Leaderboard

Odd to even have to say this but - no blood libels. Your next ban will be your last. Either start discussing things without the Russian playbook in front of you or find a new forum to work on.

On June 6, 1942, Adeline Gray made the first jump by a human with a nylon parachute at Brainard Field in Hartford. Her jump, performed before a group of Army officials, put the world’s first nylon parachute to the test. The Pioneer Parachute Company of Manchester fabricated the new nylon material, which was developed as an alternative to silk. Working in concert with the Cheney Brothers Company of Manchester and the DuPont Company, Pioneer Parachute developed a material that combined “compactness with lightness, resiliency and strength.” Gray, who was 24 years old at the time of the jump, was from Oxford and worked as a licensed parachute rigger and packer at the Pioneer Parachute Company. She began jumping at age 19 and at the time of the nylon “jump test” had completed 32 jumps and was the only licensed female parachute jumper in Connecticut. https://connecticuthistory.org/first-human-test-of-a-nylon-parachute/#:~:text=On June 6%2C 1942%2C Adeline,nylon parachute to the test. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adeline_Gray_(parachutist)

Here’s my $0.02, for what it’s worth….if your faith makes your life better and you wanna share that then fill your fucking boots, I’m happy for you. If you want to start telling me I’m going to burn for eternity because I don’t believe in your imaginary friend, I’m happy to write you off as a person worth giving another minute of my time.

dozens of felony counts. Trump is not walking away from this with no convictions. Pardons still mean you are guilty, so they don't mean shit to anyone with a fucking brain. He's a fucking crook. he always was. He's a fucking con man. He always was. Arguably he is guilty of sedition, given the Seditious conspiracy convictions of Jan 6 already... and that may be coming yet. 6 dozen felony counts might give the other prosecutors the balls to proceed as well. This is as close to actual treason as we could find if there is ever evidence that he shared any docs with a foreign entity. Fuck that seditious cunt. fuck anyone that supports that seditious cunt at this point. Stop making excuses for the worst president we have ever had in the white house. There is no comparison to this fucking mutt of a human being. When he dies (and he will someday) I will be hosting a neighborhood BBQ and open an 18 year old bottle of single malt. that.....fucking....seditious.....cunt.....

I thought all the QAnon, MAGA nutters quit watching football when that negro boy took a knee.

And have a great holiday season.

Texas AG Paxton is threatening to prosecute regardless of te court's order. Beto O'Rouke summed it up nicely: “This is Texas AG Ken Paxton saying he’ll throw a woman’s doctors in prison for life if they perform a *court-granted* abortion on a *nonviable* pregnancy that risks causing her permanent infertility and death,” he said. “Still think the GOP is pro-life?” O’Rourke added.

BREAKING; James Comer announces that they have found proof that Christmas presents Hunter Biden received in 1976 Were actually from Joe Biden And not in fact from Santa Claus Several elves are expected to give depositions

These are the same people who think that The Donald is well-characterized by their T-shirts likening him to the second coming; who think that it's better to hurt someone you disagree with than it is to improve your own lot, because perception is reality. Me, I moved to a place where I can buy local produce and meat much of the year, and support local businesses instead of big box stores. Where I can hike and bike from close to home, and where small towns DO try things. Like setting up community care departments, to offload mental health calls from the police. Like improving rather than defunding their libraries. Like buying hybrid vehicles for public departments. Like helping to fund public transit. Like having local newspapers. Like valuing education to the degree that nearly every kid in the state has access to a good vocational school (most with a waiting list) as well as a regular high school. And, yes, studying reparations. Life is good. Wendy P.

Donald Trump called Georgia looking for 11,780 votes. Fani Willis is only going to need 12.

People like you that take great joy in such issues are what is dividing America. You lack the intelligence, empathy and courage to look at all sides of an issue. You think it’s fun that an entire section of America makes fun of a kind, loving, funny young girl. You have zero insight into why a music video with lyrics aimed at denigrating black America is disturbing. And energizing MAGA world. Filmed at the site of a lynching. Because you back the blue, unless they are defending the Capitol from a bunch of white folks you side with. Because those asshats spit on cops and used flags to beat them. I guess that wouldn’t have happened in a small town. so do you love or hate cancel culture? Such a conundrum. It must be painful to live life viewing everything through a left or right magnifying glass.

No you won't

As promised. Video about the Clara letter. It’s about 45 minutes. The first 30 are about Stylometry and how it refutes the claims that Barb is Clara. The last 15 are on Barb in general. You should be able to play it at 1.25 or even 1.5 to get through it quicker.

Democrats shouldn't be trying to negotiate exceptions, like 15 weeks; rape, incest or health of the pregnant person; etc. They should come at this from the other side: all medical procedures are allowable, with the decision resting between the person needing/wanting the procedure and the medical provider. If someone wants an exception, they have to show why any procedure should be prohibited or disallowed.

There may be an easier way to stop being called a troll. Think hard and deep, it just might come to you.

Federal funds for fuel retailers? Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 was considered a large Federal contribution of funds to support gas stations. PPP funds for fuel retailers? $380 BILLION???? Numerous States have provided funding for fuel stations to replace and upgrade fueling equipment. SBA provides low interest loans to gas stations. huh....it's just too easy. Every. Damn. Time. So yeah, ZERO efforts by some to investigate or put any effort into anything besides the "OMG THE SKY IS FALLING AND NOTHING WILL FIX THE WORLD SO I DON'T CARE YOU'RE ALL WRONG AND THE PLANET IS blah blah blah blah blah blah" Trolls gotta troll.

As a person with eyes that can read the words you post here, it is obvious that you’ve got some balls to try to suggest that you’re an independent.

And in the last 5 Presidential election cycles the Kentucky governor election predicted the presidential outcome, so this means it is like totally mathematically impossible for Trump to win.

You made a very incorrect statement that I don't like to answer questions. The reality is that I refuse to get suckered into dead-end conversations with the "yeah, but" crowd. Look through the forums and you will see that I answer questions routinely for anyone with a desire to have a sincere conversation on any subject. When I sat down to write this, I planned to address your post in great detail. After re-reading my own words, I've changed my mind. I will not take the bait. You know as well as I do that there is no acceptable level of injuries or fatalities in skydiving. There is no skydiving discipline designed or intended as a tool for growth, so making a connection between them and any intended promotional value is a false narrative. Here are the facts: CP is a legitimate, internationally recognized discipline. In accordance with USPA bylaws, we support all ISC recognized disciplines. CP is dangerous. Statistically it's more dangerous than other skydiving disciplines. Welcome to reality. All forms of skydiving are dangerous. I wholeheartedly support all of them. Finally, you suggested that I must either believe that CP injuries and fatalities are "worth it", or that I haven't "actually thought about it seriously". Brother, you are way off base. There is NOTHING in skydiving that I haven't thought about seriously. Pretty much every moment of every day. Anyone who knows me and my priorities knows that. Five left and cut.

That's a shame. :-( Proud Boys’ Enrique Tarrio gets record 22 years in prison for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy

Like a drunk using a light post. More for support than illumination.

No. Ten years ago most conservatives, liberals, and moderates supported being able to have rational discussions with people that had disagreements on policies. They could disagree on issues without needing to vilify the individual. There was some common understanding of the importance of facts. Back then I would have considered myself a conservative except for my positions on personal liberties like marriage equality and abortion rights. Lots of my skydiving friends were way more liberal than 10 year younger me. I didn't want to destroy any of them, and I could have polite constructive conversations with them where we actually could debate the reasons behind our positions. Ten years later I absolutely wouldn't consider myself a conservative. Not because my views have changed that drastically, but because the right has sprinted off towards extremism while I remained mostly sane. I don't want to destroy the GOP, I just would like them to return to reality. I would like for there to be a sanity check around personal liberties, I would like a return to some amount of civility, and I would like people to go back to respecting facts and intellectual honesty. There are currently over a million conservatives who actually believe in the validity of QAnon. There are people way too many people that genuinely believe all of Trump's election fraud falsehoods. Lets not forget all of the anti-science and insane quackery during the peak of covid. Horse dewormer anyone? I didn't willfully sign up to have that be a significant part of my nations political environment. I don't want to destroy them, but some mental healthcare would be a compassionate response.

You mean claim bone spurs and get a deferment?

You mean she should fit your preconception, I imagine. So my friend who was born with both a penis (and balls) and a vagina (along with ovaries and uterus) wouldn’t fit your preconception, either, right? Would you agree more with her parents’ decision (to remove the female bits and raise as a boy because that’s what they wanted — she went on to an Army Special Forces career), or with her own adult-made decision, to live the rest of her life as the woman she always felt like? Yes, surgery and all Not everyone fits into the standard boxes. The problem is that those people still exist, and simply ignoring their reality isn’t much different from ignoring someone simply because they’re darker than you Wendy P

Your using that word for something besides a muscle car transmission says a whole lot more about you than about whatever you're writing about. Do you use "bitches" for "women" in private? How about "queer," "faggot," "spic," "kike," and the best one of all (the n-word)? Or is "trannies" OK because it's still OK to hate them? Wendy P.

If we, as a species, we’re worth half a shit at weighing long-term risks vs short term costs, there would be fewer McDonalds and Lipitor in the world. You’re focusing on the second half of the sentence quoted above: while it may unfortunately be true, it doesn’t negate the first half. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m headed back to my hotel in Ankara to take a shower. I’m a bit nasty from walking through a bunch of flooded streets today. While it’s not unheard of to flood here, apparently it’s happened more this year than anybody can remember. (I wrote that just for you Brent….this time, you can focus on the first half of the sentence and ignore the second). p.s. with only two bookends, it sounds like you have a pretty shite library.

They are issued. Just like in the military. Officers must sign for them. They are accountable not only for their securing the weapons in a proper manner, just like in the military; they are accountable for every discharge. And, if they do not do these things, just like in the military - they can be subject to an Article 15 or court [martial] (civilian style). And, if every one was required to register their guns, ensure they were properly stored, and ammunition were to be signed for by lot number (just like in the military), and the signing party held responsible for their expenditure; then law enforcement would have a much better path to resolving crimes committed with the use of guns. A by-product of this would be people maintaining better control of their weapons and ammunition. Finally, if the police were to come across a weapon that is unregistered for any reason - it gets confiscated and smelted. Over time, the number of unregistered weapons would diminish. If we had started this after Columbine, some 350,000 children's lives would not have been impacted by gunfire and 379 school shootings would have been lessened. A by-product of this would be the ability to take a walk and not fear getting shot. But, of course as long as the other 24 states pass constitutional carry, then everyone can walk around like John Fucking Wayne and carry a gun on their hip - making the world a much safer place. /s

He didn't claim otherwise. The defeat was of the "reich wing", which excludes moderate (traditional) Republicans. High time the moderate wing of the GOP got some balls and stood up to the MAGA loonies.

Sexual immorality is just a construct. The only immorality would be if someone is taking advantage of a child or a person otherwise not able to give informed consent. Homosexual sex is not immoral. Men entering the priesthood then using the posistion of trust to take advantage of children is immoral. Likewise it is not immoral for a boy or a girl to feel they don't fit your expectations of their sexuality. It is a struggle, and it may be very difficult for them, but it is not immoral.

New episode out now! DB Cooper: What Really Happened with our good friend Marty Andrade. https://thecoopervortex.podbean.com/e/db-cooper-what-really-happened-martin-andrade/ Enjoy!

Supporting Donald Trump is a condition that should be added to the DSM.

Not reported, he addressed it head on and released his academic file. Shows mediocre grades and mixed reviews from professors. That shows balls and an ability to face adversity and deal with it. The university at the time investigated and ruled at the time. You would think that if this is such a huge issue for you, you would know this. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/18/us/biden-admits-plagiarism-in-school-but-says-it-was-not-malevolent.html This has been debunked so many times now. Makes me wonder if your claim of high regard for intellectual honesty has any truth at all.

Finally finished AFF! Thanks guys!

Trump did everything the GOP thought Obama was going to do to stay in power.

I agree on not censoring. I also am not sure that some of the prolific posting is trolling but rather an indication of lack of critical thinking ability and being extremely gullible. I will admit I find some of the conspiracy posts annoying as they are devoid of any logic and end up being an endless loop of the same tired arguments and tit for tat insults.

I'm firmly on both sides. I like cats, had cats in the house growing up, but don't want to own one now. On the other hand I am the meany who knows that they are just another form of livestock and they are not "fur babies". Feral cats should not be allowed to exist if anything can be done to eliminate them. Pretty much the same goes for dogs. Spending stupid amounts of money on animals that are sick and should be put down also bothers me. I know, the haters are going to hate on me.

The first Captain Marvel had a chick in it and made over a billion dollars. How did that happen when the chick made it lame? Here’s the thing - the warnings over the drastic oversupply of MCU film and TV content have been sounding loud and clear for some time now. It has nothing to do with work and everything to do with an audience that can’t possibly keep up with everything being thrown at them so as a result just doesn’t care about any of it anymore. But it’s very telling that you personally can’t imagine any film being made with a female lead except as an exercise in woke social engineering, and that you personally don’t think any film with a female lead could be worth watching on its own merit. It’s a really fucking ugly side of your personality.

Well I do have an advanced degree, but it's why it's good I cite reputable sources and show my working in maths right? Hey that's a bit extreme, I *have* graduated university, those lefty brainwashing factories right? And I restrict myself to mostly these topics. I don't really understand the long and complex history about Israel and what's happening there now. But tech and climate change I do understand, and it's going to affect me for quite a long time so I speak up when there's blatant misinformation going around.

My first reaction is to ask why you would want to do this? It's a small industry with a limited market. I would not pick this as a high ROI opportunity. Most people that persue this are all ready involved and do it out of passion. That is why they tend to fail. They are skydivers not business men. Getting your rigging certificate is not the answer. I'm not saying that it's a bad idea just as general background and in theory could help you legally with the FAA. It's a weird gray area where all you have to do is say you are a manufacturer and you are. But in theory you need to be a rigger to do any kind of repair. But manufacturer trumps rigger... The logic gets convoluted and weird. Can you build it but then not fix it? In the end it doesn't matter. Half of your employees will be riggers. A rigging course has very little to do with what you will need to learn. Here is the real truth. There are lots of different types of riggers. And this isn't a senior vs master thing. Master means they can sign more paperwork. In theory they are more experienced and can do alterations, etc. In reality it just means they can sign things. But manufacturer tops master. A master can perform alterations approved by the manufacturer or can apply for an approval through the FAA. This gets into whether it's a TSO'd component. Non TSO'd, people just go to town on them although in theory some of these rules still apply. There are some very good master rigger manufacturers on here that will be happy to delve deep into that rabbit hole. Here is the honest truth as to what you need. You need a business degree. Or a degree in accounting. Running a business is a business in it self. Taxes payroll book keeping accounts receivable accounts payable suppliers PO's tracking records marketing finance. These are the actual skills that you need. You are going to hire someone to run production. That's a completely separate issue and the small of the two issues. Who do you need to hire. Remember I said there are different types of riggers. There are riggers that pack, there are riggers that sew, there are riggers that build, and there are riggers that design. There are ones that work in the sport industry. They pilot rigs are almost their own separate industry with limited crossover. Military is it's own thing. These groups have been cross pollinating but they are still very different from each other. Most riggers are glorified packers, and that's fine. A lot of them really are not comfortable doing even basic repairs or sewing. This is what all the classes turn out. You don't really learn to see and prepare things till you work in at least a medium size loft under the supervision of a master rigger. Some people get really into that and just live at a sewing machine. Note that they are probably not master riggers. You just need a master rigger around to theoretically be "supervising" and maybe sign something now and again. There are people that get into building things from scratch. Batches of risers jumpsuits sliders toggles pilot chutes etc. This is a different skill set. You mostly develop it from working for a manufacturer or in a larger loft. You don't learn all the secrets and esoteric knowledge from any course. There is a smaller group that delves deeper into the why rather then just the how. Designers are mad scientist with a sewing machine. You'll know them by the kackle in their laugh. All of these people have way over inflated egos for what they are. We are all a pain in the ass. There is another related category. Let's be polite and call them workers. The more common name that we often use is slaves. These are non skydiver non rigger 9-5 workers that set at machines doing repetitive tasks all day long. They are actually very valuable. If you get good ones treasure them. They come in diffrent varieties. I think Koreans are the best but any one (xxx) will do. LOL's (little old ladies) are very good if you can get them. The problem is that they are by definition old and tend to die. They are almost extinct. Wet backs are I think the last option but they can serve with enough supervision. Sewing machines. It has gotten progressively harder over the years to source good used machines. And you will need some one to work on them. I don't know what your going to do but you will be surprised at how many machines you will wind up with. Her as a thought. Don't start a company. Buy one. None of these companies are big. You might be surprised at how low an honest evaluation of their value would be. Some of these guys are getting old. Sandy Reed as an example. Or the dolphin rig. Or some one in a financial bind because they don't know how to run a business. You could pick up not just a turn key operation but maybe a TSO. That's fucking gold. All the old shit is grand fathered in and it's only getting harder to meet the new standards. Again my real advise is to go open a McDonald's or some shit like that. Any thing but a loft. If your not already married to this industry why would you dive into this water? Lee

I'm surprised Santos isn't getting any votes. Wendy P.

Chutkan set the trial for March 24. Game on. Now let's get some camera's in the room.

Ok so I got my mental bleach ready and actually gave those bastards the click they wanted just to check out what kind of shite they were peddling. First, where in the flying fuck do you get that they are trusted by either side? Check out their Twitter feed, they’re rabidly pro-Russia. They literally sell merchandise and clothing with pictures of destroyed and damaged Ukrainian armoured vehicles. You should be fucking ashamed of yourself for promoting the glorification of war and conquest in that way. Second, even they said inside the first two minutes of that video that the claim of Ukraine committing its last reserves was part of a Russian disinformation campaign. Yet here you are stating it as fact. And you try and convince us that you’re not just Putin’s little lapdog, brainwashed into cheerleading for his vicious and brutal war?

Yes, I've had it since 1967; it was my first car.

Biden needs to get way ahead on this by announcing that abortion politics had absolutely nothing to do with the decision and, by the way, please someone tell Tommy Tuberville to go fuck himself.

Analysis of the revenue generated by IRS audits vs. the cost of those audits. https://policyimpacts.org/research/67/a-welfare-analysis-of-tax-audits-across-the-income-distribution?itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template Bottom line - the $20B the GOP cut from the IRS budget likely will cost the USA some $240B in lost revenue. So much for the GOP lip service about deficits and the debt.

Since I’m not an elite athlete, the argument about who gets to compete against whom is not one I have a dog in. But I can treat everyone with the respect that all humans are due. It builds me up, because my self-respect comes from me as well. Wendy P.

Ummmm... Because they're the same sort of bigot? I've said it before. I honestly thought the racial hatred & bigotry was more or less done. Not racism, not abuse of power, not injustice. But most of the virulent, violent hatred. And not completely done, but mostly over. And then Obama got elected. And so many people who had been required to pretend to be nice just completely lost their shit. All the 'Birther' garbage. All the "Secret Muslim" crap. All the stupid insults and criticisms of both of the Obamas. The people who had hated people with different color skin, but had been forced by 'polite society' to mute those views came out from under their rocks and went apeshit. Turns out they've always been there, but weren't able to be 'their real selves' in public. Then Trump saw his opportunity. Remember his private detective who was going to provide earthshaking revelations 'in two weeks'? Trump gained traction with his hate and vitriol, got the bigots and assholes wound up and the MAGA moron movement took off. Trump and his idiot followers then proceeded to hijack the R party. Which resulted in Bobo, Gym Jordan and Empty Gee gaining power. People like Liz Cheney decided they weren't very nice people and jumped ship, to their detriment. Keep in mind that Liz is Darth Cheney's daughter. And Trump is too evil for her. But not for the MAGA morons, and the politicians that pander to them.

In the early 80s there were a number of Tubesteak Boogies organized by Shoobi Knutson that were held in Brooksville, Florida and later at ZHills. The boogie was by invitation only and featured color coordinated sequential jumps that were a thing of beauty in the air. Shoobi was gracious enough to invite me to film them and has been after me for quite some time to get them out of Kodak slide carousels and into a format that can be seen by everyone. Of the 4000+ 35mm slides I have of various skydiving meets, many of them are of the Tubesteak Boogies. In order to avoid having to go to the Smithsonian to borrow a slide projector, I bought a slide scanner and am now in the process of scanning the best of them. Attached below is one of them.