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Comment online regarding Sweden's approach of not shutting down for Covid19: "I think culture is a big part of it. In Sweden, we're tired of the 2m social distancing. We wish this to be over so we can go back to the Swedish norm of 5m"

I used to jump a lot. A lot. I don't jump anymore. It's been 9 years since my last jump. My first kid was 7 months old. I just wanted to be home so I stopped. The years I jumped had a huge impact and influence on me. I met some of the most important people in my life from my jumping years. I am happy. I don't need it anymore. I have found other ways to fly (e.g. sailing). On certain occasions though, I reminisce... I shared in some epic jumping times with so many people I touch base with occasionally. I shared in those same epic times with too many that are not with us anymore. I posted here a lot too :). I still have all my gear (except a main). Who knows; maybe i'll get out there again. Trust my kids to pack? Serious serious doubts about that. :) Molalla is right out my back door. Will see. Peter/Steph! Come make me jump! Cheers!

At what point in time did Biden tell the Antifa to 'stand by'? Many are wondering if he plans on telling them to "Step Up" for the election. You know, to prevent 'voter fraud', which to them would mean not allowing 'those people' to vote. Or maybe after Trump loses. He could call for an armed march by them. Maybe he could tell them to wear brown shirts instead of the polo shirts they like.

Find a good place to hide. If you find a place that's really hard for someone to get into, it will be really hard for you to get out of. If you find a place where you can see for miles and miles, it will be easy for others to spot you. Don't make any noise, smoke (during the day) or light (at night). Hope that nobody with more people or bigger guns finds you. Being alone (either one person or one family) sucks. Building a community is a far, far safer bet. Some would. There are those who want one now. They tend to be the frightened type. They want a 'strong leader' to tell them what to do.They want someone to keep 'those people' out. You know, by building a wall or something. The problem is that those sorts of people want a dictator who's 'like them'. Even if he's not. They think that he will protect them. They never understand that they are not even pawns for that dictator. They're nothing. The dictator will let them die by the hundreds of thousands. And pretend that he's doing a 'great job'.

Hi Jerry, in my country eating cats and dogs is still legal. You can’t buy or sell the meat though, and you can’t eat pets, but you can raise the animals for the meat. It is not really done anymore but I do know people who did. In the first half of the 20th century we had feline and canine butchers in Europe. also I did see a skinned cat in a freezer, and understand why rabbits still need to have the head on in the butcher shop. They really look alike.

Thanks Marcel! Congrats to you and your family as well. This is great information, I will take a look at Principal.

Hi Nic, In Berlin, after World War II, a cat was called a 'roof rabbit.' Lot's of them were eaten. Jerry Baumchen

Hi Doug. We had our child in February of 2019 and I purchased term insurance that specifically covers skydiving. Our insurance provider is Principal. The cost was 2 dollars per thousand of coverage, which was by far the cheapest I found. I actually have two policies due to the expense. 500K that covers skydiving and 500K that excludes skydiving. One policy that excludes skydiving is about 400. The other that covers skydiving is about 1400. I have super preferred rating based on physical. I found through the process that some insurance providers would downgrade your health status if Skydiving was included. That never made sense to me. I found Principal to be up front with everything and very easy to deal with. The policy that does not cover skydiving has an aerial exclusion...due to my answers to the questions on skydiving. The policy that covers skydiving doesn't have the exclusion. I only mention this since I had been expecting a 'rider' to cover skydiving but its not set up that way. Good luck and congrats! Let me know if you have any questions. Marcel

He's wrong about that when it comes to me. I've lived under a dictator, though not as a citizen, and I have relatives in Argentina, with thousands of "disappeared" people. Wendy P.

A little while back, Glenn Beck predicted that we would beg for a dictator just to restore some sense of safety and normalcy following the worse case scenario of SHTF.

At least he asked.

I'll take the cat food. I tried some in Vietnam and as a food cat is foul. I did love that the Vietnamese word for cat is Mèo, though.

i watched the video, linked in a comment above, then i bought one. a little big, but damn, that thing cut through the bridle like butter.

Only when I'm having brain surgery.

Unfortunately I don't have the link, but somewhere I recently saw a video where some jumpers (speaking Spanish?) were testing hook knives on tandem bridles, tensioned somewhat with one person at each side pulling the bridle. While the cheapest plastic knife had issues, any of the decent knives (Jack, Benchmade I think) cut the tandem bridles with no problem, with one easy slice. Impressive.

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Before cat food stew, there is cat stew. If you eat the cat food, the cat will be unhappy.

I saw something on twitter that made me laugh. Can't seem to find it again, but it basically said Joe should've started every answer to a moderator question with "Well, Chris, that's the $750 question, isn't it?"

No. The first 10-20 pound stretch is for marking. I didn't mention: cutting must be done with a hot knife, not shears or scissors, so sheath and core are both tensioned the same to share the load.

I thought the debate was pretty much a tossup, between Xi and Putin.

One of the good things about living over here is that it probably *is* covered on the regular public health care that all residents are entitled to. Damn... I can see why some people are so anti-socialism... I mean, I am not the first to say it, but who in their right mind would want: - well-maintained roads - access to good education for everyone - access to excellent health care for everyone Yeah... So awful.

Great minds think alike. I have one on every jumpsuit. Front of my right thigh (I'm right-handed). If you don't have a hook knife when you need one, you may never need one again.

Do you know this drop zone, camera flyer, or the skill standards at the DZ in question? Really good skydivers make really bad mistakes, you know.

Thanks Joe. While I fully agree with you, I disagree with your post being relevant and constructive towards the topic. To put it in an analogy, it's as if someone asks "What's the procedure for handling side-by-side malfunction, land it or cutaway?" and you answer "Check your gear, don't have a side-by-side". Sure, prevention is the best, but lets also talk about situations where prevention fails. Even "bulletproof" skilled folks can fail at some point for whatever reason, there's no such thing as perfect. Lets share knowledge, experience and opinions and learn.

He should wish he worked at a DZ that had skills standards for outside video and then kiss his sorry ass goodbye.

if the drogue is inflated with someone tangled up in it, the cameraman is not tracking anywhere. but yes the TI duty is the safety of the student so they will chop it and it will be all your problem.

From SIGMA manual the TI procedure is clear I guess, so the cameraman should wait for the cutaway and then track?

This made me laugh but it's bitter-sweet because it hits home... I haven't jumped for years. The last time I went to a dropzone I was struck by how young everyone looked, how the gear had changed, how unbelievably talented even the "newbies" were because of tunnel time. I wonder if I will ever fully lose that conflicted feeling of wanting to go back and thinking it's "too late"... No museum would want my gear (yet)... But I also can't bring myself to sell it.

Or give it away to someone that will use it.

Yup, sell your gear to someone who will use it. If you still can.

I did the same, kept my chute for the day I would go back skydiving. Finally did give into the bug, 25 years later. Funnily enough the DZO won't let me jump my old kit though, even if it did work last time I jumped it.

Hi there — do you still have your three-hole punch? Been there. Came back, but I hadn’t found anything I liked as much. And sailing is easier to do with your family at this age. Buy a bigger boat and sail the world this Covid year. Wendy P.