BikerBabe

geez, Tuna, lighten up. Obviously you've never actually tried to listen to some of the different subgenres out there. I love it when people judge without all of the facts. I'm a hardcore BT fan myself. BT is my god... Sasha and Boy George? Damn, I wish Sasha would do a set in LA. Instead we get Tiesto (blech) for $75 on New Years Eve. meh. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I don't call it techno. Actually, I think the proper term is "EDM" which stands for Electronic Dance Music. Beneath which there is trance, house, breakbeat, drum & bass, progressive house, etc etc... hmmm...try this: http://www.di.fm/edmguide/edmguide.html The guy has some strange opinions, but uit's actually a decent guide... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Skiing the deep powder is one of the most enjoyable things in life. Every time I go, I say, "I'll try snowboarding", then I see the vast majority of boarders sitting on their butts on the slope as I pass them on my skis...and I think, "now why would I wanna sit around all day"? Besides, there's one HUGE advantage of being a skiier: I CAN GO TO TAOS! Nyah nyah nyah! Actually, my new thing is skiing on blades (the really short skis)...wow, so much fun, and unforgiving as hell. If you want to learn to ski right, get some blades...you have to be perfectly balanced. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Argh. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0783112645/qid=1103302905/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-6183728-1513714?v=glance&s=video&n=507846 Testing in DoD is so fucked up, you have no idea. Unfortunately, the people assigned to operationally evaluate new "stuff" that the DoD buys aren't allowed to do their jobs because of political pressure to get the "stuff' out into the field. Most new "stuff" just skips that step because some Congressman or General out there wants the thing so bad they can't see the forest for the trees. Look up the story of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle or more recently, the V-22 Osprey to see what I mean... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Nope. Never talked to him. But in my job I talked to hundreds of pilots, quite a few army commanders (from the field), and even some navy folks (I was in the Air Force), and trust me, they care. They may not understand what we do, but they know the value of good design and testing. Next time you talk to someone who works in an Air Operations Center, ask them how many pieces of software they've received that sit on the shelf unused because they don't work. It's a lot. The problem is, programs get changed so much based on requirements creep, lack of funding, and politics, that nine times out of ten, the original functionality of the widget is lost by the time it gets out in the field. They care. You've demonstrated in this thread that when you were wearing armor, you cared if it worked. So why are you insisting the opposite now? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Perhaps you're right. But then again, on a system of this sort, wouldn't the tracking system be the number one priority? I would certainly hope so. That would be my design process... The system can't work. It isn't pessimism, it's science. As for the length of time, that's just the DoD acquisition process in action. The fundamental bottom line is politics decides what systems see the light of day. in the Acq. world we had 3 objectives. Cost, Schedule, and Performance. Cost is the number one priority. Schedule second. Performance (whether the thing actually works or not) is a distant third. Which is why good programs with a widget that actually works get scrapped...because heavan forbid, to make something ACTUALLY work, you have to spend more money on it. Bah! *Bikerbabe throws her hands in the air and stalks off* I'm obviously a poor communicator...no one gets it. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Hmmm...the following says that perhaps you don't: The warfighter DOES care. They want something that works. Which is why we have a problem now. Ermmm...I think that's what John is saying, is it not. Hey! You agreed! The problem with T&E nowadays is that most of the testing done while the widget is being designed and built is left COMPLETELY up to the contractor bulding the widget with little to no government oversight. The days of Chuck Yeager and Scotty Crossfield are long gone. There's an inherent conflict of interest in that, don't you think? All of you need to go rent a movie called "The Pentagon Wars". Not much has changed, despite the lip service that it has... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Oh, I totally agree with you. I'm an engineer. I'm still trying to get blood from a turnip, I guess, by trying to explain why DoD acquisition is so flawed. I give. The "people" want missile defense (obviously they do, they re-elected Bush), so Congress forces money at it. So the engineers try to do what they can with what they have (which still isn't enough to overcome the laws of physics, mind you). Then when it doesn't work, the "people" blame the engineers. Damn those laws of physics! Here's another one in the same boat: The Airborne Laser. Heh. Yeah, Air Force. Good luck with that one. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

This guy does a much better job, and frankly, I'm lazy. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1298/120798t1.htm He also touches on some of the BS "reform" that took place in the late nineties that really changed nothing. Good luck. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Damn, this entire thread makes me realize that if you've never worked in DoD acquisition, you'll never understand how it works. There's a place in the middle, between the soldier on the ground (Ron) and the scientist in the lab/industry (Kallend). It's the procurement person. This thread just shows me why my job was so damned impossible and frustrating and unrewarding...imagine having to be the mediator between Ron and Kallend every damned day of your life. It's like trying to explain how we ended up buying a $600 hammer. I know why. I could tell you why. But you wouldn't get it. Thanks to you both for reaffirming my decision to run as far and fast as I could from DoD Acquisitiions!!!

Bah...what's wrong with being challenged? I'm of the mind if you're not in this to learn and have fun, then you're doing it wrong. How can you learn if you never challenge yourself? More AAA teams! Come one everyone! You know you wanna... Anyway, I'm betting 12 will be gone, just because there are so many problems. 16? why 16? That was one of our fastest blocks! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

heh...it's really not that easy. Don't get me wrong. It SHOULD be that easy. OK, we talked briefly about a sole-source award process in my post in the armor thread. And that's sole-source! You want competition to supposedly get the "right" people and company for the job, as well as costing less, then you have to do the entire bidding process! Which from initial request for proposals from the gov't to actual contract award can take over a year. You want to know why all of the systems that work and are tried and true are old things? Because they were all developed before CNN and Fox News and Tom Brokaw with his stupid "fleecing of america" bullshit. The government was allowed (by the people) to spend as much as they needed to get the job done right. Now let's talk about test and evaluation. Wait, that's another whole post... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I'll jump with him on one condition. He MUST properly complete the following phrase: "Fast, Neat, Average..." Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Oh please, both of you just calm down. Ron may know a lot about wearing armor, and Kallend may know a lot about designing armor. Wah. From the posts I've seen on here, not a darned one of you know what it really means to acquire something for the DoD. You want to know why we can't procure things in two years like we did in WWII? Here's why: http://www.arnet.gov/far/reissue/FARvol1ForPaperOnly.pdf Errr....you really don't want to click on that. That's the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Volume 1, parts 1-51. There's a volume 2, as well. Volume 1 is 1126 pages long. That's right folks, there are over 2000 pages of LAWS that the DoD has to follow when procuring anything, from a new fighter jet to armor to the pens in the Pentagon supply cabinet. All those articles about suppliers being able to make more armor don't mean jack shit. Here's what will happen. Mind you, this is the BEST case. Assumptions: 1. The "Armor Program Office"(APO) already has an existing contract set up with a supplier. Let's call it Supplier A. Scenario: 1. The APO puts in an unfunded requirement request. They might get some emergency funding and/or some of the money that is invariably left over at the end of the fiscal year. Let's say Congress decides to divert money for armor. (and all is roses and happiness) 2. Two months pass. During said two months, the contracting department is drawing up a modification to the existing contract with Supplier A to allow them to make more armor. 3. Said money finally shows up at the APO. Only now can contracting send the new "request for proposal" to supplier A, requesting that Supplier A draw up a statement of the work and a financial proposal. By the link I posted, they have 30 days. 4. A month passes. 5. Supplier A returns their proposal to the APO. APO has 30 days to review 6. 30 days pass. 7. In the best case, there are no problems on either end, and in another 2 weeks or so, the contract is signed and the money is obligated to Supplier A upon completion of work... 8. NOW supplier A can start making that armor. So, 4 and a half months later, the armor is finally being made. Disclaimer: I make no claims that this would ACTUALLY happen in the real DoD acquisition world, and any belief that it would is a mistake in logic on the part of the reader. In real life, the APO would be forced to do advertise their request for proposal and take bids from suppliers B,C, and D, then sit through a lengthy (3-6 months) source selection evaluating proposals. Then 3-6 more months would be taken up dealing with the inevitable protests by the losing bidders. By then the money would be yanked back by the Pentagon and diverted to the F-22 or Future Combat System, and you'd be back at square one. Trust me. I did this for 6 years of my life. And you wonder why I'm bitter. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

How new are you and your teammates to 4-way? Do you know what is supposedly "hard" yet? Do you/they have the preconception already that mirrors (and/or memory blocks) are difficult? I ask because when I started, I and my teammates were so new, we had no preconceptions about what was hard and what was easy yet...it was all equally difficult! So we went advanced right away. Jump right in with both feet, I say! errr...maybe I'm not the best person to answer this question. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Gah, I feel the need to reply to this thread. I manage the review database (as of about a month ago), meaning I decide what gets let through. It's hard to tell who is staff and who isn't unless they specifically identify that fact in their review, and a lot of times the reviewer doesn't. I'm an outgoing gal, but I'm not popular enough to know every skydiver on the planet and who is staff at what dropzones, even those of you who are regular posters here. I can't censor anyone's review just because they are a professional skydiver or a one-jump tandem wonder. The only time I will decline a review is if it doesn't provide specific examples...usually that happens when the review is negative. I won't post a review that says "this DZ sucks! I'm never going back". I'll decline it with an email to the reviewer asking for more specific examples to back up their opinion. DISCLAIMER! As I said, I only started doing this a month or so ago, so any reviews posted before that I had no control over. However, I trust that sangiro followed similar guidelines (since he's the one who handed it over to me ). I'm not going to go back and delete things that sangiro already let through because he obviously allowed it for a reason. Besides, I don't want to get a hot fork! Now all that being said, if someone has a problem with a specific review, they are more than welcome to PM me on here and I will take another look at it. Thanks, guys. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

So here I am, living in LA now for 6 months, and tonight will be my first real LA clubbing experience, in Hollywood! I'm super excited about this...going to see a set by one of my all-time favorite electronic music artists (BT). Clubbing in hollywood! How LA-ish of me! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

yeah, Speed sucks now. Two-Wheel Tuesday is down to an hour show. They used to play an overview of the motorcycle racing week then show a taped race. So much for watching Moto GP anywhere... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I jump a Jedei 105, loaded about 1.4:1. I really love how it handles, and I don't think I'll go any smaller anytime soon. I totally agree that the best canopy for you is the one you like the best! LOL. That being said, most manufacturers have some sort of demo program...I suggest taking advantage of that. If you like the Jedei, try a Samurai. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Also, if anyone needs or wants a ride from SoCal, I will be driving my full-size van and trailer. I'll be leaving from Perris, probably sometime on the 24th. There may be several options for a return trip, as well, since my husband will be flying back and forth (in a rented 172) on the weekends. Just let me know! Andi Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

bleh...I need a new computer. This one is almost 4 years old and starting to emit steam from the seams in the case when I ask it to do simple tasks like open MS Word or send an email. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I sent you a PM, as well. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Damn, I heard about this trip. I wish I could just jet off to France whenever I felt like it. Though I also hear you have a good reason. Have fun! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Or perhaps the unnecessary shot taken in the first post of this thread? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/cameron.html?pg=1&topic=cameron&topic_set= I posted this here because it will inevitably become a political debate. Just read the article. Before you judge based on the author, know that he is currently serving on NASA's advisory committee for this issue. So he probably has some insight... I think he's right. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!