wolfriverjoe

Peanut butter is supposed to work well. I know for a fact it works with chipmunks. The old school "wood platform/wire spring" work fairly well. The "sticky pad" glue traps work too. Patience is key. Putting the trap on their usual traffic routes is important too. They usually travel along the baseboards. And there's also the traditional alternative - Get a cat. "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

Or you could do his coach jumps with him for no cost. Or you could just jump with him once he gets his license. A lot of newer jumpers complain about it being difficult to get anyone with any experience to jump with them at the beginning. "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, it's good to see you are trying to get it right. As was said above, the facts don't need to be perfect. We all understand the "realities" of fiction. BUT... Get the terminology right. You can get away with a lot of "massaging" of the truth if you say it correctly. Wingsuit. Not "birdsuit" Canopy. Not "chute" Deploy, pull or pitch. Not "pop" As far as the plot points: getting out of a plane or helicopter, flying over the lip of the falls, pitching once clear of the edge and landing on the boat. Those are all realistic and doable. The control of the wingsuits, opening from a low altitude, landing accuracy and flying through the spray are all reasonable. The spray/mist wouldn't be a huge problem. I've jumped in rain. It hurts and I had to lay my canopy out for a while to let it dry before I packed it, but it flew in the rain just fine. The turbulence from the falls may well be a problem. Fabric wings are notorious for collapsing in turbulence. But, AFAIK, the turbulence from the falls is pretty localized. Landing location will be important. Doing a "regular" jump into water is challenging, but not that big of a deal. Water landing training is a requirement for a B licence in the US. Water landings in wingsuits, however, are pretty dangerous. One of the experienced instructors did some testing in a pool a few years ago and posted the results. Basically, the jumper is wearing a nylon straight jacket that quickly fills with water. Bad news. Deployment altitude isn't that big of a deal. There are BASE guys that routinely pull at less than 300 feet. They use specific packing techniques to speed up the opening of the canopy. Terms like "Slider down" or "mesh slider" are good places to start looking. And there are wingsuits designed so that the jumper can reach the steering toggles and control the canopy without having to unzip. Regular wingsuits also have cutway systems that let the jumper pull one handle and unhook the wings (it's a pain to re-thread them though). Landing on the Maid of the Mist wouldn't be a big deal. IIRC, it has pretty big decks. BASE guys are usually pretty good at accuracy landings. They often have fairly small landing areas, sometimes cluttered with big obstacles like rocks and things. You still might be better off having the character land on shore. This jump would not be a trivial exercise. You state "highly skilled" in your post. That would be a necessity. Several thousand jumps, hundreds of BASE jumps, hundreds of wingsuit jumps. Minimum. You can search some of the terms I've used, both here and over on Basejumper.com. "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 been through the First Jump Course? Canopy control is a pretty big part of it. Control checks, turns, stalls, landing patterns, flaring, landing, ect are all covered. As you go through the training towards your A, more and more is added on (or at least it's supposed to be). The Canopy Control Courses are usually intended for people who already have the basic understanding that should come with an A license. Those courses cover more advanced areas to make a better canopy pilot out of an average one. Besides, canopy control isn't all that complicated. Pull the left toggle to go left, pull the right one to go right, pull both to flare. It's the knowing when to (and when not to) do that that's the "learning" 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

Bingo. For something that has normal statistical distribution, saying that "the majority is above average" is an incorrect statement. There are situations where the distribution is "end loaded" and the mean and median are significantly different. One of the classic examples of this is major league sports salaries. Because the elite few make a huge amount more than the rest, the average salary is very high. The median salary is a lot lower. So it can be accurately stated that a majority of pro athletes make less than the average salary. "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 see neither math skills nor understanding of statistics were utilized in this post Oh sorry I didn't know I had to do a scientific survey to make a post. Nobody said anything about a survey. Basic math skills and basic understanding of statistics is all that is needed. Or go to Lake Wobegon. "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 kidding. The Pope just publicly stated that a physical assault is an acceptable response to a verbal insult. Apparently "your mom" is an acceptable reason to completely reject the teachings of that Jesus fella. "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

Old... As opposed to "Kent Parker Wright", which was used by a Korean news station when a US plane had a landing problem, in humourous retaliation for a US news station making up fake Asian names after the Asiana crash at San Francisco. Almost, but not quite. It apparently never actually aired on TV. http://www.geekinheels.com/2013/07/30/southwest-airlines-landing-gear-failure-prompts-fake-american-pilot-names.html And Billy - Wi Tu Lo, Sum Ting Wong, Ho Lee Fuk and Bang Ding Ow (you forgot him, didn't you) were KOREAN. Not Indonesian. What, do they all look alike to you? "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

Russia isn't what it once was, even with the recent oil money. Afghanistan in the 80s and Chechnya in the 90s weren't exactly shining moments for their army. And Russia has been dealing with Islamic insurgents for a while. Lots of casualties. Remember the school? And the theater? And IIRC, they had the first female Islamic suicide bomber, who brought down an airliner. They used her because the security guys were searching the men too well, but not the women. Again, IIRC, she put the bomb in her bra, not her shoes. Which kind of makes sense. I know more that a couple women that would love to blow up their bras. Zero that would do anything to hurt their shoes. "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

This popped up on my FB feed. Cartoons done by one of the people killed. Interesting how "Bigoted and Hate Mongering" they are. http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/11/1357057/-The-Charlie-Hebdo-cartoons-no-one-is-showing-you?detail=email "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've seen their bile laden excuse for cartoons, lampooning for example the Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Harem, children who this rag of a magazine ridiculed and linked to handout on a welfare system. CH is simply a magazine of hate mongers and bigots who use facile and asinine cartoons to get a rise. Wow. Hate much? It's satire. They didn't have any favorites, they poked at everyone. This isn't like a loudmouth in a bar, or the Westboros at a funeral. They didn't "shove it in your face." To see it, you had to go look for it at least a little bit. If you don't like it, don't read it. If you really don't like it, organize a boycott of their advertisers and shut off their funds. But violence in response to a printed page is wrong. It does more to show the mindset of Islam than CH. As Lawrocket pointed out, mocking Islam is dangerous. Which tells me that Islam (as a whole) is unable to stand behind their actions as a religion. How many "Islamic" countries have death penalties for promoting other religions? How many have strict blasphemy laws? Criticism and competition make one stronger. If you can't face critics and competitors without threatening to kill them if they don't shut up, maybe you should look at your own message. You (Skyrad, whom I'm replying to) have always been a voice of reason and rationality about Islam. I've always respected that. But not this rant against CH. "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 can't give specific numbers. I just remember a rash of them in the media. Here are a few found with a quick search. Some are the story after the city or department settled the resulting lawsuit: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-orlando-pays-man-for-video-recording-arrest-20141224-story.html http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2013/12/oregon-state-trooper-tells-citizen-illegal-video-record-public/ http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/09/oregon-man-arrested-recording-militarized-police-raid-neighborhood/ http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/PPR55/copwatching55.html Quick edit to add: Google search for "charged with wiretapping for vidoe recording police." Usually they are in a "two party recording law" state and they charge the person with the audio recording part. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1TSNO_enUS478US478&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=charged%20with%20wiretapping%20for%20video%20recording%20police "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 dispute that the majority of the cops out there are good people, trying to do their best. But, how about all the incidents where people got arrested for videoing cops doing their job? Not the "troll & bait" ones, but the simple ordinary people who, for whatever reason, pulled out their phone and started recording. And then were arrested and sometimes even charged under "wiretap" violations for recording the sounds. Those weren't "bad individuals", those sorts of incidents were pretty widespread across the country. The cops didn't want people to record what they were doing. And used their authority (wrongly IMO) to stop 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

Ummm.... No. Not even close. Throwing rocks at a hornet's nest is a deliberate physical attack on their home. They will defend it. This is analogous to standing a couple miles away from the hornet's nest and yelling rude names and making gestures. The hornets won't see it as a threat and won't attack. These murderous thugs have said "anyone who says anything we don't like will be targeted." They shoot young women in the head for advocating education for girls. They kill people who don't convert to their beliefs. They stab people who make movies that they don't like. The Charlie Hebdo staff knew that they would face potential danger for publishing what they did. They did it anyway. I think that was reasonably courageous. If they are that insignificant of a publication, why did the thugs feel it necessary to target them? Lots of media outlets knuckle under to those threats. South Park, which has skewered just about every "sacred cow" out there, didn't show an image of Mohammed when they could have (and they did most of the 'muslim jokes' in the context of Family Guy) out of concern over reprisals. Lots of people are "showing support" for freedoms of the press and the victims of the attack. I'd love to see that support translate into publication of those "offensive" cartoons. Not ones that attack Islam in general. Just the ones that show these extremist bullies for the brutal thugs that they are. "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

Interesting. How did she know he wasn't a cop? Because she couldn't see a badge on his belt? Most cops I know don't wear it where it can be seen when in plain clothes. Especially off duty. And the standard assumption that all cops are expert with their weapons while civilians are untrained idiots is funny too. Both groups have individuals all the way across the spectrum (from expert to "shouldn't even touch a gun") And I love how she won't be spending money in the store (that is posted prohibited) because there was a guy with a gun in 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

Not really. When the Palastinians democratically elected Hezbollah, the US shunned them. The Egyptians democratically elected a religious hardline group (Muslim Brotherhood) and got shunned for it. When the majority of the people elect a group that decides to persecute the minority, or a group that is dedicated to the destruction of their neighbor, then it's still a democracy. We seem to forget that protecting the rights of the minority, ensuring basic civil rights, and guaranteeing individual freedoms does not automatically accompany "democracy." "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

What does the topskin on the center cell look like? Good? Fair? Poor? That's the part of the canopy that takes the most abuse. If it's in decent shape, don't worry 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

"Right" is a relative term. It looks nice. But you aren't a real Ginger, no matter what kind of dye you used. You aren't even a legit "daywalker." So don't go trying to steal anyone's soul. "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

Did you read Andy's link? The Repub that I mentioned is an idiot. The Dem in Andy's link is in jail for statutory rape (sex with a minor). To imply that one party has a monopoly on idiocy is... Well... I guess my thread title (Idiot Politician) was redundant. "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

To be honest, I've never measured one. As long as there's "enough" cable below the handle, and there's no indication that it's not the correct one, then I pack it. If it was obviously too long (as in well below the bottom of the D-ring), then I'd take a closer look. If it wasn't the original one, I'd shoot an e-mail off to the manufacturer to see what they say. And then either pack it or refuse until I get the proper ripcord based on the response. "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

Fredrick Maryland County Council member Kirby Delauter doesn't seem to like the local paper much. So when his name was used in a story, he hopped on FB and told the reporter: “So let me be clear............do not contact me and do not use my name or reference me in an unauthorized form in the future" When the reporter replied that it was her responsibility to report on public officials, he threatened to sue. Apparently, he never heard of or read the 1st Amendment to the Bill of Rights. And, of course it's now gone international. Story HERE Read the comments after the story. Apparently he's not the most popular guy on the council. Apparently, he & his buddy, along with the deposed former County Commissioner, are considered fairly corrupt. And the county has changed it's form of government. Also, the editorial (linked just below his picture on the left) is pretty funny. You just can't make this stuff up. "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 posted this a while ago: Nataly is still being cyber stalked by Ryoder, me and a few others. 'Twardo is still old. John Mitchell is still a nice guy. Skymamma is still sweet and Billvon is still smart. Neither of them take crap from anyone. Billy's Sick & Twisted thread is still on page one, and over 8000 posts. The DB Cooper thread is still going, either near or over 50000 posts. And they aren't any closer to finding him. Some people have learned. Some of them didn't survive the lesson. Others spent a long time recovering from the cost of learning. Others still need to learn. Some of them won't survive. Not much has changed. Sometimes I doubt that it ever will. Welcome back, my little mousy friend.

True, but the most effective part of the NRA isn't the lobbying and the leadership. It's the members. Who vote and write letters and actually get out and do stuff. After Sandy Hook, polls reported something like 90% in favor of stronger laws. Yet congresscritters were receiving mail in the opposite percentages. That's one of the main reasons the measures failed. Not the lobbying, not the money. The response from the constituents. "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

Bolding mine. You mean like in Colorado or New York? Or in Washington (state), where they managed to pass by referendum a rather draconian "universal background check" law that prevents any "transfer" without a background check, even loaning a gun to a friend to go hunting with. Or (depending on how it's interpreted) handing a gun to a friend at a shooting range to let them try it. Or in DC, where they were very serious about universal background checks and banning AR-15s (and a bunch of other stuff) in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting? It's a lot less popular than in the mid-90s, but it hasn't gone away. "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 are ignoring the fact that the person who did 300 "plain" jumps still did 300 patterns. Still got the sight picture on final 300 times. And made 300 landings. That experience is important. That experience will put them ahead of the person who did 150 jumps that were "working the shit" out of the canopy. Because while drills up high are important and helpful, there's really nothing that accurately simulates canopy flight close to the ground. And yes, you will get the feeling that people are frustrated when responding to these questions about downsizing. Because they pop up on a regular basis, they are often the same, the answers are the same (by the same people) and the response to those answers are often the same. "I wanna downsize" "How much experience do you have? How many jumps?" "(Not enough)" "Well then, you shouldn't downsize. It's dangerous and unnecessary." "But I want to. Besides I'm an awesome (insert other extreme sport; skiing/snowboarding, motorcycles, surfing, ect.) so I have skills and experience." "It doesn't translate. It might help a little, but what specific skills do you have?" "But I want to! You don't understand." Sometimes they listen, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they have a close call, get some sense scared into them, sometimes they don't. Sometimes it takes an injury to learn their lesson. Sometimes they have 2 or 3 seconds left in their life to realize how wrong they were. "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