AndyMan

DZO's tend to be more willing to go with lighter loads when they own the plane. Sky-Knights is a club, who'se leasing the plane from a 3rd party. Often times the plane owners insist on a higher "minimum load" to keep it profitable. A DZO who ownes the plane can put in fewer people because he's also making money on students, video, etc. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'd go with Joe Jennings, simply because of the "skydriving" and living room antics in Good Stuff! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

That's unfortunate. One of my favorite riggers had a margharita blender in the loft. Free drinks for the customer if they watched. She wanted jumpers to be knowledgable about gear, and she saw having them there when she did the work as a way to teach them. There's a big difference between someone watching a repack to learn, and having it done as RUSH. As a jumper, riggers who complain about unknowledgable jumpers, then don't go to any effort to help them learn - that's my pet peeve. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Thanks... Those answered a lot of my questions! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The key to their decision was that in the case of the American, it was a volunteer army. Canada has never granted refugee status on the basis of taking part in a war in a volunteer army. That was the crutial test which diferentiates between the American and the Iraqi. That the US soldiers would undoubtedly take part in attrocities in Iraq was ruled irrelevant, since the US has a good system for policing the soldiers that do take part, and officers that order it. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Clearly it's part of a cultural phenomenon. In the US, gun ownership is part of the cultural phenomenon. To acknowledge that does not dismiss the relevance. The bigger question becomes "which culture works better". To me, the answer is clear, obviously others disagree. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I agree completely. MPEG4 in itself is completely insuficient to draw a conclusion as to the clarity of the picture. I'm very curious to see an actual unit, or read a good evaluation. The codec itself clearly is "good enough" for broadcast, so the codec itself is good enough for our use. The actual compression may or may not be. Time will tell. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Isn't MPEG4 used in many HDTV systems? I know it is used on my home Digital Cable setup, and it's certainly good enough for that. IIRC, it's also used on DirectTV - which is known for good quality video. If MPEG4 is good enough for DirecTV and digital cable, it's certainly good enough for a tandem video. Not that I believe this camera is good for skydiving. I can't tell that (either way) until I see more specs, and see one up close. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Please don't. I still don't know what an "L bar" is, I saw the paragear description weeks ago and found it unhelpful. Locking threads about real incidents where people can (and should) learn is the dumbest thing I've ever heard, and defeats the purpose of this and other forums. What's an L bar? Why is it only used on RWS gear? Is it used on other gear? What are the conditions that would allow one to come undone? Is tightening them recomended regular maintenance? Is inspecting them explicitly recomended? Would someone intentionally undo one as part of standard procedures with RWS tandem gear? Is it normal that one that is undone will hold togeather while under load? What about while not under load in the packjob? What are the conditions that will cause one which is undone to fall apart? I'm sure I'll have a ton of other questions, as will others. If this thread gets locked, knowledge will not pass. Not a good thing. The other thread got locked before I got a chance to ask these questions. That was a travesty. Please don't repeat it. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It's not specificly the ripcord that I have objections to, it's the style of gear that was manufactured when ripcords were common. You said the gear was a Vector, but you didn't mention if it was a Vector I, II, or III. Older gear often has weak velcro and weak tuck-tabs that can contribute to premature deployments. Premature deployments while belly-flying suck, but they can be fatal when freeflying. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Can someone explain the nutshell of an "L bar"? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think you need to look up the word gratuitous. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

The Costco in Oakbrook. Cheapest gas in the greater Chicago area, as far as I can tell... Of course you do need to be a member... but who isn't? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

If you changed it to any other religion, I think you'd get laughed at, not flamed. Feel free to try, though - this is Speakers Corner after all. As far as I've noticed, Blacks, Gays, and Women don't have institutionalized, mass marketed Dogma. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

$26.45 1 tank for 2004 Honda Element SUV The best price I've found in Chicago is $2.16/gal in the burbs. Average city of Chicago is closer to $2.40 for regular. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Tell you what, if the Catholic church can keep themselves out of the mass media, (and by extension, my life) I'll stop criticising them. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You can download the Cypres Manual here: http://www.cypres.cc/ _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

At Chicagoland, we teach a basic introduction to freeflying after their Category H jumps, but before they've accumulated enough time to qualify for the 'A' license. Taking students on their first sitfly jump is great fun... I always bring all my cameras! Having a safe container is critical. Ripcord gear is a no-no, so is any gear that uses old velcro to keep itself closed. Wait until you can get ahold of good, relatively new BOC gear before trying freeflying. Without a doubt, if you want to be a good freeflyer, you also have to be good on your belly. Don't neglect that, because you don't think it's cool. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

For once, I'll admit that I am completely ill-equipted to answer the fine points of how to prioritize that clause. Clearly, the writers intended to give treaties high importance. "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be Supreme Law of the land; and the Judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding." That said, my answer is purely pragmatic. Either accept the treaty as agreed to or withdraw and suffer the consequences. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think that If that's what the treaty says, and that's what was intended, then yes. From the limited bit that I understand, not only are both cases "yes", but that language was put into the treaty at the insistence of the US. GWB's comments are interesting. While insisting that the treaty doesn't bind US courts, he also insists that the treaty DOES bind foreign courts in their treatment of Americans. He can't have it both ways. The US should proceed carefully. Americans should expect the exact same rights under the treaty as the US system gives Mexicans. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Has everyone seen the Samsung / BestBuy two page spread in April's Parachutist? I was amazed that a major electronics manufacturer and retailer is marketing direct to us. The product appears to be SC-X105, as pictured here, but with an optional remote lens installed. The remote lens appears to be larger than all of the "lipstick" style cameras I've seen discussed here, so I would expect a higher quality. It suffers the same drawback of any other remote lens, which is a direct cable connection to a recorder mounted somewhere else. If I've linked to the right product, then it's also MPEG4 and uses a memory stick. No DV tape. Interesting. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You've never had Fried Ice Cream? It's frozen extra cold, breaded and flash-fried for no more than 5 seconds. Real nummy. Common in chain "Mexican" restaurants. I have no idea if it's authentic. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Good for you! Seriously! I was raised Christian and STILL don't understand the Trinity! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

To those whose local NPR affiliates pick up Chicago Public Radio's WorldView, todays show is "Canada as Utopia?". Canada recently had a hot streak during which the United Nations ranked it the most livable country in the world for seven straight years. Today on the program, Chicago Public Radio's Jerome McDonnell talks with the author of The Efficient Society: Why Canada Is as Close to Utopia as It Gets. The show is broadcast today at 1:00pm central. Otherwise, it will eventually get posted here: http://www.wbez.org/audio_library/wv_ramar05.asp#29 __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Actually, it can be quite tasty. You're obviously not a fan of Iron Chef! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.