wolfriverjoe

Well, the Learn To Skydive articles from the home page are a good place to start. The United States Parachute Association has a similar set of "How to get started" pages on it's website. AFF or static line is a very subjective question. The "right" answer is different for different people. Tandem is often geared toward those who only want to do it once, although some places require a tandem as an intro jump if you go AFF. Your profile doesn't say where you live. Fill out that part and I will guess that someone near you will say "Go to XXX DZ, I jump there and it's great". Of course someone else will then say "No, XXX sucks, I go to YYY and it's a lot better." "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 platypus isn't a mocking of God. Just a strong indication that God has a sense of humor. And FWIW, there is a lot more serious philosiphy hidden in the humor of the "Hitchhiker's Guide" books than most people realize. "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 if material in the USPA SIM And the way it's written, you can't plagarize it and expect to pass "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 used to but don't anymore for a variety of reasons. I didn't make it pulic when I did because: 1 - It's illegal. 2 - You never know who is going to get all judgemental about it. See post #3. And I personally think the "It funds criminal gangs" rationale is the best argument for legalization. Look at Prohibition (alcohol) here in the US back in the 1920's. Very similar situation. Those who wanted it could get it, and the procurement of it (both manufaturing and smuggling) gave rise to the modern Mafia. There were criminal gangs before Prohibition, but they didn't have the opportunities to make incredible amounts of money that Prohibition offered. Take away the exclusivity for the criminal gangs by allowing anyone to grow, transport and sell it (under controls and taxes similar to alcohol or tobacco) and the competition will drive profits below (and workloads above) what the gangs are willing to accept. They are smuggling cigarettes because of the extreme differences in prices due to different taxes. If you take away the "criminal premium" on pot, you could add a pretty hefty tax, and still have prices below the current "street" price. That would reduce the profits (for the businesses, not the government) to below what the gangs would be willing to work 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

If it was easy and fun, it wouldn't be worth it. Keep telling yourself how much money you aren't spending. How many jump tickets you could buy, or how soon you could buy a new (insert what you want next here). The anger and frustration can be a real bitch. One thing that helped me was/is meditation. Basically it can begin with breathing slowly, focusing on nothing but the breathing. Expel any other thoughts that try to enter. And breathe. Good luck. It is so worth it. I had 10 years without a smoke back in October. "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 only get PM notifications Really? how strange... I get a little read number beside the email link when I have something new just like I do for PMs. Same here. Not me. I just sent myself a test e-mail from another address, and there was no "red" notification thingie. None of the profile preferences or settings seem to adjust it, either. That's odd. I get the little red numbers for e-mail and PMs. I don't see any way to turn them on or off either. Maybe one of the mods knows. "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

GSD?? I'll probably regret asking. I'm pretty sure he means German Shepard Dog. Look at his avatar. Although, if they were smart, they wouldn't worry about the dog, they'd be better off worrying about the owner "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 if i fully understand what you're trying to say; could you please elaborate!? Well, what if the folks who don't like muslims decide that they don't like alcohol? Or atheists? Or sex outside marriage? Or transvestites? Seriously, the majority deciding to deny the rights of the minority is never a good thing. What if the majority decided to allow slavery? Would that make it ok? "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

Chloe, the exalted and revered, is being used as a seat cushion? "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 quote came from DrewEckhardt. It was in another downsizing thread HERE. The rest of it is pretty good 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

It beat Beta and laserdiscs. Duh. "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

My eyes see the same 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

Agreed. I enjoy learning about views other than mine, and why people hold them. Discussing them in a rational manner is always interesting. Sometimes I even alter my own opinion At the very least, I have to examine my own views in order to defend them. I don't find PeeWee Herman, or any of his clones in SC to be rational, enjoyable or interesting. "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, most children that I have met are more mature than that. It's more like 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

+1 on that. It's one of those "If you have to ask, you shouldn't be doing it" things. If you have ever seen one of those springs let go you would understand how much energy they have in them. A quick search found THIS. Note the cautions and warnings, and good luck. "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

Is it just me, or does she have a very clear "You aren't going up in these winds, right?" look on her face? "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, that's standard practice here in the US. Time, Newsweek, Autoweek, all those types of mags come out a few days before the "official" Monday date on the cover. "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 particular incident is part of an on-going problem that became a real issue when the Chicago School District merged 2 schools. The 2 schools each had a gang problem, but when the 2 gangs started going to the same school, it got really ugly. Chicago Trib I am aware of this primarily from listening to the radio news when going through Chicago. "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

Here's the FJC from Fandango. YouTube The accuracy is far better that Hollywood usually does. I've seen radio briefs that are about this thorough "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

While running from the cops (perhaps even trying to shoot the cop), with the scent of marijuana, possibly involved in a kidnapping as a result of a drug deal gone bad. Your point? "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 aren't really that many. It includes all A licenses ever issued. A lot of jumpers have upgraded to a higher license. Others have quit. I can think of at least 10 jumpers that I know personally that aren't jumping anymore. They are included in the 55000. "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 think that depends on how you define "Safety". Metal detectors, security guards, cameras and (my personal favorite) clear plastic backpacks can improve security inside the school. No, it isn't perfect. It's probably about as good as at the airport. Mostly it prevents all but the most determined individuals. But it does nothing about violence outside the school. This happened back in October. I think it could be defined as "school violence" even though it happened off school property. "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

Most cops never shoot their gun during their entire career. Something like 1/3 of cops killed by guns are shot with their own weapon, after it has been taken away from them. [Heavy Sarcasm]Should we take the guns away from the cops?[/Heavy Sarcasm] "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 100 feet up, could you tell what it was? I'm not sure I would be able to. Surprises at 25' are rarely a good thing. Agreed that it was the right decision. "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

Serious question - Assuming all advice that I didn't include is followed Is it better to downsize on a semi-elliptical then switch to an elliptical, or would it be better to switch to a bigger elliptical, then downsize on it? For example, staying on the Safire down to a certain size, then switching to a Crossfire, or switching to a Crossfire 169, then going to smaller XFires. "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