wolfriverjoe

It wouldn't be 'nice' to see Moscow Mitch become Speaker again in 2 years. I'm really hoping Biden makes a lot of sensible, moderate choices and lets the Republicans eat each other up. Hopefully, there will then come a conservative party that can represent the people, not just the rich business owners.

Hi Jerry, Not even close. One large insurrection attempt. A couple decent sized armed protests. A large number of prominent people on both sides condemning it. I know Illinois Gov Pritzker (sp?) called for another impeachment. Nobody seems to think this will prevent Biden from being inagurated in a couple weeks. To put it in a bit of perspective, if it turned into a bloodbath and half the people in the Capitol building died (insurrectionist thugs, security & cops, elected officials & staff members)... The number of people who died from Covid in California today would be higher. And, as I asked after the dimbulbs in Michigan were arrested... What were these thugs trying to accomplish? What was their end game (making a VERY large assumption that they even had a plan)? Trump will be leaving on the 21st. Period. If, somehow, they managed to prevent Biden from being declared the winner of the election, Pelosi would assume the office. Can't wait to see how many of these idiots get arrested and what all charges they will be facing.

My apologies. My niece did gymnastics as a younger kid. One of her favorites was the "Circus based" one. As a side note, my sister, her husband and the above niece came to visit, and came out to the DZ to watch us jump. Her favorite thing was how big and open the packing mat was. She was cartwheeling and tumbling all over it.

Well, one could argue that ALL the participants on that call were co-conspirators in the crime of attempted vote tampering. At minimum, there are some significant ethics violations. Disbarment isn't an impossibility. There are more and more law firms that are distancing themselves from this circus.

Or better yet, instead of "Buck", how about "Melissa" or "Amy"? Or any of the other women that jump there? That opens up "a whole 'nuther" can of worms. (yet another 'infix' for ya Professor )

It's SDAZ. All over FB. There have been a few places that have posted "we had a big party and now we find out that someone present was likely contagious". Not just DZs, but other places that I pay attention to. Gonna with hold my 'sympathies and condolences' towards folks who deliberately chose to ignore the science and common sense because they really wanted to go to a fucking party.

Well, he raised something over $200 million since he lost the election. Much of that has little or no restrictions on how it's spent. I would think the current crop of Trump's 'mouthpieces' would be aware enough to demand payment in advance. Have you noticed that Giuliani has mostly disappeared? He was demanding big payments. I think that his 'total successes' at getting the states to overturn the results of the elections didn't help that much. And, in further 'stupid is as stupid does' developments, the leader of the Proud Boys was arrested in DC. He had a warrant for his arrest after he and his moron crew tore a BLM banner down & burned it. When arrested, he had 2 ammunition magazines that were bigger than DC law allows. So he's facing firearms charges too. https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-politics-race-and-ethnicity-arrests-d00d08b026669c150832d1e4c19aeab6

Those lawyers might claim that the call wasn't legal, and they may well be experts at skirting the edge of the law, but Trump isn't any sort of expert at anything (other than conning people) and I've seen opinions that what he said clearly broke the law. Keep in mind that prosecutors are experts too. I agree that Trump's got a lot of attorneys willing to represent him. But the main reason they are doing so is because they are getting paid. Why do you think Trump is raising so much money? Why do you think he declared his 2020 candidacy on Jan 21 2016? He knows full well he's going to have a shitload of legal bills coming at him. And I think he knows how broke he really is (we can only speculate). Once the money runs out, the lawyers will too.

Well, he's probably going to succeed in that. Just not the way he wants. The call to Georgia over the weekend is blowing up pretty good. It has serious criminal implications. As with the New York stuff, this is a state case that he can't 'pardon himself' out of. The fact that the R Gov & SecState of GA shut him down completely, which is what they've done the entire time, speaks volumes. I think the chances of Trump facing actual consequences for this are very real. At least I certainly hope so. Seeing him prosecuted for attempted vote tampering would be absolutely delightful. Not so much from a personal vindictiveness (that's very much there), but from a 'you try to steal an election, you get consequences' point. I'd like it to be made VERY clear that his behavior is not acceptable and to see him punished for it. Nixon got pardoned, Reagan (Iran-Contra) got ignored. This is the logical outcome of the idea that the President is above the law. I'd like to see that thinking end. I'd LOVE to see the Justice Department memo that a sitting President can't be indicted for a crime be tossed out. And Trump may very well end up with THAT as his legacy. That would be awesome.

I don't doubt he will try. I DO doubt he will succeed. It's been clear since last summer that any military intervention here in the US won't happen. If Trump tries to 'declare martial law', the military will refuse to go along. It would be laughable and humiliating. If he tries to start a war with another country, I think (hope?) the military will also refuse to go there. Trump's failed attempt to start a war with Iran last month (or Nov maybe?) is a strong indicator about that. Civil crisis? Doubtful. Despite the posturing and shouting of idiots like the Proud Boys, they don't have that much support. The cops may turn a blind eye to them prancing around with their guns, and to them assaulting other protesters, but once they start committing actual crimes, it gets back to reality (yes, assault is a crime). Rittenhouse is facing prosecution. If those idiots try to start an actual revolution, it will be bloody and quick. They'll lose. Helpful hint: Military helicopters are armored against small arms. They have night vision and effective guns.

Well, the 'funny' part about it is that England seems to have found it first. They are doing much more genetic sequencing of the samples than other places. The US is doing very little. However, the more contagious variant has been found here. And, so far, everyone who has been found with it has no history of travel anywhere. So it's here & it's been here. And it's in places that are seeing big spikes (CA & FL). I'm good with Morona-virus. Name it after the Orange Idiot, who has done so much to make it worse.

You mean the way Trump and the Rs cut taxes for the rich to the point that the both the budget deficit (yearly) and the national debt (cumulative) have reached record levels? We haven't seen a deficit higher than GDP since World War 2, yet Trump managed to achieve it. And don't forget the billions he wanted to spend on the "Wall" (you know, the one Mexico was going to pay for). No. We don't know what you 'mean'. We only know what you post. And it's pretty despicable. There is a legal process. It's very restrictive, and of course, Trump has chosen to take steps to make it as difficult and unpleasant as possible. You know, putting kids in cages and letting them die tends to make parents think twice about trying to enter the country legally. (Helpful hint - showing up at the border and applying for asylum is a legal avenue for immigration) Please show any evidence of illegals voting. Just like all the claims of 'voter fraud' in the last election, it's a load of bullshit. While there are a few instances of illegals being registered, often by aggressive 'get out the vote' campaigns, there's far more evidence of Republican voter fraud than illegals voting.

Even though I voted for him (against Trump more than for Biden), I don't consider him to be terribly 'competent'. His track record as VP leaves a lot to be desired. His comments during the Ebola scare were pretty stupid. But he is a realist, and is at least smart enough to 'know what he doesn't know'. He doesn't claim he knows everything about everything. And he seems to be surrounding himself with people who DO know what they're doing. Hopefully he'll listen to them.

Nahhh. I hate the idea that a small minority of rich & powerful men are trying to subvert our Democratic Republic, overthrow the country and install a dictator instead of the duly elected candidate. I hate the idea that nearly half of the voters support this. Of course, you are probably falling for the blatantly false narrative that Trump really won the election, despite the complete lack of evidence. Also, I hate the glorification of treason. The idea that Confederate figures should be honored with large statues in a wide variety of place is abhorrent. The simple fact that most of those 'monuments' were placed in the early 20th century, in places where the KKK had a LOT of power says more about the motives and intents of those monuments than anything else.

So you don't care about his adultery, theft, tax cheating, and (given your avatar) treatment of the military and his attitude towards them? Your religious beliefs are apparently secondary to your political ones. Somehow not surprising.

Dawn Wells (MaryAnn from Gilligan's Island) died on Wed from it. Daily deaths (nationwide) are above 3500. California is seeing higher numbers (both new cases & deaths) for just the state than we were seeing for the entire nation back in September. It's getting worse and worse, with no sign of easing off.

Well, this might be a good place for this: https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/ohio-state-study-30-of-student-athletes-have-heart-damage-linked-to-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR2S3hY-96iodQj2cSbeLiuOe8DiJUY3ZPDwE2SpNR3nX6VXVA0oVnc2p18 Since this is a 'novel' virus, we don't understand it. Not what it does to us when we are sick with it. Not what it does to us long term. But we're learning.

Yup. It's not that he doesn't care about it. It simply isn't part of his thought process. He has shown repeatedly that EVERY decision he makes is based solely on what he can get from it. In this case, the GA Gov & SecState defied him. They didn't support his ludicrous claims about 'election fraud'. They refused to break the law for him. So he's going to do whatever he can to punish & hurt them. If that happens to hurt anyone else, too bad. He won't even see it.

Keep in mind also that Trump's behavior, overall, in the last 5 years has taken 'corruption' to heights not seen in over a century. His is the first attempt in our entire history to overturn a valid presidential election. He and his supporters keep claiming 'fraud' and 'irregularities', without a shred of evidence. And the morons believe it. This is a long way from being over. Trump being removed from the White House is a good beginning, but the idiots are going to be a problem for a while.

There are something like 140 Congress-creatures who are trying to over throw the country and get Trump declared President. There are millions of people who support this treason. The fact that it is highly unlikely to succeed doesn't remove the danger that these dangerous fools pose. To think that it's going to all be 'over' once Trump is gone from the White House is rather foolish.

You mean like hiring them to build his buildings? Or marrying one? You mean like cozying up to Jeffery Epstein and saying they have similar tastes in women? You mean like paying more income taxes to China than to the US? You mean like skipping out on a major anniversary remembrance and calling those who died 'losers and suckers'? The only thing on the list that Trump DIDN'T do is the gay marriage one.

So stop taking Social Security. And socialized (government paid) medical care. Work for a living and pay your own way, rather than expecting the government to take care of you.

Ohhh. Thanks. I forgot about that.

The types of handles I'm familiar with are PVC, Hacky, Monkey Fist and Freefly Pillow (or Pud). PVC is cheap and easy. Nothing really wrong with it. The only 'flaw' is that it's possible to jam your finger in the end of it and get the finger stuck. I've seen that demonstrated on the ground, but never heard of it actually happening in the air. Any potential of that happening can be eliminated by putting wine corks in the ends. It has largely fallen out of favor and isn't seen much any more. One plus, for those of us that trained on actual ripcord gear, is that the handle is identical to the ones on the ripcords (yes, I'm old). Hacky is a bit more expensive, but comfortable and easy to grab. Much more common. One potential downside is that if it wears or rips, the beads can fall out and you have a 'deflated' handle. I've seen this once or twice, but it had happened in the gear bag, and was discovered on the ground. Monkey Fist is a specialty 'wrapped knot'. Again, more expensive, but it has the 'cool factor'. Freefly Pillow or Pud is a low profile handle that also has a tuck tab that goes under a flap. It's much more secure than anything above (less drag and secured in place with the tab). It's popular with freefliers, who are going fast enough that a premature opening can be a very serious problem. The downside is that pulling takes more effort and some technique to get it loose. I've heard stories of people using one for the first time without fully understanding what they are using finding they couldn't pull it and ending up with a reserve ride. This is one of those things that you can understand a whole lot better at the DZ. Look around at other people's gear and see what they have. If you're sitting around on a weather hold or after jumping, ask for a better look and/or a quick explanation. Getting jumpers to tell you how cool their rig is isn't a difficult task.

The part about the chest strap not cinching down as far is because the yoke is smaller and/or the laterals are shorter. As a result, the Main Lift Web end up farther out on your chest & shoulders. Make sure the MLW are properly on your shoulders, and then basically get used to it. It's entirely possible the yoke & lats on the rental gear were too big for you and this one is sized correctly. B-12 snap connectors on the leg straps are 'old school'. Not too many folks have them today, but there are some. They make putting on and taking off somewhat easier, especially for those of us that are getting older and 'less bendy'. While there is a possibility of them coming loose, it's not common. Make sure they are attached correctly, make sure they are functioning correctly, do your 'three checks of threes' and include a check of them when you check your leg straps. Personally, I'd have no problems jumping a rig with them (provided they are in good shape and work like they should).