wolfriverjoe

She is also 'crowdfunding' her campaign. She doesn't need the 'big money' donors. So that crowd has no control over her. THAT is what terrifies them.

The response I give depends on who (and how important they are in my life). The casual friends are simply informed that they are completely clueless about the reality of the sport. "How much do you really know about it? Are you basing your judgement on what you've seen in movies and on TV?" Closer friends and family get the facts and statistics: 13 deaths in the US last year, about as dangerous as riding a motorcycle, choices that I make (canopy size, AAD, RSL, types of jumps) have a huge effect on the risk, lots of folks make thousands of jumps and retire from the sport, ect. Really close people get an invitation to the DZ. "Come out and see for yourself what it's really like." Erroll's post about the activities at the DZ cover it well. Kind of funny that you bring this up now. I got my first jumps of the season in on Saturday. I finally brought my mom out to the DZ I currently jump at. She loved to come up when the DZs were closer (about 1/2 hour drive). But the two local DZs are now closed, and the one I currently jump at is 2 hours away. So I typically go down Friday afternoon or early Saturday and spend the weekend in a tent. She asked a few times to go if I was just going for a single day, but it hadn't happened until last weekend. She had a ball. She'd never seen that many canopies in the air at once before (old DZs were 182s, new place has an Otter). Everyone from the manifest babes to the fun jumpers to the DZO and his wife were very friendly and welcoming. One thing she absolutely loves about the DZ (this one and the previous ones) is how open and welcoming everyone is. Since it was Mother's Day weekend, the DZ offered discounted tandems or free observer rides to the moms. She understands how the Otter descends, so she declined. Mom was a bit apprehensive about me jumping, but understood that life is a risk. She had come out to the old Wolf River when I would go up there after a long weekend - We'd leave some of the student rigs unpacked and I would go up on a Monday or Tuesday and pack them up. She enjoyed the peace and quiet of the mostly deserted airport. She finally (after me jumping for 6 or 7 years) came out to see people jumping one day when I was flying the plane. I invited her saying 'I won't be jumping, so you won't have to worry about that'. She saw the joy and exuberance of the guys jumping and decided to come out again to watch when I was jumping. She again had a blast watching us and from then on would come out and watch on a regular basis. One of her favorite things was seeing the first time tandem students. She loved how they would walk in nervous and apprehensive, with the fear increasing as they went through training and getting harnessed up, then walking out to the plane. And then, the joy on their faces, in their voices and all that after they got back down. She's never jumped (age and health issues), but has a pretty good understanding of the joy it brings.

I'd go with this. Without context, it's hard to say, but I would take 'black skies' as wishing bad things towards someone. Intentionally wishing harm on them. The 'can I be on your ash dive?' comment is generally directed at people who are doing stupid shit, have been told how bad of an idea it is, and keep on doing it. It's not wishing bad things as much as predicting them. Somewhat similar to bounce bingo. I have my list. People who make bad choices and ignore lessons learned by themselves and others. Or the 'black skies' comment could have been sheer stupidity. While I started well after the real BS/BD days, my understanding is that it basically means 'enjoy the good but understand that the bad will happen.' The sport has changed to the point that some people don't even think it's 'dangerous'.

What does anything he says lately have to do with what he's responding to? Yes. I was a skeptic for a while. The 'being sold a bill of goods' is a pretty common thing by the 'powers that be'. But there's a concept called 'critical thinking', where you evaluate information, sources, the data being used to generate the info, the sources for that, and so on. As was pointed out a little bit ago - There's a LOT of science behind the AGW claims. There is virtually ZERO actual science behind the denials. Just attacks. Many of which are demonstrably false. Many of which are perpetrated by people who have reason (or are being paid by people with reason) to deny the truth of the matter. Apply some genuine, serious, critical thinking to both the claims and the denials of AGW and tell me it's all a "sales job".

Absolutely correct. But to claim that the 'well regulated militia' part means that it only applies to state militias (like the national guard) is as incorrect as claiming that 'shall not be infringed' means that it's an unlimited right. Until the recent MacDonald & Heller decisions, many people (and places) claimed that it was NOT an individual right. That the 'people' in the 2nd A didn't mean the same as the 'people' in the other amendments.

Google it. It's all over. I'll start including footnotes when you do. https://www.google.com/search?ei=C6fYXM-APYiWsgXgwJDIAg&q=wildfires+increasing&oq=wildfires+increasing&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i71l8.16809.18580..18777...0.0..0.0.0.......0....1..gws-wiz.A8MoZB7yxEE And do you know the difference between 'Eminent' and 'Imminent"?

Have there been any solid scientific predictions of "eminient disaster"? Or hype by politicians and media? And the number and severity of wildfires throughout the world has increased and is increasing. There is more than one reason for this, but AGW is one of the more significant ones.

I was totally unaware that the Western Journal had any standards. If they retracted every story that was 'untrue', they'd have a very sparse site. One of my 'favorites' was back in , when Ebola was scaring the crap out of the morons, they published a story that Obama was allowing Ebola infected illegal immigrants to enter the US. They were (of course) going to infect everyone they came in contact with.

Well, Uber stock had an IPO price of $45. Opened at $42. Closed at $41.57. Apparently that drop (7.62%) is a record loss for a stock opening.

Largely because the term 'well regulated' is misunderstood. I doesn't mean 'subject to lots of rules and regulations', or at least it didn't when it was written. I find it confusing why the term 'the people' (as in 'the right of the people') is often ignored.

Good point. Thank you for the clarification.

That's funny. I thought the Bill of Rights talked about "people". While certain rights are reserved for citizens (voting is the most obvious), most of them apply to 'people', meaning 'everyone'. For example, non-citizens have the exact same rights as citizens when accused of a crime. The right to an attorney, trial by jury, speedy trial, 'due process' in general.

SSK is the L&B service center in the US. Same as for AirTec. Edit: Gowlerk beat me to it.

Really? What sort of ordinance are they citing?

The rules for foreign jumpers jumping foreign gear in the US are pretty simple. If it's legal in your country, and you aren't a US resident, then it's legal to jump here when you visit. One thing about Hawaii, though. The DZs are tricky. They get some nasty winds. I seem to remember that they have minimum jump/license level requirements. I would strongly suggest you get in touch with the DZ to see if you meet their minimums. (I could be wrong on this and welcome correction if so)

Municipality or HOA? That sort of 'aesthetic' requirement is something I haven't seen much with actual city governments. HOAs, are a different animal. My city cares that people park cars on their own lawns, park non-registered cars out in the open (must be in a garage, not under a tarp), or have parts of the house with no siding at all. I had a neighbor take a collapsing porch off the front of his house. He didn't put anything over the area that the porch had covered, just the plywood sheeting. Maybe a year later the building inspector told him he had to do something. No rules on what that was, he put siding that matched the rest of the house (sort of).

Well, the NCAA men's basketball championship winner, University of Virginia, declined the invitation. Supposedly a 'scheduling conflict'. Really. https://www.dailywire.com/news/46478/mens-college-basketball-champs-explain-why-theyre-james-barrett

As usual with guns, the best answer is 'it depends'. The old "cap & ball" revolvers were a 'thing' from the mid-1800s until just after the Civil War. Same basic concept as muzzle loader rifles. Pour the powder in the chamber, place the bullet and use the ram rod (lever located under the barrel) to push it into place. Put a cap on the back and away you go. There's a good scene in "Quigley Down Under" where the Scotsman is trying (and failing badly) to load one. Modern ones are readily available. However, black powder was the only propellant until about 1900. Smokeless wasn't developed until then. So all of the old 'Cowboy' guns (primarily the Colt Peacemaker) were cartridge black powder.

One of the 'funny' parts of this I haven't seen mentioned here is how Uber is treating their drivers. They've cut pay from 80% of revenue down to 40%-60%. In the stock announcement, they acknowledged that this policy will enhance profits, and screw over drivers. This is, of course, in addition to the fact that basic stuff like minimum wage, SS contributions and OSHA regs have never been in their business model. You gotta wonder if their expected 'increase in driver dissatisfaction' included this strike.

There's also the simple fact that the 'right' decision may not be the 'popular' one. The catalytic converter is a good example. It cost more. It required unleaded gas, and lead helped lubricate the valves in the car's engine. Lots of people were opposed to it being required. But the benefits of having them on every car are without question. Being able to breathe the air is a good thing. The air quality improvements since the emissions rules tightened up are striking. That doesn't stop some morons from removing or defeating the pollution control equipment, thinking that it gives better fuel economy. Stupid and selfish. Of course, some folks are whining that "they didn't ask me". Why should they have? Those folks have little or no clue what is best. They are shortsighted and aren't willing to do what's necessary to preserve the world for the future. That sort of thinking is pretty clear from what some folks on here are posting. Of course, those are often the same people who bitch about the 'government' making choices for them.

Isn't that Trump's MO?

But... But... But... The Mueller report exonerated Trump. He said so. Barr said so. If it shows he did nothing wrong, why wouldn't he release it?

No kidding. If you 'hover' over his avatar pic, a box with some user info will pop up. At the bottom of that is a couple 'buttons'. One is "Ignore User." Probably the biggest improvement of the upgrade.

Welcome back.

So just what part of the god claims aren't falsifiable? All of it is based on faith. That is, you believe what you are told. Whether its the Abrahamic "God", "Jehovah", "Yahweh", "Allah" or whatever, the North American Native 'Great Spirit', the Hindu gods (and there are a bunch), even the Sumerian 'Gozer'. The 'High Priests' get the word from 'God' and pass it on to the masses. And then the same priests told the masses what 'tribute' their God demanded. And took it. Presumably to give to God, but ya gotta admit that the Pope sure has a nice house. And, of course those high priests told everyone what the 'origin story' was. How their particular "God" created the world and everything in it, along with how the world held it's place in the solar system and universe. On the back of a giant turtle was one. Held up by 4 wolves was another. One very fascinating thing, which is pretty damning to the idea of 'God' is the fact that every independent society has it's own God and origin story. While they have similarities, none are the same. Derivative religions have a lot of overlap. The Greek gods are similar to the Roman ones. Judaism, Christianity and Islam have the same God, same origins, even many of the same prophets. But none of the native American (from the Inuit up north through the plains tribes of what's now the US, the Aztecs or Mayans, the Incas or any cultures further south; NONE OF THEM have any concept of Jesus. Similar prophets, even 'living gods on earth', but not the messiah/son of god idea. Same with any other independent culture. Similarities, mainly because the subject has only so many ways to make up a story to give an answer. But nowhere is there the same "God", origin story or any of that. Almost as if the 'old wise ones' upon whom this knowledge was given by 'God' had simply made up a good story to explain questions that they couldn't answer. Go figure. Either that or "God" is such a dick he told each independent society a different story to generate tension, friction and conflict.