riggerrob
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Everything posted by riggerrob
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Why does that remind me of a story from the Bible? A well-established carpenter named Joseph who took in a teenaged fiance named Mary .... but under old Jewish tradition, they did not have to marry (in the synagog) until she delivered a child. The goal was to match fertile young women with older, well-established men who could well-afford to raise children. This same logic applies to Muslims and Mormons taking more than one wife. The Mormon practice of polygamy was also driven by high male mortality rates during their bloody expulsion from the Mid-West and on-going battles with native Utes, etc. who were reluctant to give up land to these pale-faced new-commers.
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HEY! I resemble that remark. I celebrated my 22 birthday while on course at CFB Borden. I was banging a chick who was in her late teens. We never discussed her age or condoms or any other form of birth control or sexually transmitted diseases. Since that was back in the days when sex was safe and skydiving was dangerous, I also did my first 50 skydives that summer.
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Sexual orientation being "shoved down our throats"
riggerrob replied to billvon's topic in Speakers Corner
Dear Georgia Dan, I have also noticed aracialism in advertisements in recent years. By "aracialism" I mean models who cannot be specifically identified as being genetically purely European or purely African, purely East Asian, etc. Most are on the vague, sliding scale of "afro-Americans" who range from 100 percent African genes to those who contain almost no African genes, but have been labeled "black" due to antiquated American notions of "one drop of African blood makes you black." Very few of these models can be specifically identified as Nigerian or Somali. We most commonly see slender models with pale skin, black hair, dark eyes, and vaguely epicanthic folds around their eyes. These vague features mean that they might be identified as European or East Asian????????? -
Sexual orientation being "shoved down our throats"
riggerrob replied to billvon's topic in Speakers Corner
My impression is that minorities - including LGBTQ+++ - were under-represented in the past. Now they are over-represented. Sometime in the future, the numbers of minority characters in media will eventually match the numbers of LGBTQ++ in society. These waves and changes in fashion are tough on an old fart like me who remembers when "gay bashing" was a fashionable pass-time in high school. -
Dear Wendy, A former girlfriend explained to me that immature men are attracted to minor teenaged girls. These immature men (say 23 years old) are not mature enough to attract twenty-something women, so hit on young teenaged girls. Consider how many 16 year old girls are impregnated by 23 year old men.
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Vultures will cheerfully clean up after we "bounce." Hah! Hah!
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This discussion is timely as I am organizing my affairs to make it easier for my nephew to execute my estate after I am gone. I knew two elderly gentlemen who refused food and liquids after being diagnosed with cancer. I watched my own mother die in hospital. She signed a do not resusitate order a few months before her death. I last visited my father in a nursing home a month before he died of cancer, etc. It was sad the way he lost his mind in later years. An old friend has recently been diagnosed with early stage dimentia. It is sad to see a previously bright friend lose his short term memory. I do not want to linger, nor do I want to be a burden on my nephew. So I must collect and sign the appropriate papers for MAID. Hopefully, that day is another 20 years in the future.
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Dear Stumpy, Execution is more expensive than life in prison because ^%$#@! lawyers drive up the cost of execution with lengthy mandatory appeals, etc. ^%$#@! lawyers also drive up the cost by trying to make execution "humane." I suspect that "humane" means less trauma for prison staff ... the same reason that the SS switched to gas chambers during World War 2. It seems that too many SS prison guards suffered PTSD when they simply shot Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, communists, political prisoners, etc. Hah! Compared with what? Compared with the ways that their victims suffered? Police and soldiers have long had rifles capable of executing someone quickly and inexpensively. I believe that a handful of the worst serial killers deserve execution because they are too crazy to ever be rehabilitated.
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Stupidest thing you've ever done on a skydive...
riggerrob replied to RolandForbes's topic in General Skydiving Discussions
Strong Enterprises has published an extensive manual on how to do 25-jump-inspections on Dual Hawk. DHT has a number of well-known high-wear areas that need to be inspected or repaired on a regular basis. I have done close to 4,000 jumps on DHT along with dozens more on Vector 1, Vector 2, Sigma, Racer, Next and Veckbecker tandems. They all have their quirks. I have also inspected and repacked a hundred or so DHT reserves. I lost count of how many Strong tandem mains (425, 500, SET 400 and SET 366) that I have re-lined. -
Dear Slim King, Since the American system is failing, I was trying to suggest solutions that have worked in other countries.
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Criminals tend to be paroled after 30 years for two reasons. First, after age 50, their testosterone levels have declined and they are less likely to re-offend ... partly because they now lack the muscle mass to over-power victims. The second motivation is financial. Prisons are trying to avoid the high cost of medical services to prisoners over age 60. Medical problems tend to worsen after age 50 and chronic care can get expensive. Prison administrators do not want the high cost of caring for chronic diabetics, heart attack suffers, COPD, MS, cancer, etc. Feeble prisoners are at greater risk of being victimized by younger prisoners. Finally, consider the reduced life span of long term prisoners. Many of them die at age 60, considerably below the national average.
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Gerry, I doubt if CSPA purged their fatality files. More likely that the early accident report never reached CSPA headquarters. The last time I read through CSPA's fatality files was in 1987.
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Dear Leigh, That packing error has been repeated many times. It is too easy to forget a small piece of cord in a main pack job especially since main pack jobs are often rushed and tools are rarely counted. The first fatality (1970s) in CSPA's files started with the same packing error involving a Para-Commander main canopy. OTOH Tools are routinely counted at the start and finish of reserve pack jobs. One way to reduce the number of tools is to tie the pilot-chute bridle around the lines. This helps keep the lines neat and make sit difficult to close the container until the bridle has been removed from the suspension lines. This technique is popular when packing reserves partly because it helps keep reserve suspension lines neat and riggers are realllllllly anal-retentive neat-freaks when packing reserves. It helps that reserve bridles are often much longer than the 2 or 3 meters of main bridles.
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That dishonorably discharged US Marine - Paul Whelan - held 4 passports: Canadian, Irish, British and American. I still don't understand how a person can hold more than one passport????????
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No matter how precisely a law is worded, someone will always find a loophole or a work around. An AR-15 would be my priority last pick for a gun fight. AR-15 pistols are little more than range toys. For example, the Canadian Firearms Law circa 1990 prohibited Barret .50 caliber rifles. The old list looked like it had been compiled from "Guns and Ammo" magazine. So Barret quit selling in Canada. Then another half-dozen manufacturers introduced similar .50 caliber "sniper rifles" and sold them merrily. The latest Canadian firearms law goes into more detail, limiting rifles to .50 caliber and limiting muzzle energy. The list of 300-odd prohibited guns reads more like a list of weapons from the video game "Gears of Duty." Hah! Hah! The new law also specifically prohibits a variety of anti-tank guns (usually 20mm or greater), mortars and flame-throwers. Why any civilian needs a mortar or flame-thrower is a mystery to me??????
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Dear bokdrol, In the USA, all civilian parachute riggers are licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration. It has been a long time since the United States Parachute Association has had anything to do with licensing riggers. USPA was only briefly involved during the 1980s when they took over the ram-air reserve endorsement initially offered by Para-Flite. This was to help civilian riggers learned how to pack the new-fangled ram-air reserves. The Para-Flite or USPA "ram-air reserve" endorsement was in addition to FAA certification, but FAA never required the endorsement. I doubt if the FAA took Para-Flite's or USPA's endorsement seriously. At best, the FAA considered the endorsement to be "pack in accordance with the manufacturers' instructions." The FAA is famously slow in changing their ways. USA Federal Air Regulations change even slower.
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I am just glad that the political prisoner named Britney Griner has gone home. I also hope that the Russian arms-dealer - that was traded for her - has spent so many years in prison that all of his old contacts have gotten stale or retired. The last thing we need is another shady Russian helping Mr. Poutine buy more arms.
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Ron, Pease try to be more polite and more respectful of people who are outside your circle. There are a few gays and lesbians and even trans-gender person at my work and they are all more polite than you. Since I will never have sex with those gays, lesbians or trans-gender people, I have no right to pry into their private lives. By the same token, Ron has no right to pry into my private life since I will never have sex with him. Stay in your own lane and mind you own business. What did Jesus say about "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone?" P.S. That is old-school Universalist in me speaking. Universalism started as a minor off-shoot of Christianity.
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Arab legends are based upon reality. The reference to a terrible, sulphur smell remind some of some wells in Alberta. When I worked at Beiseker, Alberta, well water had to be left to off-gas sulphur for a day or two before we could drink it. Fortunately, the previous owner had installed large fresh water tanks that held sufficient reserve to all water to sit for a day or three before we needed to use it for cooking, washing, etc.. Alberta has hundreds of petroleum wells that produce the full range of fluids ranging from natural gas to tar. Some wells also off-gas deadly hydrogen sulfide that can kill cattle and require drillers to keep gas masks handy.
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"Assault pistol" is a new term. First time I have heard it. What does "assault pistol" mean? A pistol magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds is the current Canadian legal definition of a restricted pistol. If you have a pistol magazine capable of holding more than 10-rounds, it needs to be pegged/riveted to limit capacity. The Canadian House of Commons is currently struggling to define "assault weapon" and "assault rifle." One of their stumbling blocks is all the thousands of Communist-surplus SKS carbines (10-round, trap-door magazine) used by First Nation hunters: Inuit, Eskimo, Cree, Dene, etc. All other Canadians are limited to 5-round magazines in rifles, but one rumor has it that Parliament would like to limit rifles to 5-round, trap-door magazines. Perhaps Americans should watch the Canadian, New Zealand, British, etc. lead on gun laws because that is likely to happen in the USA in another decade or two.
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There is no hope, nor forgiveness, nor salvation for those who are willfully stupid.
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Yes, I put dozens perhaps hundreds of jumps on a Nova 150 (I weighed 190 pounds in street clothes) and never had any problems. It only got snarky when I pulled down a front riser. My only other complaint was that it opened harder than a Sabre 1 - 150.
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Apply Hanlon's Razor to determine if people are being willfully malicious or just stupid.
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The dismantled wing turbine was built in 2001, hence 21 years old. Wind turbines only have a 30 or 40 year service life.
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Did they ever publish photos of his home-made parachute?
