wolfriverjoe

Also if you could decide if the squirrels are on crack or meth. "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

Nope, and not the source either. I have to imagine it's a pretty short list. But now that the Russians know that they should look at it closely. I'm betting most of the conversation was Trump validating himself by talking about the election or talking down to US media. Well, according to Trump himself, it was info about a plot to bomb an airliner with a device built into a laptop. While it sounds all well and good to tell the Russians about this, especially given the fact that they had an airliner come down under suspicious circumstances, it's actually pretty stupid. Daesh know operational security and counter-intel. Considering who they used to be, they are going to be pretty good at it. This sort of info will be very compartmented. There will be the bomb makers, who will know about the device. But they won't know much about how it is to be utilized. They wouldn't be told if it was to go on a plane, into a meeting with some important folks, or whatever. Then there would be folks planning the actual attack. They would know about the plane, but they wouldn't know precisely what the device was going to be. They would simply be told that it would be a device that could get through security. Laptop, phone, tablet, ect. The number of people who know both parts of the plot would be very small. Perhaps small enough that Daesh could simply interrogate all of them, on suspicion alone. Those interrogations wouldn't be fun. They don't have a whole lot of "due process". This source is likely in very serious danger. If not dead already. "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

Big difference between an invasive, destructive species (like the pythons in the Everglades) and something that is part of the ecosystem (like the one Billy didn't kill). Killing out of fear or hatred, whether it's an individual animal or an entire species is stupid. "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

Meh, asking and threatening coercion are two different things. I've already decided to ignore this one and see what develops in a week to see if there's also proof of coercion. It's not a stretch to say there is but we're not getting anywhere by dealing in opinions. Maybe, maybe not. Keep in mind, for someone in a high position (like, say, the President of the United States), simply "asking" can include a whole lot of coercive pressure. And of course, how it was 'asked' can range from a simple inquiry, to full blown obstruction of justice. Given Trump's past, I tend to lean more towards the "obstruction" end of the spectrum. He has a long, long history of 'making it go away' when confronted with investigations into his illegal behaviors. "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, he's gone from: "It's FAKE!! It didn't happen." to: "There was nothing wrong with it" to: "Obama did it." Why am I not surprised? "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

First off, welcome. This sounds like a really cool project. As was already noted, the slider slows down the opening. It more or less 'chokes off' the canopy, keeping it from opening all at once. While your bear may not feel the effects of a hard opening, your electronics might. Hard openings can also break lines. Full scale parachutes are sized by square footage. A "190" is 190 square feet. Generally, newer jumpers are advised to choose a canopy that gives one square foot per pound of weight. That is, a jumper who weighs 190 lbs (85kg or so) would be advised to jump a 190 canopy. One problem with that for your project is that it doesn't scale down very well. Part of that is because smaller canopies have shorter lines, which increase the speed of any maneuver (faster pendulum effect). On the flip side of that is that the bear wouldn't have the density of a human body. How much do you expect the bear to weigh (with all of the electronics)? One thing to remember is the term "exit weight." The weight of a jumper, for calculating wing loading, is considered to be the entire weight of the jumper and all of his gear. That is, how much the jumper would weigh if he stepped on a scale fully geared up, just before boarding the plane. If you are dropping from a plane, it would probably be simplest to go with a static line (S/L) setup, as opposed to using a pilot chute. Simply attach a bridle to the top of the canopy (a velcro attachment would be best) and attach that to the plane. As the bear falls away, the S/L pulls the pin, extracts the canopy and then lets go. Sport rigs have the canopy packed into a deployment bag, but for your setup, I'd think you could get away with "free packing" it (no bag). The suggestion that you go to the closest DZ and talk with the rigger there about this. You could see a real rig, perhaps even a S/L setup. You could also get advice on how to set this up. Helpful hint: If you go to a DZ to ask for help, take along a case of beer. It's the typical payment for asking questions. You might also get in touch with John Kallend ("Kallend" on here). He's a long time R/C plane enthusiast. "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 know exactly. My understanding (could certainly be wrong, and I welcome correction if so) is that it comes with the title of "Commander In Chief." He has final authority on a lot of stuff. Including what is and isn't classified. And I'll disagree with TriGirl just a bit. He does have the authority to release anything. Even stuff given to us by others (as was the case here). But the intel world is largely based on trust and 'history'. We were apparently given that info with certain restrictions on it. We could chose to follow those or not (and it was "not" in this case). While the folks that provided us with that info could scream and yell that we violated their trust, what is more likely to happen is that they will simply learn the lesson that Trump cannot be trusted in any way, shape or form. As will the rest of the world. I would expect that the info sharing that was happening before will, to a large degree, simply dry up. Either the foreign intel people won't be willing to share with us, or the sources that they have will stop providing anything for fear it would get to the US, Trump would spill it and then they would likely be exposed and killed. This is really bad. "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

You definitions are based on that wattsup website. Wait a minute... Wattsupwiththat isn't reality? We really need a 'sarcasm' font. "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

Nothing. As President, he can pretty much do what he wants with information like that. The general idea has always been that we wouldn't elect someone dumb enough to think he could impress people by telling them stuff he shouldn't. Well, so much for that idea. "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 generally accepted that the person making the assertion is the one who should back it up, but here's an interesting article on the "1/3 myth." Another that repeats the part about the letter by John Adams says: And: And: The only thing I can find that gives a number for supporters of the war is Wiki. And it says 45%. "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's twice you've said that. Got any proof? Everything I can find says the number was a good bit higher. Well above 40%. And back to the original topic: Ron clearly has his blinders on again. Trump promised quite a lot during the campaign. Much of which would be accomplished quickly. Muslim ban? Mexico wall? Repeal Obamacare? Lock up HRC? Drain the swamp? About the only thing he's accomplished very well is selling out to Russia. And I have to admit that I'm not too worried. The Rs are starting to realize what a shit show this is. The checks & balances written into the Constitution seem to be working. I remember Nixon and the end of his administration. I was just a kid, but my parents explained a lot of it to me. It was a pretty interesting lesson in the concept of "doing something bad is bad. But trying to hide it and get away with it is worse." Not a bad thing to teach a kid. The end of it got a bit scary. There were rumors that Nixon was going to surround the White House with various different "armed guards" (Marshals, Marines, Secret Service, ect). There was also a rumor that he put SAC on alert for no real reason. The idea that he was becoming unhinged was taken fairly seriously. And it all worked out in the end. As will this. Hopefully with Trump doing time. Along with a sizable portion of his minions. "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

Has anyone else noticed that he's the only one defending Trump? While it's entirely possible he's just doing it to be contrarian and argumentative, it is kind of funny that all the other staunch right wing conservatives have fallen silent. At least in defense of Trump. There's still a few "Obama did it" or "Clinton did it" comments, but that's about it. Here is the way it is, Donald Trump is the president. We are so relieved that Hillary lost we have no energy to engage in intellectualism. We have peace of mind. We know that America finally has an opportunity to rise up. Notice, the operative word there is opportunity. I applaud rushmc for his willingness to engage you four or five progressive liberals. If he stops you will only have each other. No one else is interested in the fake news. Apparently you have no energy left to look at what Trump really is either. You are aware that the fact that Trump and many of his minions are fully owned and operated by Putin (Russia) is becoming more and more apparent. For a self proclaimed "Patriot", you sure don't seem to care that Trump is selling out to Russia. Of course, as a self proclaimed "Christian", you don't seem to care that he's a sexual predator, con man, liar and thief (and a lot of other things that are not terribly "Christian") Kinda funny values you have there. "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 I am quite sure we all know who's doorstep we can lay the responsibility for that on. Jerry Baumchen Well, yeah. It was Obama's fault. After all, it was his election that drove all those racists insane. The idea that one of them was in the White House (the White House!) and had reached what at one time was the pinnacle of American aspirations (any boy could grow up to be President, well, if he was white and Christian that is) is what drove them all to come out of their caves and out from under their rocks. When Trump entered the campaign, I don't think he believed he could win. It was far more an ego-stroke and an opportunity to scam money from the gullible or generate revenue for his companies (look at how much money the "Trump Brand" made from his own campaign). Then he realized how well his hatred, racism and xenophobia went over among the disaffected & disenchanted white crowds. He was really good at recognizing what resonated with the crowds and played those points up. And here we are, 9 months later, remembering the beginnings of Nixon's downfall. "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'm absolutely disgusted by some of the comments on the website. A criminal is a criminal -- she was convicted and she'll be sentenced. But the racism and other generalizations thrown around in so many of those comments posted is incredibly discouraging. trolls IMO political party is irrelevant to corruption. Just as religion, race, sex, etc. is irrelevant. I don't think they are entirely trolls. Many of them actually believe that crap (blacks shouldn't be in a position of authority ect). It used to be impolite to publicly air such views. Look at how many people railed against Obama on the pretext that he was "Muslim" or "Kenyan" when what they obviously objected to was the color of his skin (not to say that there weren't legitimate criticisms of him). The past year has seen people rise to power on the basis of such sorts of comments (Mexicans are rapists) and so the "level of impropriety" of such blatantly racist garbage has been reduced. "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

Primary focus: Traffic. Where is everyone, where are they going, where should I go to minimize any conflict. Obviously this is a bigger job out of a full Otter than 3 out of a 182, but it's still vital. Next: Flying a stable and predictable pattern. This is both for the other canopies in the air with me (don't do anything sudden, unexpected or stupid) and for my own consistency (landing accuracy starts with a consistent pattern). Next: Canopy skills. If traffic and other factors allow it, I may do some slow flight, stalls, various types of turns (flat, front riser, rear riser, toggle, ect) to keep my understanding of my canopy characteristics fresh. Next: Enjoy the view. I can get so focused on all the other stuff that I forget to enjoy myself sometimes. "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's what I meant. Thanks for finding it. I knew it was there somewhere. "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

Has anyone else noticed that he's the only one defending Trump? While it's entirely possible he's just doing it to be contrarian and argumentative, it is kind of funny that all the other staunch right wing conservatives have fallen silent. At least in defense of Trump. There's still a few "Obama did it" or "Clinton did it" comments, but that's 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

I guess I don't see a comparison. At all. In one case, there was an attack. There was confusion during and about that attack, so various things didn't happen the way some people would have liked. There were a number of different explanations for the reasons behind the attack, some of which turned out to be incorrect. Anyone with even the barest understanding of military actions and protocol could see that there really wasn't anything else that could have been done at the time. Anyone with even the barest of understanding of crisis management can understand how the explanations got mixed up. To imply that there was any sort of criminal action, or even negligence is, to put it mildly, stupid. To imply that there was a cover up is also stupid. OTOH, there is mounting evidence that members of Trump's campaign were in contact with Russian officials. Both "overt" ones (actual government employees) and "shadow" ones (those that take their orders from Putin or his overlords, but don't actually earn a government check). There's some pretty strong indication that Flynn committed a couple crimes. Kushner may have too. Manafort is almost certainly a Russian agent. Then, of course, there's the fact that the Russians have bankrolled Trump himself. They either own sizable chunks of some of his businesses, or Trump owes them a ton of money. Nobody knows for sure (or at least no one who will talk). The NYT has an editorial out: "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

Perhaps not John but I know human nature. The environment has been a political football as long as I've been alive. Every decade or so someone comes along and says the sky is falling. I'm glad there is talk of cutting the EPA budget. It's become an overgrown pig... You mean the "sky is falling" like... Rivers and lakes so polluted that they started on fire? Acid rain? The hole in the ozone layer? Airborne lead from leaded gasoline? Use of pesticides to the point that many bird species were on the way to extinction? I won't argue that there is some level of hyperbole and overreaction, but there have also been some pretty serious issues that have been mitigated. Air pollution in Major cities is one example. "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, yeah. I probably should have added the qualifier that the whole admin has lied, repeatedly. Just not always under oath. "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

With the amusing part being that the Heartland Institute was a big "tobacco denier" paid by the cigarette companies and is now a big "climate change denier" paid for by the oil & coal industries. "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

No. Not all of them have lied under oath. Not all of them have been under oath. But, as far as I can tell, all of them that have been under oath have lied under oath. "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 votes are not all counted yet but they are saying 65.5% in favour of Macron. So it's official - France has said NO to the Nazi. Thank fuck. Well, maybe they learned from our lesson. The Dutch certainly did a couple months ago. "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

Very typical question. Nothing wrong with buying a rig at this point. As you have figured out, it makes more sense than renting. Nothing says you can't or shouldn't buy a rig that is an appropriate size for you now, knowing you aren't going to keep it forever. Ideally, you could find a rig from another person who was in your shoes 100 or so jumps ago. Ask around your DZ. There may be an appropriate rig that someone is looking to pass down to a newer guy for a reasonable price. Then, when it's time for you to move to a new rig, you sell it to the guy who is where you are now. If you decide to go through the classifieds, work with a rigger or at least an experienced jumper. There's pitfalls and scams out there. Generally, sellers are willing to have the rig inspected by a neutral third party. Search "rigger as escrow" for the details on 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

I do not remember who the guest poster was but, the point of the link for them was discussing the warming pause that this paper confirmed in its study. The pause that this paper confirmed? Did you actually read it? And: You do understand that the "pause" was largely a combination of strange behavior (typical for a large complex system), less than ideal data (surface temps aren't the best measure of global warming), and the deniers taking data out of context along with cherry picking start and stop dates. Or you don't. "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