wolfriverjoe

What an old white guy in a position of power says it (she) is?

That's largely because the 'definitions' were set by the majority, no matter what the oppressed minorities (that the words applied to) said. Now that 'old white guys' aren't in absolute charge, the definitions that THEY insisted on using are no longer absolute.

Since this is essentially what I have ended up doing, I may be able to give you some perspective on it. Background: I was part of a small club DZ that was in decline. The two members that were riggers both left and the club didn't have one anymore. So, according to the rules, the TIs had to pack their own and we couldn't do Static Line or AFF students (by that time the two AFFIs had left too). So, in 09, I went down to Para-Concepts and took the course. It was an excellent course and I would recommend it without reservation (keep in mind it was 13 years ago and may have changed). While the reserve repacks were a primary focus (including rounds), the course was very comprehensive. So I became the club rigger. I did all the student rigs and did the 'supervision' part of packing student & tandem mains. The TI wasn't totally comfortable with my level of experience and had the tandem repacks done by one of the former club members/riggers. I didn't have any issue with this. I would also do the repacks on club members' rigs. When the club closed down in 2012, I kept doing friends rigs, but that was about it. As I got older (knee & shoulder issues) and less and less current, I chose to not do other people's stuff. I know my Infinity inside, outside, backwards & forwards (I still pull out the manual when I work on it). Other rigs? Not so much. So, by Mark's very apt definition, I'm a 'perpetual entry level rigger'. Was it worth it? I think so. The knowledge I gained during the course was really cool. I learned a boatload of stuff about the gear. I've been able to pass some of that on to newer jumpers, which is nice. Did it 'pay for itself'? I don't think so. Between the course, course materials, tools (I'm always happy buying new tools), tests, travel expenses and such, I probably spent close to $2k for the rating. Since the student stuff was to keep the club going, I didn't take actual pay for it, just credit on the books. I didn't pay anything for my jumps those last 3 years, but still had a fair amount of money owed me when we shut down - I pretty much knew it was going to be that way from the beginning. I was just happy to help keep the doors open. I'm not going to tell you which way to go. That's up to you. If you want to gain a fair amount of knowledge about the gear, if you want the freedom to take care of your own stuff (I also do most of my own work on my vehicles too), if you simply want the rating to be able to say "I'm a rigger", then go for it. But keep in mind that you likely won't be legally current, you won't be experienced on anything other than your own stuff, you will be lacking in many areas.

At 11:40pm on April 14th 1912, the ship Titanic struck an iceberg. At that moment, the ship was doomed. It was going to sink and nothing anyone could do would have stopped that from happening. It didn't actually founder (go under) until around 2:15am on the 15th. During that time, there was a hell of an argument over whether or not the ship would sink, if the lifeboats should be loaded & launched, in general 'what the hell should we do?' I don't personally believe that 'we are doomed'. But I also believe that we will face a hell of a disaster if we do nothing. Note: the "we" is an 'editorial we'. The more severe effects of AGW aren't going to come until well after I'm dead and gone. Anyone who pays actual attention to what the scientists and experts REALLY SAY about it knows this. Right now we're seeing (metaphorically) the water rising in the lower decks. Not a big problem, right? Not yet, anyway.

I think it's more along the lines of 'they need the power right now'. I could be wrong, and certainly welcome correction if so, but a coal plant is fairly simple to build. Big but simple. I know I've seen natural gas plants get built in a few months (there's one a few miles from my house). Nuke plants take a LOOONG time to build. Solar & wind aren't all that hard, but the 'bang for the buck' (amount of power compared to the size of the installation and time to build it) is nowhere near as attractive for people who need more power as soon as possible.

I don't disagree that the SC is a HUGE problem. The conflict of interest that is Clarence Thomas is disgusting. However, I don't see it as the biggest problem. It's much more a 'symptom' of a bigger problem. That bigger problem is the attack on our democracy that's been happening for a while. Heather Cox Richardson has been talking about this for some time. It goes all the way back to Reagan. It goes back to FDRs "New Deal" and the idea that the 'little people' shouldn't be subservient to the rich & powerful. Which is an idea that goes back to the real reasons for the Civil War.

You do de-arch some when you extend your legs all the way. You're trading some stability for additional drag (creates the drive). At this point, you should be able to remain more or less stable without the 'full blown arch'. If not quite yet, soon.

You have to remember that Biden is senile. AND an evil genius. So he's so smart and powerful that he controls the prices of commodities all over the world. He just forgot which country he was trying to destroy. (we really need a 'sarcasm' font)

Fair enough. Thanks. I have my doubts too. The escort thing could just be someone who looks a lot like her. And I freely admit that this is one of those 'I want it to be true because I dislike her a LOT' sort of things.

Got a link that it's fake? Honest question. I can find articles about her denials, but nothing that confirms or denies the truth of the allegations. I have no idea of the accuracy of it. But I have a feeling (just a feeling, no proof or anything) that the guys claiming it aren't going to make the claims without some backup to it. I could be totally wrong on that.

It could certainly be higher. But the oil companies like making money. (Helpful hint: It has little to do with 'government regulations')

Personally, I wear a strap to hold the glasses in place and the big 'dork goggles' that go over the glasses. I don't have astigmatism, so if the glasses move around a bit it's not an issue. But they don't move much.

Those 4 points would have ZERO effect on prices in the short term. Any 'new lands opening for exploration and drilling' would take several years before production starts. Not sure how something that would take years to implement would have any effect on gas prices today. But then again, I don't understand any of the crap he posts. It's pretty clear he doesn't either. He just posts shit to get a reaction.

What kind of 'after hours' stuff does your DZ have? Is there a bonfire on Saturday nights? Or just hanging around talking about 'everything'? This is a perfect subject for that. Especially if the pilot(s) are there. And even if the DZ pilot isn't there, you'll find that there's almost always one or two jumpers that are either pilots, A&P (airplane mechanics) or at least know enough to give you some good answers. Warning: Once you get a pilot talking about 'airplane stuff', it can be hard to get them to stop. This is why there's 'beer rules'. Hand the pilot a beer and ask him about proper maintenance, various 'tells' on if a plane is properly cared for (or not) and what sort of things he's seen, both good and bad, at various places.

From "Enemy at the Gates" about Stalingrad:

Because making up shit is how he argues. Duh.

That's all Biden's fault too. Just ask the Trumpettes. Edit to add: Heather Cox Richardson reported a rather 'fun fact' on the supply chain issue. Apparently it now costs TWELVE TIMES as much as before the pandemic to send a shipping container from China to the US. That's all Biden's fault. Nothing to do with the fact that there are 9 companies that control virtually ALL the container shipping in the world.

No silly, those are 'patriots'. They don't count. On a side note, more people have been charged with seditious conspiracy. Former leader of the Proud Boys, and a few others. Don't forget that, at a federal level, the only more serious crime against the country is treason. https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-biden-congress-proud-boys-government-and-politics-7b27b6550bd0f400aa61893df3386f38

The real "Golden Rule": He who has the gold makes the rules. I've said it a few times: There's a not very nice part of me that would have loved to see Mike Pence get strung up. For the fools who claim it was a 'peaceful protest', or 'legitimate political discourse', that gallows wasn't to hang effigies. They didn't have any. If that was part of the plan, where were the dummies? (yeah, hiding in the tunnels) Instead of effigies to hang, they had people with flex cuffs, stun guns and pepper spray moving in coordinated teams. You know, like they planned on taking prisoners. How would Pence have behaved? Stoic and brave? Or whining and pleading that "I'm on your side"? How would the security/cops have reacted? Would they have opened fire on the crowd once it was apparent Pence was in real danger? How many would have died? How many in the crowd had guns on them. I know that most of them didn't. But I'd bet very heavily that there were quite a few guns in the crowd. Not at the front, but the 'string pullers' at the back. A firefight between the 'patriots' trying to lynch the sitting (Republican) VP against the cops. The whole thing would have been fascinating.

That's EXACTLY what all the Trumpettes think. But, then again, anyone who supports Trump is out of their minds anyway.

The problem with that is that it's "Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law." Trump and his spawn have done a very good job avoiding that 'court of law' thingy. Bribes to Attorneys General, District Attorneys making the charges 'go away', when the prosecutors have pretty solid cases, that sort of thing.

Oh no. He doesn't want the laws repealed. He still wants them to apply to 'the little people'. And Democrats. You know, that whole idea of "lock her UP!!!!". But he wants the Republicans to be exempt. Like they seem to be to everything else.

Click on the link, then go to the home page of the site. Among other noteworthy 'stories', you'll find Tucker Carlson claiming 'they're coming for your guns!!!!' and Alex Jones being "censored".

Not sure what you mean by 'the hard part was not believing..." That's what happened all over the country during the protests against the lockdowns. Y'All Queda, Vanilla ISIS, Meal Team Six. All those idiots prancing around armed to the teeth, but unable to run 100 yards without collapsing.

Well, don't forget that Hilary lied to the FBI and got away with it. Trump said so, so it must be true. (we really need a 'sarcasm' font). Or we could go with the 'just cooperate and do what the cops tell you and you won't get shot... Oh yeah, that only applies to 'those people'. Maybe remind him that, as noted above, Bill Clinton was impeached (and acquitted) for perjury. He did suffer other consequences. Fines and suspension of law license IIRC.