wolfriverjoe

I'm more likely to give it to a newbie than I am to sell it to anyone. Most likely to a broke young female who loves to skydive but can't afford to put together a rig. Kinda like the person I was 20 years ago. Make it a "long term loan". As in "When you decide to get a different one, give it back to me." That way you still have a rig if you change your mind (or if things actually change). I've been pondering about posting to this thread. I've never met you, but you are one of the "sensible" ones on here. You are (were) on the list of jumpers I would make an effort to look up if I ended up in your vicinity. It sucks that you are leaving, but I can't argue with your reasons. Thanks for the stuff you shared on here. It made a difference to me. "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, there was a Brit killed in Pakistan. And they arrested a bunch of dudes with a bunch of guns in Avingon, Bordeaux and Marsailles too. There seems to be a number of plots for "Mumbay-style" raids, where a bunch of guys with guns storm hotels, airports, tourist sites and such to kill as many civilians as they can. Makes having the public disarmed and as vulnerable as a flock of sheep seem a little foolish doesn't it? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1318168/Terrorist-attack-Britain-likely-according-French-Foreign-Ministry-warning.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

Too bad the fitness requirements are being (have been) lowered because there are too many "fatbodies". http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20015281-10391704.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

But he is the one who sang all the songs. At least he is credited on the original cast album. "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

When I got a Verizon rebate (Visa card) the instructions for turning it into cash were on the paperwork that came with it. IIRC it was simply a matter of taking it to a bank that would do it, although if it wasn't a bank I had an account at, fees would have been charged. "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 all the things he has done, he wasn't a rigger?? Or was it a case of having the military certification and adding the FAA ticket on top? In any case, congratulations to both of you. It was a really cool feeling for me to pass the course and tests and hold that ticket in my hand. (humbling 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

Well, here in Wisconsin there was a case over pre-employment testing for nicotine. Companies didn't want to hire smokers (cigarette) due to the demonstrated higher health care costs, higher absenteeism and that sort of thing. IIRC, it went to court and was decided (basically) that the employer couldn't discriminate against an employee engaging in conduct that was legal. They can (and do) charge more for health insurance, but they can't fire or refuse to hire them. http://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/LEPG05_Smoke_Fired.pdf The smoking part is down a few pages. I don't know how this will play out with pot, mainly because pot has been demonstrated to affect people for a day or two (or longer, I don't remember exactly). It will be interesting to watch. "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 position against a "trillion dollar boondoggle" is against big government. A position against one particular "trillion dollar boondoggle" while refusing to consider addressing an almost identical huge government program is hypocrisy. Kinda like a farmer saying "I don't want the government telling me what I can plant and what fertilizers I can use and what I have to do with my wetlands... But don't cut my corn subsidies." "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 understand. Keep us posted. I'd love to see this... I think "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

Does it have a title yet? Got a website for it yet? Somehow I have a funny feeling this is going to get great ratings, at least in the DZ.com demographic. "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, they don't want the COST of Obamacare - sounds like small government to me. Socialized medicine - sounds like big government to me. Seems like 2 of the 3 are congruent with 'small government' thinking rather than what you allude to. WHOOOSH There was an interesting interview on NPR a couple weeks ago. (I couldn't find it with a quick search) Leaders from 2 different Tea Party groups were interviewed on their vastly different views of how far the group should intrude into people's private lives. One (from El Paso IIRC) was only interested in fiscal policy, while the other (somewhere in Montana IIRC) insisted on imposing his "moral values", including anti-abortion and anti-gay stances. "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 have been under a HELL of a lot of helicopters hovering just a few feet off the water and on land. We had to demonstrate the correct procedure to our students over and over and over for EVERY class we had at the survival school at Fairchild and at HomesteadAFB. Every student had to get underneath a hovering chopper and get lifted into it. It was a core requirement to be able to approach the forest tree penetrator or a rescue sling properly and get into it right. We almost exclusively used N model Hueys ( twin turbine engine and yeah it was 30+ years ago) from the local Pararescue squadrons. I never saw one go down like that but I am sure they would have loved to dunk their huey in fresh water to get all the salt water from Biscayne Bay washed out Vortex ring state doesn't happen all the time, or even much of the time. It takes a certain set of conditions to happen. I only fly scale rotorcraft, not the big ones, so I'm not real certain how often it happens. But when it does happen, things get really bad really 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

No way would a rig with 500-1000 jumps sell for close to retail. If you think that, I have a Vector 3 that I'll gladly sell for the bargain price of 1500 bucks to you. While new gear takes a huge depreciation hit; used gear holds it's value fairly well, doesn't it? The big drop has already happened, and reselling used gear can give you a decent return. Depreciation of a buck or so per jump for canopies, age on AADs (Cypres anyway) and wear and tear on contaiers. At least that's what I've been told. "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

You have it right. The higher wingloading will give you a higher speed. It will also make the canopy more responsive. It will turn quicker, dive faster, generally get you into trouble more easily. That's why student canopies are big. 290 is a fairly common "first jump" size. Smaller jumpers may or may not progress to smaller canopies, such as 260 or 235 (downsizing) during their training, while still keeping a sensible wingloading. The specifics of this, what canopy the DZ uses, what kind of downsizing progression you should follow and so on are questions best left to the instructors who will be teaching you. This place is great for general info (like your OP), but not so much for questions that are dependent on you and your specific needs/situation. "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

Dark City is a very underrated film (IMO). Very "Film Noir" in appearance. Twisty and weird. It got great reviews, but next to no "box office". I went to see it and we were the only 2 in the whole theatre. "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

Unless you want a personally guided tour of the Court system and jails, I wouldn't. While I fully agree with you in principle, the Chinese cops have less sense of humor than the NYPD. And they don't have much in the way of "rights of the accused." "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 called Vortex Ring State, also known as "settling under power." Not a good thing to encounter down low. 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

If that is the only way you can stay awake and involved during foreplay . . . YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG!

No and not really. Stability in freefall is dependent on body position and symmetry. Read the "Small woman" thread in the Women's forum for more detail. Under canopy, you will be going faster than the lightweights, both faster forward and faster down. You will have a little less room for error, but you should be under a big enough canopy that you shouldn't have any problems. The biggest reason for the weight limit is the certification of the gear. It is tested and certified to an establised maximum weight (around 115 kg if my math is right). That weight includes you and all the gear you have on. Going over that weight (even by a little bit) is against the rules. Bigger guys can (and do) jump, but it takes special gear to do so legally. "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

You are forgetting a very close match to the composite. (the one on the left) http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01660/Blues-Brothers_1660615c.jpg "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

Where are her priorities? What is more important? Selling the house or finding out the answer to a truly, deeply, seriously important question that has troubled man for ages Dave Barry once summed up the difference between men and women with the definition of "Stuff That Guys Do": "These are activities that, when you describe them to a group containing both males and females, provoke two very different reactions: Male Reaction: "Cool!" Female Reaction: "Why!?!?" The answer, of course is: Because guys like to do stuff. This explains both the Space Shuttle and mailbox baseball" This definition was in a piece about the worlds largest rubber band powered airplane (big enough to carry a man). Not quite as cool as shopping bag parachuting, but close. I seem to recall trying to use plastic grocery bags as a drag chute behind my bicycle as a kid. IIRC, it didn't work. Probably because I couldn't go fast enough for it to open "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 might fit. They are about the same size as a standard Sharpie. I have some shirts with the "pen pocket" and they fit. (but those aren't Utilites) "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

These are what I use. Nice to hold on to. It also helps that I got a whole bunch from the place I used to work. Has the name and logo on it. They gave them to us for promotional purposes (I didn't steal them). I take the cheap ones my current company gives us and give them away to customers. "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

Wow!! I didn't look that far down the first time. The "Damasteel" ones (apparently damascus steel) are $250. The refills are $5.50. I don't pay that much for the Bic Clics I use for work. But mine won't write on any surface, underwater, upside down, in zero G, ect, ect, 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

That's really cool. How much?? Did you get the carbide tip "Glass-Breaker"? That could easily be used as a Kubotan 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