wolfriverjoe

Food production has increased because of improvements in chemicals (fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides), improvement in crop technology (GMO mainly) and improved farming methods (most farmers do much field work using GPS guidance for accuracy). That fact has nothing to do with the damage we've done and are doing to the planet. We simply haven't increased temps enough to affect the crop yield... Yet. So science means nothing to you. Do you check the weather forecast? Or is that just 'crystal ball gazing'? And if you had actually read the article, it simply points out that the Trump administration is muzzling any scientific reports that address AGW. Doesn't matter if it's a 'prediction' of what might happen, or research on what could happen if (when) temps or CO2 increase. The first one noted was about how rice loses significant nutritional value when grown with higher CO2 levels. That's not 'crystal ball gazing', that's actual science (they grew rice in an environment with higher CO2). But it doesn't fit your narrative, so you dismiss it. As usual. You conveniently ignore ocean acidification, coral depletion, glaciers disappearing, and actual temperatures rising.

Does the bottom rocker (location) say "Up In The Sky"? Ain't no other clubs gonna bitch about trespassing on territory for that one.

Good point.

What kind of insurance are you asking about? General liability insurance for skydiving is not a real thing. That's why the waiver is as long and detailed as it is. Hire a good lawyer to write one for you (you can ask other DZs for recommendations). "On the ground" liability, stuff that covers spectators tripping and falling, is out there. Some have it, many (big & small) don't. Building and equipment insurance (fire & theft) is available. Given the value of the gear, strongly suggested. But not all have it. Airplane insurance is a somewhat similar thing. Some have it, some don't. Hull insurance covers the airplane if it gets damaged. Liability insurance covers what it hits if it crashes. If you lease a plane, either the owner will have it or he will require that you have it.

And that is part of our 'democracy'. People of like beliefs or interests usually band together to have stronger influence on their legislators. Bikers, gun owners, even real estate agents. All have lobbying groups promoting their interests. And I fully agree that it's just a little bit hypocritical to scream and yell "THOSE people want Sharia law!! THEY want to force their religion on us!!! While at the same time saying gay marriage, abortion, even Sunday alcohol sales go against their beliefs.

I don't think he really gives a shit what happens in the next 6 months, let alone the next year. He's already made a ton of money. Off of the tax cuts. Off of the trips to his own resorts. Off of the Saudis (ya think there was a reason he cancelled the Iran deal?) Probably off of access to the government (invest in my hotels or buy my kids stuff and I'll let you meet "X"). He is in the process of driving the country broke. Next step is to declare bankruptcy (default on the debt). He doesn't care. HE will be fine. The 'little people'? Pfft. He just doesn't care. The "Trumpettes" will be shocked. Amazed. Absolutely baffled that he 'hurt the wrong people. As usual.

Thanks. That says what I was trying to say far better than I did. It has nothing to do with 'respecting experienced jumpers'. It's more that you don't know how to do it right (yet) and you are asking if there is a better way. Not entirely unreasonable, but as was suggested above, learn how to do things the way they are done and why. Then start innovating. Packing is work. Packing when you are new and not very good at it is hard, frustrating and a LOT of work. However, it will get easier. I honestly don't think much about it. I don't worry too much about making it easier, I worry more about making sure the thing will open the way I want it to. Once you get to the point you can pack without swearing in less than 20 minutes, then look at how much work you are willing to put in to make it 'better and easier'. And cost. Don't forget that. The idea of a 'robot packing machine' isn't all that far-fetched. There are some nuances with flaking & quartering the slider that would be hard to do, but the rest of it could be automated, with adequate funding and effort. But (and it's a big but), it would cost. And with pack jobs being $7 for a sport rig and $15 for a tandem, covering the several million dollars needed to design & build one is going to be a problem.

Ya gotta love how Trump is claiming the economy is doing so well, while at the same time calling for the Federal Reserve Board to cut interest rates... By a full point. For those who don't follow economics, a full point rate cut is a rather drastic action, only taken while the economy is in a pretty severe recession.

Like what? What specific improvement would you like to see? How much are you willing to pay for it? How would it be implemented? How would you make sure it didn't have any unintended consequences (bad ones)? I know you have done a lot of work with your canopy project. That was truly impressive. So you have a bit better idea of what goes into component construction that the average jumper. So, what would you do to improve it? It wasn't 'beginner bashing' at first. The OP asked if packing could be improved, and (not terribly clearly) if there were innovations that he wouldn't see on his student gear. It sort of devolved into 'packing is hard and takes too much time, there has to be a better way' (not specific). Which is far more of a generalized 'new guy' complaint.

And this surprises you in what particular way? Those 'same people losing their shit' about a black man in the White House is why Trump is there.

I kinda wonder how anyone who was paying attention thought that he was electable in the first place. While not as bad as Quayle, he sure had his share of 'stupid moments'. The two that I remember the most are the one where he said he was advising his family against travelling on public transportation (buses and airplanes) during the Ebola panic and his 'home defense' advice for his wife to shoot 'two blasts from a double barrel shotgun in the air' if she thought she heard someone trying to break in. No legitimate medical person suggested that Ebola was casually transmittable. Ever. And shooting a gun, even into the air, at random noises is a crime. Shooting a double barrel twice means it's empty. So if there is a real threat, the 'wife' now holds an empty gun. And is basically defenseless. Both those pieces of "advice" are idiotic.

Ok, so you've gone from 'I'm an engineer, is there a better way to pack?' to 'It's too hard, there has to be an easier way.' It won't take '10 years' to get used to packing. Maybe 50 pack jobs, maybe less if you can get a good packer to show you a few tips, tricks & shortcuts. Again, the bag is sized the way it is for a reason. I can't see how a 'bigger bag that squeezes down after the canopy is in it' would work. In the time between getting it in and squeezing it down, the canopy could/would move around. That wouldn't be good. There are effective techniques for bagging a canopy, and a couple of tools that help (look at the thread on the 'Pack Monkey'). Most of it involves managing the S-folded canopy. Some of it involves getting the bag around the canopy, not putting the canopy in the bag. Lines are stowed by rubber bands because they are simple and cheap. And they work. The idea of a system that is big, the bight is put through and then the band is tightened down has some appeal. But will it be reliable? How much will it cost. My rig has 4 locking stows and 8 more on the bag. The 'watch band' latch you envision could be a new way to do it. But 12 rubber bands are next to nothing. 12 of the watch band latches would not be. And you'd still need some sort of 'stretchy' loop so that the lines could pull out. Besides, like bagging a canopy, stowing lines in rubber bands isn't all that hard, once you get used to it. I hook the band around my thumb and middle finger, loop the bight of line, grab where I want the band to be, pull the band off my hand. Similarly, closing the container is more about technique than force. You put the bag in the pack tray, bring the flaps up and close them. Not all that different from putting your foot in the boot and closing the latches. The direction of pull is incredibly important. If you are pulling straight up, it takes a lot more force than pulling directly in the direction you want the flap to go (to close the top flap, pull towards the bottom of the container). This gives you the leverage that Lee was trying to describe. Again, there are a couple tools that can help (Power Tool/Packboy, PUCA tool), but they still need to be used correctly. There have been a number of inventions and 'innovations' over the years. One reason there is serious resistance to change is because many of those 'improvements' ended up killing people and were abandoned. A 'complete redesign' of the entire system may be a good idea. However, the level of testing and certification that sort of thing would require is not trivial. Or cheap. The gear, 'evolved' from the older stuff, is expensive enough. I shudder to think how much an entirely new system design would cost. And as far as what student gear does and doesn't have, it depends on the DZ and the gear. At my current DZ, student gear is just regular gear, sized appropriately for students. Last - If you have ideas, see where they go. Not just 'I want it to be easier', but "I think this particular thing would be an improvement." Make sure you have looked at all the possible failure modes, as well as how it would help. This is far more something that would be discussed over beers at the bonfire than during jump ops. Especially during your student jumps. Be prepared to have it torn asunder, as the people who have seen how stuff can go wrong will identify potential pitfalls and failures that you will miss (and you will miss some). But that's how advancements and innovation happen. Ask Bill Booth (look him up, he's done a lot for the sport).

Coal seems cheap because the entire cost is generally ignored. If the real cost was calculated and charged to the energy companies, the cost would be astronomical. Environmental damage (both in the acquisition and consumption), health effects (miners, production employees, people who just happen to live near coal burning plants), effects on wildlife (from habitat destruction to mercury ending up in the oceans and contaminating fish).

First off, NEVER stop asking 'can it be done better?' That's where innovation and improvement come from. However, I wouldn't call packing 'primitive'. I'd call it 'simple'. Canopy opening is a dynamic and very chaotic process. Keeping the packing as simple as possible reduces chances for problems. The D-bag is the size it is for a reason. They are sized to the container. They have to hold the canopy securely enough so that it can't shift around. Rubber bands are simple, consistent, fairly reliable and cheap. There are a couple alternatives to rubber bands. Silibands and Tube Stows were popular, but I haven't really seen them much in a while. Stowless is a good alternative. I know a few folks who use that. There's a bit of 'institutional memory' that is against it, but one thing to know is that just about every reserve is a 'stowless' setup (so you do have them at your DZ, just not readily visible). Another thing to remember is that a pack job doesn't have to be perfect. Early on, I had a rigger explain to me that packing was 80% psychological. Lines straight & to the inside, fabric to the outside. Slider to the stops & quartered. Everything arranged so that it comes out in sequence and sort of smoothly. Locking stows solid. Most of the rest is to make you feel better (some of it has an effect on 'quality' of opening). Student canopies are very big. So they are more work to pack (tandems are somewhat similar). Smaller canopies are easier to handle, but they go in smaller rigs, so the D-bag is smaller. Getting the canopy in the bag is partly technique, mostly experience. I can't really tell you how to do it, but I can tell you that once you get better at it, getting a sleeping bag, tent, car cover or similar into the storage bag will be a piece of cake. Same with stowing the lines. You will get better at it. But, if you can come up with a better idea, one that offers more benefits than drawbacks, isn't more expensive, is more durable, is easier to use but still effective at holding the lines, then go with it. That's how the gear improves.

Don't apologize. Sometimes this sort of reminder is very important (and not just for low-timers). It's one thing to see someone get hurt doing something deliberate (swooping is the example at the top of my mind). But when it's a bit of bad luck, a bit of 'circumstances' and that instinctive over-reaction combining to create a really bad result, it can be really tough. I saw a couple people 'do the right thing' on Saturday. One guy saw potential traffic conflicts well ahead of time. He chose to land in the bean field and had to walk a couple hundred yards extra to get back. Another had someone closer than comfortable on final, did a braked turn (not a big turn, just enough to go from 'collision course' to 'diverging') and ended up landing with the canopy draped over one of the runway lights. One of the very experienced staff landed nearby, helped get the canopy untangled, and complimented the use of the braked turn.

You are forgetting the DPRK (North Korea). Sucks up to KJU, calls him all sorts of nice things ("murderous despot" not being one of them), pretends to negotiate, gives KJU several concessions for nothing in return, walks out on negotiations, says more nice things & cancels US/ROK joint exercises. When the next exercises happened, KJU launched several missiles. He claims that KJU sent a letter of apology (highly unlikely from that culture), and that the recent missile tests are not a problem because the missiles were 'only short range'. The fact that those missiles can reach both South Korea & Japan (where there are tens of thousands of US troops) doesn't seem to matter to him. So he's basically throwing Japan and the ROK under the bus. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/16/politics/north-korea-us-missile-improve/index.html

Are you SURE you want to take that bet on fires? https://climate.nasa.gov/blog/2830/six-trends-to-know-about-fire-season-in-the-western-us/

Autopsy report is now out. He apparently hanged himself. A couple guards have been suspended for failing to watch him, as they were supposed to.

Well, why shouldn't they feel that way? Their hero, the Mango Mussolini, has said and done some pretty disgusting things. And while he's gotten some criticism and a small amount of push back, he's basically gotten away with it.

You have to ask that as a question? He's taken the concept of California making the rules on water restriction permanent and represented THAT as 'permanent drought." I think the folks in charge have decided that the chances of drought returning are high enough that they don't want to have to go through the process of reinstating the rules (and having to wait for them to go into effect when water supplies are getting short). Getting the population used to conserving water, even when not absolutely necessary, is not a bad thing. So, of course, he ridicules and demeans it. Along with misrepresenting it.

Ya know? If they were smart, they'd wait for Trump to declare bankruptcy. It's abundantly clear he's following his typical 'business plan'. Make huge promises. Line his own pockets. Run up huge debt. (We are at that point already) Next, declare bankruptcy. Screw over all the creditors, contractors, vendors, employees & customers. Sell everything for fire sale prices at auction (this is what Denmark should wait for). Walk away (with all the money in his pocket from step 2).

So when did this guy get appointed judge of whether or not someone is 'sincere' about their gender preference or 'testing him'?

Wow. You understand as much about the economy as you do about Global Warming. Does the term "leading economic indicator" mean anything to you?

Well, he pled 'Not Guilty.' He said he was 'just following orders'. Story: https://www.eastidahonews.com/2019/08/montana-man-pleads-not-guilty-to-body-slamming-boy-who-didnt-remove-hat-during-national-anthem/

True, but to be fair, this was a problem for a number of years. Long before the Mango Mussolini came along.