skydiver30960

Members
  • Content

    2,587
  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never
  • Feedback

    0%

Community Reputation

0 Neutral

Gear

  • Main Canopy Size
    149
  • Reserve Canopy Size
    176
  • AAD
    Cypres

Jump Profile

  • License
    D
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    1500
  • Years in Sport
    12
  • First Choice Discipline
    Freeflying
  • Second Choice Discipline
    Freeflying

Ratings and Rigging

  • Tandem
    Instructor
  • Pro Rating
    Yes
  • Rigging Back
    Senior Rigger
  1. Fuck it, I just won't pick up the dog's turds anymore. The HOA can suck it, they can't make me BREAK THE LAW! Elvisio "why lock away all that great fertilizer in a plastic bubble anyhow? " Rodriguez
  2. YouTube Downloader works great for me. Download the video, keep it that way or convert to mp3. Of course you'll be sure the obey all licensing laws. Elvisio "Mixmaster wannabe" Rodriguez
  3. I'll throw out one other seemingly unrelated, but often culpable cause of rough idling and misfires: a bad battery. I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW, it makes no sense: it seems to me that if it starts and the alternator is pushing enough juice into the system, that it shouldn't matter. BUT: I do as much of my own work as I can on my '99 Wrangler and therefore spend a LOT of time on a Jeep-specific forum. There are MILES of threads about misfires, error codes, and rough idle that come back to a battery that needed replaced. It even happened to me once, so that may be a reason for me being a bit biased, but if the voltage going to the ECM (the computer) isn't stable and within the right range, all bets are off. SO, get the battery bench load tested to see how it's doing. If it's shot, replacing it may solve the problem. Elvisio "was flabbergasted, and pleasantly relieved when it happened to me" Rodriguez
  4. I voted "unreasonable;" not because of the idea of the dress code/uniform (of which I do approve) but because of the costs associated with it. For me the most galling part is the sad little 10% discount. C'mon, it's crappy enough when a company requires the employee to pay for their uniforms, but when it's also so painfully obviously profiting from that sale, it's just douchey. Don't want to provide the uniform free of charge? Fine. Want to let the employee choose from a couple different styles so they can find something they're comfortable in rather than force them into something that may not be cut to fit them? Fine. But at least let them buy the needed items at cost. Walmart doesn't need to let their employees have that discount across the board, just on the approved "uniform/dress code" items. Elvisio "One more reason to avoid Wallyworld" Rodriguez
  5. http://www.dropzone.com/safety/General_Safety/Risk_Homeostasis_and_Skydiving_663.html The article above piqued my curiosity when it was first published, and I did some more snooping around online and finally ended up writing a school paper discussing risk homeostasis in the field of firefighting and EMS response. It's incredible how well the principle is reflected in my life, in the ways activities (first tandem instruction, then skydiving as a whole) have just seemed to fade from my desire as other risk factors in my life have increased. Fascinating. Elvisio "Bridge Days were a hoot, though" Rodriguez
  6. I'm sure this is posted elsewhere, but went looking for the quote and this is the first place it popped up... http://thesheepdog.com/ "The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog that intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours. Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land." There will be sheepdogs that will abuse their power. The answer lies in punishing those sheepdogs, not denying the need for them. Elvisio "trying to be a sheepdog in my own little way" Rodriguez
  7. This thread is useless without video. Elvisio "eject! eject! oh wait..." Rodriguez
  8. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." --Arthur C. Clarke Elvisio "how did he make the building disappear?!" Rodriguez
  9. WRT "not as effective," I would disagree, as long as we are only talking about sedation and pain management. The Versed/Dilaudid mix has them unconscious and feeling no pain, BUT there's nothing in the new mix to replace the paralytic and potassium chloride. The old mix had two drugs that virtually GUARANTEE a very quick clinical death, the new mix has none; so in that regard I would argue "not as effective" as a powerful understatement. Lots and lots (dare I say, most) of the generic medications we see today are made overseas. BUT again, not to harp but to come back to my point of "why the hell don't they just use the right damn meds" for a hypothetical cocktail of Versed/dilaudid/paralytic/potassium chloride, none of these meds are currently on a shortage (as many meds are at the moment in fact). Just about any backwater "bandaid-stand" hospital in the country could go to their pharmacy and pull all of the medications off the shelf. It's not an issue of supply, so WTH? Elvisio "call me the candyman" Rodriguez
  10. I'm just surprised the states keep making the same mistake. The old mix used (IIRC) was a huge dose of barbiturate to render them unconscious/unfeeling, a dose of paralytic to stop their breathing, then a massive dose of potassium chloride to stop their heart. (yep, just checked wikipedia for what it's worth, and it lists sodium pentathol, pancuronium, and potassium chloride) Then, didn't it go that the manufacturers of the barbiturate decide they don't like being associated with executions and stop selling to the states for that use? So then the states have to come up with a new cocktail? So, my question is, why did they stop using the paralytic and KCl? Sure, the Versed/Dilaudid mix is going to render them WAY unconscious and protect them from pain of any kind, but it won't do the work of the other drugs. The cost for ALL the meds being discussed is minimal, probably a couple bucks each. I kid you not: if you put me in Socrates' shoes and let me CHOOSE how to be executed, it would be "shoot me up with a massive dose of Versed and Dilaudid" which is exactly what this guy got. He felt NO pain when he died. What everyone was watching was agonal respirations, caused by signals sent from his brain stem, which was probably BARELY ticking over, all his higher brain function was gone. This is exactly what the paralytic is for: yeah, to stop the respirations of the inmate/victim/patient so they die, but also so bystanders don't have to watch them guppy-breathe all that time. Then, the potassium chloride is used to cause immediate cardiac arrest, so the state can declare him dead quicker (IMO). This seems like something they should have gotten right the first time, not let happen again and again. I'm not worried that it was cruel to the inmate, because as I said he was completely unconscious and well-armored against pain. If it was cruel to anyone, it was cruel to those forced to watch. Elvisio "pragmatic" Rodriguez
  11. Interesting to read all the posts. After 15 years and 1500 jumps, I'm asking myself the same questions. Actually, it's been about three years since I'd be able to fairly consider myself current, but I still drag out to the DZ once in a while to try and rekindle the flame. My concern is that I need to shit or get off the pot. People here have mentioned the risks involved: every time I go out to jump now, I'm aware that I'm in the most dangerous category of jumpers: those who are experienced but not current. I need to decide to either get back into it and stay into it, or hang it up and walk away. Mr. Miyagi and Yoda were both on the same page about this one... Part of my difficulty in walking away is that I do still miss it, and enjoy going out to jump when I do. I also have a hard time giving up something that, for so long, WAS "who I was" as well as "what I did." OTOH, other posters here are right: I've found new friends and new hobbies that I really enjoy. And Phreezone is right: now that I'm married with a wife and a home, it's hard to toss and turn all night on a thin sleeping bag at the DZ when just minutes away I have cold beer, warm food, a soft bed, and a hot wife waiting for me! ...but not hanging out means those bonds of friendship aren't as strong, which is one of the bigger draws to go to the DZ in the first place. It's a decision I'm still considering every day... that said, every day not jumping is a step towards the decision being made, no? Elvisio "contemplating my navel" Rodriguez
  12. Captain Kangaroo was spotting. Elvisio "and Mr. Moose was at the controls" Rodriguez
  13. My take on the best answer for many of the issues that are completely overloading our federal gov't. Elvisio "down ladder!" Rodriguez
  14. I thought everything was black and white back then... Elvisio "that's what Calvin's dad said" Rodriguez
  15. HUH? This is the part that caught my eye. I can't THINK of how many shops here and there offer a percentage off full retail for ordering through them. ALSO, how many " XX% (usually 50%) off a canopy/rig/container" certificates are part of boogie raffles every year? Although, maybe I'm just getting old: it HAS been over a decade since my last rig purchase. Elvisio "100% tiedye SEEMED like a great idea at the time" Rodriguez