Andy9o8

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Posts posted by Andy9o8

  2. Quote

    those kind of folks



    Yeah. You know, the world is much more than just allies and enemies, John. Which do you think is more productive: debating over which policies are good and which are bad, or posturing over which side are the biggest assholes?

    OK, let's see how this suggestion flies: Those that despair of the level of debate should set their own example to raise it.

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    Thank you for posting this, for it reinforces one of the most basic rules of keeping yourself alive on a skydive: "Once, twice; go to silver".



    I'll add that your emergency is also yet another a good advertisement for jumping an AAD, even on "lower-risk" jumps. You didn't get knocked out from an impact; you didn't get G-LOC from a flat spin; you didn't have a heart attack or a seizure; you didn't just "lose altitude awareness"; your hard pull wasn't gear-related; you're young and healthy - and yet a cascade of factors led to you taking it really low. Fortunately you found your floating reserve handle, but what if you hadn't? In the pre-AAD days (which I lived through; I also survived a [gear-related] total mal when I was 19 and in great shape) "going in with no handles pulled", without apparent cause or explanation, was a lot more common than it is today. AADs (and, to a lesser extent, audibles and higher pull altitudes) are the reason why.

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    I don't know which is sadder. That people write this kind of garbage or that people read it.



    You have to really, really want elective office to put yourself out there for so much personal abuse. I mean that across the board. That's why, out of disgust, I eventually came to realize I'd lost most of my interest the election side of politics: it's all about fucking the other guy. :| Right up the ass.

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    Here is why they tell you to turn the stuff off, it has very little to do with electronic interference.



    That may be true, but at least on United and USAirways, the FAs were adamant that devices had to be OFF and stowed, not just in "airplane" mode or "sleep" mode.



    Again... they may become projectiles in the case of an emergency.



    If that's their actual intent, then why don't they make people stow their hard-cover books during takeoff? I usually carry a hard-cover book with me when I fly, but I've never been asked to stow it at any stage of the flight.

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    Yes, that would be nice. But since the people who might be hurt via uncertified firefighters would be the people in that town, it would seem to make sense to let those people decide whether they want it or not.



    Yes, provided the effect thereof remained strictly local; but it often does not, as I addressed in my previous post.

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    your point is mute.



    If his point was mute none of us would know what it is.

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    Really?!?! This is what you have been reduced to? "My brother" I wish I had been able to use that on a research paper when getting my MBA. "Even though Milton Friedman would disagree, by brother says the government should run everything" That is priceless! RAOTFLMAO.



    Congratulations on missing (and twisting) his point so completely that you've made yourself look silly.

  12. Quote

    >That could be a conundrum, how will the State know they have qualified Volunteers?

    They won't. If locals prefer to have only qualified volunteers, they could require they take an (optional) certification test. They could even offer to pay for it. If not, that's fine too.



    Anyhow, legal or insurance considerations aside, it's certainly helpful to assure both minimum standards of competence (to avoid someone screwing up due to inadequate training), and some uniformity of practices and methods (so that everyone working an emergency is on the same page), each of which can be accomplished by a mandatory, uniform program of certification.

    Plus, local fire companies help out other nearby towns with their emergencies all the time, so if a small town doesn't require its volunteer firefighters to be certified, it does affect a wider region of the public than just within the town's borders; so it's really not a strictly local issue. So, it's not unreasonable for a state government to require mandatory certification for everyone.

    That being said, I don't think volunteers should foot the bill for their own certification. If a state wants apply budget considerations to this, it can use other methods; for example, limiting how many volunteers it will allow to be certified for free to, say, "X" number per year. Then people who want to get certified have 2 choices: either stay on a waiting list until your turn comes up to get certified for free, or pay a tuition (which goes to the taxpayers) to jump to the head of the line.

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    Too bad we did not have this level of vetting in the Democratic Party 4 or so years ago

    We would not have the president we have today if they had.....



    I think a perfectly neutral, objective political historian would disagree that this level of vetting did not occur in the Dem field during the 2008 primary season. Both Hillary and Obama were subject to such microscopic scrutiny that you could have accurately Google-mapped the insides of their rectums.

    Hey, what are you doing at the keyboard? Go vote!

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    Good post Airborne....I, too, hope other youngsters learn and HEED the lesson of the decision-making process that you point out.

    Glad you are OK.



    Sadly I know of 3 off the top of my head that are


    Those that are already jumping them are doing so in part because they're allowed to by the DZO and/or S&TA. I'm all for personal freedom to take one's own risk, but DZOs still have the ability - it's their DZ,after all - to force people to attenuate their risk enough to keep the carnage down to a dull roar.

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    >which would be advised-upon by lawyers, and might be insisted-upon by insurance
    >companies providing liability coverage for fire companies (and/or local govts if that's
    >who's in charge of them).

    Why do volunteer fire companies need liability insurance?



    Because we live in a sue-happy world?



    Interestingly enough, I had 2 different girlfriends named Sue.

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    That is widely regarded in the motorcycle world as a fraudulent/frivolous lawsuit.



    Of course it is regarded as such by the motorcycling world. It's logical that that particular sub-group would not have an objective point of view on the matter; it's just human nature.

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    Experience and history has shown us that just because a lawsuit is allowed to proceed, doesn't mean that it isn't a complete farce.



    Actually, from my experience, plus my understanding of legal history, I will say that most federal judges have pretty high standards when it comes to prima facie evidence, and a pretty low tolerance for bullshit. Terms like "frivolous" and "farce", while popular, are pretty extreme. Not every case which ultimately results in a defense verdict is frivolous or a farce. In front of a jury, this case might prevail, or it might lose; but if it really was "frivolous" or "a complete farce", it's a pretty safe bet that it would already be outta there.

  21. Quote

    >which would be advised-upon by lawyers, and might be insisted-upon by insurance
    >companies providing liability coverage for fire companies (and/or local govts if that's
    >who's in charge of them).

    Why do volunteer fire companies need liability insurance?



    If it's a private entity (say, a non-profit corp.), it would depend on whether they own much in the way of assets, e.g., fire trucks, building, etc. If they do, then they'd want to protect those assets from being lost in a judgment. If they only lease that stuff, and don't have much assets to protect, then yes, they could always adopt the "Uninsured Relative Workshop" philosophy.

    Then there's the question of potential liability for the individual firefighters, company supervisors, etc. If those people's respective homeowner's or renter's insurance would cover them for liability arising out of their firefighter activities, fine. But if not - and if they have substantial assets (like a house) that in some states might not be protected even if they're married, then engaging in this kind of activity without some kind of liability insurance could be a bit risky.

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    This is just the Conservative Version of the Democrats primaries a few years ago.



    I don't think that's anywhere near an accurate statement. While the front runner in the Democratic party may have changed leads a couple of times, it was nothing like this silliness of raising on a pedestal, chewing up and spitting out of candidates we're seeing the Republicans going through.

    From what I can see, this really is unprecedented in both parties.



    I suspect John McCain might reply by pointing-out the vicious smear campaign carried out against him in the 2000 South Carolina Primary campaign. It's a testament to his personal discipline that he ever spoke to George W. Bush again after that.

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    All to true, but the big distinction is that driving on the shoulder is illegal and lane sharing is not.



    But that skirts my point, which is simply: it's human nature for people to get pissed off at lane-splitting, resulting in road rage and other bad behavior; and therefore, there needs to be a diligent public education campaign to counteract this. Done right, the result will be enhanced safety for everyone.

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    In some ways RP reminds me of the protagonist Howard Beale in the movie "Network". I'm afraid that if he does become President, some day he'll fling open the doors to the Truman Balcony, lean over the edge, and scream "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more!!" At which point, convinced he's the Second Coming of the Savior, he'll go back inside, unlock a little briefcase, and start pushing buttons, in the name of saving the world.

    No, I don't want someone like that in the White House.



    I'm pretty sure that's a logical fallacy, just not sure how many.[:/]


    No, actually, it's spot-on.

    You see, I'm like Christopher Walken's character in "The Dead Zone": it's in the future, but I've already seen it happen.

    It's both a blessing and a curse; but yeah, I know who's going to win all the football games.

  25. Quote

    >That could be a conundrum, how will the State know they have qualified Volunteers?

    They won't. If locals prefer to have only qualified volunteers, they could require they take an (optional) certification test. They could even offer to pay for it. If not, that's fine too.



    I hate to tempt the usual suspects to start lawyer bashing, but requiring standardized, accredited certification is one method of attenuating potential liability, which would be advised-upon by lawyers, and might be insisted-upon by insurance companies providing liability coverage for fire companies (and/or local govts if that's who's in charge of them).