wolfriverjoe

Contact lenses.

Ok, does God hate football? Or is he just enforcing the 2nd commandment (the one about idols and graven images)? Or is he saying something about this particular church? Or maybe, just maybe, he doesn't bother contolling every last little detail, and just lets nature and random chance do what it will. In any case, he does have a strange sense of humor. To put it in a historical (a few hundred years ago)perspective, church steeples were often the highest structure in any given town, and the most common target of lightning. The locals often were confused why "God" was continually destroying his own house. "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 maybe there's a new guy out there reading this and thinking "Hey, if he can do it, then so can I!" Hopefully, reading all the folks saying how bad of an idea it is (and also noting the experience level of those saying it) will give them pause. Hopefully. "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

Yet we all know fully well that if he wasn't there, the critics would be screaming at the lack of visible leadership: "Where is he?" I agree with Andy on this. I didn't vote for him, and I don't agree with him on a lot of issues, but I'm not going to hammer too hard on him for this. It's a "leadership function". He has to show up and look like he really cares and that he is doing everything he can to deal with this situation. Not that he can do anything at this point. If he didn't, he would be criticized for "not caring" and being "too detached from the situation" and "not getting first-hand information" about it. There's a fine line between going too much and not going often enough. And not everyone is going to agree with where that line is. "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

Hmm, illegally stored handgun, expired registration, and didn't keep up with the required maintenance on a high performance car, turning it into a "paperweight." Not a recipe for respect in my book. Didn't even pay for it either. Put down a "down payment", and is now over 100K in debt. Sounds cool at first glance, but the deeper I look at it, the more my respect diminishes and the more my contempt grows. "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

Then would you support a guy with no criminal record walking into a gun store and buying a Full Auto M4? As a matter of fact, yes, once she had proved that she was in the set of people who have that right (as you pointed out, there are people who do not). The Supreme Court, however, thinks such restrictions are OK (DC vs Heller) And they have already said once that Chicago gun laws are not constitutional. And they soon will say it directly to the Mayor and city council Do you honestly believe Daly and his machine will listen and obey? Those in charge of Washingtion DC certainly didn't. They put loads of hoops and hurdles in the way of potential gun owners. That is winding it's way through the courts right now. Daley has clearly stated he plans to do the same. http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7451247 "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 agree. He sounds more and more like a classic predator. He had a protected life of privilege, and that grew into a sense of entitlement. By getting away with the stuff he did (when his father protected him), that sense of entitlement was reinforced. I wonder how many other cases his father's influence protected him from. "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

Since nobody else has answered: Harley Davidson MOtorcycle COmpany. Kinda like calling something made by Chrysler MOtor PARts Division a "Mopar". Real reason for this post: Really Cool Race Bike. First win for a US bike at Ilse of Man in a long time. "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

Ding ding ding...we have a winner. Few people realize the shark problem Aruba has. Hotels and restaurants dump their food into the ocean up by California lighthouse in an effort to keep the sharks in that area and away from Palm Beach and the resorts. I've said for years that she, and probably a few others have been fed to the sharks after Joran and his friends had their way with them. That's what Peruvian police are wondering... how many others? Sadly, we may never know. Chuck You aren't the only one wondering that. Discovery News "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

Citizens used to get together and drill to keep their unit proficiency high. Like the 60 men at Lexington that challenged the British and started the war for Independence. Sort of the same way that modern "hillbillies" get together and train, which you so dislike, and are so afraid of. I'm sure glad those Lexington hillbillies got together with their guns back in 1775. Aren't you? "Disperse you Rebels. Damn you, throw down your arms and disperse!" - British officer, Lexington, 1775 "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war,let it begin here." - Captain Parker, hillbilly colonial militia, Lexington, 1775 Isn't it also true that the main mission of the British at Lexington and Concord was to confiscate/destroy the heavier weapons of the Local Militia? I was taught that the Brits were going there to capture or destroy the cannons and powder that the locals had. And "Regulated" didn't mean controlled by governmental laws back then. From http://parts.singerco.com/ Near the top of the page when I googled "well regulated". "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

One of the reasons why the 911 R Hybrid finished on the podium at the recent 24 hour VLN race in Germany was because it did not need to make as many pit stops as it's 100% gasoline counterparts did. Sure - races consist of drivers constantly flooring it out of curves, so this 6-8 seconds of electric boost is a big fuel saver over the others. But that doesn't have a huge bearing for commuters. In an environment with frequent stops and starts, the Prius approach of using the electric exclusively for low speeds is the more productive approach, if fuel efficiency is the objective. Races consist of drivers "constantly flooring it out of curves" and also slamming on the brakes going into those same curves. That's the main way hybrids conserve, isn't it? Finding a way to store some of the energy used (absorbed and dissipated actually) to stop the car and then use it to accelerate? And where the Prius is most efficient is in stop and go city traffic (it has a higher city mpg rating than highway). And most of the city driving I see consists of drivers flooring it out of lights and stop signs and then slamming their brakes on at the next stop sign or red light You can use energy savings to increase performance or efficiency. And CanuckinUSA: Toyota has a pretty competenent racing program, but they'll never be superior to Porsche "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 a chance, regardless of whether one is a member of the House (which he is) or the Senate (which he is not) - at least not in the US. Uh, that's from Poland. Ok. This is what I was looking for, and no, the senators don't have immunity. So, Nevermind "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 act certainly seems to meet the criteria for "assault", but aren't senators immune from criminal prosecution? http://www.senat.gov.pl/k5eng/historia/noty/nota06a.htm It's the 3rd subject heading on the page. "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

Part of the "Hard to Breathe" thing is the lower oxygen content at higher altitudes. Normally we aren't up there long enough (or high enough) for it to be a problem, but for a long time smoker, it may be more apparent. You'll get used to it. If you didn't pass out on your tandem there shouldn't be a problem. In freefall, it's partly the force of the wind on your face, but mostly mental. It seems like a lot of people rmemeber to breate in, but forget to breathe out. They fill their lungs to capacity, and then "can't breathe". Forcing yourself to breathe out or screaming (don't worry, nobody can hear you in freefall) work well. A lot of places don't like students to wear full face because they hinder communication and can block your view downward, often obscuring your cutaway and reserve handles. Low turns are dangerous because when the canopy turns it also dives (If you are looking on YouTube you will be able to see this). A sudden turn close to the ground (to avoid an obstacle or another canopy, or to turn into the wind at the last second) can put you into a dive too close to the ground to return to normal flight. And I've been thinking about saying this since you started this thread: WTF are you doing? You are embarking on the most amazing journey of your life. Doing things most other people only dream about. If you let it, it will take you places you couldn't imagine and introduce you to some of the most incredible people in the world.

ZP Mantas apparently come in various sizes. If you look around on the site, the F-111 canopies have different names for the different sizes, Manta being the 290 and Raider being the 220. So you are right, but it is still possible for him to have been on a 220 (ZP) Manta. "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 was taught that groups should go out slowest to fastest (not including high pullers like AFF and tandem or wingsuits). The reasoning for this is that (for a standard upwind jumprun with the winds not shifting direction significantly with altitude) the groups will be blown backwards up jumprun. The slower fallers will be exposed to that wind for a longer period of time and pushed further because of it. So the slower fallers go furthest back. That means they should be first so that the seperation is the greatest. If a slow group went out after a fast group (think headdown) it is possible to have the slower group blown over top of the faster group. Group separation is a subject of considerable debate, Search Results for that term will give you some thoughts. Prof Kallend has a nifty program on his home website (linked from his profile) that shows how fallrate affects separation. "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 good info in this thread! Concepts this newbie never thought of before and such. One thing I can't understand is what is meant by 10w, 8w, 2w etc. I searched that but didn't find anything. Can anybody clear that up or should I expect flameage for not knowing it? No flames from me. If you don't know, ask. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask (well, other than "Why can't I jump a wingsuit, camera or really small canopy at 25 jumps) 10w is shorthand for "10way", a group of ten jumpers going in a group. I understand rehmwa's logic in keeping the larger groups seperated by a smaller group, but I don't agree with it. The larger groups fall slower due to interference drag (Prof Kallend explains it nicely in the "Vladiball" thread that was recently resurected). And I was taught that fall rate is the key. It determines how long you are exposed to the wind, and therefore how far you will drift. "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 was pondering this while walking my dog. Something along the lines of a Viking longboat. Square rig, single sail. Put wheels on it and it's a fairly efficient downwind land vehicle. It will take a certain size sail to reach maximum speed. Anything bigger won't add any speed, but will be capable of gathering more energy. You could attach an electric generator to one of the wheels, and gather power that way. You would need a "bigger than minimum" sail, but you could generate power to run lights or something similar while still maintaining the same speed (no faster than the wind). You would need to add sail area to gather the energy to generate the electricity (to overcome the drag added by the generator), but you could do so with little or no loss of speed. You couldn't use the electricity generated to add speed because doing so would decrease the ability to gather energy (by reducing the relative wind). The system in this thread seems to have figured out a way to generate additional speed without decreasing the energy gathered. "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

(Replying to Billvon because it's the post that makes the most sense to me). Sort of "Eureka" moment- If the force to drive the car faster than the wind is less than the force of the wind, that force can be extracted, and then manipulated to produce a speed greater than the windspeed. Someone (Billvon or Kallend are giving the explanations I understand best so far) correct me if I'm wrong, but - The wind pushing on the "propeller disc" pushes the car. Since that force is more than enough to move the car faster than the wind, then some of it is used to spin the prop, generating more forward thrust (the prop is pushing againt the tailwind component). You are just able to capture the force efficently enough to produce extra velocity. If you had a "normal" wind powered vehicle, you could run at maximum speed, and still capture that extra force and use it to pump water or generate electricity or something else. You couldn't use it to generate extra speed, but that doesn't mean it isn't available. "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 boring ass slow student type flights are the limits you want to push then yeh.. You can't even decently front riser these huge canopies, so you're far from going into canopy piloting limits.. A Safire2 at a little over 1:1 isn't going to be "slow student type" flying. "Decently front risering" it isn't hard, unless you have no upper body strength. I agree that front risering some of the huge canopies is near impossible, I could use both hands on the front riser of a Manta 288 and lift myself up completely without deforming the canopy in the slightest, but there's a difference between that and a Safire2, isn't there? "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

He won't get bored if he chooses to learn everything he can learn on the bigger canopy. He won't get bored pushing it all the way to it's limits. Too many people aren't willing to put the time and effort into learning how to really fly a canopy. They are too lazy to do it right, so they say "It's boring" and downsize. They want to go fast the easy way, not knowing they can go fast if they do it right. "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 seatbelts are also required to be worn while moving on the ground (taxiing). But you are right that they are not required during flight. "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 the same article linked in the OP. And it is still wrong for the same reason...once the vehicle is going the same speed as the wind it can no longer be used as a source of energy because there is no relative wind. Ok, I think I get it. It isn't sustained. They are simply building momentum by using the propeller as an energy gathering system, and then transferring that energy back to forward thrust once they reach the same speed as the wind (zero relative wind). You could do the same thing with a flywheel. Use the wind to spin the flywheel up to speed and to propel the vehicle. Then when you reach the same speed as the wind, use the energy stored in the flywheel to accelerate beyond the speed of the wind. You'll be able to achieve a speed faster than the wind, but you won't be able to sustain it. Big difference. "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 word "bandit" implies something illegal. It is NOT illegal to make jumps away from established drop zones. You should not be using that word here. I have always heard off DZ jumps that weren't waivered demos called "Bandit Jumps". I don't know why, that's just what everyone I jump with calls them. I've done a few and been part of a few more. All were done 100% legal. The pilots weren't willing to fly them otherwise. "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

... " ...................................................................... Agreed! We almost need three tiers of "maintenance:" with the first tier involving simple hand tasks like replacing rubber bands. ... similar to a pilot topping off tire pressure or topping off engine oil or cleaning a windshield ... Any machine sewing - on a parachute - requires a rigger rating, because depressingly few fun jumpers have a clue how to operate a sewing machine. The people who yell the loudest - on dz.com - usually have the fewest skills. So it degrades into a purely political debate. I laugh every time a (non-rigger) fun jumper asks if he can use my rack to assemble his new main. Three hours later - and multiple mis-routings - they admit that it would have been quicker and simpler if they had just asked me to assemble it. Rob Warner FAA Master Rigger (back, seat and chest) Canadian Rigger Examiner Strong Tandem Examiner etc. Can an owner (non-rigger) do any maintenance? Change out a rubber band? Or a main closing loop? Change risers or canopy(leaving the canopy on the links)? Swap canopies (leaving the canopy on the risers)? This is all basic stuff any jumper should know how to do. Stuff I've seen competent (non-rigger) jumpers do. Or am I going to get rich changing out rubber bands and other simple stuff at $0.50 a pop? "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