RhondaLea

As a generality, this is factual as to domestic pets, however, it is not often true with wild animals. It's a hard life out there, most wildlife has a relatively short lifespan (six months is average for a wild rabbit), and a critter with a disability has a very tough row to hoe. Dog-like creatures (foxes, wolves) may have a decent chance of survival with a missing paw, but a scoon, like a squirrel or any other creature that actually uses its "hands" is going to have a difficult time compensating for a lost front foot. It cannot climb with three limbs, it cannot manipulate its food with one foot. I would sooner kill a disabled adult animal--and I have, barehanded in one instance because it was the only option open to me at the time--than keep it in captivity or doom it to a short, miserable existence back in the wild. As I said up above, I was a wildlife rehabilitator for many years. I forgot to mention that I was licensed by both New Jersey Fish and Game and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

It might make more sense to ask if your instructor has had the same accident twice. The second question to ask would be if any of your instructor's students have ever been hurt, and more particularly, if the mistake that hurt them is similar to the one that hurt their instructor. Everyone makes mistakes. The litmus test is whether someone learns from their mistakes. Me, I'd rather be taught by someone who has been hurt and learned something from it, because that person knows there's no such thing as bullet-proof. Finally and perhaps most important of all, the best teacher is not always the person who is outstanding in the execution of a particular endeavor. One of the best instructor-types I know--someone who has extensive knowledge, who is very clear in communicating information and who is one of the most safety-conscious people I've ever met--still managed to do some serious damage to a body part a few years ago. All that says to me is that he should probably stay away from low bridges with bad landing areas, not that he isn't qualified to teach. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I was a wildlife rehabilitator for many years, and during that time, I had loads of babies to rear and release every summer. Recently, I had a mama scoonie caring for her babies underneath the deck. I am fond of most critters, but scoons are my favorite. That said, there isn't much you can do for an injured adult raccoon, Walt, except shoot it. The one thing you don't want to do is catch it in a way that could expose you to its teeth. Adult raccoons are very prone to biting even if they've been hand-reared. The bite can be painful and disfiguring. They also scratch like you wouldn't believe. (I still have some faint scars on my arms.) And depending on where the rabies wave has settled at the moment, the scoonie may not be safe to handle at all. But a scoonie without a paw is crippled in the worst way. And captivity is no good answer--even hand-reared babies rarely thrive if they're kept overlong. You can't do much for the already injured animal, but you might want to go looking for what caused the injury. It's not likely that it was another animal. More likely, someone has laid out a trap. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I'm pretty sure the pot ends up being donated to a fund for the survivors, along with all the money collected in other ways--for example, a 50/50. (Ask yourself: if you buy a ticket or two, what will you do with your winnings? Take 'em home or donate them to the family for whose benefit the 50/50 was held?) Skydivers are pretty good about making the effort to care for their own. This is just one way to do it. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Faber, Faber, Faber, I just looked at the posts you've made in the past couple of hours, and I cannot figure how--after you've been in the US for three weeks--your English language skills have deteriorated. What did they do to you?! rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Pre-skydiving , I thought that anything requiring stitches constituted injury, and a broken bone seemed like a really big deal. Over the years, my point of view has been forcibly refined to include only death, brain damage or paralysis, (albeit with a nod to permanently twisted, or otherwise malfunctioning limbs). Short of that, it's just a boo-boo, no matter how many scars you have or whether you set off the metal detectors wherever you go. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

You let him take a tree on the airplane? Sorry. It's lame, I know, but I couldn't help myself. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

If someone makes a post to one of these forums, the post is fair game because the original poster has made it everyone's business. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

No, I am not politically correct. Yes, I am blunt and to the point. I think you've been trolled. His was the only post in the thread that made me laugh out loud. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Bad? Who said it was bad? It's nothing more than engineering with numbers. How can that possibly be... I said the "e" word. What are you trying to say here? If you get an answer to this, I have a few others I'd like him to explain as well. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Then you'd be regretting that you were a fat old bastard with an old biddy wife and ungrateful kids. Besides which, Nick, you don't regret who you are, you revel in it.

You're the one who wants to ground people. I'm the one who wants to play "Bounce Bingo." Let's keep it straight. The recommendation I made to Tom at the end of my last post has little to do with safety, but it has everything to do with coming to dz.com and making USPA and FAA and general legal threats. There's more to being a skydiver than merely jumping out of an airplane. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

How does being grounded teach one to be a safer skydiver? How does anything teach one to be a safer skydiver? Some people only learn after they're lifeflighted out, and some never learn at all. Either you twig to the fact that you are a problem or you don't. I'm not going to debate this. You don't like "Bounce Bingo." I do. I think it's an effective tool for anyone who has sufficient insight to examine his/her own behavior. Skydiving is not a politically correct, "Ken and Barbie" sport. Grounding is for children, and skydivers are not children. Me, I'm all about logical consequences. Therefore, at this point, if I were Tom I'd talk to the keeper of the list, have Veter's name removed and then I'd ground his ass until he learns how to be a real skydiver--in spirit, as well as in practice. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

It worked well enough for Veter to come here seeking a second opinion. Unfortunately, in spite of the overwhelming consensus that he needs to look to himself, not to others, as having a problem, he is going to perceive the few objections to the practice as support for himself. I will spare you a psych lesson, but in the end, if "Bounce Bingo" works as corrective action for the majority, it's worthwhile. Every now and again, you are going to have people who refuse to learn, no matter how baldly the lesson is laid out for them. That being said, my hope is that Veter will have his revenge--that he will live and hurt no one. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Some people have attitude problems that can't be fixed, but peer pressure ("Bounce Bingo") is a much more powerful tool than authoritarianism ("grounding"). The former is also more in keeping with the Ranch's philosophy of "no rules." Vote of confidence: I've never jumped at the Ranch myself, but I entrusted its denizens with the life of my daughter on her 18th birthday. And I would do it again. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Sounds about right for where you jump. It's a good dropzone, with good people and a good track record. If a dz prides itself on "no rules," there has to be some way to keep people in line. Peer pressure exists because it works. Does it matter? Then you need to look at why you're on the list, and do what you need to do to get off it. On the other hand, I once knew someone who many, many experienced jumpers predicted to be a DGIT. Ten years later, he has more than a thousand base jumps and no injuries. Often times the reason the fatality reports are such a surprise is that the names on them are not those you expect to see. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Various uninformative links from Google Two missing, two dead. The rumor mill says they were skydivers on their way to DeLand. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Where in the name of all that is ridiculous did you get the idea that it takes intelligence to skydive? Some of the dumbest people I know skydive. And some of the smartest don't. Get a different canopy. Get a few more jumps. If you have other reasons, that's fine, but what you're describing is no reason to quit. It sounds to me like you just need to jump more often. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

...and finally, there's the law: The Photographer's Right - PDF Books on Amazon about the law as it applies to photography rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

That's what this is about? You have got to be kidding me. Enough already. Edited to add: Okay, that's not what this is about. Enough of the assumptions already.

My guess is that he followed the link to your website thinking it was part of the thread instead of a sig. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Nik told me. But it was one of those time-zone-challenged phone calls--he could never remember that his midnight was my 3 o'clock--and at the time I figured the odds were good I'd get a chance to hear it again, so I slept through most of it. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

There's an interesting thread for the old fogies in General Skydiving right now. If the course of BASE continues to parallel that of skydiving, the answer to your question is that it's the very next thing. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Somehow this whole thread strikes me as...bizarre. Oh what a difference a few years makes. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Whilst perhaps an accurate account of Lee's statement, I think it's a little misleading. Lee could only count to 8. Except when he was towards the end of a 50 pack of cheese squares at which point he would scream at Jimmy and demand the missing cheese to be replaced. RIP 'punk. Glad you don't have to hear all this wussie shit. I never heard Lee say that counting is for wussies. I only know what this guy said afterward--for himself, not for Lee. If you think I would disparage Lee in any way, $kin--even by implication--you don't know me as well as I thought you did. But I'm surely glad I have some use as a straight (wo)man. Any Lee story is a good story. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb