wolfriverjoe

My parents (in Canada, for those who don't know me) got discounts twice when buying stick-shift... Because the dealerships have a hard time selling them - NOT because they are "not as good" as automatics. I had to special order mine to get the 5 speed. The credit was on the options sheet with a "negative" price. I have never seen another Blazer with a 5 speed. I'm sure there have to be couple of them out there but not that I've seen. "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

Yes, it's going to be very interesting. I'm really not following the case all that closely, and I heard a short bit on NPR this morning about specific language that both sides can use. One thing that I was wrong about was the dispatcher telling GZ not to leave his car, because he hadn't called until after he got out. But didn't he say "OK' after being advised that "he didn't have to do that", and then later say "I've lost him."? Which would seem (to me at least) that he kept following. I agree that the dispatcher didn't have any legal authority to order him to do or not do anything but it blows big holes in any self defense case if you ignore advice given by any LE. And I'm perfectly fine with people being on edge about using deadly force to defend themselves. It should be very much a "last choice" option. The old adage "I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six" says (to me at least), that if I use deadly force in a self defense situation, then I'm going to have to justify that in a court of law. I fully realize (and agree with) the idea that use of deadly force will carry legal consequences. I was advised that pulling a gun out and pointing it at someone will probably cost me around $5k. Actually shooting someone will run about $20k. IIRC, AggieDave quoted a cost of about $50k for a "no-bill" (Grand Jury choosing not to indict) CHL shoot in Texas. "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 because it was; we used to call them slush pumps. I taught both of my kids to drive a stick because I wanted them to be able to drive any vehicle available in an emergency. JerryBaumchen I always knew them as "slushboxes." Slightly different vernacular, possibly regional differences. And an auto is an "upgrade." I bought a S-10 Blazer new in 97 and specified a 5 speed. An auto was "standard equipment" and I got a ~$800 credit for deleting the auto and having a 5 speed.

GZ himself told the police dispatcher that he was following TM. He went against the advice of the dispatcher and got out of his car to continue following TM. It isn't wrong or illegal to follow someone you consider suspicious. But being a member of a neighborhood watch doesn't give you any extra rights to do anything. And following someone is a provocative act. I've said this before: Try it. Maybe near a school. Follow someone. Make it obvious so that they realize you are following them. When they try to evade you, get out of your car and try to continue to follow them. Let me know what happens. And one of the basic rules of self-defense is that the situation has to be unavoidable and not caused by the person claiming self defense. You can't pick a fight and when you start to lose, pull out a gun and shoot your opponent. That's not self defense. And while GZ may not have started the physical confrontation that ended with TM's death, GZ certainly started the overall situation by following TM. As I said, if the prosecutor can keep that as one situation, GZ is in trouble. If the defense attorneys can separate it into two seperate incidents, GZ has a chance. But GZ didn't voluntarily give up following TM, he told the police dispatcher "I lost him" (or words to that effect). That makes it more difficult for the defense to make it into 2 distinct and separate confrontations. And nobody but GZ and TM know if GZ really gave up looking for TM or if GZ kept looking around and found TM. And someone in an earlier thread (maybe GeorgiaDon or Southern Man) found an interpretation of Florida self defense laws that made it possible to pick a fight and then claim self defense. I don't know Florida laws all that well. I do know Wisconsin laws. If the reports in the news are correct (I don't know that for sure), GZ would not have a valid claim of self defense in Wisconsin. His initiating the situation by following TM would negate any claim of unavoidable. His getting out of his car against the advice of the police dispatcher would completely destroy any claim of "unavoidable". I've had this discussion with a couple of firearms instructors and the lawyer who advises them. They all agreed that, in Wisconsin, GZ would most likely be convicted of voluntary manslaughter. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. I have my opinions, but I wouldn't bet very heavily on the outcome going either way. "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

Presumed innocent until proven guilty. A lot is going to depend on what evidence is presented by each side and allowed by the judge. I have my opinions, but they are based on Wisconsin Self Defense laws. Florida is different. I'm not sure how different, but I don't think it's different enough to matter. If the prosecution can keep the entire situation (from GZ calling the police to report a suspicious person to the shooting) as a single event, then GZ is in trouble. If the defense is able to separate the surveillance and following part from the final fight, then he stands a chance. "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 he 100 ls. overweight? You know this for fact? Heck, I observed he was chubby, but never thought he was 100 lbs. over weight. Best- Richard You don't need to be 100 lbs over. You don't need to be overweight at all. I've lost a couple friends, and known of more than just a few others, who died of sudden, massive heart attacks in their mid-forties to early fifties. Coronary Artery Disease has no signs, no symptoms, no indication whatsoever... Until you drop dead. It can be found if you look for it, blood cholesterol level tests are a good first indicator, followed by more detailed and specific tests if necessary. It can easily be treated if it is found, but it often isn't found until the autopsy. Sad. He was an awesome actor. "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

Lots of us really, really like yours too. It's very nice of you to post them every so often.

3 million skydives per year times 20 pound is 60 million pounds per year in the US. It sure sounds like a lot. But think about how much fuel is used to haul bottled water from the bottling plant to the distribution warehouse and from there to the store (and from there to the end user). Its a whole lot more. For an item that can be had at the turn of a valve in most places. "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 gallon of gas is ~20 pounds of CO2? How much does a gallon of gas weight? Uhm, I've never been impressed with green math skills, and there is a reason for that. Apparently so. I bounced a few numbers around in my head (Gas goes ~ 6lbs/gal. Carbon has atomic weight of 14, Oxygen is 6, Hydrogen is 2. Hydrocarbons are usually 2 H for each C) and kept coming up lower. But I know better than to trust myself on that sort of stuff, so I found this: http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/faqs/answer.cfm?id=3460 It says 19.4 lbs/gal. But they round up a bit here and a bit there. And the link to the EPA site that is cited for the calculations is broken. But I can do a lot of things (and I really mean a lot) that lower my carbon footprint to offset that small amount of gas. 200 gallons isn't really much for a year of jumping. Compare it to how much a boat or motorhome burns, it's miniscule. Compare it to how much fuel is burned to deliver all the stuff that you buy at the store, it's even more insignificant. "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 different for every person. I'm with AggieDave in that I consider myself a smoker (and always will), I'm just not smoking anymore. 14 years this coming fall. It doesn't bother me to be around it, every so often the smell of someone else smoking will smell good to me. It makes me want to pick it up again. This is why I don't consider myself a "non-smoker." The urge still strikes every now and again, the strongest time was when my dad died. I also know someone who has quit for a long time, but loves the smell and has said more than once that if she was given a short time to live, then she'd start back up again. But if calling herself a non-smoker makes it easier for her to quit, then more power to her. And since he was one of the first to respond: IAAD "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

Wait a minute. Where have you seen an image of the Director of the NSA on a dog's butt? "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

................................................................................... Take your ass/money/friends to another DZ. Do small Cessna's really have seat-belts in the States? All the ones that I have jumped out of have had 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

That raises a very interesting question. Taking the alcohol analogy one step further, a bartender can be sued if they serve someone who then gets into a car and hurts someone. The bartender is legally liable because they served the person who caused the accident. I'm no fan of the "sue happy" culture we have in the US, but what legal liability does or should Icarus have for sponsoring someone and presumably providing them with this canopy that is so far beyond their skills. A 119 Neos at 1.9 is widely recognized to be an "expert" canopy. And 400 jumps (maybe less) is widely recognized to be "not an expert, not even close." Brian's Chart has a 170 recommended(144 absolute minimum) for 400 jumps and 220 exit weight. Plus it says go up one size for elliptical canopies. So he was 3 or 4 sizes above where he should have been. This may be a topic for SC, not here. And I don't really have an answer. I'm torn between accepting personal responsibility for our own actions, and blaming "corporations" for sponsoring and assisting in incredibly reckless and irresponsible actions. "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

Many have reportedly tried to talk to them using reason. I suggest that maybe angrily telling them that they are no longer welcome as a friend (and getting a lot of the other regulars to agree) might make an impact. A person could say, "I would rather not be your friend when you get hurt or die, so that I'll care less." After all, they want to be seen as part of the cool crowd/very experienced jumpers at the DZ. What do y'all think? I've come fairly close to doing just that. He double femured, and when he came back I said something like: "I love you like a brother, but if you keep doing that shit, I won't be here for you because I don't want to be here when you kill yourself." He has mostly listened, but not totally. The problem is getting everyone or even a lot of the regulars to 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

Well, are you dependent on them for anything? Like maybe your college tuition? Or are you still living with them? If you are on your own, paying your own way, then do what you want and tell them what you want. If not, then don't be too surprised to hear something like "Not while you live under my roof." I told my folks right away. I was also in my thirties and on my own. They weren't super happy about it, but understood that it was my decision. I even got my ProTrack for Christmas from them. And you might think about bringing them out to the DZ on a day that you are not jumping. Give them a chance to see the sport in action, how focused and careful we are with the gear, how the training goes (if you ask nicely, they may be able to sit in on part of a FJC). All in a situation where you aren't giving them any reason to worry. That's how I did it with my mom. She came out to the DZ on a day when I was flying the plane so she knew I wouldn't be jumping. She had a blast watching the other guys jump. She came out a week or so later and watched me jumping, having a much better idea of what was going to happen. And again had a great time. She now comes out and sits on the picnic table and watches the shenanigans. "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 are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Isn't every jump a three-way at minimum? I've heard that the Reaper lurks and Murphy is waiting to swoop in. "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, thanks. I agree with you on 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

I've been to both. They are both pretty nice places. Good people, not just tandem mills. Where are you? Southern Wi has a couple other smaller places too. "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

Yup. I called someone on his shit, and he did the same thing to me, I just haven't started very many threads, so his pickings were pretty slim. And I am probably jumping at shadows, but I got a rather odd "friend request" on facebook. Cute girl in the picture, 1 mutual friend. I accepted. Looked at her other friends (4 others). 3 were black teenagers in various parts of the country. Iowa, Utah and somewhere else. One was a musician of some sort. Messaged the mutual friend and she didn't know her either. Just accepted a strange friend request. Got a message from this "girl" saying hi, and that she had to log off, so I should give her my cell number so she could text me. Hmmmmmm. I am going to do a bit more checking, but I have a funny feeling it's a certain banned, serial sockpuppet. I'm pretty easy to find. My real name is in my profile and I use the same picture of my dog by my canopy in both. "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

Pops - Do you think Ken Oka's death, Cliff Schmucker' death or Mike Truffer's incident were their fault? I'm not dismissing your statement that "his luck ran out" is often used to evade responsibility, it is. But for the 3 I named above, I see it as a series of unfortunate circumstances that ended badly. Those 3 shook me somewhat. More than I expected, and it took a day or so to fully sink in. All three fit the quote (from Sparky Owens, I believe) "You can do everything right and still die." "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

Pretty much everyone in the sport believes they are "safe". What a crock. Skydiving is not safe, ask your mother. What you believe is safe is different from the next person. Safe is not what we do. Lowering risk to allow for survival is what we do. We have rules that are a framework. Different people will select different risk levels within that framework. Some will make choices you would not. Just like you made choices your mother would not. That's very true. Unfortunately, some people suck at risk identification and risk management. They think they are operating at a reasonable level of risk, when everyone around them is betting on when they are going to bounce. "Don't worry, I've got it under control. I know what I'm doing." Thud. "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 dude, you just got smacked down by one of the oldest, most experienced and most respected jumpers on here (and out there too). Not to mention a very rare "Wendy smack down." Do what you want. You will anyway. Just don't kill me or any of my friends. You are a DGIT. You may be able to fly a camera without killing yourself, but your overall attitude will get you killed. There was a thread recently on "What makes a good skydiver?" The most common and necessary trait mentioned was humility and a willingness to listen to those who have been there before. You might think about that, although I doubt you will. You know too much and are far. far too smart to listen to people who have been in this sport longer than you've been alive. AND are still here to talk about it. (read my second sigline) "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

Read your policy. Much of the time, a hit & run is covered by collision, not comp. "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

His canopy progression is on his sponsored profile. If Icarus isn't keeping track of what their sponsees are jumping, they really should be. If they are letting their sponsees jump stuff that far ahead of standard progression, then they should really rethink this. I looked on the Icarus site for skill/experience reccys. They base it on wingloading, but don't list jump numbers. The Neos is suggested W/L 1.8 and above. Their site calls that a "Class 5." Class 4 states " A high degree of experience and competence is necessary to handle a canopy in this range." Icarus site: http://www.icaruscanopies.aero/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=653 WTF? When is 400 jumps considered a "High degree of experience"? And there are restrictions on high performance cars and motorcycles. They are subtle and fairly easy to get around, but they are there. Try to get a test drive in something seriously high performance if you are a 18 year old kid. Not gonna happen. If you can buy one, try to get insurance. And the simple cost of a car that good is a pretty high hurdle to jump. Very few 18 year olds can afford real performance. Same with motorcycles. Try to get a test ride on a ZX-14 or a Hayabusa. If the dealer doesn't know you or your experience, it isn't going to happen. You can still buy one, but insurance will be insane. And the bike boards are full of derogatory comments about the "Squids" (their version of a DGIT). And the very, very big difference between cars and bikes vs canopies is that you can drive a Ferrari slowly. You can't fly a canopy loaded above 1.5 or so slowly. I always goes fast. "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