wolfriverjoe

He does and will. He's got that part right. I just think its REALLY weird that his ex told him he didn't have to be involved if he didn't want to considering the fact that he is very involved in his daughter's life. Call me suspicious but... It's her ex husband, she knows him well enough and the situation is bizarre enough that she can offer that "out" knowing there is no way he would take it, possibly for use as leverage later. That strikes me as a rather far-fetched and extremely manipulative thing to do.. Not saying it's not the case, but I don't think most people are quite so calculating.. Ever hear the saying "All's fair in love and war"? I'm not judging, but the whole deal is a bit far fetched, and I've known a few women (and men too) who would pull crap along these lines. "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 not sure I'm following you. (that isn't surprising, you are often way over my head). Stopping the bad guys at the airport is a last resort, but there are always going to be people who don't like us. Currently those people are from the middle east (last 50 years or so). Some of them have a legitimate complaint - from our unilateral invasion of Iraq based on bad data all the way back to the installation of the Shah in Iran back in the 50's. Some are at least somewhat legit. Our support of Israel makes a lot of enemies. Others are simply going on the premise that their God is better than ours, and we need to die (and of course that train of thought has been getting people dead for a very long time). How do we stop or at least reduce (or contain) the current AQ(IM) threat? Short of making the world a better place, I got nothing. AQ seems to be spreading to Africa. Yemen, Somalia, ect. Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, ect are probably next. They are places where radical, religious extremism grows well. Poor, undeveloped, little or no opportunities, government that is repressive and non-participatory. Improving the living conditions in those counties is a laudable goal, but I don't believe in fairies or Santa Claus. Our last foray in nation-building in Somalia ended in disaster (we got our nose bloodied and quit) and greatly encouraged the bad guys. Our weak reaction to AQ's other attacks in Africa (USS Cole and embassy bombings) probably gave them the imepetus to attack New York and DC. I have wondered what AQ expected as a reaction from the US. Did our limited reactions to the previous attacks (launching a few Tomahawks into Sudan and Afghanistan) make them think we would do the same after 9/11? "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

Welcome to our world (both the sport as a whole and this little corner of insanity on the internet). Don't worry about gear yet. At this point, you really need to rely on your instructors and riggers at your DZ. They have the knowledge (both about gear in general and your skills/needs in particular) to help you get what you need. Any advice you get from here will be very generalized, slanted toward personal preferences or just plain wrong. Read the sticky in Safety and Training. Read the Gear and the General forums to get some ideas of what is out there, but don't try to pick out specific stuff. Brands are usually a personal preference, although the different manufacturers have different levels of customer service. Buying anything off the internet without assistance from someone who knows what they are doing is highly risky. There are a lot of scammers out there, and there's also people who will sell you stuff that isn't right for you (like a canopy small enough to kill you) with no qualms about 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

The foot chase in "Point Break" was pretty good. Smokey and the Bandit was nothing but one long car chase, and it was pretty good. "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

Profiling will never be 100% accurate. There will always be those "bad guys" who don't fit the profile (Tim McVeigh is another). You can't completely ignore those outside the targeted profile, but you also can't ignore the fact that most of the attackers fit a pretty narrow profile. Yes, the bad guys will adapt and alter the profile to attempt to get through security. IIRC there was a woman who blew up a plane with a "bra bomb" in Russia (?). Finding that rather innovative device would requre fairly intrusive security measures. There was a suggestion that this most recent attack failed because of inadequate training, and that there wasn't more thorough training because that would have attracted unwanted attention. Paying closer attention to the guys who get terrorist training seems to work And I meant assess. I fixed a bunch of typos before I finally posted that, but missed one. Sue 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

Only dumb question is the one you don't ask. While a higher activation altitude may seem like a better thing (if you don't know better), now you know why it fires where it does. "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 what I did - buy your own plane. Can you put together a talk (PowerPoint brief) and fly the plane at the same time? I don’t think I’m that talented. /Marg That's what autopilot is for "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 what do you take from Friday’s incident as a lesson to be learned w/r/t where we should be looking? I have a couple of my own thoughts but am curious to hear yours. /Marg At the risk of antagonizing certain segments of the population: Young, male, Islamic. On the watch list. Too many people scream "Profiling is WRONG", but the vast majority of the perpetrators of terrorist acts recently are young, male Islamics (Islamists?). Generally from the Middle East, but also from Africa. I'm certainly not suggesting barring them from international travel, but I am suggesting looking at them more closely. The comedian Carlos Mencia had a show on Comedy Central a couple years ago called Mind of Mencia. I can't find the one I'm looking for to link it, but it was something along the lines of: "Why are they making women take off their shoes before they get on a plane? There isn't a woman in the world that would blow up shoes!" "Put up the pictures of the 9/11 hijackers at the security checkpoint. Any passengers that look like them get searched. Some guy says "This is profiling and it's wrong". Security says "You look like that guy and that guy. You get searched twice" It is a bit over the top (hey, it's comedy) but I agree with the general idea. My understanding of Israeli (El Al) security is that they make a point of having trained security talk to passengers. Look them in the eye and asses their body language. In addition to X-ray. metal detector and explosive sniffers. And they haven't been hit in a long time. Realistically, having security give those who fit the profile a quick interview by trained security officers; asking the basic cop questions. Where do you live, where are you going , who are you seeing, how do you know them, where have you been to. The same questions the US cops ask at a traffic stop on a "high drug traffic" corridor. It's amazing how many get tripped up by those simple questions. If this dude had been asked where (specifically, as in street address) he was going in Detriot, would he have had an answer? If he didn't, would he have had a name or phone number for the people he was going to see? If not, then that would be a strong indicator that he need a really close look. "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 to agree with Skymamma and Makeithappen on this one. Santa put them exactly where they needed to be. Right into your heart

Don't forget that a lot of pilot rigs/emergency bailout rigs are still rounds. The 2 pilot rigs at my DZ are Softies (rounds). One of the other riggers in this area (Northeast Wisconsin, near Oshkosh) does more bailout rounds than sport skydiving squares. "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

Clicky fixed because it's such a cool song. When you said "sax riff" I figured it was this. "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 might try to PM tkhayes. I think he jumps there once in a while. "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

thats putting that rig at 30-35lbs, i am just going to nitpick and say that its more like 20-25 which would put the WL at 1.05/1.11....which would be closer to the USPA recommendations.... Well, I go 155 stepping out of the shower. Talon1, cypres, Tri190 PDR196, Protec, Altimaster, jumpsuit and street clothes (and shoes) puts me at 193. (goggles and Pro-track too, but they don't weigh enough to matter) 38# of gear with a rig that has a fairly big canopy and reserve. I was pretty surprised the first time I checked my weight with all my gear. YMMV

Because if the headline read "Another spoiled, rich kid does something stupid" it wouldn't be news. Think about it. Carlos the Jackal, 3 of the 4 founders of Baader-Meinhoff and a lot of other "revolutionaries" that I can't think of right now. All privlidged kids who turned into terrorists. You're in the writing biz. They write it in a way that stupid people who pay no attention to the world around them prefer. In a way that doesn't make people feel guilty for not realizing that these kinds of terrorists are running around in their backyard. I remember in 2001 some unnamed idiot being quoted on radio as being surprised that the attackers would hate America. Absolutely no clue that Al-Queda had attacked American interests previously. "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 don't play a lot of 1st person shooters myself, but I'm thinking that your skills will translate fairly well, you just have to learn how to control the player without thinking about it. Kinda like driving a car. You don't think "Now I have to lift my foot off the accelerator pedal and move it to the left over the brake and then press the brake pedal" You just think "STOP!!!" Or freefall skills. Once you don't have to think about control input to get the actions out, you'll do fine. The only question is how willing you are to put in that much effort. "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 bring the leg straps most of the way to tight, then just before tightening them all the way, I reach down the front of my pants and lift the package as high as it will go. If I think of it, I will turn my back to the crowd when I do it, but if I'm in a hurry I just do it. I've gotten some strange looks from spectators. Not too surprisingly the "grandma" types just look and laugh "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. The AFF is (or at least should be) taught with AFFIs. After AFF, but before "A" licence, coaches can do a lot of the jumps. Depending on the student, that is after 7-10 jumps. "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 control on them is really limited. You control altitude and heading. That's it. It takes a bit of practice, but making them go where you want (or not go where you don't want) is pretty easy. That's why they are so cheap and rugged. There aren't any servos or complex parts to break or cost anything. Forward movement is caused by the tail rotor being angled. When you turn left it raises the tail, and makes it go forward. Turning right lowers the tail and stops it. Twisting the tail either increases or decreases the amount of "forward" you get. The directions include that, but they are written as a direct traslation from Chinese(?) so they are hard to understand. They are fun little toys. 2 weeks with one got me into R/C helis for real. "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

Standard Disclaimer: Ask your instructors/riggers. Follow the advice of someone you know and trust, not a bunch of wierdos on the internet. You seem to have done this, and seem to be double checking. Okay. Unless the gear manager has a conflict of interest (is he going to make a lot of money on the sale?) I'd go with his advice. 5 years isn't old, as long as it was stored reasonably well. A good inspection will be able to determine that. If he does have a conflict of interst, it doesen't mean it's a bad deal, you just would want to get a second opinion on it. 165# will translate to about 195-200 geared up. Under a 170 that puts you at about 1.2:1. Maybe a bit overloaded, but that's between you and your instructors. Don't worry too much about the cost. At 5 years, most of the depreciation is done. If you take good care of the rig, you should be able to sell it in a year or so for most of what you paid for it. (minus cypres age of course) "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

Make sure you get all the hair out of the tail rotor shaft or it won't fly right. My dog hates them. He barks at it, and wants to grab it (with his mouth) and shake it. I upgraded to a "real" RC heli a while ago, but I bought a couple of them for kids of a friend. Of course I had to test fly them to make sure they worked correctly before wrapping 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

Cool! The oldest at my DZ was a 76-year old woman. Her daughter jumped too, and couldn't chicken out after her mom went "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 see, so was I. I consider a lot of that to be basic politeness. Then again, if you're only doing those things for women, I guess it's chivalry. I'll hold doors for people, ask if anyone needs a drink when I'm going to get one (or at any point if they are a guest in my home). As for giving up bus seats - I'll do it for someone who seems to need the seat more than me - someone who is disabled, or schlepping a kid and/or a lot of stuff around, etc. Gender's not the determining factor there. I'll hold doors for people (I consider letting them close behind me when someone's just behind me to be rude), and if their hands are full, I'll make an effort to get ahead of someone to help them with a door. What I want most from men is to be treated like a human being, not an "other." I'd like to be respected for who I am, and allowed to be who I am, not told that I need to conform to some predetermined standard of "what a woman should be." Flip side is that I'll try to respect men for who they are as well. Kinda boring and it probably won't sell any self-help books or magazine articles, but I've found that treating people as individuals, regardless of gender, has worked pretty well for me so far. I have to agree with this. I'll hold a door for anyone, man or woman, and will say "Thank you" to anyone who does it for me. IMO, basic politeness toward everyone makes the world a bit better (at risk of going to SC, doesn't it say "Goodwill toward all mankind" somewhere?) I tend to be a little more chivalrous when I am with a woman, as opposed to toward women strangers in public. Funny but true: Satuday night I went out to a pizza place for dinner with a woman friend. Afterwards, I unlocked and opened the car door for her. She was reasonably impressed, but laughed when I explained that the drivers-side lock was unreliable in the cold, and I didn't want to have to screw around with it, so it was easier to open her side, and unlock my side with the power locks. "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

Pilot, "Magic". Summer of '74. I still love this song, as cheesy as it is. YouTube "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

Are you sure that possession of such assembled gun is legal? Unless there are local/state laws being violated (mag capacity or something similar), yes. It is legal to build a weapon for your own use. Selling it (or even giving it) to anyone else is a different matter. We have a couple that get brought down to my local range. Although not required, the owners put serial numbers on them. It's simpler to do that than to try to explain to a cop that it isn't necessary. Yahoo Answer "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

Way Cool!!! That will be a lot more fun than the other one you were looking at. Now we need a pic of you in your gear. You do have black leather pants and jacket, 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