captain_stan

Or maybe we just don't have enought blind passion to be an atheist or evangelist.

It's time somebody spoke up for the agnostics. I'm not convinced that a rational mind can choose to believe or not when it cannot be proved or disproved. Yeah, I know the argument about the tooth fairy or Santa Clause--they can't be fully disproved yet rational adults still don't believe in them. OK, but organized religion has created gods and presented them to us in a very specific, usually human-image, omnipotent form. It's rational enough to discount such fantastic images and argue that they don't exist. Indeed, most atheism as I know it is a backlash against these established religions--OK, a worthy enough cause, but one with a bias. OTOH, an agnostic might allow for the possibility that god(s) could still exist that are not even close to any description that any religion has ever provided. Albert Einstein allowed that god could be the universe itself and Ben Franklin believed that god was an element of nature. A rational mind might indeed admit that these are at least possibilities. Fellow agnostics, please weigh-in!

No, but that question begs another one: do you not understand what constitutes a stall? Your student training should have included that subject. If not, time for a review with an instructor. Congrats on your new license!

Whenever this subject is mentioned, I laugh about the time many years ago when a "senior" jumper chewed my ass for flying to the low man, who couldn't get back in the formation. My antagonist didn't realize that although our six-way-scrables team could indeed continue without the lost man, we wouldn't be able to score any more points when reduced to a five-way! A good plan is golden, and there's a time and place for almost everything.

OK, I get it now. It sounds like a way of keeping the PC cocked by securing the bridle attachment point and holding it close to the grommet so it can't tug on the kill-line during bagging--an alternative to temporarily tying a knot in the bridle. I find these steps unnecessary if the kill-line is adequately long, but this varies by mfr and with wear. So if in doubt, pre-cocking is indeed a good idea when followed-up with any method of securing the PC to stay cocked during bagging. In case anyone is interested, here are photos of: (1) Cock and check--good slack here with little risk of pinching fabric. (2) Cock and check--short kill line that can easily pinch fabric and cause damage unless securely pre-cocked. Notice how kill line disappears into bridle. (3) Neatly dressing the tape and kill-line before bagging. With adequate kill-line length, I just bag my canopy and cock afterwards. But when packing for others, I always pre-cock.

But isn't it the kill-line that is staged to cause the damage after it has captured the fabric during final cocking? I'm trying to visualize how stowing the tape would help if it never changes its length inside the bag and is only under slight tension as the bag is stripped during deployment. Maybe I'm just not understanding the explanation. Can you elaborate? As for the OP, most of the damage I've seen is caused by a too-short kill line that pinches the fabric against the bag grommet during bagged-canopy cocking, setting the stage for damage during bag strip. I trim all my PCs to have 2-3" of slack in the bottom of the bag after cocking to avoid this.

Last time I needed my logbook was when a staffer asked for it during check-in at a boogie. It really shocked me that anyone would ask, but I guess they wanted me to prove I was current--I'm OK w/ that. I didn't have the book with me & had to ask the staffer to call the DZO to come out of the office and vouch for me. I now carry my logbook whenever I travel, but I don't collect signatures because I have all the ratings I want.

Or if you misunderstood the date, they could assassinate your entire character. Could the OP inject any more drama here? It's not like Rubio claimed he invented the internet.

My only opportunity was a tandem aero-towed up to 4K'. I liked it well enough that I'd be doing more if it were logistically possible. The two things that struck me most were (1) the belly-to-earth position in flight gave me a beautiful panoramic view and (2) right about when it looked like we were low enough to be turning onto final, the TI says to do one more 360 to bleed-off the extra altitude--yeah, they glide and turn r-e-a-l-l-y flat! I crewed as a winch operator on a HG boat-launch operation where my buddy was training me to fly that way, but he died a few short years ago at age 86 in a HG accident, so I had to give up on that idea. The accident was at LMFP--maybe you heard about it.

Damn! How can a guy stay current w/ a handgun on < 20 rnds. / week? I'd be setting-up a non-shooting buddy so I could use his "ration" too. I'd suggest casting your own bullets, but I bet the bastards are limiting primer purchase too.

Ben had it figured-out well enough. Many Americans support only the candidates who will promise the lowest (or zero) tax rate, so they are effectively voting themselves money in that they can keep more of it. Of course the result is a dis-incentive to vote for fiscal responsibility as you describe.

your post #12 your post #28 A weasel might be someone who changes his statement in the middle of a debate. If you have to resort to name-calling...well, you know the rest.

You only point out the obvious, but it's a debate we need to take more seriously. Ben Franklin said, "When the people figure out how to vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." With a voting block of 47% who pay no federal income tax and a populace that depends more on government subsidies, I hear the fat lady clearing her throat.

These words are easily found in a dictionary, but OK, I'll explain it for you. Institutionalized stealing in this case is the government-mandated transfer of tax revenue into the hands of private individuals and companies. Banks, labor unions, industrial sectors, and the AARP are only some examples of the culprits. Of course most of us wouldn't have much problem with funding a basic government that could arguably benefit all Americans equally if it were well-managed. So not all taxation is stealing, but rather that which uses taxation to steal from one private person or business to reward another private person or business. If the person who stole your wallet used the money to buy a cell phone, that is a simple case of private theft. If my government collects taxes from me and uses the money to buy cell phones for deadbeats, that is institutionalized theft. The irony of the OWSies is that they advocate somehow taking resources from banks to make their own lives more affluent. I can't see how their form of thievery is any nobler than that of the banks, but it is certainly poorly planned with little hope of success.

Only the mathematical probability that the thieves were indeed part of the 99% who the protesters claim to encompass.

Sounds like you have an emotional need to mischaracterize the beliefs of others so you can dismiss them in a manner that precludes the need for rationale on your part. Actually I haven't found an ideological fraternity worth joining but merely recognize hypocrisy where it exists. BTW, it's not necessary to use quotation marks when quoting yourself, nor can that disguise your attempt to redefine my beliefs. If I thought that all taxes are stealing, I would have said that myself and wouldn't need you to speak on my behalf.

That sucks. Ideologically there is little difference between the two. The thief may have been a poor person who realized you were a fat cat who had more money than you "needed." Stealing from the rich may sound noble to some, but it is still stealing. And the institutionalization of stealing still can't justify it. I say you were a victim of "social justice," which has nothing to do with justice as I know it.

... Hell! PLF's are why I'm still alive! Standard PLF w/ a ram-air involves hands in to crotch (flare) or chest (1/2-brakes) to avoid...wait for it...hand/wrist injuries.

Anxiety is an emotion that we sometimes inexplicably feel, whereas worrying is a mental process we can more easily control. How could anyone not like a person who has the courage to admit self-vulnerability? Stick with the sport; it will be good for you in ways you never imagined.

But she said it wasn't a tandem.

Some would say she's disqualified as a whuffo then. Maybe she ment "free" as used in "freefall," meaning she was free from attachment to another skydiver. But only a whuffo would talk like that.

My years of experience in the machine tool trade cause me to agree with you. Maybe the mfr. will have some advice. I haven't yet found a fouled cutter assy, but an alternative method would be using a "pipe cleaner." This is the disposable, fuzzy, bendable wire tool used for cleaning out smoking pipes and available at drug stores. I keep these on hand for cleaning out small holes in precision instruments, sewing machines, firearms, etc.

What else would you expect from a guy who incites his audience to hate the TEA Party by accusing the TEA Party of--you guessed it---inciting hatred?!

A liberal racist remark.