wolfriverjoe

Don't forget that people who jump, or at least have some understanding of jumping will read "We just did a 3 way with an inflatable donkey!" a whole lot different than the average wuffo. And I really mean a whole lot different. "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

Define "criminally organized street gang". Some people think the Occupy movement is about the criminally organized gang that is doing exactly what you seem to think is a bad idea. One man's street gang is another man's social club. Name a 'street gang' that is large enough to sway a vote larger than a local or county government seat. If the 'street gang' is comprised of citizens, then yes, they have the right to vote. period. Chicago. Admittedly, it is a local or county government seat. But it's a big city/county. And while it is far, far better than it has been in the past, it's still pretty corrupt. "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 wondered that, too. Otherwise, conceivably, a person could evade this requirement simply by skipping the B license and just moving on to the C or D once he's otherwise eligible. (Right?) http://www.uspa.org/SIM/Read/Section3/tabid/165/Default.aspx [Quote]C License 3. Persons holding a USPA C license are able to exercise all privileges of a B-license holder, are eligible for the USPA Instructor rating (except USPA Tandem Instructor), participate in certain demonstration jumps, may ride as passenger on USPA Tandem Instructor training and rating renewal jumps, and must have-- a. met all current requirements for or hold a USPA B license You have to meet all the requirements for the licenses you are skipping. Edit: Too slow, NWFlyer beat me to 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'm definitely still a student. I am (or was) under the impression that I was on my own for this, but would have to find an instructor to sign the logbook afterwards. Or did you mean I should find an instructor to go over the dive plan even if I don't officially have someone assigned to me? That will be an experience, both going up and the way down! I don't know how Elsinore works (again: Check with your instructors), but when I was on solo student status, I still had to have an instructor get me a rig from the student gear, go over the dive plan, manifest me and double check that I had the gear on right. I couldn't just grab a rig and manifest myself. "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

Thanks guineapiggie101! Say, how did your first solo go? Are you really 100% unsupervised? I know the drop and landing are solo, and you have to put the info in the log book etc.., but does anyone check with you about your dive plans? Not that I'm planning anything weird...

This is the belief of many in the study. It's very likely true - at the 95% confidence or better. But...depending on your frame of reference, there are still many negatives around them having the bomb. Their threats have to be taken more seriously, and your options are more limited. Absolutely there are more negatives than positives to Iran obtaining nukes. It would be far simpler if they didn't. But the idea that they would actually use them if they got them is pretty far fetched. "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

Kim Jong-Il has always seemed to be a pragmatist. He does some stuff that seems really whacky to us. But if you look at it from his point of view, as a dictator trying to hold power over his people, then it makes more sense (not complete sense, but more). He forces the US to pay attention to him. He gets a former US President (Clinton) to come, stand on stage and take pictures with him. From his point of view (and that of the NK citizens) that elevates his stature. And solidifies his hold on power. He probably isn't going to do anything really stupid, because if he did, we'd turn most of NK into a parking lot. Which wouldn't be any fun to rule. And there is a school of thought that if Iran obtains nukes, they would have to take the same pragmatic stance. It would elevate their stature in the region, give them more influence among their neighbors, but if they actually used them, they'd be toast. Even nuking Tel Aviv wouldn't destroy Israel. I'd bet very heavily that the Israeli nukes are dispersed enough that there would be something left for retaliation if they needed. "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

In most places in the US these days, running from the cops is a felony. Without doing a full 50-state survey, I'm pretty sure that most states' statutes link the severity of the "flight/evasion (etc.)" charge (i.e., felony vs. misdemeanor) to whether the underlying charge for which the person was fleeing was a felony or a misdemeanor. Not necessarily. http://www.realpolice.net/forums/ask-cop-112/58387-evading-felony-misdemeanor.html This is the best I could find with a real quick search. It seems that TN, KY, MI are all automatically felonies, others it can be either depending on why you are fleeing or what you do while fleeing. And this is only a handful of states. I'll retract my "most" and change it to "some." Further search and a little bit more comprehensive answer:http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080316141016AAtypiq "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 was one dz not long ago that said they couldn't put a night load up because none of their pilots were certified for flying jumpers at night. Guess those 3 take offs and landings constitue a certification now! A pilot who holds a commercial without an instument rating is limited to daylight only for commercial operations. http://www.flightsimaviation.com/data/FARS/part_61-133.html Look under (B)Limitations (1). 50 mile limit for cross country flights 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

I know someone who has a Ford Crown Vic with the extra antenna and the spotlight - It used to be an unmarked cop car. She has a lot of fun with it that 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

In most places in the US these days, running from the cops is a felony. "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

Vent all you want. We're here for you. I lost a friend to cancer Monday. He was 78, had a long and good life, and I will miss him very much. Not a jumper, or anything like that, just a good friend. Spend as much time with him as you can. "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 does this mean that they park their cars inside the building??? IBTM "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

DO NOT TRY TO MEASURE YOURSELF!!! You need to stand normally to get the measurements right. You can't stand normally and bend over to get the measurements at the same time. Following any of the manufacturer's guides is what you have to do (obviously follow the guide for the rig you are getting). It's not real hard. Just make sure you are following the instructuins. For example, Velocity's site specifies how the thigh measurment is taken - it doesn't go just around the thigh, it also goes up to the point of the hip (just like your legstrap will). As long as you make sure you are following the instructions you will be fine. You can always ask the manufacturer if you have any questions. They have been really good about that sort of thing in my experience. "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 and no. I'm a feather-butt (I fall very slowly) so I need a "Fast" suit. That means the fit needs to be pretty snug. I have a tight suit for summer, and a looser suit for colder weather - It fits snugly when I layer up underneath. A removable liner wouldn't work for me because it would be too baggy with the liner removed. And for your OP: Belly, little bit of Freefly (more like freeflailing ) Tonysuit, one belly one FF, yes to both. Don't know, the customization available is pretty extensive. Comfort - proper fit, proper materials. Functionality - allows me to maintain a good speed, durability. Asthetics - What is that??? Mostly kidding My belly suit is a "hand-me-down", a gift from a jumper who had "outgrown" it. It's purple, black and (very faded) neon green. My FF suit was off the rack. It looks cool, but to be honest, asthetics are way down on my list. I'm a guy, so my opinions on female needs are probably way off, but since females are often smaller and lighter, and because of this have fall rate issues, they need a proper fit. It doesn't have to be specifically designed for women, but it has to be fit properly to the individual. "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'd pay to see #1 in real life. Or you could just tell the stewardess to ask the captain to descend to 10000 feet and slow down a bit so you can get out. Ask for 10k, Flaps to 15 degrees, gear down, 150 knots and depressurized. It helps (but not really) if you are in a 727. "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

Step #1 - Bring Beer. Step #2 - Sit back, watch and learn. Step #3 - Repeat steps #1 and #2. "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's illegal about packing non-TSO'd gear ? Nothing that I know of. But while I would pack it (presuming I could find a proper manual and was comfortable doing it), I would also probably let my DZ know that the rig wasn't legal. It's the DZ that I jump at and I don't want anyone getting them into trouble. "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 company 'Sportations' is a spin-off of Skyride, which has a history of 'questionable' business practices. That said, one of the ways they work is by booking tandems at legitimate drop zones, places that run good, safe operations, and will provide a quality service for your money. Another way they work is by running their own drop zones, some of which have poor reputations among jumpers. Here's what you do - first, post the name of the drop zone that is supposed to provide you service, and we'll see if it's a legit place, or a Skyride Dz that you should avoid. If it's a good DZ, just call them and try to book your jump. Understand that by doing a Groupon, they're going to have a flood of business, and you might have to wait a couple weeks for an open slot, but if it's a legit DZ, there's a good chance you'll get your jump and have a blast. If it's a Skyride DZ, then you have to make a choice between taking your chances with them, or trying to get your money back from Groupon ( I don't think they do that), or just taking a loss. Don't forget DZ option #3: It's a website that promotes a DZ that doesn't even exist. "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

Thanks for the update. I was wondering what was happening. "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

Do you want it to look nice? Is it going into the living room or the basement/garage? Unless it's going somewhere where you don't care how it looks it's going to be a lot more effort and expense than a new one. Is it wood framed or metal? If it's metal framed, forget it. You'd have to weld stuff together, and that would mean stripping a lot of the cloth and foam off to prevent a fire. Wood framed would be easier (still not easy). If it were me, I'd think about taking an end off one couch and attaching it to the other, a "square on" joint, not a 45. There would be a lot less rebuilding (and re-engineering) of the frame that way. Don't forget, there will be a significant amount of weight on the thing. A failure probably wouldn't hurt anyone, but it would be... interesting. There would still be a lot of work. If you are approaching it as a "interesting project" to see if you can do it, then maybe give it a shot. If you are trying to get a "L" couch on the cheap, you'd probably be better off selling the ones you have (or just giving them away) and finding one on Craigslist or something similar secondhand. "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 doesn't say "expert", but as the top license available, it certainly is implied. Ratings courses are not usually "extended periods" AFAIK. If someone isn't willing to spend a week's worth of vacation for this, then I'm going to question their dedication to the sport. I think an instructor rating of some sort should be required. If you don't know the sport well enough to teach it to others, then I don't see that you've earned a top license. Competitions doesn't automatically mean "Nationals" or "Collegiates" either. There are lots of local competitions that I'd think would meet the requirements BillVon is suggesting. I think he is looking more at the willingness to put in the training time, dedication to improvement and teamwork that being part of a competition team involves. "Demo" doesn't automatically mean stadiums or weekday. I've ground-crewed a couple that were open-field, weekend stuff. Not even PRO required. But the need for good judgement, accuracy and professional behavior were still there. I really like the idea of a list of required stuff, and then a minimum number of cross discipline stuff to produce a skydiver who is comfortable in a variety of situations. Perhaps one canopy-specific (CReW, Accuracy or Swooping) some sort of belly (Big ways, mid-sized sequential or competitive 4 way) and some kind of "specialty" (wingsuit, freefly, freestyle, or ???). Of course, this isn't going to happen. Too many people want it easier, not harder. And the BOD has too much other stuff on it's plate to seriously consider this sort of thing. "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

Size of canopies that it holds (both reserve and main). If it doesn't hold the right size canopies, nothing else matters. Condition/Age/Freefly friendlieness. Will your rigger work on it? Some riggers can't/won't pack Racers for example. Other riggers have preferrences. Try to pick a rig your rigger is familiar with (in a good way). Or find a different rigger. Harness size. All the manufacturers have a "How to measure" page. It's more than height, weight and chest. None of it is very complex, but you want someone who knows how to take measurements to do it. Some riggers know how, some don't. Most tailors/seamstresses do. Harness size is last for a reason. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it needs to be close. Have your measurements taken and keep them handy. You can send them and the serial number of a prospective rig to the manufacturer and see how close of a fit it will be, if a harness resize is practical and how much it would cost. "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 I live 30 miles south of LA. Bats per square mile are fractional at best. Same for cows. Bats might surprise you. They do quite well in urban environements. But for a post-apocalypse situation, urban would suck big time. That's why the term "head for the hills" is used for those sort of situations. That's why all the paranoids are out in Montana, Idaho, Washington, 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

Working with local materials is a given but this, of course, implies the presence of bats in the area, knowing where they nest and having the ability to collect sufficient quantities of the material. Fine, perhaps, if you're living near Carlsbad Caverns, but not really a practical solution in my area. The "best" method I've found involves cow manure and cow urine, but even at that, it's a bit of a trek from home to the nearest dairy and the instructions where talking about literally months of work. I'm not opposed to the work idea, but again, it's probably not as "easy" as some people here are assuming. "Easier" doesn't automatically mean "Easy". And yes, these processes can take a lot of time. Subsistence living is a lot of hard work. And bats are pretty much everywhere. And they produce a lot of guano. I lived in a rental that had a few in the attic. We'd go up a couple times a year and clean up the mess (the guano got put in the garden). Any cave usually has a bunch. Barns, attics, church steeples and on and on. And I live in Wisconsin. There are cows less than 5 miles from my house. And a lot of manure. "Improvised Munitions" are just that - improvised. You have to use your imagination, ingenuity and a shitload of observation/experimentation to figure out what works best. "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