooridor alarm that (although I haven't used it) helps improve altitude awareness while performing high performance landings. The LCD interface is easy to use once you understand the basics. The alarm volumes can be adjusted to your liking, which is good, because at the highest volume I think they are probably loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage, lol. I also use their wrist mounted visual alti (the Altitrack) and I'm very happy with it's performance as well. Gravity Waits for No One.

I use a UPS and it's actually saved my ass on two occasions. I also happen to use my computer extensively for school and work, so it might be a bit more important for me than the average home user. However, if you have occasional black/brown-outs, then you might consider using one to keep your frustration levels to a minimum. Most also act as surge protectors... But you could get the same protection from a high-quality power-strip with a built-in surge protector. Gravity Waits for No One.

I agree to some degree, but try to look at it from this perspective... There were, although weaker and smaller than the officer, many more potential combatants in very close proximity to the officer. Not that it gives an excuse for being so rough, but I can see how he might have over reacted due to the circumstances. I was playing the devil's advocate... It's also very possible that he's a total asshole and was actually hoping he'd be able to arrest children that day. My main point was that without seeing the events that led up to his reaction, it's difficult to make a 100% accurate determination of how out-of-line his actions were. Also, no, I'm not a cop and I'd never want to be one... One reason why is that there's definitely a wide (although not completely accurate) perception that all cops are assholes. I've met some that are and some that aren't. Gravity Waits for No One.

OK, so I agree that there are many cops out there who abuse their power... Unfortunately, the job seems to attract the sort of person who is obsessed with controlling others. However, there are many cops who really want to protect and serve the public. With respect to this incident, I'd have to see what happened before they started recording to get a better idea of what was really happening. As far as we know those kids could have been taunting that cop for a decent amount of time. Who knows what they were saying/doing... At some point any cop is going to react. Gravity Waits for No One.

So I just googled "home drug test" and the first place I looked sells a test for $6 that works with Cocaine and Methamphetamine... You might wanna test it just for the hell of it... https://www.homedrugtestingkit.com/zshop/v3/ Gravity Waits for No One.

I had to find instructors that were ok with me using it somtimes... As some instructors like them an some seem to hate them. There's really awesome programs you can downoad for the TI-89 that almost do the whole problem for you... Which can come in VERY handy during those tests where the instructor made it way too long. However, for the stuff you're going to see in calc, the programs are pre-installed. The TI-89 shows the input and output in the exact format that you'd write it on your paper... The 83 an 86 do not. Gravity Waits for No One.

Get a TI-89. You won't regret it. I just finished using it for all of the classes you mentioned and more, and it saved my ass on many occasions. They've been going for about $30-$40 on eBay. If you can afford it, get the "Titanium" model. Gravity Waits for No One.

Gravity Waits for No One.

Sorry, but I was just really annoyed to see that someone actually got ripped off by this guy... I had made two attempts to warn mods that there was definitely something wrong with the listing. I was also contacted the guy in an attempt to see if he was legit or not and his actions seemed very suspicious. I never would've bothered you guys if I didn't think there was a very high probability of his listing being a scam. I'm honestly not trying to make it personal against anyone in particular. Just a bit frustrated that I wasn't listened to and someone might've been ripped off because of it... I've been ripped off before (not on here) and it sucks. Gravity Waits for No One.

I used the scam alert form and contacted grosfion (Who was the only mod online at the time)... He said he would contact a mod for the classifieds area, but apparently he forgot or whomever he told didn't give a shit to look into it... Now at least one person got fucked. Even to me (a total newbie) it was totally OBVIOUS that the ad was a scam. The pictures were from a very old Vector and the information he had listed was for an essentially brand new fully loaded Vector 3 and was only asking about 1k for it... Come on people, if a deal seems too good to be true then it probably is. ESPECIALLY if things don't match up and it's a foreign seller asking for you to use Western Union. Gravity Waits for No One.

Yeah, I warned a few moderators about this guy months ago... But nobody listened. Gravity Waits for No One.

It's not really hard to drive a car with Vise Grips as the steering wheel...I've done it, and that's why I mentioned it. The thief who wants your car, and noticed it is normally parked at night without a wheel in place, is most certainly going to be carrying a pair of Vise Grips. Most thieves with any real skill will be carrying Vise Grips and a small file to cut a key if there is no time pressure when selecting their next ride. (Selected models) In more than 10 years, only one car that I wanted got away from me. If I was after your sled, I usually had you walking withing 24 hours. If you think you're safe from car theft because you remove the steering wheel, you're fooling yourself. 359 What would you recommend to protect a car/truck then? Gravity Waits for No One.

Vise grips. 359 Yeah, but I think they'd have a pretty difficult time getting it very far without crashing it, no? And how many car thiefs carry around vice-grips? Gravity Waits for No One.

Gravity Waits for No One.

I made my steering wheel removable. I'd like to see them deal with that. Gravity Waits for No One.

I guess. I just don't think it makes sense to analyze at skydiving using those units. Each skydive takes such a short time... I think it makes more sense to look at it like this: Jack drives 2 hours to the dropzone and 2 hours back home, for a total of 4 hours, which equals 240 minutes. He jumps 4 times, with a total freefall time of 4 minutes. Therefore, with respect to the activities Jack does that day, he has a higher chance of being killed on the way to the DZ than he does jumping. Doesn't that make more sense? It's about what is gonna be more likely to kill him in the long-run as opposed to how dangerous it is per minute, right? Gravity Waits for No One.

Like I said, it has a lot to do with how you look at the numbers. But in reality it has even more to do with the CHOICES you make with respect to skydiving. There's a LOT more latitude with respect to skydiving practices than there is with driving to help keep yourself safe. If you look at the statistics, MOST skydiving accidents do not happen from circumstances that are out of your control. Gravity Waits for No One.

I agree, BUT, at some point you have to let them make decisions for themselves... Holding their hand and protecting them from every little potential danger is NOT going to make them independent and able to handle the real world on their own. Isn't that what I just said? Blues, Dave Well you had said that the parents should be able to control how they spend all of their money... But I don't totally agree with that. I guess I don't know if you're talking about micromanaging their money or helping them budget it. Gravity Waits for No One.

You're being sarcastic right? Driving IS more dangerous than skydiving. I am glad I don't have as many friends dead from driving as I do from skydiving. I guess it depends on how you look at the statistics... It's sort of comparing apples to oranges in many cases. When I looked at the numbers of car fatalities per annually (about 50 thousand I think) and I think there were 150 million drivers at any one time in the US. So that's a 1 in 3000 chance that you'll die driving per year. OK, now consider skydiving... There are about 2 million jumps per year, with 300k of those being done by tandems. There are about 25-30 fatalities per year... And on average about one of those is a tandem fatality. So the risk of dieing on a tandem jump is less than about 1 in 300k. The "average" skydiver does about 66 jumps per year, each jump is about a 1 in 80000 chance of dieing, and therefore the "average" skydiver has a one in 1200 chance of dieing per year. BUT, if you are more careful then your chances for survival go up DRASTICALLY. With driving that's NOT so true. Many accidents happen because the OTHER person does something stupid like drinking and driving. I had some asshole run a red light and t-bone me at 45mph last year... And there was NOTHING I could do about it. With skydiving you have a choice... A choice to make high-performance landings. A choice to jump with "dangerous" jumpers. A choice to use the latest safety equipment. etc, etc. With driving you don't get a lot of those choices. SO, I do think SKYDIVING CAN BE SAFER THAN DRIVING. But ONLY if you make it safer for yourself by making good choices... Something you don't get the luxury of when you're sharing the road with drunk, teenage, or other unsafe drivers. Correct me if you think I'm wrong. So back to the subject of the kids... They are going to be in MUCH more danger driving around for a year than they will doing a tandem jump. With that said, if you do hundreds of jumps per year, are relatively complacent, and perform high-performance landings at a crowded DZ with a highly wingloaded canopy, those statistics could be VERY different for you. Gravity Waits for No One.

If you speak with the owner of the towing company you might be able to get them to give you a break... If they're not total assholes. BUT, you need to consider that if it's totally stripped, it's of little value and you might actually have to pay to dispose of it... If you just leave it at the towing yard, then you shouldn't be responsible for the disposal. Gravity Waits for No One.

Gravity Waits for No One.

One is in college at LSU and on his own, but I'm paying for his first tandem...and the other is still living at my brother's place, but again, his first tandem is on me Well, I'd have to respect the Dad's wishes since he is footing the bill for their support. It doesn't matter if you paid for it or if they saved up their babysitting money. The sky will still be there when they are self supporting. How does their mother feel about it? I disagree. I think parents who are supporting their adult children should have a say in how the child spends money, but not on what gifts they recieve or how they use them. And yes, my daughter is 18. It's nerve-wracking to simply advise her of my opinions and then let her make her own decisions, but I think it's the best thing I can do for her. Blues, Dave I agree, BUT, at some point you have to let them make decisions for themselves... Holding their hand and protecting them from every little potential danger is NOT going to make them independent and able to handle the real world on their own. Gravity Waits for No One.

So they should just twiddle their thumbs for fun while they're in school? I'm sure he'd prefer them to skydive as opposed to getting drunk... Oh, oooopps, maybe THAT is why he doesn't want them to skydive... Gravity Waits for No One.

You're being sarcastic right? Driving IS more dangerous than skydiving. Gravity Waits for No One.