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BH gloating over some half-truths that he won't be able to back up with data when challenged Check, Check, motherfucking triple-Check!

Even if you continue to consider this, it means that you will definitely not be learning to pack, because there's no way you'll be able to pack it yourself. It means that the packers will hate you as well, so that your rig will be one of the last packed. All in all, it's not a great idea unless your rigger personally has done that specific combination (preferably with those specific canopies), and promises to pack it for you when you jump. Since that's not rational or realistic, they're all right, it's not a great idea. It's just fine to get a beater rig to learn to jump with, and when you're ready to downsize, then you get the hot new one. Wendy P.

As a few people have noted, there seem to be occasional surges of trolling behavior here; we are going through one now. Part of that is due to how the new banning system works. Rather than the mods deciding "that person is no good and has to go" there is now a system that automatically sets escalating bans (and finally permanent bans) when we warn people for posting attacks on other posters, telling pedophilic jokes etc. It's a little more objective than making such decisions on our own, and puts numeric limits on how many times you can attack someone (for example.) So that means that occasionally trollers can "line up" in terms of times they are banned and times that they are back. And since they seem to egg each other on, there's a decent probablility that several will get banned around the same time and come back at around the same time. But I think there's another factor that has to do with the sort of environment that makes such people feel better. There have been several studies done on how music and color affects people. One recent study shows that people who are angry are calmed by "extreme" heavy metal music. This was touted as surprising in the study, but it agrees with earlier research that suggests that music and/or ambient colors that agree with a person's emotions tend to calm them and de-escalate negative emotion - whether that emotion is sadness, or anger, or rage, or resignation. In the words of Elton John, 'there are times when we all need to share a little pain' because when you are suffering 'it's easier to have those songs around.' And that applies to online forums as well. Recently several right wingers have been trolling pretty heavily on here, on the same themes that they always do. And I suspect at least part of that is to calm their own sadness and anger over what's happening to the republican party in the US. It's not a good time to be a republican - a "red wave" that turned into a red trickle and an actual blue senate, a new republican laughingstock worthy of a Mel Brooks movie, a republican house who can't even elect a speaker, a democratic party coming off successes with infrastructure, budget and insulin bills, and a Trump in terminal decline. They see chaos and division everywhere they look in their party - and if they can sow chaos and division online, well, they feel a little better for the same reason that sad songs make a blue Elton John feel a little better. (And yes, that happens with left wingers too when their side is having problems.) Fortunately there's an easy way to handle that if it bothers you. We now have a handy ignore feature that lets you not see any posts from those people. That way they get to post things that (they imagine) sows the chaos that makes them feel better, and people who don't want to see it can ignore it. (Yes, the system's not perfect, but it works fairly well.) And as most of you probably know, the way that trolls "win" is to get you so mad that you say "you're a fucking idiot" then you get warned/banned and the troll keeps posting away. Don't let them win. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00272/full https://www.elitedaily.com/p/does-music-change-your-mood-science-says-its-actually-the-other-way-around-9005297

Well Putin's troll Slim King only recently found out that when ice floating on water melts, the water level doesn't change. So...keep your expectations low.

As I have said on numerous occasions we use a diluter/demand/pressure regulator, A-14, which is good to at least 45,000'. We never set them on diluter, they are always on 100%, and they have pressure breathing settings for 41K, 43K, 45K, and above 45K. They will automatically start pressure breathing if you do not select the pressure breathing. At around 30K, we put them on 45K and they put out a lot of oxygen, in excess of 12 LPM, which is far more than you can use. The system does not technically set flow rates, the flow rates are the result of how much pressure is coming out the diameter of the hose. The pressure is way more than sufficient, it is uncomfortable until you get used to it, it is akin to being waterboarded with oxygen.

Three of our regular trollers (who may or may not be sockpuppets) have been on my ignore list for a long time. All I see is the titles of threads they start**, and quoted content. For the most part I have exercised enough self control to avoid feeding them. ** Sometimes a majority of threads at the top of the list are from the same trolls.

This was an Act to add Citizenship day to Constitution Day. The law you're looking for is: 36 USC 106: Constitution Day and Citizenship Day Note: "(b) Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution." While I may not agree with your rants; I do applaud your community service.

What about a graduated licensing program for new gun owners? Start with a basic firearms safety course (see Canadian Firearms Possession and Acquisition License). Limit them to .22 rim-fire for the first year. After a year, add in a review of the basics (to test how much they remember) then add in a basic accuracy requirement. That accuracy demonstration would require going to a registered gun range and hitting a standard target with 10 rounds fired from 10 meters/yards away. The target would need to be signed by the range officer and submitted with the application to upgrade the license. It would take 2 or 3 years to qualify for a concealed carry permit. Concealed carry permits should require some formal training in situational awareness, risk management, adrenaline management, de-escalation, road-rage, etc. Pre-trained military or police officers might get some slack on timing (for example, the way that the FAA fast-tracks military riggers wanting to earn civilian parachute rigger ratings), but they would still need to demonstrate safety and accuracy.

My wife (MD) quit too. Nothing to do with ACA, she just said she'd had enough of taking calls at 3:00a.m. and wanted a 9 - 5 job. She went to work for a health insurance company. But I'm sure some partisan hack would blame Obama.

I didn’t get to keep my doctor. He retired. I’m guessing you figure that was Obama’s fault too, eh? Wendy P.

Will you quit it with those irritating facts.

Just got off the phone with McNally after 2 and a half hours. Guy is a hoot. I asked him a bunch of "Coopery" things. Some notable comments. - His alias, Robert Wilson, was completely made up out of the blue. He has no idea why he chose it. Meant nothing. - Despite having 1500 hours in an P-2 Neptune with the Navy, he was never shown how to put on a chute. - He had a briefcase with him that contained gloves, a pistol (that wasn't used during the hijacking), his wig, sunglasses, and rope. - He was so scared that he scooted down the stairs on his butt. - He attached the money bag to his left leg with a leather belt that went through loops on the leather money bag. He later found out that the belt wasn't stitched, which is why it snapped. - He doesn't know why he was described by passengers as swarthy or Hispanic (one article I came across said "Mexican or Spanish" He wasn't wearing makeup. - Said the money bag was totally intact when it was found despite falling several thousand feet, which surprised him. - Said he wearing a set of clothes under the clothes he wore during the hijacking. Tossed those out the plane. They were found. - I asked if his briefcase was ever found and he said it wasn't. - And my favorite: he took a shit in his chute, folded it together and then stepped on it to rub it all in so the FBI or law enforcement would be pissed when they found it. Says he has never seen it mentioned anywhere.

BH gloating over some half-truths that he won't be able to back up with data when challenged Check, Check, motherfucking triple-Check!

He welshed on the deal he made with them on the Jan.6 panel. Publicly.

I think the House needs a "3 strikes and you're out" rule.

So what? "Owning the Libs" would get him extra support.

Backing Jerry Baumchen. Follow the container manufacturers' advice. At Rigging Innovations, I was the rigger test-packing all the newly-arrived canopies and deciding which combinations we could recommend. Meanwhile, Sandy Reid was on the far side of the room stuffing newly-arrived canopies into a PIA volume measuring cylinder. We were in the dry desert of Southern California. The manufacturers that I disagreed with were base din humid Florida where everything pack sone size smaller. What passes for a comfortable fit in Florida is almost a struggle in the dry heat of the Southern California desert.

Forrest drove me home from Bridge Day a fair number of years back after I "misplaced" my wallet. we shared some exit points together in the Tamps area as well. I aways liked him. Very sad to hear. Ody

Unfortunately, Congress critters seem to think the best interest of the country is based on who gives them the most money. That's what needs to change.

Deland, late 70's. I was Instructor and JM for the Embry-Riddle club. At the end of the day when all the students were done, the experienced club jumpers would do some 8-12 way out of Mr. D. At break off some of us would tackle another jumper and ride them down well below 2000', holding them so they couldn't pull. When the panic got too great we'd let go and pull. I don't know how I never got my ass beat. It happened to me once and I never did that to anyone again.

I've heard the "needle on the dial" argument for as long as there have been digital altimeters and it may be true with pilots for whatever reason. When I ran a DZ in the late 90's I put my AFF students on digitals (the "digitude" - the first and at the time only digital on the market) using the logic that the display read the same way we taught students to think - in 2 digits. 10.5 - 9.0 - 5.5 etc. I'm sure there are opinions in both directions, but we found that our students liked the simplicity of a 2-digit, numeric display. It also completely eliminated the "I couldn't read my altimeter" issue students sometimes had with analogs.

Probably a lot. As a result there are laws against kids buying alcohol, and laws against adults serving them alcohol. There are laws against kids driving, and stricter laws when they first start to drive. There are laws that make it harder for kids to drown, and that significantly drive up the cost of private and public pools. There are laws and testing standards that make cars safer for kids. Billions have been spent on things like airbag research, seatbelt use, car seat testing, rollover testing, audible alerts, backup cameras, collision sensors etc to protect kids in cars (and kids vs cars.) There are laws that prevent kids from buying cigarettes under a certain age, and tens of millions in spending to convince them not to smoke even when it is legal for them to do so. These laws, and this spending, is not seen as onerous; indeed, they are seen as fairly commonsense. Oddly, though, when laws are proposed that would protect kids from gun deaths, they are seen as the end of liberty as we know it.

Mike, anyone here who doubts your credentials or abilities is a fool. To set the matter straight are you willing to explain this flight profile from the fatality jump? If I have the wrong data my apologies, but if it's accurate I can see why some might conclude you were impaired. Mullins N321LH flt path & graph.pdf

Agreed. One of the problems with puberty-blocking hormones is that they prevent puberty, but also "sterilize" preventing patients from ever bearing children.