RMK

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Posts posted by RMK

  1. Once the election is over (sworn in Hillary), this circus will at least provide the rest of the world a clear metric – percentage of dimwits.

    Yes, every country has their percentage of “village idiots”, but this election will provide a clean measurement of morons applicable for the US. I honestly hope the percentage is low.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  2. I haven't manually paid a monthly bill in over a decade (maybe 15+ years). I thought US banks would have direct debit and standing order functions by now.

    I see US banks are the slowest on the planet with chip & pin card security, but this is outrageous.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  3. Over the past 10+ years I’ve not been going to many big concerts, but now that my son is a little older (10yrs old) he’s keen to see some bands and we’ll start going to see some shows – though not in the general standing area.

    I was looking to buy tickets to see The Chilli Peppers in London (December), but find I’m not up on the best methods to get good seats.

    It seems the arena themselves (O2 Centre) only has shit seating locations and the good spots are only on other third-party commercial venodor sites such as TicketMaster, ViaGoGo, GetMein, etc.

    I’m OK to pay up for good seats, but feel the ticket system is designed to fuck the unwary. After finding the best seats possible (good, but not great), they were £170 each (£340 for 2), however after going to checkout there was a mix of fees including “booking fees” of £49 each, so my total then went to near £500 – upon which I cancelled the transaction, because I know there’s always booking fees, but £100 for 2 tix seemed silly.

    Any tips/pointers on buying concert tickets?
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  6. Because American movies & television shows are so pervasive, Europeans learning English will be affected by watching movies/TV and many will end up with more American intonation and pronunciation.

    Oddly, whereas Germans and French will sound more British, I find the Dutch end up sounding more American than any other nationality.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  8. Sailing offshore; don't have laptop or copy of file with me. Back on Tuesday.

    Whatever size I originally noted should have been correct to tenth of GB; though don't always rely on what download services note.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  9. The “schooling” that you are providing to the “city folk” is falling on deaf ears. I’ve travelled extensively though South Africa, Botswana and Namibia over the past 20 years. Please Note:

    • giraffe are not difficult to shoot

    • tourists with cameras can provide far more income

    • if an animal is a local nuisance; it can be killed by the locals without the need of 12yr old girl with pink bows

    • the African savannah can balance itself; it has done so for millions of years (it's not exactly a suburb of Dayton, Ohio with a problem deer jumping in front of school buses)

    • nothing should be viewed as positive, just because someone receives some money

    Also, whatever the view of trophy hunting, it should be referred to as a hobby or personal interest; not a sport – which it most certainly is not.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  11. I fully agree with your statements above.

    As for our CAA - also a joke. For any subsequent posts thinking I'm negative against our UK organisations; not at all. For example, I think the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is truly the best in the world and is and should be a model for others to follow.

    I hold concurrent EASA & FAA pilots licenses and a SACAA (South African) License Validation. Our CAA are absolutely rubbish compared to the FAA. Our locals will moan that the Europeans (EASA) are making things worse, but that's bullshit as the changes I see have all been positive.

    I don't give a damn what passport I or anyone else holds. The underlying psychological reason for pushback from Brits on any negative view on UK associations/entities is a borne from a national collective insecurity - Britannia used to rule the waves and the sun never set on the British Empire, but time has moved on and "shit ain't like that anymore", but we still like to fee we're still seated at the head table. We had good run.

    US. Enjoy you time now as the big dog; nothing lasts for ever.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  12. I've renewed my USPA every year since 2002, even though I don't live there and many years have not made any jumps in the US.

    It's a very reasonable cost and I find them professional and like the way they do things. My own BPA here at home - not so much (I somewhat begrudge the annual cost to them)
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  13. quade



    You know what would make this a conversation? Linking to whatever you're talking about so we can look at it for ourselves and respond.



    The post was detail free, but as usual you can just randomly insert either Obama or liberals and you'll usually be spot on.

    I propose to save thread space, Rush can just start rambling, without any description of what he is talking about and we'll get the idea. No need to spoon feed us.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  14. Dumbfounded by yesterdays police shooting of man lying on ground with hands up:

    http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/21/us/miami-officer-involved-shooting/index.html

    Yes, already in another thread. Then see todays "heavy handedness":

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/video-violent-arrest-texas-school-teacher_us_57914ce1e4b0bdddc4d3e66b

    It doesn't matter if police work is the only good paying job where you live; if you are not mentally/psychologically suited to it, another occupation is in order.

    I think good/professional police should be the most angry and vocal in regards to these halfwits. Events like this make them all look bad.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  16. What's the difference between a BMW and a porcupine? With a BMW, the pricks on the inside.

    Can't chuckle myself though - I drive a BMW.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  18. obelixtim



    Once upon a time getting an A licence meant you were competent enough to look after yourself, and were ready to learn new skills.



    Yes, I like the concept that a skydiving license is a "license to skydive". If not trusted to do a simple two-way with a friend, maybe the AFF training should be done better.

    Common sense alone should lend one (and CCI) to understand that a newly minted A License holder is not prepared for a 5-plane 100 way and to stay within your limits. However, we live in a country where it is illegal to have an electrical outlet in our bathrooms, yet for decades appliances were sold without plugs (you had to install them yourself). Odd system, whereby we weren't trusted with electricity, yet it was OK for everyone to do their own DIY wiring.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  19. cpoxon



    Have you ever asked them why they do that?



    Yes, I immediately asked them why. They said it was because an A License jumper couldn't act as jumpmaster on a lift. Which I regard as some pretty half-assed reasoning.

    I was a B License at the time; so didn't affect me, but I still regarded it as being dicks.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  21. Regarding Headcorn as an example (closest to South London & I noted as avoid). They oddly charge A Licesne jumpers an extra £2 per lift ticket - £25 vs £23 - their way of saying "welcome to skydiving new guy".

    http://www.headcorn.com/index.php/flight-ticket-price-list

    Then oddly have the visiting jumper club add-on costs as follows:

    •Temporary BPA is mandatory for foreigners, current price £19.80 for one month
    •There is a £5 day or weekend membership fee to pay to Skydive Headcorn Ltd
    •Full membership is £30 and any visitor fees paid will be deducted on joining
    •Membership is free to anyone with 1,000 jumps plus
    •Kit hire is available for for licenced skydivers at £10 per jump please note we do not hire knives or altimeters.
    •Repacks of Skydive Headcorn kit are £5 and made by any qualified packer.
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  22. The BPA requires additional training (additional to A License) to be able to jump with other skydivers with the following stipulations:

    1) Prior to obtaining FS1, an ‘A’ Licence parachutist may make 2-way jumps, when not carrying out coaching jumps, provided he/she has received a full safety brief and the other parachutist is at least a ‘C’ Licence FS1 parachutist or equivalent, approved by the CCI.

    2) Prior to obtaining FS1, during coaching jumps, no more than one non-FS1 parachutist per group (maximum of a 4-way), all other parachutists must be at least FS1 grade or equivalent, including an FS coach or equivalent.

    The training culminates with passing a successful "FS1" 4-way formation jump upon which you get a sticker for your license (we love little books and stickers in the UK)

    Looks like attached...
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

  24. If living in London (I have for 25yrs) I would suggest the following:

    Hinton Skydiving Centre www.skydive.co.uk
    Sibson (UK Parachuting) www.skydivesibson.co.uk
    Netheravon Skydiving www.netheravon.com

    I personally would give Headcorn a miss (even if closest). I don’t wish to besmirch their name here, but I don’t care for it as a DZ. As noted Netheravon is military (with civilian jumpers), so a different vibe.

    The biggest obstacle/surprise you will find in the UK, as a newly licensed jumper, is the need to have a “FS1” sticker. Believe it or not, you are prohibited from jumping with other licensed jumpers (excepting coaches) until you have this in place. I’ve always viewed it as an asinine requirement, but that’s how it works here.

    That said, many UK jumpers find their best jumping starting from the airfields of Heathrow or Gatwick (i.e. commercial flights to other locales).
    "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"