wolfriverjoe

There's lots of good suggestions here. One I haven't seen yet is to find a jumper who is looking to become either a coach or AFFI. They may well be looking for a "less skilled" jumper to use as a practice student. And ask around. There are often experienced jumpers who are perfectly willing to do a fun jump with newer jumpers. I heard "the enthusiasm and excitement of the new guys is always fun", "since you aren't very good, then I have to work harder and be better than if I jump with skilled people", and (most importantly) "I had experienced guys jump with me when I was new, just make sure you jump with the new guys when you've been around a while." And keep in mind, that even chasing a "backslider" around the sky, even up and down due to fall rate issues, all of that is more fun than doing a solo. Look around for someone who doesn't seem to have a partner. I have heard "You suck, but it beats jumping alone." (It was a joking comment, but it was pretty accurate too ) You can also hook up with another new jumper or two. There are some pretty basic drill dives that are only three or four points, repeatable if you get that far. Ask an instructor or load organaizer for some ideas/suggestions/instructions. Make sure you dirt dive it well, and debrief it after. And you said: Sure. Be welcoming and friendly. If you see a student or new jumper standing alone, go say "Hi." Help them feel like they belong. Remember how you felt at the beginning. All these experienced jumpers, laughing and joking and having a good time. And you were the new student, not knowing how to fit in. Not knowing how to act or what to say. If you want to help the new guys, help them learn that this is one of the best groups of people in the world to be a part of. And the simple suggestion of double-knotting shoelaces (or maybe how to make sure long hair is properly secured) is a good way to both give a piece of advice that isn't necessarily obvious and also to make them feel like someone cares about 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

Learn to PLF well. Really, really well. It takes a while to figure out when and how to flare properly and consistently. Getting the sight picture down is something that comes only with practice. And no matter how good you get, there will always be the possibility of screwing up or getting tossed around by the wind. Having the ability to PLF in your "toolbox" will save your ass (figuratively and literally) many many times in jumps to come. "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 funny. I heard it was the other way around. The closest to "famous" that I have is Sunshine

I theory, yes. Taking the term "marriage" out of the debate would reduce (not eliminate) some of the contention. Keep in mind that the NC vote recently banned civil unions as well as marriage. But the big problem is that the terms "marriage:, "husband", "wife", and "spouse" are all written into many laws. IIRC it's well over 1100 seperate statutes at the federal level. Ranging from decisions over health care and survirvorship to family discounts at national parks. Each and every one of those would have to be changed. In a seperate legislative act. In both the house and the senate. "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 therefore it is a pointless bandaid? Nothing more than a PR exercise? No. Bigger turns require better judgement, more accurate setup, and give greater speed. There's less margin for error on them. That doesn't make 90s safe, but they are somewhat safer (or perhaps less dangerous would be more accurate). They also are a lot less dangerous for other traffic in the vicinity. Not turning into a blind area lowers the risk for a collision. "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 "Sportations" DZ's are a scam. The websites are for imaginary DZs. They sell you a gift certificate and after it's too late you find out that you have to drive several hours (and past several legitimate DZs) to redeem it. (No refunds either). Search the term "Skyride" to find out more about the scam. "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

Bass. The sax player was Blue Lou Marini. A lot of people don't realize that the band behind the Blues Brothers was made up of some of the best session players in the business. Donald "Duck" Dunn, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, Eddie "Too Big" Hayes, Tom "Bones" Malone, Alan "Mr Fabulous" Rubin and Murphy Dunne were the band in the movie, but there were lots of top shelf musicians who played with them. Even Paul Schaffer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blues_Brothers "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 the jumpers can exit over any open safe area enroute good for you - most posts are about saving the plane or getting a good spot for the jumpers. instead of saving the sick or dying pilot...... Or the jumpers can ride the plane over to the other airport. I don't think I'd want to take the time to slow down to door speed. I would fly the plane back to the DZ and could let them out on the trip back. "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

After a bit of thought (I really don't know if I would have thought of this at the time)... I'd declare a medical emergency on board and then fly about 20 miles to the nearest major city, where I could have an ambulance waiting for me to take the pilot about 5 min to a well equipped hospital. As opposed to landing at the DZ, waiting 15 min for tha ambulance to show up, then giving the pilot a 20 min ride to the (same) hospital. Compare 15 min or less (10 min flight, 5 min ride) to 3/4 of an hour (5 min to land, 15 min wait, 20 min ride). "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 a practical standpoint, this is probably a good idea. If your guns are stolen or destroyed, it will be a lot easier to get them back or get insurance reimbursement. On the thread topic, the police should treat the guns like any other property. The DOJ guideline is improper. Bolding mine. That's the whole point of the lawsuit. And is the DOJ memo about proof a guideline or a requirement? The article isn't clear about that. I don't know how Califorina works, but here in Wisconsin, the state DOJ has no regulatory power over local law enforcement. The locals have to follow state (and federal and local) statutes, but DOJ has no power to enact laws. They can (and do) issue recommendations, but locals have the autonomy to choose whether or not to follow those. And yes, pics and records of serial numbers are a good thing to have. For a lot of stuff, not just guns. I have an SD card in my safety deposit box. Pics of all my valuables. Guns, electronics, antiques, my rigs, all that 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

I hope your treatment programs are entirely seperate from AA and/or NA. You don't say that they are, but I don't see anywhere that you clearly state that they aren't. There's nothing wrong with encouraging participants in treatment to attend 12 step programs. Requiring participation is a violation of the third tradition. And to say the treatment program (that is funded by the government) is AA or NA is in pretty direct violation of several traditions. "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

Treatment and AA are two very, very different things. Treatment programs often push 12 step programs as a way to stay sober, but no professional treatment program (hospital, Betty Ford, Hazelden ect.) is affiliated with AA. You might be surprised that a majority of the membership of AA agrees that court-ordered attendance at AA is not appropriate. The basic foundations of AA (the traditions) include the idea that the only requirement for memebership is the desire to stop drinking. Which also means that those who don't have a desire to stop really don't belong. All are welcome, if they want to be there. But those who are being forced to be there really don't qualify. Many AA groups have contacted the court systems and explained this to the judges and probation departments. Other groups will, at the beginning, ask if anyone has "attendance slips" that need to be signed. The slips are signed at the very beginning of the meeting and the person is then asked if they want to be there. It is made very, very clear that they are welcome if they want to stay, but that if they don't want to attend the meeting that they are free to go, as far as AA is concerned. And AA has a strong Judeo-Christian flavor to it, but has no association or affiliation with any "sect, denomination or creed." Given that the majority of people in the US that have a religious belief are a christian of some sort or another, it isn't surprising. But AA itself has no such direction and hasn't from very early on. Wiki Clicky "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

Refuses to take second place to skydiving. "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 guess one man's choice is another's "repulsive, perverted abomination." I find the establishment of Christianity as the "official state religion" of the US very, very offensive. Posting the 10 C's in buildings and requiring prayer (presumably Christian prayers of course) in schools is just that. Which makes the comment: even more outrageous. You know, that little thing called the "Bill of Rights" and the very first amendment in it that clearly and directly (no interpretation involved at all) bans establishment of a state religion. "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 she considered your attack on her man to be worse than his attack on her. Not terribly uncommon. Ask any cop why they fear domestic distrubances the worst. And why they try really. really hard to keep everyone out of the kitchen during the call. "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

Depending on how bad it's scratched, you may be able to polish the scratches out. Even though it's meant for metal, Simichrome works reasonably well on clear plastic. Try it way off to one side first to see how it works. Toothpaste also works fairly well. "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 same deal that has a city/state bending over backwards at the threat of the team leaving tends to have terms that aren't that hard to pay off - the next city/state will happily pay the exit fees. I don't see them bending over backwards. Bending over, yes. But not backwards. "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

Although funny, maybe not the best move to do the direct mailer. These folks don't believe in letting Mile High Operate and will use this to help make more enemies for Mile High. Matt Yes. I agree that it is pretty funny, if you are on the side of the airport and have a sense of humor about ths situation. For the "I hate airplane" crowd however... It's more of a shoving it into your face. I do, however love Kim's comment that the city needs to realize that it has the authority to regulate the noise coming from the airport. No. They don't. It's regulated by the FAA. "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 the same Why not? And the ballot initiatives banning gay marriage keep passing because the people who strongly oppose gay marriage outnumber those who strongly support it (strongly meaning strongly enough to actually make the effort to go and vote). "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 D-bag is sized to the container. If the canopy is sized properly to fit the container, it will fit the bag. Edit to add: Have the serial number of your container handy when you order. If you give them that, you'll get the right bag. "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

Buying a woman a drink, even if she has already said she doesn't want it, is not a threat. All she has to do is push it aside and ignore it. I guess that's one of the areas that men can be very blind to a woman's world. It isn't a direct threat, but it is behavior that indicates that the guy isn't going to take "no" for an answer. And ignoring that could be very dangerous for a woman. If he isn't going to take "no" for an answer about a drink, what else might he do despite her refusal? It's like seeing a strange (or stray) dog while out walking. It isn't a direct and immediate threat, but it is something that has potential to be a serious threat. And I treat it as such. "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

Lee said it first, but pilot chute and deployment bag are usually considered part of the container. Risers and toggles are too. And so are reserve toggles, freebag/reserve bridle and reserve pilot chute "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, as God is thier witness, nobody believs mice can fly. It would appear pretty cruel to just toss the mice out, even though they are being tossed to be eaten. I'm curious if the dose of acetaminephen are harmful to the mice. I can't imagine a dose that would affect the snake wouldn't have some pretty serious effects on the mouse. And the idea of a snake eating a dead mouse (as mentioned in the story) is preposterous. Snakes won't eat anything that wasn't alive when they grabbed 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

Interesting. I was going through a box of my late father's stuff last week and found that book. It looked intersting enough to put it on my "to read" stack. Yes, I've felt threatened. I walk my dog on a daily basis, and reasonably often (once a month or so) I encounter a loose, aggressive dog. I understand self defense (principles and legalities) and respond as necessary. That means occasionally using pepper spray, a hard kick, or actually grabbing and physically restraining the other dog. Every so often, the owner of the loose dog takes offense that I am doing these things to their (loose and aggressive) dog. That's when I call the cops. Fortunately the cops in my small town take a dim view of "dog at large" or "aggressive dog" situations. And women have a very different view of threats (overall) than men. There is a very nice circuit that I walk my dog on. It goes down a wooded road with no houses on it (although there are houses within shouting distance). When I was still with my wife, she decided that she didn't feel safe walking it alone, but she liked walking it when I was along. I told her that I felt we lived in a safe enough area that she would be ok, but if she didn't feel safe, then don't go there. 3 months later a woman was attacked and killed on that road, apparently at random, by a real sick dude. I complimented her on her safety awareness. It often isn't the reality of the situation, but the perception of it that generates the fears. Is a guy who buys a woman a drink after she has declined it going to stalk and rape her? Is the guy who didn't buy it automatically not going to? In both cases the answer is no. But the guy who buys it anyway is a more obvious threat. He's more visibly persistent, and drawing the attention to himself. And women aren't the only ones who go about their daily lives in "condition yellow". Many guys (and a lot of women too) don't bother, because they don't feel the threats. Until it's too late. Paying attention to your surroundings is just basic safety conciousness. And helps project the appearance of "non-victim" status. "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 comes up on a regular basis. My thought, take them out to see the operation when you aren't going to jump. I'm of the belief that most people's fears are based on misconceptions and ignorance of what really goes on. Give them an opportunity to see what goes on when they know that they don't have to worry about you and they are more likely to see it for what it really is. The details of what and how I took my mom out to the DZ are HERE. The rest of the thread has some pretty good info also. "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