Skwrl

+1 Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

You know, I read this whole thing and sort of shake my head in disbelief... I think VanillaSkyGirl was dead on correct - it's your perspective that determines your reality. I'm 38 - so even older than you! - recently divorced and having the time of my life dating. It. Is. Fun. My dating pool is basically 27 to 43 year olds. Worrying about what dress size they are is sort of misguided, in my opinion. I haven't found "the perfect woman", but taking my time to find someone that I can date in a long term relationship shouldn't be a painful process... Think about a couple of things: First, why do you want to be in a relationship - I mean what do you want out of it? Companionship? Sex? Romance? (Yeah, everyone wants all of them, but some weigh more heavily than others for some people.) The answer to that will help you figure out the type of person you want to date (and yeah, if it's as simple as "a size 4", then I'm just going to say you'll probably find exactly what you want, but will that really make you happy in the long run?). Second, what kind of woman do you want to date? The answer to the first question is going to start to answer that, but you'll by no means get all your answers from that. Does she have similar interests (or different interests that you can share)? Do you have similar backgrounds (or does your difference in backgrounds appeal to you)? What are your life goals? What are hers? How do you (and how does she) approach conflict? How do you handle stuff like "telling the truth" (do you tell little white lies? or are you brutally honest about everything?). Does she want kids? Do you? What if she has kids? Figure out all of the aspects of what you want. So, figure out what you want - what's really going to make you happy - at a meaningful (not dress size) level. Figure out what your core principles are, and what's negotiable. And then take your time. Compromise on the negotiable stuff, if you have to. But never surrender the core principles. It might take years. But that's cool - have fun in the interim. -J P.S., on the "my condo location sucks" thing... Seriously - I live far, far away from where I want to live because I want to be close to my daughter. It's a pain in the ass, but people have these things called "cars" that can be used to transport them from one location to another. They're pretty neat. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I'm going. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

For those who like pictures to go along with Lurch's story: Foot dock: http://skwrl.smugmug.com/Skydiving/Pepperell-Opening-Day-2010/12029180_tuzfC#855769912_pSG8S-A-LB Chasing a tracker: http://skwrl.smugmug.com/Skydiving/Pepperell-Opening-Day-2010/12029180_tuzfC#855786465_SVV6R Vertical stuff: http://skwrl.smugmug.com/Skydiving/Pepperell-Opening-Day-2010/12029180_tuzfC#855783968_ZzZtL Lurch coming in for a dock: http://skwrl.smugmug.com/Skydiving/Pepperell-Opening-Day-2010/12029180_tuzfC#855782117_nvyGc Lurch and Justin on the ride up: http://skwrl.smugmug.com/Skydiving/Pepperell-Opening-Day-2010/12029180_tuzfC#855782581_ED2Zw Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

The best of my recent stuff... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Yep. It's awesome. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

The sad thing about this forum is that had the fellow in the video gone in, there would have been someone (nobody in particular, just someone) who would have defended his choice of canopy. It's Skwrl's Fourth Law in action: no matter how you spin it, some shit is just plain dumb. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Tony and Jeff are rocking stylish belt buckles in the "about us" pic. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

We live in a strange world indeed when Mike is the voice of reason. +1 for Mike's plan. And we don't even have to worry about how we define "naked". (Although I'm pretty sure I want a very clear definition of "hot chick".) Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Pffffft. Wake me when the green hot chicks show up. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I didn't know orcas were a type of ox. Huh. Funny how some folks will insist that the Bible is the literal word of God (e.g., universe made in six days) and yet on a lot of stuff, they insist it's metaphor/more broadly applicable than as written. Human inconsistencies are amusing to me. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

You are my new hero, Marion. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I know you keep offering to teach me how to dock, Jarno, but seriously, I'm just not into docking with dudes. Speaking of which, before we get too into thinking that we're bad ass as a result of our mad docking skillz, my soon to be ex-wife was looking at some of the pictures from Puerto Rico... Her observation - "it's great that you guys can express your sexuality and hold hands at 7,000 feet above the ground..." Man, that ruined it for me. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

"Dock" - so that's what the kids call it these days. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

566 jumps; 5 cutaways. All were wingsuit related (bad body position on pitch) and I've since corrected the problem. 1:113. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Yep. I jump a Storm 190. I

I'm with Trond on this one. For starters, I couldn't care less about what (if any) methodology we use to judge "records" - or even if we have records at all. I like to jump out of an airplane with nylon wings and take pretty pictures when I do it. But here's the way I think of Yuri's concept of "flying": I have a zippy convertible sports car. It's fast and handles incredibly well. Sometimes, I like to get out on the highway and max it out. To really have good performance with it, though, the top has to be up (it's a drag/aerodynamics thing). Other times, on a hot summer afternoon, I like to put the roof down and just cruise. When you get the right combination of sun and warmth and wind, it's really sublime. Anyway, using Yuri-think, I'm not "driving" unless I have the top up and have maxed the car out. Take the roof down, go slower than 140 mph, and it's something... but it's not "driving"... I can assure you the best and most enjoyable moments I've had in the car were when it wasn't maxed out. It was when I was driving with friends to the DZ with the roof down and we were enjoying each other's company, the scenery, and the wind. In Yuri-think, that's not driving. But, in a nutshell, I feel that that position is patently retarded. Edited to add: Don't get me wrong - there's a time and place for everything. Sometimes maxing out on a jump (and flying clean across a relatively large Massachusetts town and landing in someone's backyard as a storm approaches) is the thing to do... There are many paths to joy in this sport. There's no point in closing the door to any of them. Your wingsuit won't complain whether it's flocking or maxing out. There's no reason we should. Anyway... less bitching, more jumping! Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

1. Yuri 2. Jarno 3. Simon 4. Andreea 5. Kyle 6. Kipp 7. Butters (On The Fence) 8. Monkey 9. Purple Mike 10. Matt (No longer on the fence.) 11. Stu 12. Danny 13. Pat 14. Ralph K 15. Randy 16. Gleison Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

In a lawsuit against the manufacturer? For sure. If they didn't, they wouldn't have to worry about suit so long as the wingsuit wasn't defective (which isn't what we're talking about here). General rule: once you go down the path of giving instruction/advice, you're liable for the instruction/advice you (or your agents) give. I guess that's my point. I don't know which one it was that objected, but in my opinion it's really short sighted. Personally, it doesn't impact me at all, so I guess I don't really care, but I suppose there's a benefit to not having one of the manufacturers sued into insolvency... For sure. It always is. (It's worth mentioning that Ford got its ass handed to it as a result of that, by the way...) I just think it's a bad approach. But I also believe in the inalienable right to make foolish business decisions, so if one or more of them believes it gets more of a benefit than it puts at risk, who am I to object? * * * Sorry about the thread-jack - carry on with the original subject. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Putting my lawyer hat on: One of the things that I've never understood from a liability perspective is why the manufacturers are so eager to go out on a limb and give recommendations for experience levels. The moment they do that, they open themselves up to the possibility that some annoying fuck of a plaintiff's lawyer - following a wingsuit tragedy - will say, "well, the manufacturer said 200 jumps, the deceased guy had 210, therefore it should have been safe..." Everyone in this forum knows that it's way more complicated than that in reality to judge skill/readiness, but what will end up happening is that the waiver that is generated by the dropzone will cover the wingsuit instructor (maybe) but not the Wx manufacturer - it's not the same deal as the tandem rigs in that regard. And some little old ladies on the jury will read the phrase "Manufacturer X recommends that you don't begin wingsuiting until ..." as "It's safe if you begin after..." The little old ladies will then look at the dead guy's widow and orphans, and then they will financially kick the shit out of the "big, bad negligent" Wx manufacturer. Shitty risk management strategy on the part of the Wx manufacturers, if you ask me... Similar arguments can be levied at the manufacturers' instructor programs (if you have a program, you have a legal duty to police it to make sure your instructors don't suck, and are consistent in their training, etc.). [Which, by the way, was part of my thinking as to why a USPA rating made sense - it reduced the legal exposure of the manufacturers...] The Wx manufacturers with those programs have avoided that problem (so far) with a healthy dose of luck. But we all know that luck always runs out... -Skwrl Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Depends on which dock you're referring to - there were a few, on some jumps that I was on, that would last quite a long time (20 seconds) while others were a lot more ephemeral (1 or 2 or 3 seconds). We all sort of agreed that we needed to distinguish between a "dock" and a "bitch slap that happened to get caught on film". The five way line dock was held for a good 6 or so seconds as a line, and then for a few more seconds as a sort of "U" shaped curve. The double foot dock was a lot shorter - about 3 seconds. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Great pics, Matt, as always. I still want to be you when I grow up. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

For those that may be interested, my first batch of pics from the Puerto Rico boogie can be found here: http://skwrl.smugmug.com/Skydiving/Puerto-Rico-2010/11247334_W45ho#788913168_siQbR It really was an incredibly fun time. It was great to see old friends and to make some new ones. Plus, you can't beat all beach landings in 90 degree weather! Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Rosa Parks engaged in civil disobedience. This is a part that most people don't understand - what she did was in violation of the law at that time. She broke the law. Now, it was an unjust law, for sure, but it drew attention to the fact that it was an unjust law. That's what civil disobedience is - a knowing violation of a law perceived to be unjust. That doesn't magically make the law go away. Park's case actually wasn't the one that was brought to strike down the Alabama ordinances, by the way... On November 13, 1956, the Supremes outlawed racial segregation on buses operating within the individual states, deeming it unconstitutional. Until it did so, however, the Alabama statute was valid. So, in short, it's a good thing (in my opinion) that she didn't give up her seat. But that's not what struck down the law. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

That is manifestly FALSE. Marbury v. Madison established that the Supreme Court has the authority to void laws that conflict with the Constitution (that power isn't set forth in the Constitution, so it isn't self-evident that the Article III courts would have that power). It does NOT mean that people can ignore laws that they believe are unconstitutional. Put simply, an Article III court has to strike the law for it to cease to be a valid law of the United States (assuming it was passed in accordance with Article I and executed in accordance with Article II). Until it is struck, it is the law of the land. Saying otherwise is really bad legal advice and demonstrates a real misunderstanding of constitutional law. No, I'm not wading in on discussions of 2nd amendment stuff. Just on the issue of citizens saying "no, we don't like that" and feeling that is all they have to do to step out of legal responsibility. That's just silly. As I say to my students, "saying that you wish something were true is not the same as it being true."