jdfreefly

My last post in 2008!!!! Is it really that stupid? I think the interpretation of the rules, when they are ambiguous, is up to the IE. I've seen an IE let people get away with having done a tandem three years ago for the three year requirement, and I've seen the same IE make it very hard for another guy with many more years in the sport to get his rating. His decision was based on what he knew of the two skydivers. If we can't trust the IEs to make good decisions, we are already fucked. Methane Freefly - got stink?

That's an interesting comment, because one of the main points of the pro on 8 people was that as far as California was concerned, no ones rights were taken away last night. According to them, gay couples have all the same rights as straight couples because California has laws recognizing domestic partners. I don't know if that's true, and I would have liked to seen a debate centered around that claim. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Fruce and I were close when he was in crosskeys, but we drifted our different ways . I almost moved out to live with him after college, but for various reasons it never happened. Right before he left the east coast, I had a long conversation with him on the ride home from sebastian. He spoke eloquently about how important it was to find people that you could connect with...not those casual acquaintances, but those people who you knew were special and that good things would happen to you if you surrounded yourself with more people like them. Bruce, you were an incredibly positive influence on my life, and I can soundly say that I don't think I would be where I am today had I not befriended you when I did. I hope your last days were as happy and fulfilling as you deserved. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I am not so sure it is about hate. I think it is more likely this: A complete and total lack of empathy from both sides of the argument. Watching this play out is like watching a dog trying to play with a cat that is telling it to back off. The religious people don't understand what they are trying to take away from the gays, and the gays don't understand at all what marriage means to the religious. A little empathy from both sides would go a long way to finding an amicable solution, but instead we are going to end up with one very pissed off group of people regardless of who wins. I will say this, in SF the other day, in the middle of the worst rain storm I've seen all year, there were 2 people on a highway overpass with a yes on prop 8 sign standing about five feet away from 2 people with a no on prop 8 sign. It's cool to see people so devoted to a cause, but I wish people were this passionate about our education system or funding alternative energy. -daless Methane Freefly - got stink?

I don't usually tip packers. If I haven't used them all day and I ask them to pack my rig after the sunset load, I think that is kind of a dick thing to do so I throw them some extra money. If they are a person I like and I feel like they've really tried to take care of me, I'll throw them some extra money and usually try to save them a beer from the communal case. That said, why do brits have such a problem understanding that an extra financial incentive can sometimes produce better results? I think the tipping thing is way over board here in the US, but if you are traveling to another country, it is wise to observe their customs. If you participate in an activity where those attending your needs are tipped by the locals, then you should tip as well. Unless, of course, you don't care if people think you are a monumental dick head. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I don't think I would say we are spending it...more like printing it. Big difference...HUGE. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I'm not sure if you realize this, but Britain was once our greatest enemy....as was Spain....as was mexico....as was France....as was Germany....as was Russia....the list is long. At some point, we always seem to decide that killing each other is not an effective foreign policy. It's a shame our memory is so short. If we stopped talking to anyone we had a war with, we would not have anyone left to talk to. Methane Freefly - got stink?

They thought they could create a country where people would intelligently elect their leaders. They stated that all men were created equal, but each slave was worth 3/5ths of a vote. They thought that liberty was the most important thing, more important than safety or equality. They were clearly stoned out of their gourds. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Everyone knows you are supposed to put it on an old harness and tie it off behind an SUV. Then, take turns with your friends parasailing and make sure you get good video. Methane Freefly - got stink?

This add is really starting to piss me off. Methane Freefly - got stink?

With all due respect to your 27 years of experience and the jumps you have under your belt, I think some of your statements confuse opinion with fact. I really believe our decline in numbers has more to do with economic factors than anything else. This is my opinion, I have no facts to back it up. But I offer it as an alternative to your assertion. I believe that there is data that contradicts this. Since the inception of AFF the number of skydivers has increased while the numbers of fatalities relative to participation has decreased. Now, the devil's advocate may argue that this has more to do with changes in gear than changes in training, but again, I offer this opinion up as an alternative to your assertion. My dad, and some of the finest engineers in history learned to program computers on punch cards, and while I respect anyone who learned that way, it is little more than a novelty today. I hope my response doesn't piss you off too much. I do have immense respect for those who went before me and made the sport what it is. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I think you can see from the other responses how ignorant people think your attitude is. I will try to be a little softer about it... I've been in this sport for 10 years, and I've got over 2000 jumps. Not a lot by many standards, but not insignificant either. I've been to too many funerals and too few boogies. I watched two friends die right in front of my face from this shit, and I've watched the sport convulse from all the knee jerk reactions in trying to prevent it. I've seen rules put in place that greatly decrease the enjoyment of skydiving and do little or nothing to make us safer. All I can do is continue to try and spread what I think is the right attitude and philosophy that I think will get us through this period in the sports history. If you continue to take the attitude you currently have, you will eventually be in a canopy collision. If it was my DZ, I'd ground you, but it's not so instead, I will keep my eyes open and continue to beat you to the ground as long as it doesn't require me to spiral by other people. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Yeah, bad things can still happen if people don't land in the same direction, but in a pattern with only two choices, you should have less of that going on than in a pattern with an infinite number of choices. The closest call I ever had was at crosskeys AFTER they put in the "no turn greater than 180 degrees" rule. I did my 180 and then had to throw a very hard rear riser 90 degree turn in during plane out to avoid the guy who was chasing the wind sock to the west. The pattern had very definitely been set to the south by the first one down and reinforced by several others as well. The avoidance turn I threw in was hard enough that people started running out assuming I was going to be injured by it. I tried to make the case that this incident was proof that the new 180 rule made us no safer and that what was really needed was a north-south only pattern with a separate HP area. Unfortunately, I lost that debate. Methane Freefly - got stink?

It's not the 180 deg opposing patterns that worry me, it's the 90 deg ones. All of the close calls I've had have been the result of two distinct patterns being flown that were 90 degrees off of each other. This is why I think when you combine a north-south only rule with a first one down rule, you eliminate most of the really scary things that can happen. Methane Freefly - got stink?

The reason that she can't jump is that the boob implants significantly increase the risk of the instructor developing object fixation. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Maybe some of you more experienced photogs can help me out. I figure with trying to take open shutter shots of fireworks, I will only get a few chances to get it correct. Anyone have any recommendations for settings? Methane Freefly - got stink?

You want to know how to phrase it, here it is: "You know dude, the way people are talking about you right now...it's the same way people used to talk about Kuske, with the possible exception that we are all worried you are going to take one or more people with you." Aside from that, it sounds like some progress has been made, but I'm concerned about what's going to happen next time... My solution would be for all of the senior jumpers to ostracize him for an entire weekend, and make it very clear why it is happening, and make it very clear that next weekend he will get a shot at being brought back into the fold. If that fails, he's got to go no matter how nice a guy he is. I agree with you that banning him now will just send him to a new DZ and not really put an end to the stupid, but you can only do so much before the risk to yourself and your friends is no longer worth it. -daless Methane Freefly - got stink?

This thread seems to have brought out the worst of speaker's corner. I make a post about a black candidate and whether or not racism is effecting his bid to get elected as the president of the united states. Instead of talking about this we have now discussed: Whether or not he himself is a racist Whether or not his church affiliation makes him a racist Whether or not his wife is a racist Hillary's ability to sing the national anthem Racism was tied inexplicably to being stupid False quotes that supposedly prove he is a racist McCain's preacher What constitutes proof for RushMC A debate over what constitutes a PA A philosophical statement that perhaps Obama is racist towards himself A commentary on liberal elitism An insistent claim that one was the victim of a PA An insistent claim by another that a user does not understand what a PA is. The finer points of dropzone.com's spell checking The finer points of firefox's spell checking What I believe to be a veiled comment that people should use MAC. A helpful shopping tip, who knew goodwill had computers? Whether or not Obamam is a Marxist Obama's policy on taxes yet more on spell checking whether or not the rich in this country are screwing the poor Tax subsidies OSX rules apparently whether or not bush's tax cuts benefit the rich or the poor. Whether or not people can feed themselves on $50K Our country's policy on oil and alternative energy Obama's position on partial birth abortions The governement's inability to control spending American's tendency to live beyond their means. A conversation about taxes in which one poster proclaimed the topic to be how the tax system favors the wealthy (that one really killed me! Please stay on the topic of this off topic conversation within this thread) This thread kills me... So, would anyone like to comment on racism in this country and its effect on Obama's bid to become president of this country? Methane Freefly - got stink?

It would be one thing if these people could articulate a logical reason and coherently defend it... http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1318534/obama_faces_racism_in_west_virginia/ Methane Freefly - got stink?

Aside from the fact that he completely missjudges the turn, and doesn't have the sight picture programmed to know it, he also spends a lot of time looking at his wrist when his head should be scanning the sky all around him. One of my biggest concerns with the people using tools like this to judge their approach, is that it focuses their attention on their wrist and removes it from the sky. Methane Freefly - got stink?

dear god...two posts in one day, I think I owe beer. I use my eyes only. I recently started trying to jump with a neptune wrist mount, but couldn't successfully retrain myself to do my approach with anything but my eyes. Right before the point of maneuver I am so busy scanning the skies above and below that I forgot to look at the neptune. While relying exclusively on my eyes, I may not be the most consistent swooper at the dz, but my sight picture has been deeply ingrained. If I was going to start trying to compete at the national level, I'd probably try an audible swoop alarm, but for now, I'm happy to use my eyes. Methane Freefly - got stink?

yes, but will there be Methane!?!?!?! Methane Freefly - got stink?

yup, I can help. If you send me your email, I'll have him contact you. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I swapped mine out for a set of Trulock risers from vector. Methane Freefly - got stink?

So, I'm definitely a bit of a safety nazi, but not that much. I wouldn't jump it until I had been convinced the problem had been appropriately dealt with. Methane Freefly - got stink?