wolfriverjoe

If it's at a "single 182" DZ where you are absolutely certain that the other 3 on the plane are down before you, then maybe. Although doing radical maneuvers close to the ground requires a lot of skill and planning to be done safely. Anywhere else, where there is any possibility of someone being above and behind them in the pattern, then they need a stern talking to, a grounding or perhaps something more severe. Not really. The lower aspect ratio won't fly quite as efficiently, but the overall behavior is similar. "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 really don't care one way or another. So I don't pay that much attention. But even not paying "that much attention", I noticed that: He's sort of a Kardashian. They get incredible amounts of media coverage for basically being good looking and stupid. He's probably the biggest "celebrity" to do this. Chastity/Chaz Bono got a bunch of attention at first, then faded away mostly. A lot of people did actually admire him for what he did. He was an Olympic athlete who won a gold medal in a pretty grueling event. The media frenzy when he was beginning his changeover was ridiculous. Tabloids, papparazzi, all that stupid shit. He didn't seem to be looking for a whole lot of attention, but got it. He finally stood up and said (more or less) "Yes, I'm going to be a woman." And he took a ton of shit on it. Maybe not in the media, but certainly on social media. Look at the jokes that were made at his expense. He didn't lash out, he didn't run and hide. He stood there and took it. I don't think I could have handled it anywhere near as well as he did. I'm not willing to call him a "hero," but I do admire the way he is determined to be true to himself, no matter what. "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

Yeah. When I read the comments from her mom on the news site, I found the claims that Kim never threatened anyone rather... Amusing. "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 tend to agree with your gut. Whether or not he actually intended to carry out those threats, I believe his intent in making those threats was to frighten his wife. To make her fear him and change her behavior as a result. That doesn't mean he wouldn't have carried out those threats. Domestic troubles have an interesting way of making folks get angry enough that they no longer think about consequences for their actions (or they simply don't care about those consequences). Can he be retried under the "correct" charges now? Or does this ruling prevent that? "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

Have you ever been accused of a crime you did not commit? Have you ever been interrogated by the police? They use every trick in the book to get the information they are after. Even if they follow the letter of the law, they can still use deceit and trickery to get information. Unlike one of the previous posts, I interact with cops on a fairly regular basis. Some are my friends. But if it's a "business conversation" from their point of view, then my response is: "Am I under arrest? May I leave? I will certainly make a statement at the appropriate time. With my attorney present. For now, I will choose to exercise my right to remain silent." Edit to add: "Previous post" was Southern Man in post 33. "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

Was that here in the US? Incitement to violence and treason? And no, I don't believe there are any true "political prisoners" here in the US. There are a lot of people in jail & prison due to prosecutorial & police misconduct, and I'd bet very heavily that there have been more than a few innocents executed. But that is misguided zeal to prosecute "Bad Guys" and get the "criminals off the streets." I don't see any lists of political prisoners (outside of Guantanamo, and that's different) on any neutral human rights sites. Lots of stuff about the mentally ill being imprisoned instead of treated. Lots of stuff about the "For Profit" prisons, insane (and racially biased) drug sentencing and that sort of things. But actual political prisoners who did no violent or criminal acts? Or at least were part of a group that committed that sort of act? (Some of the Black Panthers on that list you linked are probably innocent, but the BP in the 60s was a violent, militant group). I don't think so. "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

Regardless of how far those countries have strayed from "True Islam," they are the face of Islam today. And your list of political prisoners comes from a Pro-Venezuela site. Got a list that comes from someplace that is a little less biased? Many of those people did a lot more than being "politically active." Manning released classified info. That's a crime. Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents. When an organization starts killing FBI guys, they've gone beyond "social activism" and someone is going to go to jail. There are some questionable things about his conviction, and it's possible (though I happen to think unlikely) that he wasn't involved in the murders. The Puerto Rican guys were robbing banks. They were doing it to fund their social activism. But again, once you go beyond social activism to serious crimes, you stop being a "political prisoner." If your friends are in prison for "Illegal weapons possession", what did they have? I fully agree about the dark sides of every country, and the way the US created a special category of "Enemy combatants" in order to imprison people they didn't like was despicable. Doing it in US controlled territory in a foreign country is unconscionable also. But those guys weren't imprisoned for political views. "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

He is mistaken. It's a great story, and a very funny. But BIGUN is right. I fell past a monarch butterfly as I was pitching once. Tracked away from the group, pulled up out of the track, reached back and... ZOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!! This orange speck grows into a blob and goes right past my head (missed by maybe two or three feet). Grabbed my hackey and pitched, going "WTF was THAT!?!?!?" Thought about it under canopy and concluded it was a butterfly. I was a bit above 3k when it happened. I don't know if they can actually reach that altitude on their own, or if the little guy* got caught in an updraft or something. But there was almost certainly a "bug" at 3000 feet. * Calling it a "guy" is an assumption on my part. But if insect behavior is anything like human, the females would be smart enough to not go that high up. Males... Not so much. "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 kind of hard to not judge Muslims in some ways. Counties like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan and Algeria are all places where male dominated culture is forcing women into subservient roles, and requiring them to hide themselves in their clothes, under sever penalties, including death. The only real thing the have in common is their religion. Other places in the world may treat women less than ideally, but where in the world does that happen by rule of the state that isn't a "Muslim country"? And please show me where (anywhere) in the US that "vocal critics" of the government are being imprisoned for speaking out. I did look it up. There are a few "social justice" types who are got caught committing actual crimes. But that's a long way from using trumped up charges to silence critical voices. Unlike, say, Russia. There's lots to criticize about the US judicial system. The use of jails and prisons to house the mentally ill and the way they are treated is probably the worst thing. But putting people in jail or prison for criticizing the government is one thing the US is pretty good at not doing. "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 is one tiny frog! I wonder what kind it is, and how big will it get? I'm guessing it was just a tadpole a couple days before.... but hell, I've SEEN tadpoles BIGGER than this little thing. Pretty sure it's a toad, not a frog. But I don't think it's an Oak Toad, which a search showed as the smallest in North America. They are supposed to have a stripe on them. But 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

"Permission" is a little overstated. Starting a club and throwing on a 3 element patch is "claiming territory." Doing that without the approval of those who already claim that territory can lead to trouble. Sometimes a startup will earn the respect of the other area clubs, sometimes they pay tribute, sometimes they fold. The basic feud between the Cossacks & Banditos is over the bottom rocker. The Banditos "Claim" Texas, and for the Cossacks to also claim it is an infringement. It seems the Cossacks aren't backing down. But the recent shooting incident, while a byproduct of that feud, was started when someone ran over someone else's foot, if I understand the story correctly. The Bs & Cs were actually being reasonably civil towards each other at the beginning. Yeah, I'm parsing a bit. "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

Nor am I. But Imans in other parts of the world state it pretty clearly. HOG is the "official" club of the H-D company. So any policies are coming from the corporate office. The Banditos have made it pretty clear that they "claim" Texas. The "dispute" with the Cossacks shows how serious it is taken. For a company sponsored club to make a decision to not piss off an outlaw club isn't all that surprising. The hypocrisy of the H-D leadership, where they promote the "outlaw image" while trying to attract the "RUB" types is hilarious. Kowtowing to an outlaw club over a logo is right in line with that. Keep in mind that the HOG logo is copyrighted, but so are most of the outlaw club logos. "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

Thanks for pointing out a media source that may be a tad disingenuous. I won't argue that the source is a bit iffy. But can you refute the claims in the story? If I'm reading it correctly, they went in, told him to drop the knife while he was laying in bed. It sounds like they shot him for refusing to drop the knife even though he never got up. I know perfectly well that a person with a knife at close range represents a deadly threat. But laying in a bed? "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

OK.... Care to get me started on what I might discover if I do? That's what this thread is for. I'm not seeing many merits of BASE gear here, so please explain. Base rigs are designed and engineered to be extremely reliable. They are packed that way too. There are a number of tradeoffs in the design, as in all designs. All of those go towards reliability. Packing a Base rig is done similarly to packing a reserve. In technique, attention to detail and time. I'd put Base rigs and reserves very near each other in reliability. That doesn't address the other times that you note where having a second canopy in the rig would be a good thing, but that's a different area of the question. I voted that they shouldn't. I'd probably never jump without a reserve, but I don't see any reason to stop someone who knows what they are doing from using a properly packed & maintained Base rig to go out of a plane. The comments about the "Madd Skilz" crowd are pretty accurate though. It used to be pretty difficult to get your hands on a good Base rig. The community as a whole kept the idiots, newbies and Madd Skilz fools in check by denying them access to gear. "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 not aware of any bike clubs publicly stating that they will kill anyone who puts a bottom rocker on their colors. And the three element patch is a hallmark of the outlaw clubs, although there are lots of "non-one-percent" clubs that wear it. But many (most?) people who know clubs and the protocols know perfectly well that a bottom rocker "claims territory." And if you're going to claim it, you'd better be prepared to defend 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, they may have backed off on their presence some in response/reaction to the indictment of the cops that killed Freddie Grey. But if you think that the attitude of the people towards the cops, or the attitude of the cops towards the people is any different than it was last month/last year/for a damned long time, then I disagree. NPR had a story right around the time of the riots. People that lived in those areas were interviewed. They made it clear that those are rough neighborhoods. But those who don't deal drugs or run with the gangs aren't in that much danger. At least from the thugs. However, one guy had a very interesting and troubling statement. Something like: You really don't want to call the cops, but there are times you have to. You just never know if calling the cops will make the situation better or worse. Because the cops treat everyone, including the law abiding citizens, like the gangbangers and drug dealers. Edit fix a typo and add that Ryoder's link is the story I was referring to. Thanks. "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, I'm going to guess it will go down similar to the one in Texas a couple weeks ago. The local Muslim community will ignore it, as they should. The event will have good security. Probably off duty cops. There is a chance that a few idiots will try something stupid and attack. Given the culture in Arizona, unless they manage to sneak in with a fairly large number of attackers, they will be taken out before they get into the door. And Daesh will claim that it was their idea, and that it was "intended for the attackers to die" to show their willingness to give their lives for their cause. Regardless of his background or beliefs, his intention to do this to show the Islamic radicals that people won't be terrorized into silence is something I like. Yes, he's being an asshole. But the Islamic assholes who threaten to kill (or actually kill) anyone who "offends" them are worse. "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 clear requirement for use of only dual parachute systems was made less clear when the regs were re-written to include tandems. AC-105 has the requirement in it, but it's only "advisory", not a reg. But going out the door with a base rig (or an emergency "bailout" rig) would most definitely be frowned upon by the FAA if they found out. THIS THREAD has a good discussion on it. Not that it doesn't or hasn't happened. But if something goes wrong, the pilot will suffer consequences. Search "Dwaine Weston" and the incident at the Royal Gorge Bridge for an 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

You were in a totally unfamiliar environment, doing totally unfamiliar things, some of which are really scary. You didn't do it perfectly. So what? Any jump that I: Land safely Learn something Have fun Is a successful jump. That's it. Everything else is a bonus. A couple years ago, we had someone document their journey from tandem through AFF, to A-License and beyond. The good, the not-so-good, the fears and triumphs, all that. Absolutely the best depiction of the process I've ever come across. She was an artist, so she did it in cartoon form. As a duck. This is her 2nd tandem. Follow the links to follow the progress: http://tailotherat.blogspot.com/2011/08/sky-diving-duck-ii-chicken-of-sky.html "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 make absolutely sure you leave out "In 80% of cases, the disease is asymptomatic." "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 odd that when one postulates an anthropomorphic entity that just kind of is, but has the capacity to generate a universe for no particular reason, this entity should be massively insecure and spiteful, caring greatly about the opinions of his creations. Vonnegut's idea of a deity involved consummate indifference. Though he very concept of a deity is absurd, at least Kurt had a sense of humor. It's very incomprehensible... Until you ask the basic investigative question: "Who stands to benefit?" And when someone realizes that the purveyor of these tales stands to gain the most from those who believe them, then the whole situation tends to make a lot more sense. "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 Washington Times? Aka the "Moonie Times"? Riiiiight. "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

Sad to say but this could just be the beginning. There is no telling what this woman can dream up to keep her cause going. And there's no shortage of attorneys who will take her money, or donors' money while stringing her along on a bogus fight. Her words: Regardless, Gibbs said she and her supporters would not give up and in addition to considering filing an appeal, they also want the Longmont City Council to pass an ordinance restricting noise from Mile-Hi, despite the judge's ruling suggesting the city did not have that power. "It's an extreme disappointment but we've known from the very beginning that this was going to be a very difficult case ... but still to come face to face with an outright loss is hard," Gibbs said. "We're not done. We're not going to give up, we're never going to give up and we are simply on the leading edge of fighting this good fight over noise pollution. It's going to take some time but I'm confident that we will prevail and in fact, we are not stopping until we do." Those comments make me question whether she is fully in touch with reality at this point. The judge said flat out that this is not "nuisance noise", it's "annoyance noise." For example, the most annoying sound to me is that of a mosquito buzzing when I'm trying to sleep. It certainly isn't loud, but I'm not going to be able to sleep while I can hear it. The fact that the site visit by the court and Kim's own video show that the noise isn't loud demonstrate that pretty clearly. I still love how she has to whisper to keep from drowning out the sound of the plane. Her intentions to "keep up the good fight" are a little disturbing. Her apparent intentions to try to get a local law passed are more so. The court clearly acknowledged that it doesn't have jurisdiction over the matter. Nor does the local government. Yet she ignores this. She seems to want to appeal, yet I doubt she has any valid grounds. "I don't like the verdict" doesn't count. Skimming the notes (Thanks a lot for those, Ryoder) and the verdict, I can't see any significant errors that would justify an appeal. (not a lawyer, but an 'interested amateur') While I'm a big advocate that Mile High should "take the high road" in this, I wonder if they have a valid harassment complaint. If Kim and the CQS bunch continue with their complaints and efforts at getting unenforceable laws put in place and pointless lawsuits, when does that legally become "harassment"? The denial of every claim in the suit is a pretty clear message that the claims by CQS are frivolous. A solid finding of harassment against the CQS crowd would open them up to a whole host of sanctions. Including compensation for Mile High's costs in fighting them. As I noted in a now deleted post in the other thread, I've been through this sort of situation before (not skydiving related). Repeated complaints to the cops (to the point that the cops said to the complainer "stop or face sanctions"), attempts to shut us down via ordinances, that sort of thing. Our lawyer said we probably had a valid harassment complaint, but the potential negative consequences of pursuing it were more than we were willing to risk. But the potential upside was pretty appealing. Restraining orders, potential punishment if the complaints continued, compensation for costs incurred. Basically a "cut it out and leave us alone or else." "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, the FARs state that (along with a rigger or a person under supervision), so it's not all that surprising. I think it's funny that they seem to think it's incredibly involved and intricate. When they see a quick "Shake, flake, flop, flatten, fold & stuff", they ask if I'm sure it will open. I usually say: It's a modern ram-air canopy, it wants to open. I'm going to toss it out into a 120mph airstream. It wouldn't stay neat for long. I have a reserve. That was packed with extreme care and painstaking detail by an FAA certified rigger. I'm confident that it will open properly if needed. "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

Somehow that doesn't surprise me. Not that the Amish are more intelligent than the "English" (as they call us). But more that they've never been exposed to all the stuff that's shown on TV and in movies, so they don't have any of the preconceived misconceptions that so many people have. And I've noticed that someone who approaches a subject from total ignorance often asks better questions because they are aware that they know nothing and are more observant. Unlike the "I've seen it in a movie" or "my uncle's cousin's brother used to do it" types who refuse to acknowledge that what they "know" is wrong. Applies to lots of subjects, not just jumping. "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