TomAiello

I really don't think Jason has some underylying financial obective here. He pretty much just wants to be able to make jumps in NPS lands in the US. He's given a huge amount of his personal time and money to that end. Miles aspirations? As far as I can tell that's pretty much "have fun!" I disagree with some of the things he does, but I don't think he's got some giant, hidden agenda. He's just out there doing things that look like fun for him, and hopin to support his family at it somehow. Go easy. Both of those guys give tons back to all of us without being asked (Jason negotiates with NPS bureaucrats way more than he wants, and Miles has thrown in 30 or 40 hours of his own time to trail improvement down here). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Did those suits have stiffeners in the leg wing? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Dude. Ease down. When it's funny, it's funny. When you start to take it all too seriously, it stops being funny. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Almost every jumper in the "not surprising" category knows that they are there. I know--I was that guy. BASE is, in significant part, about analyzing and accepting risks. It's scary when people who everyone else thinks are in the "not surprising" category don't place themselves there. In my experience, it's more common that the jumpers pushing the edge more actually know exactly what they're doing, and understand that they are taking above average risks. It's all about knowing your personal risk level--and accepting it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Dude, play the ball, not the player. Bringing someone's personal circumstances into this kind of discussion is not only crass--it also shows that you're not willing to think about their points and respond to them in an intelligent manner. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Jason, It's a separate issue, but: Do you think BASE training ought to be provided as a "this is what you'll need to know later on," or a "this is what you need for this one jump/weekend/object"? I'm not trying to be clever, or start a fight, here. I'm really curious what you think. We had this discussion a (longish) while back on BLiNC, regarding some folks who had never learned to pack slider down (because they were only planning on jumping in Norway). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Perhaps I misunderstood. It seemed like you were saying that those programs required government intervention in order to be successful. If they don't require it, and they can still be successful, why mandate it? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm guessing because it contains the evil "G" word in the subject matter. You know, g-g-g-guns! Some people are so paranoid about them, that even if you're talking about them in a non-political way, they just can't handle it. Actually John, if you hadn't just chimed in with that attempt to make this a political thread, I'd have moved it into Events. Since it looks like you are turning it political, I've just put up a pointer post there, for people who want more info. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There is a post in Speaker's Corner regarding this event, if you are looking for info. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There have been both succesful movements for social change, as well as succesful public health initiatives, that did not require (or even worked against) government intervention. If something is very important, that makes me less likely to trust the government with it--not more. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In my opinion, landing on rear risers ought to be considered a mandatory BASE skill. Every BASE jumper ought to have sufficient practice to land downwind on rears if need be. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hollow points don't feed reliably in some handguns. And if you can't shoot the gun, it's worthless for self defense... John, would you recommend a revolver for home defense? Or, more completely, what would/do you use in this role? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm not sure if it matters, but the dollar cost of wages are only one portion of them, and some other parts (like SS) slide in proportion to the dollar wages. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm with DexterBASE here. What BASE jumpers have you heard say this? I guess I'm also with you, because that's nuts. Don't paragliders use more control inputs (i.e. just a few lines, in some places)? My general impression is that they're more familiar (not less) with using small, odd inputs to effect the wing, hence more likely to be comfortable with the rear risers, and understand the differences between various control inputs. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That argument may be a double edged sword. The NPS has made various attempts to prohibit and/or restrict climbing and rope jumping. I'd hate to see that argument get turned around and used against those folks. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd say that your responsibility flows through to the consequences of your actions, roughly in proportion to your ability to effect final outcomes. So, in this case, I'd say no. You had no opportunity to take action (pro or con) to effect the situation, so you have no personal responsibility (aside from any you choose to undertake, of course). Because the Iraqi people, for the most part, had no ability to take action that might effect these events, for better or worse. Nope. But they can be said to share a larger or smaller portion of the responsibility. Someone who is vocally in favor of the occupation, for example, bears greater responsibility that someone who is vocally opposed. I'd say that the person bearing the least responsibility is probably going to be someone who, say, refuses to pay their taxes in protest. Conversely, the person bearing the most responsibility is the actual person committing the wrongdoing. Most everyone will fall somewhere between those two levels of responsibility, depending on their individual ability to take action that might effect that outcome. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

This bit says two things to me: 1) This is a "first" of many jumps. Not an "only" jump, in which case the wording would have been something like "this type of jump requires no skill..." 2) No previous experience is required. Perhaps I'm misreading this, but when you run an advertisement (which is essentially what this is), the burden is on you to say the things you mean. Also, when you post things into a public forum, you can't exactly expect that people won't respond and comment. That is, after all, the nature of a forum. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Interesting bit on Glasier rounds here. It mostly contradicts my opinions (expressed previously) and I'll freely admit that the writer appears more expert than myself (as I'm not expert on weapons at all). There's also a thread on personal defense ammo here. Google is always an interesting toy... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Does anyone know what percentage of primary wage earners are effected by the minimum wage? When I was in college (so, outdated by at least a decade), the statistics indicated that the vast majority of minimum wage earners were "optional" earners (mostly minors working part time), not people trying to support a family. If I recall correctly, that study concluded that changes in the minimum wage (either way), or even it's abolition, would have minimal effect on the economy. This was because the primary wage earner in almost every household (even the low income ones) was above the minimum wage. As I remember, the (rather dry) economists writing that piece concluded that minimum wage laws, and attempts to change them (however) were mostly the product of politicians posturing for votes, rather than any honest attempt to help the economy. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Either that or outsource your widget production to 11 year olds in China. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I was more thinking that it's easier to hit things with a shoulder gun than a handgun (rather than the shot spread thing). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Othar linked it in the PG forum. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I agree. If you're using a handgun for home defense, Glaser rounds are a great choice because they are unlikely to make it out of the house and into an innocent bystander, but they'll still have plenty of takedown capacity when they are on target. Given a wider choice, I think I'd have to go with the shotgun folks, though. It's easier to hit things, if you are short on training. Of course, if you are long on training, use whatever you're best trained with. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Bill, Are you a registered member of the American Independent Party? Or of some other third party, or just not of any party? The term "independent" led me into a lot of confusion a few years back, when I learned that it was actually taken, in some states, as an official party name. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com