wolfriverjoe

Go to the Women's Forum. Read "Starting At 57!" by dkvkb Read "Contemplating AFF...how to be sure?" by frogerina. You are not alone in wondering if this sport is for you, while at the same time obsessing over your first jump. Maybe "obsessing" seems a bit strong, but how many times did you watch the video of the jump? How many times did you replay it in your head? I said it in one of those threads: We simply find a love for the sky. And are willing to pursue it. Go read the threads. There's a link in both threads to the "Skydiving Duck." Its a cartoon blog describing the adventures of a 40 something woman who did a tandem... And just a little bit more. Welcome to the sky. It's a wonderful place. And there's a lot of wonderful people up there too. (not all of them, but many if not most) "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 would be rule of the strongest and meanest. Presuming clubs, spears and rocks; the biggest baddest mob would rule. The little guys, and the women (women tend to be smaller and weaker) would be subservient, possibly even slaves. One of the nice things about guns is that they allow the physically weak to have power over the strong. And if you allow the cops and the military to have guns, then the bad guys will get them too. Look at Mexico. Strong gun control, but the drug gangs are armed with full auto machine guns and assault rifles, hand grenades and rocket launchers. All stolen from the military or bought from corrupt supply sergeants. "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, what you're telling me is the 12 Steps which specifically mention the only way to become sober is to turn your life over to God, is the same thing as "nowhere"? http://www.aa.org/en_pdfs/smf-121_en.pdf Are you kidding me? Nope. If you read deeper, God can be substituted anytime and anywhere with the term "Higher Power." And that can be anything. Some choose God, Allah, Jesus, the "Great Spirit" or something similar. Professor Kallend has mentioned that he likes Thor and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Both would fit the bill. Others choose a "non-deity" as their HP. The group itself is one. A doorknob is another (search "doorknob as higher power" to find out why, it's kind of cute). Others take the word "God" and turn it into "Good, Orderly, Direction." Their HP's will for them (step 11) is to do the "next right thing." The long version of step 2 is here: http://www.aa.org/twelveandtwelve/en_pdfs/en_step2.pdf Second page, third paragraph: "Alcoholics Anonymous does not demand that you believe anything." Edit to add: I just read Ryoder's link. Yeah. A lot of people in AA have a lot of different opinions. For anyone to force their opinion on another goes pretty strongly against the whole idea of the thing. That's why one of the more popular sayings is "Live and Let Live." But again, not everyone does 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

It certainly started out that way. Look up, "The Oxford Group." "Non-denominational" only in the most narrow sense of something like, as long as Jesus is involved. The Oxford group was most definitely Christian. And AA adapted a lot of the Oxford Group's ideas (Oxford had 6 steps, AA has 12). But AA and Oxford were never together. AA didn't even have a name for the first few years until the book was published. And nowhere does AA "require belief in God." The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. "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

*** . . . shall we talk about AA? Maybe not as blatant, but "Christians" against alcohol. The Christian Temperance Movement... Not sure where you get that idea. AA is not Christian. Completely non-denominational. Many in AA in the US are Christian, and some of them forget the "Higher Power of our understanding" part and push their own religious beliefs, but that doesn't make AA "Christian." And in no way shape of form associated with the Christian Temperance Movement (if it still exists). And not even against alcohol. "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

Some people think there is too much sax and violins in modern media, but I disagree: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FJ8x6wnZy8 I prefer Sax and Violence This is what I was thinking you had linked. "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 think she meant the AmEx "Centurion Card", known as the "Black Card". Holy Crap! $2500 annual fee!?! $5k "Initiation Fee"!?! Minimum $250k spending to qualify?!? I wasn't aware of it, no reason I would be. I think if you whip that thing out, a $38k purse wouldn't seem extravagant. And FWIW, the article mentions that she was well dressed (Donna Karen skirt plus other stuff). "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

Less likely to get line twists? No, actually more likely to get line twists, mostly because the students don't know how to deploy in a stable body position yet. It's not the canopy, it's the operator. Less likely to result in violently spinning situations? Far, far, far less likely. Almost impossible. The size and design of the canopy is very stable, very forgiving, very docile. You can have some significant line twists and it will still fly straight and level (mostly anyway). The smaller more advanced canopies are far, far more responsive to control inputs, and are more likely to spin up from line twists. Some will go into line twists, and subsequently into a violent, unrecoverable spin (requiring a cutaway and reserve ride) due to bad body position on opening. The Diablo is known for this. But it is not something a beginning (or even intermediate) jumper should be on. "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

Pfft. It's nanothermite, not superthermite. Although it's nice to know that they got it on sale (saves my tax dollars). "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

Some people... Are too simple minded to accept that people have differing views on different subjects. Or that they aren't in "lock step" with the entire party line. Personally, on some things I'm hard-core Right-Wing "Extremist." Other things, I'm "Flaming Liberal." Most stuff I'm "middle of the road." I strongly suspect that is true of most people. "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, we had the "Banana Republics" where we put pretty horrific governments into place to satisfy the United Fruit Company. We put the Shah in Iran because we didn't like the democratically elected government (1953). We assassinated the elected president of Chile because we didn't like him. Why shouldn't we do the same damned thing in Egypt? "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, he should behave exactly like Shah. That would generate a result that would satisfy my 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

I fully agree that gun rights are part of the Constitution. And I also agree that it has supporters across the spectrum (the "Pink Pistols" are a great example). But it tends to be more prevalent among the conservatives, and gun control tends to be more prevalent among the liberals. I was looking more at a "whole picture" of Rushmc, not just a specific trait. And I thought I made it clear that I don't see him as an "Extremist", just one of the more extreme right wingers on here. And I forgot to include "Against Gay Rights" on the list. "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. Ya think that the fact that the apartment complex was a county owned, partially federally funded, senior citizen housing project might be just a little important to the discussion? "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 suggest a mechanical analog first. No batteries to go dead (at the worst possible time), similar to what you have been using, pretty reliable. Yes, they can and do break, but the good ones can last a long time if treated properly. No matter what you get later, having that one in your bag as a backup (or to loan to a friend) will come in handy. Digitals are nice, but can take longer to read (there is debate on this). The batteries will go dead, often at the worst possible time. An audible is nice, but it has been suggested to wait a bit on one for a student. You want do develop good altitude awareness habits, and having a beeper go off in your ear can screw that up. If you need to look, then you learn to. If it tells you, then you don't learn to "need to look." "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 didn't actually "reverse themselves." The policy was put in place by a private management company. When the actual owners (the county) found out that the managers were putting this policy in place without consulting with the owners, the county told the management company "You can't do that." Given that it is public housing, county owned and (partially) federally funded, it stops being a "private property" issue. The Constitution and the rights it ensures most definitely apply here. They wouldn't if it was privately owned. "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

Let's see... Absolute denial of climate change/AGW. Pro fossil fuel/Anti alternative energy (hates Prius owners). Complete disdain for "Obamacare." Anti-Abortion. Pro Gun Rights. Against Welfare. Somewhat Xenophobic. Willing to allow government to force religious beliefs on the public (as long as they are Christian, not Islamic). Against pretty much anything Obama is in favor of. Although to your credit, you don't seem to be racist - Many "anti Obama" people are pretty clearly against him because he is black, even though they strongly deny their racism (in the real world and on here). I don't see that in you. I don't know if I'd call you an "extremist," but you are pretty extreme. The opinions on here represent the entire spectrum. I don't think it's an exact representation, but it's pretty close to the "real world." If you aren't "extreme right wing", then who on here is? You Gravmaster and Ron are pretty much the far right end of the spectrum on here. "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

Because for an item costing over $1000, an extra $50 or so for shipping is a small cost for peace of mind. There are enough threads on here that go "I bought (insert canopy, H/C, ect. here) off of the classifieds, it's not as represented (holes, size, condition, ect.) and now the seller won't return my calls or e-mails. What do I do?" If I don't know the seller, or can't find someone I know to offer assurances of their reliability (often not all that hard to do), then I either do an escrow deal through Chutingstar or someplace similar or I move on. "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

Looks like verbal only. Which means a jumper could do a demo low, then sell out the S&TA by saying he/she was TOLD it was okay. "From Ed Scott: To allow those good reasons, the board motion allows Safety and Training Advisors to waive the BSR on a jump-specific basis. If there is a low ceiling and the airplane can’t get above 2,500 feet for low exits or accuracy jumps or if the same low ceiling threatens a demo or if the big-way attempts need a little more room at the bottom to ensure adequate separation, then the S&TA simply waives those specific jumps from the BSR. There is no required paperwork or time spent waiting on someone else’s approval. However, DZ-wide or season-long waivers are not the intent." top Or is something goes wrong, the S&TA could hose the jumper by denying that the waiver was given. "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

Actually, we have laws that prohibit funding to governments that the State Department determines gained power through a coup. That "determines" part is critical because, in the ultimate political "do-si-do", they decided that if the State Department doesn't make any determination about whether it was a coup or not in Egypt (it was, IMO) then they haven't determined that it was, and funding can continue. Really. Not the best source, but it has the quotes I was looking for and it was the best I could find fast. http://www.szaboservices.com/show/state-department-and-white-house-to-continue-illegally-funding-egypt-because-they-decided-it-is-legal-even-though-it-isnt- "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 showed up here last fall. No discussion on who did it. But the commercial only shows a generic landing. The actors are already on the ground when the scene cuts to them. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4381244;search_string=Don't%20tell%20mom;#4381244 "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

Of course not. He's in there making out with John Travolta. I thought it was R Kelly. "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

If you mean that "If I jump I will die, but if I don't jump I won't die today", or at least not have any increased risk of it today, then no. If I was to never jump again, I would be disappointed. It's a huge part of my life. But it's not the only part. But that's really not the question Pablito was asking. Every time I go out the door, it may be the last thing I do. That risk is obvious. For me, the reward of jumping, and everything that goes with it is worth the risk. But that fact is present every time I get on my motorcycle, every time I get in my car, every time I cross a street, every time I go into a tall building, every time I walk out the door of my house. Most people close their eyes to this. How many times have you heard "If I knew it was the last time I would see him, I would have..." By having that right in front of my face, I have learned to tell the people in my life that I love them. I say nice things now because there may not be a "later." I might not be here, they might not. "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

Why would you fear a tail strike more on a H&P than on a normal jump? Unless you are at a DZ where they don't properly configure the plane for low passes, the risk is exactly the same. You say those concerns are cleared up, what cleared them up? Not flaming you, just curious. "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

*** By the way there is a third option to the scenarios. It could be that with more AADs and jumps happening we have simply uncovered the fact that 750 feet isn't quite enough and it has always been an AAD problem. Personally I don't see it that way, but it should be kept in mind. There have been a lot of AAD fires where the reserve opened in time. Many were due to loss of awareness, not loss of consciousness. But they gave the reserve adequate time/altitude to open. It's only been recently that there have been a rash of "almost but not quite open" issues. And Billvon suggested testing and finding out which container/main/reserve combos have issues and that how hard/tight it is to close may not be the best way. I agree with that. I use the "have the jumper pull in front of me and then pull upwards on the bridle to see how hard freebag extraction is" method. Still not totally scientific, but at least a little more realistic. I've found one that I had no problem closing the previous time to be difficult to extract, and one of the more difficult to close had no problem extracting. Go figure. "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