JJohnson

No I don't think it will happen at all Andy. THe seat belt law had nothing to do with safety. Look at Illinois, where helmets for motorcycles are not required. So why seatbelts??? Government control is my belief. When the mandatory seatbelt laws went into effect a cop could not pull you over for it...strangely about a tear later they changed that. Now a cop can pull over anyone he wants with the perfect excuse. As for mandatory helmets and AAD's...what purpose does it serve the governement? None. Skydivers are not a big ehough issue to concern themselves over. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

Well, I would have asked him point blank: Brother, what are you getting at? Have I violated some rule, are you curious about me or my actions, or are you writing a book? Whats up? To sit there and field a bunch of quesations from someone you don't know....AFTER the night jump....WTF? I wouldn't be a dick about it, but I would want to know where he was going with his line of inquiry. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

There are those people who think intellectualism is a substitute for common sense. They can warp phrases, quotes, theory and cool words into anything they wish to prove a point and defend their opinion. A sort of intellectual bully if you will. Not much different than a physical bully, just a different means of intimidation. Many classes I took, I got the impression that the professors were kind of like that. As teachers they felt their knowledge and opinions had to be the end all of knowledge and opinions. Then of course some of the students adopt those ideas, and wield their new found intelligence like sword, looking for a place to apply it. Fitting in with my theory, that people get dumber in larger groups.....or at least that the collective IQ goes down.......you get left with a herd mentality. Education don't make you a genius, lack of education don't make you a moron. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

You wouldn't per chance be suggesting either of the following would you?: 1) Extremism, (in any direction) as a whole is not a real great concept. 2) Uneducated opinions make for illogical choices. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

Real good, brother. Semper Fi. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

Hollywierd....it's a whole nuther planet. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

No coffee??? Christ how do you live? I drink it, smoke it, shoot it, snort it and eat it. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

If there were ironclad evidence of the regime in Iraq having direct ties to 9/11, then it would be a direct act of war against the U.S., by a country. Yes, we would have little choice but to retaliate. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

Not even to mention the incredible amount of cash that was wasted in investigation. Like ANY President didn't think about boinking some chick in the oval office, the first thing when he walked into the place.......I'm betting the train of thought goes something like this: "No shit? I'm the most powerful man on the planet?" "HMMM....I wonder what Marilyn Monroe would look like bent over that desk?" So for what 90% of males would do in Slick Willie's position (no pun intended) they spend how many millions on investigating? JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

I would really talk to Dan, PM him from this site. I cannot see Atair taking your canopy back and not having a demo canopy to loan you. Icarus loaned me a Crossfire for months while they dicked around with my canopy. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

I've found it's easier to have your wife go rent the porn flicks. Less hassle from the clerks and she has better taste than I do in these highly educational films. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

That's what I meant.....I go one time and eat 3 days worth of stuff..... JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

FBI, CIA, NSA and such has been monitoring things for quite some time, the new laws regarding internet and such will just make it legal and easier for them to do it. I am pretty much anti-government when ti comes to these big brother things. Take mandatory seat belt laws.....Like that law was passed for our protection??? In Illinois I can ride amotorcycle without a helmet, but required to wear a seat belt....I think it is nothing more that giving a cop an excuse to pull someone over at will, under the guise of "no seatbelt". JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

mmmmm...Waffle House.....I'll take the usual....# eggs over medium, hash browns, smothered & covered, Pecan waffle, grits and two sides of sausage......We don't have Waffle House in Illinois, but I have been known to eat there 3 days a time when visiting states that do. Nothing like it. Kinda like the breakfast equivalent of White Castle Hamburgers. You can feel your heart slowing down with every bite. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

Yeah right, like a swimming, eating machine cares what time it is!!! I got one unreasonable paranoia...shark attack. They only have 4 things to do all day: swim, shit, screw and eat. There is no good reason to be in the water. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

Brother...sharks live in the water.....stay out of the water. You plunk a board down on some sharks head at 5:30 in the am, he's gonna eat you outta spite. And what the the fuck is a 2 foot green peeler? A mutant potato? JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

BWAHAHAHAHAHA. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

I am a skydiver....and only a fair one at that. It is my love and my joy and my passion.....and I can still screw up a solo........so what the fuck do I really know about war, history and politics??? Pretty much nothing. I thought about this today in light of all the threads going on, the heated debates we have had......and it boils down to I don't know nothing much. So I now vow not to get involved in any more of those threads. I humbly apologize to such persons as BillVon and Kallend and any others if any of my remarks irked you. I would hate to give you the impression that disagreeing with you meant anything personal. It don't. My emotions still side with Rhino and perhaps thats just the Marine in me. But even the opinions posted that I disagree with still at least made me sit back and think. Everyone here has had wonderful opinions....or not. Take your pick. Events are going to unfold and most of them well beyond the control of any of us....despite our jump numbers, ratings or size of canopy. In my life I have traveled to many beautiful places. I've jumped with Swedes over amazing fields of gorgeous yellow flowers, with Finns over some pretty impressive forest (bad place to land out). I've gotten shitfaced with Filipinos living in thatch roofed huts. And watched a Mexican buddy flail worse than me on a sit fly. It has been my experience that most people are pretty much the same. We want to live and be happy. Given the chance, most intelligent, sane people can sit down and break bread together and live in relative harmony. The true crime of any future events with Iraq, or terrorism would be that people from different countries might be deprived of that. More specifically, that I might have a hard time bringing my rig with me to another country.....that would suck balls. The more you people made me think about these events, the more I can honestly say is that ALL the governments involved lick butt crack. Everyone of the scarvy bastards are manuevering for their own good, not for the good of the world. I propose a revolution. Skydivers take over the world. The possibilities are endless. We would keep gas prices low globally to insure lift tickets stay reasonable. We would take care of the rotten insurance bastards for the same reason. International and national travel would run like clockwork cause we would not want to be late for a boogie. Working hours and conditions would improve to make time for more jumping. Medical benefits would cover any injury to keep us jumping....all in all the whole world would prosper.......unless you are a wuffo, in which case you would be regulated to a slave labor camp to support a skydiver. I don't have all the angles worked out yet, but it can't be worse than the current administrations. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

Brother, if you ever saw this girl, you'd give her yer whole dang computer. She's so hot she makes the Iraq situation seem like a insurance sales conference. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

You are going to be fine amigo. A Tri is a 7 cell, real forgiving canopy. Go easy and you will be fine. If you look at the wingloading chart for the Tri, you will notice that you are not loading it even close to heavy. If anything you are underloading it. It will be a great canopy for you, so long as you go easy and practise common sense. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

I have a 120 and a 105. Both open great. I even pack them for a quicker opening. I do not push the nose in, do not pull the slider way out and rioll the tail pretty loose. The openings are quick and consistent. I don't like a long snivel, but a neck breaker would suck. The only issue I would have on openings is line twists, but I can say that any occasions I have had twists it was either a paid for pack job or piss poor body position. All in all I am quite satisfied with the Cobalt. In the future I would go Cobalt again, perhaps the Onyx and would definetely keep an open mind about Brian Germain's canopies. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

As in the past allow to me say: I do not agree that might makes right, so please stop putting words into my mouth........but I will say that countries throughoiut history have practised it as a way to increase their wealth, protect and further their interests...Can you disagree with this? Right or wrong it is a sad fact. What was done to the American Indians was a slaughter....yet how many Americans are willing to give back their houses and land and move back to wherever their ancestors were from? So the even sadder fact, is that so long as the people are on the winning side, we tend to go along with these little historic tragedies. Countries do what is in their best interests...period. It is why the UN will ultimately fail. It is why mankind as a whole is so messed up. We live by our own rules and change them as needed...we make new resolutions to cover what we want. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

That is an understatement. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

As I have said you are a wonderful word twister... No we slaughtered the Indians...didn't we? Buyt what are kids taught in history class? Who wrote that history? What are kids taught about the Civil War? Japanese interm camps??? You bet. I bet every American in Japn was rounded up as well.....Only difference is we didn't kill them as spies. If the Axis had won WWII...Hitler would be remembered as a great man. As I said oh great word bender...I did NOT agree this was right..but it is true. So you may prefer to not be a fool....but naive perhaps. Our version of right and wrong is not different. But our enforcemnt of iron clad princilples certainly is. OJ and Clinton were found innocent...how I feel about that don't matter does it? Your version of diplomacy let them walk. My version would not. Through all of this, all you have exhibited to me is your ability to carry on a great debate. To use bits and pieces of things to bend to your point. Congratulations...you would make a great diplomat. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"

Excuse me, perhaps I was unclear. After most wars, there is a time of relative peace....until humans forget what happened and do it again.....Did I lose you there?? Perhaps you think I defend war? I don't. I also don't defend peace when its wrong either...and I am a firm believer in that human nature will generally chose the wrong course of action. As for terror yet to come...you bet lots more...no matter what we do. If we don't stand fast, they will think we are spineless and soft targets. If we attack we make martyrs by the thousands....I grasp your point amigo. Truly I do. So if you think that we fight wars....to avoid peace (by whomever's definition)...why don't you enlighten me with what our goals with war are???? I have all night to be ludricrous and contradictory. JJ "Call me Darth Balls"