rgoper

Go Here to John's site, and look at the power point presentation on seperation. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

as long as you stay focused on this one particular aspect, you will do fine. i, like you came storming ontro dropzone.com a few years ago thinking i knew everything and recieved pretty much the same response you are, ignore it, keep your mouth shut and your ears open at this point and time in the sport and you'll learn twice as fast. you'll find if you don't come across as a know it all, the same guys that are giving you trouble now, will help you, they're are some good skydivers here, and a couple of them who were advising you are USPA coaches, so listen, then speak from experience. that said, it is generally not well recieved for a "newbie" to come storming onto the boards. please do not be offended by anything i'm saying, i'm honestly trying to help you out. take care, be safe, have fun, and NEVER stop learning. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

Kevin: i have requested, and have been shown the maintenance records for jumpships before, there is no reason a jumper shouldn't be able to review them if they wish, and it's not rocket science, they're quite easy to read and follow. once i was at a dz, and i noticed we haven't beeen performing any pre-flights, so i mention to the dzo, "hey, i'm with the FAA ya know" he freaked and replied "you know if you are with the FAA, you'd have to tell me" i was just kidding, but wanted to see what kind of response i'd get, in any event, they did a preflight check before beginning operations that day. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

Check This Out this will kind of put things in perspective. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

Go Here If you think your being oppressed, or do not agree with drug testing. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

years ago. skydivers in general are degreed proffessionals, and are type a personalities, and lets face it, we think quite a bit of ourselves. it takes quite a bit of courage, and skill to sky dive, and fly safely, and still we fall short of a "no incident" year. being UTI will only inflate these numbers, and eventually be the beginning of the end of self regulation. i am subject to random UA, although since i'm at the top of the "food chain" i don't have to take mine if i don't want to, but when the lab guys show up, i'm first in line, my men know i don't have to do it, but it makes them feel better about the situation that i have nothing to hide. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

negative, i've been through training just for this type of observational skill. in my line of work, if i notice someone UTI, and something happens, the buck stops with me, regardless of whether i had anything to do with whatever incident took place, i'm HNIC, i'm responseable, and i take it seriously. 28 years of experience helps as well. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

no offense as far as i'm concerned Lisa. see above post. to bring some reality to this subject, if you are UTI, and you get on a load, and cause or are instrumental in the injury and/or death of another sky diver, or their equipment, it can/could, and most likely will be tried just as a DUI. the legalities and "red tape" aren't worth it, and i'm sure incarceration and humiliation aren't either. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

sure, no problem. 1) mj has a very strong and distinct smell, one that does not smoke anything can knock off this smell rather easily. even applying vast and copious amounts of cologne is a knock off. 2) amphetimines dialiate the pupils, and cause extreme heightned heart rates, and profuse sweating, not to mention slurred and hurried speach. i can ask someone three specific questions and figure out the rest for myself. 3) alchohol, well, this one is too easy, so i won't explain it. 4) cocaine has it's own side effects which include slurred speach, odd behaviour and erratic euphoria, all of which are easily observed visually. and i've seen a few individuals not even have the sense to wipe the residue off of their noses, and lips after coming out of the bathrooms. this topic has been beaten to death. those who are going to, are going to, those that don't, won't. let's clarify the dangers of utilizing "recreatrional substances" and sky diving, it's not safe, these drugs alter motor skills when you have to be at the "top" of your game, and all senses must been keen, and sharp. it's idiotic to combine the two, unless you don't care about your safety, or the safety of others. not to mention, these drugs are against the law. true, but not during sky diving operations. as sky divers, we claim to be proffessionals, "smarter than the average bear" and yet we have disscussions like this, i just don't get it. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

1) a "trained" observer can easily distinguish a person UTI and a person with an eye infection. 2) this one for me is simply not possible 3) i would refuse to be on the same skydive and load, but i wouldn't avoid the DZ because of their illegal substance abuse, unless they were in management, or jumpmasters, etc. Illegal substances are just that, illegal. "Just Say "NO" To Drugs" --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

NEVER. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

i would only "take them out" if there was a minimum of oh, let's say at least 50 innocent children on the bus. that way, i could kill their leader and prove i'm a radical, racists hateful bastad. after all, we are superior to them right? their just cheezy arab muslims, meaningless people, just breathing our oxygen. Edited to take out personal attack. I believe Richard is saying this tongue-in-cheek, before anyone bashes him for it. ` Skymama --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

which of his requirements on his "A" license card has he not met yet? i trained under the AFP Progression Program, i had met all of the criteria for my "A" before being cleared to "self jump master" this is a matter for the S&TA to be made aware of if it is a big concern to you, which it should be if your going for your USPA Coach rating. Requirements For "A" License: 1) Persons holding a USPA A license "may" (not have to) pack their own main parachute, engadge in basic group jumps, perform water jumps, and must have: a) completed 20 freefall jumps b) completed all requirements listed on the USPA A License Proficiency card. if someone let him "slip through the cracks" it happened during his student training, beings as he's already logged 135 jumps. Hook was dead on with his advice. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

i agree with this statement. sadly, some of our fellow jumpers choose to "judge" other's who don't drink, or smoke and just "assume" they're "rats and snitches" i always leave before the beer light comes on, i go to skydive, not to suck up, or start rumors or chat about "who's who" or anything else, i wish everyone else had the same outlook. the way i look at it, if your clean, there is no reason to fear any test, or anything else for that matter. i recieved a pm from a fellow jumper a little while ago, i won't get into specifics, but i was troubled by the remarks. to this person i say "see ya next weekend!" --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

i am an independent contractor as well. drug testing is legal, and can be implemented at any time even if it is not a requirement at the onset of hiring. pilots, TM1, AFF divemaster's etc...should have a "Zero Tolerance" i've seen some employees get by with 10-12 nanograms in they're system, while supervisor's were allowed "Zero Nanograms" the testing should be done with a 3rd party testing company so as to not have a conflict of interests. i think all personal on the DZ should be tested for any illegal substances, as should the skydiver's themselves being random tested. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

the selective service will probably send him a card or letter to fill out, whether it be war or peacetime. my 18 year old went behind my back and joined while i was at work, i'm going to save hime the enemy the trouble and kill him when i get home. J/K --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

no, that is the title of his post topic. you knew that! --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

neither was it my intention to insinuate it. if you read jimbo's post, you'll see what he said in reference to me. what i do know is that terrorism will become part of our lives, however sponsered. anyone who does not believe this is only kidding themselves. the iraqi minister vowed to the entire world on national television that the terror attacks would continue indefinitely, this was a serious threat, i, for one take the imbicile seriously. fighting a force who does not value living is just about insurmountable. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

i don't need a lecture on political science, thanks anyway. absolutely nothing in the presented evidence so far proves this obvious rumor. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

maybe so. QuoteAccording to this statement, any terrorist attack, anywhere, at any time, fulfills this prophecy. Be more specific when making claims such as this one please*** mumbasa, africa, just last december. today, the prophecy was fullfilled, in fact just last night. (not 30 minutes after my post) there are evidently a lot of events that take place all over the world folks just aren't aware of. i intentionally don't post these events because of this type of reaction. but since you insists, a plane was hijacked last evening, and soldiers were masacred by terrorists groups just today, if you want hard core details, watch the news. the iraqi minister gave his solomn vow to the entire world today to expect more of the same and often. if it were fear i was trying to incite, i could accomplish it rather easily, but it's caution i'm trying to instill. obviously there are those of us that wish to remain uninformed and ignore the situation. BYE! --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

Go Here For More On This Topic. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

what's your point? remember, i pleaded "guilty" to having voted for these fools. how did we go from "avoiding apearance of wrongdoing" to "what kind of politicians we hire?" i'm not trying to point out or emphasize anything except that the majority of politicians are thieves and liars and political history proves my point, so there's no need for me to speculate on the matter. the obvious intention of trying to indemnify the administration or it's associates has been deflated, get over it. now let's talk about which country makes the most money off of the "oil for food" program. surely no one thinks this is a humanatarian project? or shall we disscuss selling firearms to the contras? --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

not my words. i never even alluded to the fact that anybody was "avoiding appearence of wrondoings" but i know someone who did. i've written more contracts in the last year than most have seen in a lifetime. the allegations of cheney's association with halliburton are well known, documented and haven't just started, it's actually been going on for years, would you like to see some evidence? a reality check is in order. i know some don't want to know the truth, but it's there, and it's generally unsavory, yet it's still the truth. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

this information came from the URL in your original post, thus putting it in direct conflict with your post title. i understand your support of the current administration, but trying to defend the current powers that be for whatever the reason with such information is a "double edged sword" if you have information that can be sustantiated with hard cold facts, i'd be more than interested in seeing them. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

Hi Dave: as you know, and i know the day to day business aspects of our industry, there are some that "speculate" and try to exonorate the administration from any missapropriation as it were. this is a ludricrous effort at just such an attempt. the link that was posted does do some "double talikng" as it were. any attempt at seperating the administration from any money or contracts awarded post-sadaam iraq are merely speculative at this point and time, but it's not politically correct to imply that certain individuals will not profit from it in an obvious attempt to defend them for whatever reason. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"