wolfriverjoe

IIRC they usually make students wear them. The instructors seem to be of the opinion that it's not a great idea to skip wearing one. I've had enough light bumps on the plane that I'm convinced I should keep wearing it. It won't help you if you walk into a prop, and once you get out of the plane your helmet is wearing you for protection. Keeps your goggles and Go-Pro in place pretty well, though. BSRs only require them for students. And I'm going to disagree that they aren't any use. My ProTec has a few good scratches and one big gouge. I PLF'd and went right over a "fist-sized" rock hiding in the grass with my head. If I hadn't had the helmet on, I certainly would have been bleeding, possibly even a skull fracture. "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

Showing on Wisconsin Public Television right now. http://www.birdmenthemovie.com/home/ It seems pretty good. "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 may not be a big deal to you (or me) may be an impossible task for others. And there's enough connections, both mechanical and electrical, that a mistake could get... Expensive. Some people have a rollaway (or two) full of everything you need to rebuild an engine sitting in the back bedroom. Others have one crescent wrench, a pair of channel locks and one each straight & phillips screwdrivers. I've replaced the starter in my Blazer in the street in front of my house. I know people who don't even know how to open the hood of their car, let alone check the oil. I'm guessing the OP falls somewhere in between those extremes, but I don't know where and I don't want to say "Pull the console, it's easy" without knowing his skill level. "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 would bet on a small explosive.. up close and personal.. it does not take a lot of the good stuff. It would probably piss off the alphabet agencies big time. ^This. It would be a hell of a lot easier to put a small anti-personnel "device" on a small quadcopter than to mount a gun. It takes away all the aiming difficulties, all the recoil difficulties. It takes away some of the anonymity because the remains of the device will provide a lot of evidence for law enforcement, but the overall level of difficulty of hanging an hand grenade on a drone and getting close enough to the intended target to ensure a kill is alarmingly low. I think 3 years is a good guess. I wouldn't bet on it happening here or overseas first though. And I'd bet very heavily that the high level security people (Secret Service and similar) are already on top of this sort of thing and have detectors and jammers to counter 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

From the pics I found with a quick search, the ring is still there. It looks like you are going to have to pull the console off to get under it. If you don't have the tools or experience, I'd have a shop do 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've had a few cats in my life that loved the rings off of milk bottle caps. My dad used to hang them on a pens in a jar near the edge of a desk. The cat would hook one off the pen, knock it to the floor, jump down and play with it for a minute or two. Then jump back up and get another and do it all over again. "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's also pretty subjective. As I just posted in another thread, "one man's blunt assessment of a situation is another man's dick move." Some people can understand plain talk and others cry like a little girl with sand in her vagina over any opinion they don't agree with. Yet a third type of internet poster takes "great umbrage" at anything and uses it as their way to attempt a "win" by calling out and attempting to shut down another user over something that most people wouldn't even blink at. Personally, I think that is one of the greater dick moves people make on the internet. Bingo. "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 a vagina? Since you've never seen one... yes. OMFG..... you owe me a laptop. Sorry. No you're not. Nor should you be. 2 points for Lucky. "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, that puts mine in perspective. Sorry to hear you had to go through that. BTDT, I know how bad it sucks. Glad to hear you're on the mend. "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

$2500 is minimum, no repeat jumps, no extra coaching. Almost nobody pulls that off. The extra jumps add up fast. And "gear" includes helmet, jumpsuit, altimeter, everything. It can be done for less. Careful shopping by someone who is an "easy" fit will help. But it's a good ballpark number. "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. It's a skill that only a few practice well. Knowing where the line between "rude" and "attack" is. I find it rather amusing that some here claim the Mods are prejudiced or show favor. It happens, but not as often as some claim. Pay attention to what is said & how it's said and you will see that there are a few here that are very good at coming right up to the line without crossing it. They use that skill to provoke others into crossing the line and getting slapped down. "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

They are a business that depends very heavily on public funding. When they build their own stadiums to play in, when they drop the "not for profit" status for the league, then maybe. To compare them with a normal, private business is not accurate, IMO. "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

Double check your numbers. The 1000 euro course gets you to solo studentstatus, not fully licensed. The 20 euro jumps are for licensed jumpers with their own gear. I don't know what the license requirements are in Belgium, but here in the US, it's 25 jumps minimum for the first license. You also have to demonstrate certain skills, which is why some people take more than the minimum. The gear isn't cheap either. Your best bet is to go out to the DZ and see what they say. And you can take the AFF course and keep going as your money permits. "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

0;0;0 Had a big S/L group out (the same group I started with), got them trained on Saturday and spent the rest of the weekend sitting on the ground looking up at 1500' overcast saying "Well, this sucks." On the plus side, the new lawn tractor showed up, so we put one of the guys on a creeper with an old pilot rig (round) behind it and towed him around a while. Yeah, we were bored. "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

Benny or ProTec are good to start with. Not expensive, fairly tough, better protection than the fancy ones. The chances are that you are going to biff in a few times early in your adventure. That $400 Carbon Fiber helmet will crack on a hard impact. The Benny or ProTec will just scuff and scratch (or cost a lot less to replace). "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's nothing wrong with starting young Some of the best around started very young. It usually involves their dad owning the DZ or something similar. Here in the US, you have to be 18, but younger is allowed elsewhere in the world. That's the good, now the bad - Are you rich? Are your parents rich? If not, then you might have a bit of difficulty. A good place to start is $10000 (that's ten thousand) dollars US to get your "A" license and all the gear you need. That's a "ballpark" figure. Some spend less, others spend more. But it's a good number for planning purposes. That's also for jumping in the US. Other places (like Europe) can be more expensive to jump. Progressing to instructor or camera jumper will take more than an "A" license. More jumps, more training, more money. Getting sponsored is an option, but you need a lot of experience to get noticed by the companies that offer sponsorships. Making a living is doable, but it is often a "labor of love" where you make a pittance, live in a tent on the DZ and eat a lot of Ramen Noodles. Base is a separate discipline, you don't need to be a pro to do it. You do need a decent amount of experience and more training and gear (more money again). I don't mean to take the wind out of your sails, but it's not a cheap sport to get into or stay in. Good luck. "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

Had a discussion a day or so ago about how useful YouTube can be for stuff. Want to know how to do something, practically anything? There's a YouTube video for it. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1TSNO_enUS478US478&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=youtube%20how%20to%20use%20a%20torque%20wrench "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

GET THE CAT NOW!!!!! Being in the shelter is far, far worse than any move you might make. Even being in "Foster Care" outside the shelter is worse than any move. Bring her home, get her used to you, your BF, your routines, all that. Get her used to the feeding schedule, litter box location, all that. Get her a few toys, perhaps a cat tree or something simliar (google it, you'd be amazed at how much is available). When you move, try to keep as much of that as similar as possible - if litter box is in bathroom in old place, put it in the bathroom in new place. If food is put out in kitchen (or back hall, or where ever) put it in as similar a place as possible. Keep all the old toys and stuff and put them in the new place Keep the same feeding schedule as best you can. Keep as much as possible as similar as possible and the cat will be fine. It's going to be much more concerned about you and the BF being there than anything 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

For an individual, privately owned and operated business, I agree wholeheartedly with the opinions in that piece. But pro football is not that. It's an effective monopoly. The NFL itself is a multi-billion dollar business, but the League is a not-for-profit organization. Really. The teams play in stadiums that are usually built with public money. The teams get huge tax breaks and financial support from local and state coffers. Which (IMO) takes them far enough out of the "private business" classification that pressuring this name change is appropriate. "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 was unaware that the 1st Amendment to the Bill of Rights was subject to cultural relativism. Or to selective local enforcement. If the article is accurate about the denial of the permit despite the presence of other churches in the zoning district and also correct about the city governments refusal to allow the Pagans to speak at the city council meeting, then this will be pretty much a slam-dunk lawsuit. The only question will be how obstinate the city will be about appealing the decisions. And that my friend is how Andy9o8 makes a living. Well, if the city officials would actually read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and apply them fairly and evenly to everyone, then there wouldn't be any call for the lawyers, now would there? Unfortunately, the bigoted and ignorant majority often feels it has the power to deny rights to an unpopular minority. Fortunately (for everyone) the courts have decided that isn't allowed. Unfortunately, the bigoted and ignorant majority has to have this lesson repeated over and over again. Which is where the lawyers come in. As a side note, I went through Harrison AR a couple weeks ago. I found THIS billboard combination to be somewhat ironic. It kind of reinforces the image a lot of people have about that area. "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, "without restriction" was an overstatement. There are rules. But it's doable. And hunting seasons/bag limits are in place for a reason. If everyone took "just one deer" for food whenever they wanted, the population would be decimated. That's what wildlife management is all about. The DNR up here has some very vocal critics, but overall the deer population is pretty stable and well managed. We are actually having a deer cull in my town. The local nature center is getting overpopulated and too much damage from the deer. So the city council passed a measure allowing archery hunting inside the city limits, under special circumstances. And the nature center will have hunters out, reducing the population. There are always going to have to be rules and regulations. Some aren't going to be popular. Having none would become anarchy very quickly. And I agree completely with your assessment of how the aftermath of Katrina was handled. I'm aware of how the mayor and the cops overstepped their authority by a huge margin in confiscating guns. As you probably know, there were cops convicted of murder during the crisis. They shot unarmed citizens. Who were running away. It took a while, but they were convicted. And almost nobody (on a national scale) noticed. The level of preparedness for natural disasters in this country is pathetic. Lose power for more than a few days and there's chaos and anarchy. And some people will give up a lot of civil rights to have "order" restored. And food delivered. "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

A torque wrench is important. It lets you be sure that the bolts are tight enough to hold properly. You don't have to get the fancy electronic kind either. Harbor Freight has them a lot cheaper. Not what a pro would use, but they use them every day. You only need it a few times here and there. http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-drive-click-type-torque-wrench-239.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

I'm in agreement with Quade. Pay down the debt. I'm debt free (mortgage & all vehicles paid, no CC or student debt) and have been for a few years. It's nice knowing that I'm not beholden to anyone, that the only money I have to pay out is for what I spent last month (plus a few other odds & ends like taxes, insurance, ect) "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

Says "San Marcos, Mexico" if I read it correctly. If it had been Canada, they would have said "excuse me" before jumping. Oops. I was going off the OP's location. I missed it in the vid. Same thing applies. Mexican airspace rules are different than in the US. And it would have been "Excuse me, eh" "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 was unaware that the 1st Amendment to the Bill of Rights was subject to cultural relativism. Or to selective local enforcement. If the article is accurate about the denial of the permit despite the presence of other churches in the zoning district and also correct about the city governments refusal to allow the Pagans to speak at the city council meeting, then this will be pretty much a slam-dunk lawsuit. The only question will be how obstinate the city will be about appealing the decisions. "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