SkyCoi

Please point out where I said it wasn't flawed?

No, admittedly I did not. My reply was completely in response to the OPs editorial comments, not the article. Knee jerk on my part, for sure, but it is how I felt in response. I'm sorry that innocent people have been subject to the death penalty, I wish our justice system were perfect but it isn't. I personally have been transiently involved with two successful death penalty appeals, and was grateful that process existed. This does not change my fundamental belief that the penalty for intentionally taking a life should be death. How would I feel if it were me in that position? Exactly the same. The penalties available to the court should not be predicated on the assumption that the system is imperfect, otherwise let’s just open the gates of hell and let them all out. I would fight the evidence, the circumstances which brought me to that penalty, not the penalty. I have now read the article. A former prosecutor feels guilty for convicting the wrong person and in turn vomits a mea culpa to the press suggesting that his 33 year old self was unqualified to make that decision. Great, the self-proclaimed narcissist tells us that because he wasn't competent nobody else possibly could be - now, then, or ever. Oversimplified, but that's how it reads. I do believe in the validity of the death penalty. I'm an ardent supporter, and I won't hide from that fact. I certainly do wish that our justice system didn't contain bias, that law enforcement and officers of the court were all dedicated and focused on simply identifying the truth before passing such a judgment. But at the end of the day I'll sleep ok with the belief that they do it right far more often than wrong, that the appeals process does what it's designed to do, and that groups such as the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana fill a necessary void.

Not sustainable, but has been around since at least 18th Century BC (Ancient Laws of China). No doubt longer - beginning of man's time on earth? I'm sure we'll stop any day now, though, because the penalty for taking a life should be to have the state take care of you for the rest of your own worthless life. Because that makes sense.

Sushi! In my 20's I did two tours in Japan, and on my last tour my girlfriend took me to an amazing sushi restaurant in downtown Osaka. What a spectacle this place was, but I feel like I went into it with a closed mind. All it did was make me gag and want to vomit. On the positive side, we had sex in a photo booth that night, with mobs of people walking just outside the curtain. At the time I felt it was well worth the disgusting raw fish I had just eaten. Now it's my favorite thing ever, which is at least one positive thing I picked up from my ex-wife.

I had a new rig that received significant damage from a built-in space heater (old home) a few years back - two closing flaps, reserve container and the reserve itself. The rig, and new reserve, had never been jumped. Virgin. At the time I had renter's insurance thru USAA, and proceeded to get in a long, protracted battle over the definition of "fire". Ultimately it was decided that because I never saw flame, and the resulting damage was mostly nylon, that my claim was rejected. Despite the fact that I had USAA insurance in one form or another for over 20 years, and had active car, homeowners and renters policies at the time, I cancelled all of it as soon as I could get it done. By contrast, representing how a good company cares about their customers, PD and UPT both repaired/replaced at their cost after hearing my sob story. Screw USAA, but YMMV.

Care to elaborate on that statement?

I "volunteered" at the BMW Championship. If you love golf, and you ever have the opportunity, I really recommend it. I got to chat with a lot of really cool people - Kutcher, Johnny Miller, Adam Scott to name a few - and be involved with something I really enjoy. Most of the golfers aren't dicks and are happy to shoot the breeze. Some are just dicks.

At least he threw the "See you in hell, Johnny!" out there ... impressive.

A lot of factors go into how long one should last, including quality and manufacturer, but also you and how you treat it. Sliding in on your ass or otherwise biffing it takes a toll, for sure. So does not storing it properly or never washing it. All that said, you generally also get what you pay for so plan to spend a little more for something that will last. I have a Tony freefly suit that I love and have put over 800 jumps on - but it started shredding after less than an hour in the tunnel. If you're going to spend any amount of time in the tunnel then consider getting something like a Vertical suit. Tunnels are brutal on jumpsuits, and the Vertical will stand up to both the tunnel and skydiving ... so long as you stay off your ass

Disgusting. I can't even put myself in the mindset of being able to pick up my own poo, carry it to a balcony and throw it somewhere. Sure, I've changed my share of diapers and I pick up my dogs shit twice a day, but to me that's altogether different. What is wrong with people?

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4642952;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread[/irk] "We are using TP-400 and Sigma II -370 tandem mains in the Himalaya. To date tandem landings have been limited to 12.350ft MSL. As we go to the higher DZs, 15,000ft, 16,900ft and 17192ft MSL, those have been sport (solo) landings so far."

Another thought is an underlying medical issue that has impacted your stamina. Other than getting old, of course In my late thirties I was a runner and big wall climber when I was diagnosed with heart problems that resulted in surgery. Leading up to that diagnosis I had been struggling with maintaining stamina, but had chalked it up to age and just tried to train harder. It took breaking my wrist before I ever went to the doctor, and I just mentioned the stamina issues in passing to him. A cardiologist appointment (and 2nd opinion) led to surgery in less than 30 days. I guess my point is to never take your body for granted. Shit happens inside there that sometimes takes awhile to manifest itself. Consider getting youself a physical if you haven't had one in awhile and talk to your doc about it. Glad that you're ok, and thanks for passing on your story.

1:45 p.m. (EST), Tuesday, June 3 - Live coverage of NASA's Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) 2014 Flight Test - HQ/JPL/GSFC Flight Test http://www.nasa.gov/content/live-coverage-of-nasas-low-density-supersonic-decelerator-ldsd-2014-flight-test-hqjplgsfc[url]

I guess what you're saying is that it is "not smart" for you, right? Because no way would you be telling me or anyone else what is and isn't smart without any factual basis, right?

Don't give up home - regardless of the mix we end up as, we'll still let science screw up nature for us: [/url]http://www.parents.com/blogs/red-hot-parenting/2013/02/20/health/genetically-engineered-babies-good-or-bad-idea/[url]

I thought I would update this post as I just went through a battery of tests after an abnormal echo. As I mentioned in another post, I’m 17 years post-Ross procedure (double valve replacement, homograph pulmonary) with almost no issues to this point (some arrhythmia, minor stamina loss) After a recent physical my PCP encouraged me to get a cardio check-up as it had been over 5 years since my previous echo. So after an Echo w/bubble study, a CT scan with dye study and a TEE procedure the short story is that my aortic valve has dilated to 5.2cm and my pulmonary valve has increased stenosis, which is a condition where the valve has a “kink” in it which restricts blood flow. After reviewing these tests with both my new cardiologist and new surgeon, as well as my original cardiologist and surgeon in Texas, the recommendation is that I do not yet need to redo the surgery and instead we continue to monitor over time for when one or the other condition exceeds the acceptable range. For the aortic valve, that value is 5.6 – 6.2cm, and for the pulmonary it is some metric of blood flow measurement which I don’t recall off the top of my head but haven’t yet reached. Everyone agrees that I will need the surgery again, the question is just when and for now I’m just happy to have a reprieve for some period of time. Could be several years. Interestingly, I asked each doctor if I could continue to skydive. The youngest and least experienced of all four, my new cardiologist, was an immediate “no” because of the fear of significant impact causing a tear in the dilated aortic valve. It came across as very reactionary, and the guy isn’t great verbally – he struggles to explain things well – but I believe his concern has merit. The other 3, much older and more experienced doctors all said I could continue but to be “careful” to avoid hard impact as there is a danger there. One even made the obvious “hard impact” joke, which I appreciated. I honestly haven’t yet decided if I’ll keep up jumping. Last summer I played much more golf than I jumped out of airplanes anyway, so this summer will tell if I’ve moved on from the sport. Dom – thanks for the support, sorry to disappear for awhile but I wanted to get through these tests so I knew what the real deal was. Blue skies!

I work in an IT shop for a professional services firm and people routinely bring their phones, iPad's, etc. in for us to setup. I don't know if people forget, or are just plain stupid, but I've seen it all ... dick pics, selfie boob shots, video of bj's in the office. This, combined with what I see people put in email ... this stuff never goes away, people.

Sure, if you're motivated enough I guess you could get the job done. Standard door height is 6'8" though, and it just seems to be a difficult and miserable way to go. I figure the point would be to make it quick and painless, which is what made me consider the auto-erotic possibility. I just measured my door here at work and it is 9'7", so I figure I'm good for either option if it comes to it.

First question I had upon reading this was whether women get off with auto-erotic asphyxiation similar to the way men apparently do. Seems challenging to hang yourself if you're 6' 3".

I belong to a few gun groups on FB, and have bought and sold a variety of weapons, ammunition and optics. As a general rule, while very protective of their second amendment rights these folks are extremely professional and all transactions I have ever been a part of have been completely legal and include FFL-sponsored transfers. Gun "enthusiasts" are often building and selling weapons in the secondary market simply to support their love of building and firing weapons. There's nothing sneaky going on here.

I've seen Thunderstorm jump into Mile High many times - they are always very professional, well prepared and spot on. The crowd loves them and they represent the skydiving community extremely well. Criticize something that needs criticizing - there's plenty to choose from.

I'm still hoping someone will answer your question for us ...

True, but then the skydiving public will cry out that our freedom to jump is being taken away by Obama. After months of posturing and annoying Facebook posts the compromise will be to only let us jump from 5k or lower because that will make it safer.

+1 Liberals have a wide cross-section of values, as do conservatives. As does just about every other belief system. The Internet was specifically developed by Al Gore to create memes which attempt to misinform and create dissent.

Also, the Rocky Mountain News went out of business in 2006. Personally, on more than one occasion I've tried to OD on pot ... always ended up falling asleep in my bag of chips.