livendive

And of course that snow on June 10 was preceded by 98 degrees on May 17. It's been a crazy six week span! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

What an absolutely horrible prospect. All of the punishment, none of the crime. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

It's 106 degrees, mostly cloudy, muggy as hell, and our building AC is on the fritz. How can we have that kind of temperature with a 40% chance of rain? The weather this month sucks! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Yeah, and there are too many parallels for me to ignore (including the "extreme" skiing). I actually mentioned that one to this young jumper when trying to explain why he couldn't jump his suit yet, and it turns out his BASE mentor who has told him he'll be fine in a wingsuit was also a friend of the deceased in that incident. I had a rough weekend and was flustered to get the email I mentioned, thus my posting of this thread. A couple of hours later I've pretty much got my mind made up. I'd rather be unpopular than risk feeling guilty over a fatality. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

So we had someone show up at the dropzone a few weeks ago with 40 skydives, 25 base jumps, and a brand spankin' new suit. I'm a far cry from an expert on wingsuit flying, only putting my S-3 on a few times a year, usually for solo flights. Still, the kid's experience seemed far too limited for my comfort and I told him he would have to make at least a hundred more skydives and demonstrate above average skill and decision-making in order to jump the suit at our DZ. Obviously he wasn't particularly happy about this approach, as he is short on cash, wants to start flying it off objects in the near future, and figured he would be better off flying it out of an airplane a few times first. I agreed the skydiving environment was a better place to learn it, but told him that his base jump wishes didn't exempt him from common sense requirements on experience. So this morning I got an email from a long-time jumper who apparently observed him on a flight at some other DZ and who endorsed him as "definitely having some skills" and offered to come coach him at our DZ if we wished. My general stance on safety issues is "In the event of an incident, could I look a family member in the face and tell them I did right by their loved one and things just didn't work out?" I'm having a hard time thinking I could do so in this instance, but perhaps there's more going on in the industry than I'm aware of. With the recent growth in brands and models of suits, which I'm completely unaware of, has there been a surge in low-timers jumping "beginner" style wingsuits? This guy tells me this suit is essentially fool-proof, but I'm kinda skeptical. I suppose it's possible that these things have improved to the point a novice can safely fly one, but I haven't heard of such developments except from a guy who thinks he'll be fine. Can any of you more experienced birdmen educate a concerned S&TA who doesn't have a finger on the pulse of wingsuit advances? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

:12:0 12 tandems. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I'd say "consistent" rather than solid. Ordinarily, he tries to blame crime on the availability of guns ("DC crime due to VA guns"). This time, he's trying to say that the availability of guns failed to prevent the crime. It's a strawman argument that fails on a couple of different points. a) Sales stock in a gun shop isn't laying around locked and loaded. b) Given that the gunshop is in Chicago, it's HIGHLY unlikely that the owners were carrying any sort of self-defense weapon. The strawman you're suggesting is not one he submitted. That a store full of guns and ammo were insufficient for the shopkeeper to defend himself is factual. There could be many reasons WHY that was the case (you've given two good ones above), but he didn't opine on those so any argument about them is simply arguing with yourself. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

If I were the owner of the rig, I don't think I could have made it 45 seconds without a drink of something that'd grow hair on my chest. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Your playing your silly games again. If you are trying to make some point by cherry-picking this one incident, then have the guts to state it. Quit playing around with your silly veiled implications. This "one incident" happened in my local gun shop, one where I have shopped, and where I had dealt with the murdered owner. I hardly think that counts as "cherry picking". It is a personal experience. A reminder. Of course all he said was that being in a shop full of guns and ammo didn't prevent the owner and his son from being shot. He did not suggest the story was anything other than anecdotal. There's a reason I rarely argue with Kallend. With the exception of when he's really worked up, his statements and arguments are usually pretty solid. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Where did you get that number? It's way high. According to this article, there were over a million people evacuated from the *state* of Louisiana and perhaps several hundred thousand from Mississippi. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

They only deliver personal-size pizzas? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

What, I'm the only one who's gonna vote? I have zero interest in a MMF...another guy in the mix would be a big turn-off for me. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Our schedule is still somewhat up in the air, mostly based on how much work Muttley can get out of, but if I get my way, we're 31 sleeps out (Monday arrival). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

If you can answer yes to this question, you shouldn't be on that jump. What he said. If a particular skydive scares you enough that you think you might need an AAD, the correct response is not to get an AAD, but rather to not go on that jump. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Perhaps that's because the people in Iowa got much quicker and better assistance than the victims of Katrina did. I wonder how many of the unarmed Iowans have been shot in the back by police. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Drunken Halloween party sex? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Feliz cumpleanos, senor John! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Maybe here! I'm more than happy to amaze you Cindy. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Let's see...35,000ish people have been displaced by the flooding in Iowa, all next to rivers and all of them got lots of advance warning. There were what, 5 million-ish people in the path of Hurricane Katrina? And the flooding was on a scale that was completely unexpected. I've seen MANY accounts of the mid-west folks begging the government for help. The original post is about as bigoted as I've seen here, albeit pretty underhanded racism. On the flip side of that coin, have you seen how quickly the government has stepped in to help with the flooding in the midwest? It's amazing how much faster their response is when the victims are white, eh? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Happy birthday Kristi! (and aardvarkeater) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

So the USPS is doing a series of state stamps. No big deal, but it is kind of funny that the guy who designed the Colorado stamp depicted a mountain that's in Wyoming. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/16722424/detail.html Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

It's a far cry from the best beer in the world, but it's better than most "national" brands (Budweiser, Corona, Heinekin). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Turtle's spider picture made me go fetal for a moment, but that one always makes me cry. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

And Gia's too? Blues, Dave What can I say... I like BOOBIES!!! Oh, and for the record... even between both accounts I still only have a fraction of your post whore glory!!! g Boobies are very nice, and yeah, I suppose 7/10's qualifies as a fraction. Wanna compare post loading (posts/jumps)? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

And Gia's too? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)