chuckbrown

Damn girl, stop making your guardian angel put in so much time at the office. She needs a vacation.

Not exactly skydiving, but it is pretty cool.

Perhaps it'd be more accurate to mention that DOJ accused a *member* of the Bush administration of lying. Kinda like blaming the whole family for one kid's getting in the cookie jar, ya know? Even if we have reason to suspect the rest of the kids are also up to no good. Much better.

If what Libby said was a lie, then he should be prosecuted.

Thanks, but I've already read the indictment. Unfortunately, it doesn't support your conclusion that the administration was accused of lying. I know you're smart enough to know that the indictment accused Libby, not the administration, of lying. But, then again, you've always been a "buck stops at the top" kind of person, so I can see why you made your misrepresentation about the administration being accused of lying.

And if Bush was actually lying? Then Wilson was telling the truth. How does that scenerio compute. There are many signs that this may have in fact been the case. Joe Wilson's accusations have been completely discredited by a bipartisan Senate Commission. He's been exposed as a idealogue and a liar. By all means, let's investigate whether Bush lied. It might put this to bed.

Victim?!? That's like saying a robber who gets run over by the cops, is the victim. Oh wait, that's happened. Valerie Plame was done in by her husband (unintentionally, of course). Had he presented the truth, her involvement wouldn't have come to light.

Your conclusions are at best speculative. It would be good if you regarded (and presented) them as such. EDIT: Annihilated stray prepositional phrase. I was assuming that someone as intelligent as you would have concluded that the above was speculation based on circumstantial evidence. I didn't think I needed to put a disclaimer on the obvious.

Where has the DOJ accused "the Bush administration" of lying?

Fine...forget criminal charges. What about the responsibility to the American public not to sabotage their intelligence organizations in order to further a personal political agenda? How is that a good thing? That is as bad a thing as the intelligence organizations attempting to sabotage the policies of our elected officials for their own political agenda. Look at it this way... The Bush administration was accused of lying by Joe Wilson. They rightly wanted to know who is Joe Wilson, how did he get involved in this, and why is he lying about the governments decision-making process. Wouldn't you want to know this if you were accused of lying, and you knew you didn't lie? Gee, his wife works at the CIA and used her influence to see that he be assigned to the trip to Nigeria to investigate claims of Iraqi attempts to procure uranium. Do you think she didn't know her husband's obvious bias against the administration (evidenced by his "misstatements.") Did she do anything to correct his "missstatements?" No, she was using her position at the CIA to undermine the policies of the elected government, and it blew up in her and her lying husband's face. She doesn't deserve a career at the CIA.

Huh? There are very specific elements that need to be satisfied for a crime to have been committed under the applicable statutes. The fact of the matter is that the disclosure of Plame's identity hasn't been shown to violate any criminal statutes.

The distinction between a felony and a misdemeanor gets sort of blurry when you're talking about a federal criminal conviction. A state-level misdemeanor is nothing compared to a federal misdemeanor, especially when you factor in the sentencing guidelines. If you have a prior federal criminal conviction, a misdemeanor can present problems.

I have an I-55. With a 220 reserve, a Triathlon 175/Lightning 176 is a real tight fit. With a 176 reserve it's not as bad, but it's still tight. YMMV.

One of the old Wally Gubbins movies has Richard Branson (yes, that Richard Branson) doing the same thing.

"Wrap It Up" by the Fabulous Thunderbirds. With proper credit to T. Lavonne who used it on a wrap section in his DVD.

Why not ask Mike Lewis? He has one that he uses on some of the CRW big ways... I'm pretty sure he has the Vista, too. It has a jumpmaster program on it, as well as a glide path/glide path to destination function. Bubbles, I'm sure you know that GPS doesn't work IN the caves.

It sucks. Big time. My dog has been battling cancer for the past 7 months and he's just hit a rough patch. I'm worried about having to go through losing a friend (again). What a bummer.

Untied a knotted (and misrouted) retractable bridle on a CRW jump that prevented another jumper's canopy from fully opening. Flew on top of the guy's canopy, put my feet under the bridle and then undid the knot with one foot. Saved a cutaway. Who says you can't do in-air rigging? Yes, there were witnesses.

Think of it this way... The front of the canopy you are trying to top dock (center cell, end cell, etc.) is travelling along a line (its flight path). Your objective is to fly your canopy (and your body) along another line (your flight path) to a point in space where the 2 flight paths intersect. This can take any number of inputs in varying combinations (front risers, rear risers, brakes, cross controls) depending on your location relative to the target. The key is to recognize the flight path of your target and be able to fly your canopy to the intersecting point. Assuming similar wing loading on similar canopies, here's a dive to introduce you to top docking. Have someone go out first and lay a base. Then you follow them out and try to time your turn onto their flight path so that your canopy slightly is in front, above and to the side of the target canopy (by no more than a couple of feet on each axis). Easier said than done. Then slide over with brakes or risers in front of the target. By finishing with brakes, you should "back in" to the target. A 2 way with each of you practicing top docking during run backs is a great drill dive. A wise old CRW Master once told me about teaching techniques. He said you can explain all day long, but the only way to actually learn is to go try it. The short explanation was "It's a Zen thing." Have fun. Edited fer gramer.

I think the original poster misquoted the SIM. I was showing what the error would result in if one put students out at those speeds (in knots). Thanks, though.

There, that's better.

I have nothing but tremendous respect for you and know you'd be great in that slot, but, for some reason, I feel like you're applying for a job with the National Park Service. Good luck.

I've had 2 experiences with haunted houses. One place I lived in Harrisburg, PA had a ghost on the third floor. It used to open all my cupboards and kitchen drawers when I was away. I'd leave for the weekends to visit a GF and come back to every single door/drawer opened. One time while I was home, it opened the back door, let my dog out and then shut the door behind it. I didn't see the door open and close, but I heard it slam shut and then saw the dog appear outside when he should have been inside. It was impossible for the dog to have opened the door (spring-loaded latch requiring LOTS of effort to open), and I've never known a dog to close a door behind it (much less slam the door shut). A guy who lived there before me told me the place was haunted, but I didn't believe him until I lived there. A place an ex-GF lived in Lititz, PA was haunted too. I always felt weird on the second floor, and I came to "believe" one day when I felt the classic "cold air passing right through me" on a warm summer evening. That was truly strange. It wasn't a breeze, but just a feeling of cold that was there one second and gone the next. In neither place did I ever see anything.

I'll second that. Even if he jumped at the Pecos Parachute School, he'd get more instruction than "put this on, this is what will happen." P.S. Learn how to spell, Kevin. Edited to add: In response to the question, weight probably wouldn't have had any effect on the opening at sub-terminal speed, but it would have had an effect on the landing. At 370 pounds he would have made quite a dent jumping a Manta 288 (pretty much the largest student-type canopy).

It was probably Terry Ross, my CRW Dog partner in crime. Congratulations on the jump & I hope to see you soon for the formal first jump course.