nigel99

My wife has 9 points on her license and has been on a driving awareness course and yet she swears blind that she is a more cautious and careful driver than me. I have a clean license and drive about 5 times as much as her. True it is just a source of amusement that she can make the claim. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Surely. As the Viet Cong can attest, there is no way that a grassroots uprising could ever survive a violent confrontation with the world's most powerful military, let alone force it to leave them alone. The people of Iraq and Afghanistan are also obviously powerless in the face of the mighty US military, and have clearly surrendered their right to self-determination and bowed down before the guns of the United States in abject submission. Since they obviously have so many fewer resources than the people of Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq, the US people could definitely never do anything like that. Point taken and fully understood. Perhaps I am naive as I just struggle to see the US ever falling into the same category as the countries mentioned. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Actually I think the answer is pretty simple. Most criminals simply want to mug you/obtain your property with minimum of fuss and danger to themselves. So if you are unarmed you comply hand-over the goods and are left in peace. The instant you as the victim add a gun to the equation the criminal is now faced with potentially losing his life and therefore fight/flight takes over. Unfortunately criminals tend to have less regard for the wellbeing of others so the innocent person is further harmed. It goes to fairly fundamental principles of avoiding a fight de-escalate the situation where-ever possible, a gun doesn't tend to do that. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

For the sake of argument, what relation do either of those things have to do with the 2nd Amendment? Nothing at all. Guns are fun and I enjoy them and I would happily own a gun and hunt/target shoot. JR has previously explained here about 2nd amendment providing a check and balance against the government going against the people, and since it is not a subject that I really care much about, his opinion is the most strongly voiced that I have experienced in regards to guns in the US (I don't live there). I also think it is ever so slightly Fantasy land to believe that the "common people" could rise up against the US government and by extension, as the president is head of the armed forces against your own military and win. I see gun ownership falling into a couple of categories (excluding military): 1) Sport 2) Hunting 3) Self Defense 4) 2nd Amendment (it's my right) so I'll have one 5) Criminals to commit crime I understand the first 2, disagree with the 3rd and don't understand the 4th but don't disagree with it either. Number 5 is human nature at it's worst and not a reflection on guns as criminals will use anything at their disposal to commit a crime. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Hot bitchy and into porn? I don't know.......I may have to forgive her for her attitude......i mean....she is into porn and you said she was good looking.. Was it Swedish porn? Some sort of Viking loving? Or ludifisk licking? Or perhaps some nude IKEA furniture assembly?

Ok I see, so by inference a person with a gun is more likely to be a criminal - makes sense This is about the most basic of logical failures one can make. If a implies b, does b imply a? No. 80-100 million Americans own guns. However, given the limited number of CCW permits in Philly (or San Francisco for the matter), the answer might be yes - if you look at 100 guys carrying guns and aren't cops, the majority are likely to be criminals. that comment was tongue in cheek. Feel free to say the rest of the post was crap, happy to have a different opinion. You'll never change my belief that it is misguided to think that guns work for self-defense and I will never change yours that they do

Hot Swedish girls Oh please did you read anything past the first paragraph? I don't care who for what the wondergeek married. His life his choice. But insisting that "all" women are in one way or another depending on artificial enhancements to be beautiful is a bit of an insult to women around the world who take good care of them selves and their bodies. dear god, I can't believe that an adult can spout this stuff. In all seriousness the way you come across as if you are either 13-18 yrs old, or have gotten your perception of women from porn mags. Your broad sweeping comments about "butch" women go from engineers to the Feds. I will be the first to admit that I like good looking women, but generalizations just don't work, and looks don't come top of the priority list when relating with someone. The "hottest" women I ever worked with was a an absolute bitch, she was the receptionist - the main reason that I remember her years later is that she was sacked for up-loading porn during working hours. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Just because they said they did such a thing doesn't mean they did it well. Or honestly. As I said, most shootings aren't random, nor surprising. There is compelling reasons for the victims to have guns at the time. Or if you look at the other citation listed, it said 2/3rds of shooting victims in Philly had mug shots at the police stations. The correlation here is that criminals tend to have guns, and they tend to shoot at each other. Being a criminal is the key, not having a gun. Ok I see, so by inference a person with a gun is more likely to be a criminal - makes sense Seriously I think there is a bucket load of macho thinking amongst people who carry guns for self defence. I grew up in a war zone and I most of my male friends over the age of 45 have either been shot at, or shot at people. In all honesty without proper training (military) I think having a gun is a liability. For one thing it is dangerous to have a gun lying around a house where it is easily accessible - and so the likelihood of actually having it when needed are slim. Secondly I would expect that on the street if you are taken by surprise you are unlikely to get your gun out in time - and if you are "that" trigger happy/ready that you are, I believe the chances or you getting a fright and pulling a gun on an innocent would go up dramatically (balloon pops and out comes your gun drawn and ready) At 16 years old at a friends farm we had an armed intruder who shot at one of his managers. The men went out "hunting" for the guy and I was left with a loaded shotgun and his wife and kids locked in a bathroom and told to shoot anyone who tried to come through the door unless I "knew" who they were. I was shaking so much I doubt I would have hit the door if I tried - it really is different to hunting animals. Personally I think guns for self-defence are misguided and a waste of time - for fun and hunting no problem (and as per one of JR's specifications keeping your government from going out of line - perhaps, although somehow I thinking that you could possibly confront the government/US Military is ever so slightly Alice in Wonderland). Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Fazer 600 - and ride pretty much every day - don't have a pic of my bike but this is pretty much identical. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

it's a crap biased study as it is based in Philly which as everyone knows is a liberal state. To have any merit it needs to be a study done in Alabama or Texas where "real" men live Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

My wife has 9 points on her license and has been on a driving awareness course and yet she swears blind that she is a more cautious and careful driver than me. I have a clean license and drive about 5 times as much as her. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Well, ability to get laid is really the ultimate test. Well 10 years ago I defined myself by my perceived intelligence. As time has gone by I have realised that actually self-worth and happiness is all that counts. It seems that most sectors of society judge success on their specific benchmarks. So you get wealthy business men who have not completed high school making derogatory comments about proffessors, you get sports people who can barely count to 10 being seen as successful, people who are "good looking"/super models etc, the list is endless. Much to my wifes disgust I am fascinated by the use of equivocal language and how certain politicians are clever enough to not lie or tell the truth (Tony Blair was one of the best). I believe it takes genuine skill and grasp of language/psychology to be able to say something that 2 oppossing viewpoints perceive to be true or in agreement with their viewpoint. So while intelligence is defined differently (acedemic learning, problem solving etc) I think that a pre-requisite for true intelligence is the capacity to exploit multiple area's of knowledge/expertise. Far to often I think people mistake academic achievement for intelligence rather than a reflection of hard work and determination. I have had both clever and "stupid" phd's work for me as an example. Similarly I know a handful of people who left school at between 14 and 18 years of age (admittedly all but 1 are older people) who are genuinely brilliant. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

In answer to your question - as far as IQ goes yes (I have met the MENSA standard of top 2%). But I know that my social skills are below average. My wife scored higher than me in the MENSA IQ test that we did for fun (top 1%) but she REALLY struggles with reading comprehension and has the attention span of a lightning bolt. I have worked with a number of mensa people, who were simply not capable of practical application of knowledge so I have a bit of jaded view on IQ tests application to real life. I worked with a guy who during a conversation about intelligence said "I am a member of Densa, but I earn more than you guys and get laid more often"

My wife has kept her brothers suicide note as the last memory/message from him (almost a year to the day now). Personally I don't think it is healthy (especially that he specifically names her and other family members in the letter as "the reason" that he committed suicide. On the other hand it gives her comfort to keep any memory of him that she can - and I know she doesn't read it. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Have you ever seen this thread? http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3648800;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread If not I suggest you read it - it will bring tears to your eyes Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

We have the same problem. alot of online stores sell Wireless based CCTV for about £50, not sure what the costs are in the US. However most common criminals cover their heads against CCTV. You could buy a wireless covert camera and "plant" an old unwanted electronic gadget in a way that you catch their face Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Probabilities/odds Snowmman or Georger posted a map with a green flight line crossing the river. For some reason I never connected that the flight path was so close to Tena Bar. Honestly having seen that and the money find I believe that Cooper is sleeping with the fishes. My thoughts are that whether he was under a parachute or not he made a splash and the money got transported in the river - it is the "simplest" explanation. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Snow is right and skydivers know this. How many skydivers have managed to hit the only obstacle in a large clear area? Object fixation. I'm outta here for a few days...keep the good stuff going guys

Interesting post, Jo, I like it. A chameleon-like suspect who goes through life using aliases, swaps identities with Army recruits, has multiple wives and lives, and maybe multiple personalities -or at least profound personality changes. He is certainly one man who can come from nowhere and then get on a plane at PDX and a few hours later jump back to nowhere. Ideal candidate for special ops, too, wouldn't you say, especially really, really covert ops - a one of a kind op kind of guy, I should say. Yeah could be GI Joe, Rambo, Macgyver or possibly James Bond on holiday. So here is an interesting fact - one of the directors of Macgyver was called John Rich. So now we have a name that can be connected with homemade bombs, amazing navigation skills, skydiving and dz.com (if Macgyver was cooper he would have landed in the pea's) Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

BASE jumping has it's own code of ethics, which are largely independent of laws. We do many things that are illegal, but perfectly ethical (within our context), like trespassing onto buildings to jump them. On the other hand, there are many (perfectly legal) behaviors that are unethical from a BASE perspective (calling the police to arrest another jumper during an illegal jump, for example). There is something about your post that really bothers me. I must admit I find it difficult to pinpoint but I think it is the rationalising away illegal activities. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Dude after a magic shroom sausage you should be happy that he can type at all. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Yes perception and misguided belief systems play an enormous part in our lives. I started jumping at 16 (I had been very keen for a long time) - the trigger to start was watching a fatality occur - I figured that since there had just been a fatality I was less likely to die Personally I am torn regarding the risk - I jumped for 5 years and it has been 12 years since I last jumped (kids). I am now in a position to jump again and while I am happy doing tunnel time I am really struggling to make the decision. At a personal level I do not want to go in skydiving and have people say "oh well he died doing what he loved" the basic fact is that for ME no hobby is "worth" dying for. However I also believe that you shouldn't live your life in a cocoon and I "might" die snowboarding, motorcycling or falling down the stairs in the office. I have witnessed 3 fatalities of which all 3 were human error (1 unfortunately was someone else's error). I think it is typical of humans if you want to jump you rationalise the risks, if you don't you magnify them. While statistics are a blunt tool they do play a significant part. People have died chocking on bones - it doesn't stop us eating that type of food; similarly if skydiving had a 50% fatality rate alot less people would do it. At the end of the day it is our personal risk assessment that dictates our choices. It is also a "selfish" act as each fatality leaves behind grieving relatives and friends. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Nice to see some fresh blood on the thread after the past 12k posts where we have collectively recycled self-mutilation I agree that it is "odd" that money is found but not harder evidence. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

There's no such thing as a "skydive" without a skydiver, so these statements seem somewhat at odds. By now means scientific or based on analysis but from "gut feel" and reading the incident reports I would say that skydiving risk has a number of variables - some of the key variables being: Experience Number of Jumpers on load Individuals attitude and aptitude Any "advanced" disciplines Wing-loading Risk = ((1/Exp)+Jumpers^x + Attitude + Discipline)^y*Wing-loading I believe that if an experienced jumper did solo hop and pops from altitude on a lightly loaded modern parachute they would be exposed to very little risk, as you start adding free-flying, more jumpers, higher wing-loading the risk starts to rise quite sharply. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Looking at google maps i wouldn't be surprised if half the kids were farming kids. I grew up around animals and yet I am still squeamish, I eat meat but would not kill my own food. If the butcher didn't exist I would be a veggie