wolfriverjoe

Well, since China has retaliated with huge tariffs on US soybeans, guess who they are buying them from? Go ahead, guess. Helpful hint: The country is run by Trump's overlord. Is it really a coincidence that Russia is benefiting greatly by Trump's actions (at the expense of US farmers)? MRGA "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Nicely put. While the 'talking in freefall' and insanely long time in freefall, and the pull altitudes (and time between 'break' at 2k and the other 2 'pulling'), all of that was totally unrealistic, the 'feel' of it was pretty cool. The exit shots were breathtaking. And the 'joy & freedom' of freefall was pretty close. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

That Starr ignored? Possible, but not likely. Starr had one testify under oath. It's in the Wiki link he posted. In all three cases, there were reasons to question the claims. Back then, those claiming to be victims had a much, much longer and harder road to get people to believe them. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Not an instructor, but I will often chat with students in the loading area. One of my most asked questions is "what made you decide to do this?" In the past few years, I have yet to hear "I saw it in Mission Impossible" (or a Bond movie or Get Smart, ect) "It's something I've always wanted to do" "It was on my bucket list" "It was my friend's idea and it sounded cool" "My girlfriend wanted to do it, so I had to or look like a wuss" "A bunch of us were at the bar and came up with the idea and I couldn't back out" Given today's tech, and the prevalence of all sorts of 'extreme' crap on YouTube (and elsewhere), everyone has seen it. I think one of the things about Point Break was that the guys jumping weren't secret agents, or 'special forces' or anything other than a group of guys into surfing and bank robbery. Johnny Utah had never jumped before, but he did ok (yes, I know how realistic that was). It made it look 'doable', if not somewhat reasonable. Everything in Mission Impossible looks, well... Impossible. All the stunts are pretty clearly stuff that could only be done by highly trained, very experienced operators (that's for the stuff that isn't totally unrealistic). I know the waiver at my DZ includes a "how did you hear about us?" question, but there's no "what made you decide to do this?" "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Since ryoder actually lives there, I won't argue with him. But I've done that a few times. 70 west from Denver is pretty cool. There is a looooong uphill pull right out of Denver (watch out for slow trucks). The Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnel is the highest major road tunnel in the world. Once you get most of the way through the Rockies, you go through Glenwood Canyon. It's claimed to be the most beautiful stretch of Interstate in the entire country. I don't doubt that. Once you cross into Utah, take US 6 north out of Green River. It's "red rock" country. Not Moab, but very similar. Cross Soldier Summit (again, watch out for slow trucks), and it takes you into Provo. North just a bit on I-15 to SLC. I've done this in a semi truck, so your van would have no problems. I've done it in a 30 year old Porsche 928 with my 76 year old mother (yes, really). Long story, but we took the car from Green Bay WI to Oakland CA to visit my sisters. Out across Minnesota & South Dakota to Wyoming, then across 80 to Oakland. Coming back, we went south from SLC to Provo, then 6 to 70. I had told my mom how gorgeous it was. After we got through it, she said something to the effect of "I didn't believe it would be as beautiful as you had described, but even your description didn't come close to how wonderful it was." "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

It seems to me that you can post rushmc's words for him while he is gone. See, nothing lost on his side of the argument. Jerry Baumchen That's presuming: 1 - That he has an argument. 2 - That there's something to that argument that can be lost. I don't see either as being even close to valid points. And Dan Rather has been posting a lot of stuff on FB. His main point is 'the emperor has no clothes". After it came out that Manfort made a plea deal, he posted this: "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Sales are up too. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

And the thing is, each of the above boogies offer a 'different experience'. Some offer interesting airplanes, some offer great organizers for 'semi-serious' jumpers, some offer great parties, some offer incredible views and locations. They may not be as big or spectacular as the WFFC, but each has it's own attractions. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Oh my. Somebody sent me that the other day. They did that because I sat on a jury last week. The trial was for injury caused by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle and OWI. They installed This roundabout near me a couple years ago. I went through it a day or two after it opened and asked myself: "How long will it be before a drunk doesn't realize it has been put in and goes over that hump at full speed?" The answer was 'about a week.' It took almost 2 years to percolate through the legal system, and I ended up on the jury for it. It ended in a conviction. The driver's attempt to say "it wasn't me, somebody else was driving" failed miserably. One witness estimated the speed when they hit it at somewhere above 70. No brake lights until just before 'launch.' "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

It seems to go in cycles. In years past, they gave endless hours of detail on pressures, wind speeds, surge heights, all that. Lately, they seem to be dumbing it down to "It's a big storm" and not a whole lot else. What I'm hearing is that the winds won't be all that bad, but it's a big storm and it's moving very slowly. That means a lot of rain. Upwards of 3 feet in some places (that an entire meter for you ). With that much rain, being 'up high' won't matter anywhere near as much as 'away from the watershed.' Any area that sees a good amount of runoff is going to be a bad place to be. As is often the case, there will be a fair amount of people who underestimate the severity of the storm. Some will pay for that mistake with their lives. Some of the survivors will complain that they weren't warned about 'how bad' it could be. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Don't forget the "blame the mayor of San Juan" part. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

There was a bad batch of rings a while back (like decades ago). There hasn't been a problem with rings ovalling since. None at all. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Nobody survives a zombie apocalypse. In a kind of funny, yet serious sort of way, infectious disease analyzers have used the zombie apocalypse story to look at different models that are used to analyze real infectious diseases. One thing they found is that the zombies win. Every time. Those results aren't in this link, I couldn't find a link with them. But here is a link that looks at the process: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4798798/ "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

1 - Injuries can happen to anyone at any time. However, I know a lot of jumpers who have jumped for a long time with no (or minimal) injuries. I've sprained ankles and wrists (and am currently dealing with a finger) from bumpy landings. That's the worst I've experienced. 2 - Yes. You can 'do all the right things and still die." There is stuff that is simply out of our control. Canopy collisions are a good example of this. However, it doesn't happen all that often. Most injuries & deaths are due to 'operator error.' Bad decisions, whether on the ground (canopy choice is a good example) or in the air. By using an AAD & RSL, jumping at a conservative wingloading and not swooping, you remove yourself from about 3/4 of the fatalities. 3 - Life is risk. Nobody likes to think that driving off in their car may well be the last time they see their loved ones, but about 30,000 people per year die in car accidents in the US. Tall buildings catch on fire. Cars lose control and take out pedestrians on the sidewalk. You cannot remove all the risk from life. Even if you wrapped yourself in bubble wrap and hid in your basement, a meteor could still come through your roof and kill you. And what kind of life would that be? Lots of people do lots of risky things. Ski, scuba, climb mountains, ride bicycles and motorcycles. For them the joy is worth the risk. Skydiving is the same for me. There is risk to it. But it's worth it to me. At least it is now. I usually re-evaluate my choice every spring, after the winter layoff. So far, I've felt it's worth it. We shall see what next year brings. Welcome. We get it. You found something that fills a hole in you that you didn't even know was there. And now you realize how empty that hole is and need to fill it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Well, it's really hard to have charges 'stick' when there's no actual crime committed. It says so right in the article you linked. Well, Trump and his minions could have gone to the cops and filed extortion charges. Maybe. It depends a lot on how Daniels/Clifford approached him. And even though Trump chose to 'cave' to the extortion (if it was, in fact a crime), he didn't have to pay it out illegally. I'm going to guess that he has $130k available somewhere. He (and Cohen) chose to make the payment (and another $290k to Cohen, if I understand it correctly) in an illegal manner. That was their choice. That was a crime. Which Cohen pled guilty to. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

So why isn't Trump pressing charges? IDK. Probably political at this point. Nevermind that the prosecutors are the same people NOT going after the matriarch of the Clinton Crime Family for taking over the DNC and rigging the primaries against Bernie. Welcome to the freak show! A nice quiet island in the Pacific looks better every day. What would they charge Hillary with? What specific crimes? I don't disagree that it was underhanded, dishonest and despicable. It was one (of many) reasons I didn't vote for her. But I don't think there was anything illegal about it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Please cite the evidence that anything was extorted. Well, in general, someone getting paid to keep salacious information secret is generally viewed as extortion. Particularly since Daniels/Clifford approached Trump first. It may or may not meet the legal standard. That depends on a lot of things. Much of it is dependent on the 'victim' being willing to press charges. That doesn't seem to be present in this case. However, the method and timing of the payments are quite clearly illegal. Not Daniels/Clifford, but Trump & Cohen. The payment was disguised as 'legal fees' paid by the Trump Foundation to Cohen. Legal fees are an expense, and tax deductible, while paying for a porn star's silence isn't. If they deducted the 'legal fees' from their income and didn't pay tax on that money, it's tax fraud. And I don't think the Trump Foundation can legally pay Trump's personal expenses like this. That is also fraud. Funny how long and loud the Trumpettes screamed about the apparent misdeeds of the Clinton Foundation, yet are rather silent about the Trump foundation. Last, but certainly not least, the payment was shortly before the election. It was clearly to silence Daniels/Clifford and keep the story under wraps. It was to keep the story from affecting the election. That makes the payment a campaign expense. And it wasn't reported as such. Which is against the law. Which is why Cohen is now a convicted felon. And with Trump fully aware of the whole situation, he is an 'unindicted co-conspirator' (at least unidicted so far). "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

"Even Burt Reynolds in that Black Trans Am, all gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch" - Bruce Springsteen. RIP "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Your general supposition is correct. Downsizing is one thing. Changing planforms (from 'square' to 'elliptical') is another They should be done as separate steps, not simultaneously. You might want to read Brian Germain's Downsizing chart, it's a sticky in the Canopy Control & Swooping forum. It has size/experience recommendations, but it also has a good bit of info on skills needed before downsizing. BillVon's Downsizing checklist article in the "Safety" section is also a good read. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Apparently there's a betting outfit in Costa Rica that has odds posted. For individuals (the leader is 'the field' - none of the named people), the favorite is Pence. Apparently the word 'lodestar' was used a couple times in the editorial. And apparently Pence is the only one in the administration who's on record having used that word. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the author and the NYT editors they worked with intentionally threw in a few characteristic words and turns of phrase from colleagues as misdirection for the inevitable molehunt. And I'm not really curious who wrote it. No-one will come forward until they either get fired or Trump's admin goes down in flames. I'm sure it is genuine though. Not just because I trust both the NYT's editorial ethics and sense of self preservation would prevent it from inventing something like this, but because the overall sense of the essay is one of immense arrogance and self-importance. A perfect fit for a role in the West Wing right now Absolutely. The book "Primary Colors" (about the Clinton pres campaign) was demonstrated to have been written by Joe Klein, using all sorts of language analysis. To think that the author of this piece didn't know that, and didn't perhaps throw in a couple of "red herrings" to confound anyone trying to figure it out would be somewhat foolish. I am somewhat curious who wrote it, and what their real motives and expectations are. As was noted, this isn't anything new, just confirmation of what has been supposed by many. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

The problem is that Trump has pretty clearly committed more than just a couple of crimes. Campaign finance, emoluments clause, obstruction, perhaps even treason. He clearly has no conscience. He has no concept of 'consequences for actions.' If his advisers are keeping him from doing 'bad things', then they are doing their job. Guiding and advising him, even when he refuses to listen. Both Mattis & Kelly seem to see their position as working for the country, not for Trump. I understand your position, but when the POTUS is an emotional and intellectual child, then someone has to be the grownup. He should be removed. Period. If this was Obama, impeachment hearings would already be in progress. But since the R base supports Trump, the congress-critters won't lift a finger to stop him. Apparently there's a betting outfit in Costa Rica that has odds posted. For individuals (the leader is 'the field' - none of the named people), the favorite is Pence. Apparently the word 'lodestar' was used a couple times in the editorial. And apparently Pence is the only one in the administration who's on record having used that word. NY Post story "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Oops. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Yes, it does. It was an intentionally tricky (not 'trick') question. Skydivers use AGL. The only thing we care about is where the ground is. Airplanes, however, use MSL. They do this so that everyone flying at, say, 12000 ft is at the same '12000 ft'. Cloud clearances change at 10k MSL. They do this because below 10k, there's a 250 knot speed limit. No limit above 10k. In the above question, Tulsa has an elevation of 772 MSL (according to Google). That would put the skydiver showing 9500 AGL at 10200 MSL. Topeka is at 945. That would put the jumper at 10445. Hope this helps

I would suggest learning the difference between Mean Sea Level (MSL) altitude and Above Ground Level (AGL) altitude. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

I don't see it that way. The owners have issued a statement that reads: Something to keep in mind is that Nike has huge (and I mean hyuuuuge) deals with the NFL. No way does the league hierarchy hammer on Nike over this and risk losing all that money. And, somehow not too surprisingly, an old white guy managed to put himself in the hospital... By setting his shoes on fire... While still wearing them. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo