obelixtim

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Posts posted by obelixtim

  2. On 3/5/2024 at 10:02 AM, faulknerwn said:

    I have never heard a molar strap called a death strap before, but I also haven't seen one used in years.  And I find Racers the easiest reserve to pack and I have never used one of those straps.  

    I know CRW dogs have been referring to their downplane straps as death straps since the early-to-mid 90's at least. 

     

     

     

     Maybe you need to get out more....;-)

  3. On 7/5/2019 at 8:54 PM, IJskonijn said:

    Be careful if you venture there. Those things are nicknamed "Death Straps". There's differing opinions on whether that nickname is deserved or not, but such straps do add risk to a skydive in ways that are not readily apparent, so always keep thinking critically. My advice would be to seek out someone who is experienced in parabatics jumps with and without such straps, and jump/talk with them extensively. And because of their perceived risks, people are more likely to talk construction and dimensions when in-person rather than via the internet with someone far away.

    Point of order: 

     A Death strap is something used by riggers when packing reserve canopies for a racer type harness, where the strap is put around the reserve to make a "molar" shape to fit into the container nicely. If the rigger forgets to remove the strap, the result is certain death if the jumper deploys his reserve parachute. Racers are a bitch to pack without one. 

     What you use to attach to each other in a down plane should be called something else, not a death strap, although impacting in a down plane is definitely unhealthy enough to result in death. I personally think tying yourselves together to do a down plane is a dumb idea, but thats just me. It pays to remember Murphys law. 

     Call it something else, but riggers already have that terminology patented. 

     Hiding a riggers death strap after he's finished packing a reserve WILL get you punched.

     

    • Like 1

  4. · Edited by obelixtim

    On 2/27/2024 at 8:30 AM, billvon said:

    Trump recently said something oddly coherent.  He was at a Nevada rally of diehard Trump supporters and he told them about his cognitive test he took a while back.  He said it was actually very, very difficult, and that "there’s only about 2% of this room that can do it."  Almost sounds like he understands that his strongest supporters have serious cognitive deficits.

    I think his point was more to convince them that he was operating at genius level, way above normal humans. Which is what he wants his supporters to believe about themselves. They'll swallow that bs like cream on top a sugar doughnut. Of course most of them fall well below normal on the IQ range. 

  5. "The latest from the trump enterprise marketing arm is trump sneakers, for only $399 Also available is "Victory47" perfume and cologne for sale at $99 each"


    Essence of Diaper???

    • Like 1

  6. 47 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:
    (Personally, I'd love to see Biden debate Trump on stage, and when Trump says something particularly obnoxious (like maybe a minute or two into the debate), or when he refuses to shut up, Biden just pulls out a pistol and personally puts a bullet into Trump's head.

    But I'm not a very nice guy about this sort of thing).

    Apologies to Stephen Fry:

    Homicide. Killing another person.
    Suicide: Killing ones self.
    Fratricide: Killing ones sibling.
    Countryside: Killing Donald Trump.

  7. A paraphrased view of Trump from a writer in England: "He has no class, no charm, no humour, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour, no honesty, no morality, and no grace. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing. To lack humour is almost inhuman. If Doctor Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws, he would make a Trump!"

    • Like 1

  8. Trump thinks magnets can be killed by pouring water over them. Who knew? I always suspected those magnet fishing videos were fake. And obviously the navy were tying those limpet mines to enemy ships.

    As for the earths magnetic field,....

    Absolute Jenius.

  12. On 11/28/2023 at 12:17 PM, billvon said:

    Poor John Eastman, a co-conspirator of Trump's who STILL claims Trump won the election, is having trouble paying his legal bills!   He recently claimed that he has only been able to fundraise "about a third of what we've already incurred" and he is still spending, spending, spending.  The self-proclaimed "“legal architect" of Trump's attempt to subvert the election has even had to raid his wife's life savings.  But he is “trying very hard not to completely deplete my wife's retirement fund” so . . . kudos?  I guess?  For trying not to take it all?

    In what I am sure is completely unrelated news, a recent survey found that the majority of single men who are Trump supporters are concerned that they will not be able to find partners of the opposite sex due to ideological differences.

    Thats great. They really shouldn't breed.

  13. Not sure these scumbags should get off scot free with a plea deal. They were neck deep in it, and would have been looking forward to a successful outcome of Trumps scheme. Nothing could have happened without their involvement. We are seeing crocodile tears and false repentance. They all need to see the inside of a jail cell.

    • Like 3

  14. 23 hours ago, MrBrant said:

    I actually laughed out loud when seeing what that line was hung up on. 

    image.png.fc9e758b6833fcc22d50adef0ed65a24.png

    Then cringed at the cutaway without clearing it first....

     

    OK fair cop. Didn't notice it there, but I was looking for it somewhere else on his harness. He was obviously not even thinking about it. Full panic mode, when you have to be cool headed and clear thinking in those moments.  This guy, in fact both of them, could be called DGITs.

  15. On 10/19/2023 at 9:11 AM, mikeat10500 said:

    Although I consider myself an expert in E.P., I am also 20 years past my best before date, so I want someone current to do the talking. I have a bit of an issue with this video once posted on the CRW forum and no one mad any comment.

    The younger red hot chilly pepper dude did not even look at his reserve handle...ever!!! He attempted to hang on to his main while chopping it and could not pull the cutaway handle with one hand. Good thing! The RSL worked as designed. Both handles are the same color. To me it looks as if his original training was lacking and he never fixed that problem before he moved on to more advanced activities.

    These two should totally get some proper training in CRW, and EPs in a wrap situation. Didn't see any evidence of a hook knife to clear those hung up lines, and both of them dicked around far too long. Bottom guy chopping first, left his mate to be properly wrapped. lucky not to be. Having a rsl hooked up is a very bad idea when doing CRW. Seems to me these two really didn't have much idea of what they were doing.

  16. 14 hours ago, ChrisBD said:

    Not a stupid idea at all.

    This used to be a requirement. As was an actual water jump, into the water.

     

    The real question is did this requirement increase safety and make better jumpers. And why was this practice stopped?

    Many proponents of this are adamant that it made better safer jumpers.

    Debateable whether it made you better or safer, but it does give you a different perspective to put in your experience bucket, not only from the jump itself, but with the preparation and planning that goes into it, and the decision making process involved in actually pulling the handles. So from that perspective, having that in your experience bank is a good thing.  

    You may be asked to pass on advice in the future as well, all us old dogs are moving to the great DZ in the sky, so someone needs to pass ideas on to the next generation.  

    I've done several intentionals on display jumps, as well as a couple of cutaways for real, and no matter how much practice on the ground you do, nothing replicates the moment of the real thing. Used to be a requirement of our old D licence to do a cutaway if you hadn't experienced the real thing. Back in the day it wasn't common to get to D licence level without at least one mal. For me it was jump #6. 

    But its always important to remember, that anytime you put yourself in a different situation like this, your risk level is increased. That is why it is important to talk to the right people, get the right gear, and plan it properly. I wouldn't induce spins or anything unusual to make it more "real". It could turn to custard pretty damn quick. I jumped several torn up canopies to see how they behaved, but I can't say I learned anything special, because they were just one offs and behaved differently. I gave myself extra altitude for these jumps, so I was back at normal activation altitudes for normal deployments. 

    I wouldn't worry too much about it, better just to keep current, and practise your EPs regularly. When you really need them, they should be ingrained and automatic. The most important thing in a stress situation, is to make a decision, and carry it out immediately. You'll find when it turns to shit in the air, its pretty easy to carry out the EP drills. 

    He who hesitates is lost.....    

    • Like 1

  20. 5 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

    Hi folks,

    I do not know about the rest of you, but I am quite interested in just what he has said:  Former President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has appeared before a federal grand jury investigating Mr Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election

    Jared Kushner testifies in probe of Trump and the 6 Jan riots - reports - BBC News

    Jerry Baumchen

    I think he said he thought Trump genuinely believed the election was stolen. When he'd been told by all and sundry it was legit. So Jared probably lied to the grand jury. Perjury charge anyone?

  21. On 7/12/2023 at 3:46 AM, JoeWeber said:

    The number of jumps I could make in a day went way up when I realized I sucked at packing.

    Did my own packing, and terminal openings put a bit more stress on the body than sub terminal. I had nothing to eat or drink all day as well, 4 of them were night jumps, so didn't finish till midnight. Was not particularly physically fit either. 

  25. 15 hours ago, billvon said:

    This was his defense for his retention of classified documents per his FOX interview:

    "There was no document. That was a massive amount of papers and everything else, talking about Iran and other things. And it may have been held up or it may not, but that was not a document.  These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things; golf shirts, pants, shoes, all sorts of things.”

    So they were not documents; they were papers.  And they talked about Iran but also lots of other things so they weren't JUST classified papers.  And they were mixed in with a lot of pants so that kept them safe anyway.

    Were the pants declassified?