tkhayes

god forbid that we have some useful information when a gun crime is actually committed to find out where the gun came from or who owns it or even where to look for suspects. Oh that's right, all the 'legal gun owners' are there to protect us all from those crimes. That is why the gun murder rate is so low.... Bank robberies almost never happen....gun suicide is non-existent....and innocent people never get shot.

I'm not much good with a handgun, pretty darn good with a rifle and REALLY good with a shotgun. When the 'apocalypse' comes, I will be quite happy with my shotguns. You may have whatever you like, and I will likely kick anyone's ass.

My avatar.... C5-7 fusion with discectomy and hip bone used to fuse. plates front and rear. Done at least 2000 jumps since then. yes there are risks. Also depends on your injury, repair and what you specific case entails. Dr. Harry van Loveren at Tampa General Hospital and Chair at USF. Neurosurgeon, attending surgeon and skydiver. Maybe you can get ahold of him somehow for a second opinion.

the surgeon is comfortable about saying snow-boarding is OK because they are familiar with snowboarding. they are not familiar with skydiving, ergo, you get different opinions. I never tell someone to ask their doctor if it is 'OK' for them to skydive given that the doctor probably knows fuck-all about skydiving. I have the student (sometimes) have their doctor contact me, and I explain the physics of the skydive to the doctor in relation to: altitude in the plane, cramped spaces, exits, freefall speeds, what opening shock is like (and the whiplash effect potentially), the effects of the harness under canopy, and the landing - often with them watching YouTube videos at the same time along with me over the phone. They get a better idea of the actual physics of the jump and can relate that to their patient's condition in real terms that you can them relate back as risk (or not) during the jump. One consideration I always suggest to people with medical issues is that there is a 10-12 minute potential window once we leave the plane where if they have some medical emergency in the window that there is little if anything I can do for them. So if you have a medical condition that can kill you in 10-12 minutes of having no medical attention, then perhaps skydiving is not a smart thing to do.

But the reality is, what the nay-sayers want is ABSOLUTE 100% infallible proof that we are affecting climate otherwise the problem simply does not exist. We do not have 100% infallible proof that water pollution affects the environment we live in but in fact we accept that it DOES in fact affect the environment we live in. It takes a pretty narrow mind to think that changing the composition of gases in the atmosphere has no effect on climate, given that pretty much every facet of weather is dependent on temperature and that the composition of gases greatly affects the temperature. This ain't rocket science. But it is still denied as non-existent. "Yes we have pollution but that pollution is not affecting anything" got it.

Sure because it is only 'religion' when we make a claim that dumping hundreds of thousands of tonnes of pollution into the air each day might actually have an effect on air quality and the way our environment works....I mean CRAZY talk right? Just like dumping hundreds of thousands of tonnes of garbage and toxic waster into waterways have arguably NO EFFECT whatsoever on water quality, life or ecosystems or the way that the waterways work..... http://www.takepart.com/photos/10-most-polluted-rivers-world

there is some risk, but I have taken a few with rods in the middle of the back. The risk is greater if the rod is lower, (tailbone area) i.e. a hard landing on your butt can jar the rod and break vertebrae where the rod is attached. In the middle of the back, there is more risk of whiplash, due to opening (I think) than risk of injury on landing, however unless you have gear that has a habit of opening hard once in a while, I think the risk is pretty low for injury. go have fun, explain the risks to the customer and ask them if they think the risk of injury is worth it. Might help to ask their surgeon (if that is even possible) and explain the physics of the skydive to them. Often the doctor, or even a skydiver/surgeon/osteo someone you know might be able to shed a different perspective that you/I have not thought of.

NEWS ALERT! Obama (nor Congress) controls gas prices. If you want to live in a country where the government actually controls gas prices, you might try China, or Venezuela or Cuba,

what lax oversight exactly? wannabee inexperienced jumper brings a small camera on board. Perhaps people would prefer that each DZ and DZO personally interviews each and every skydiver before they board the plane to make sure of their intentions, gear, experience, abilities, and a thorough review of all decision making processes to be involved in the jump prior to allowing anyone to make a skydive. yep, that will save a lot of time and lives..... Sounds like the DZ did all that and that he failed to tell anyone he was planning to take a camera onboard or on the skydive. Also no explanation about why he passed out when there was really no reason for him to have that problem due to an early activation. I expect more to come on this, rather than try and speculate who is at fault here.

they do for the most part - we get a lot of hits on Facebook, a ton of likes and views each week - even more than the website

probably a good idea given the state of the church today and the ongoing pedophile controversies.

You need airplanes, parachutes, and a place to take off and land. I learned this a long time ago. Lose any of those three things and you cannot operate. The rest is common sense. If you open your first day with negative cash flow on the airplane business, you are already in trouble. Never apologize for making a dollar every time the airplane lifts off the ground.

we just started tweeting the weather and jumping or not on Twitter - no fdbk yet as to whether it is a good idea or not.

If fuel doesn't come down, then expect prices to rise to $26-$27 across the board for turbines to 13500. Most dropzone are at 24-25-26 already. And given that things like insurance, aircraft parts and general operational costs have NEVER gone down in price, better get used to it. Maybe we can outsource skydiving to China....

what needs to happen it that it needs to be made profitable. Which means a letter should be closer to a dollar. Cut the freeloaders, like any business and have some business people run the place instead of politicians. No one else can send a letter for a dollar, but they might - open it up to UPS and FEDEX if they want to compete (or not) The infrastructure is already in place, it just needs to be priced right to make it work. Most shipping charges are passed onto the consumer in purchases anyway, it will allow them to compete for the market. Rural areas will still get their service through the post office because they have no choice. And a dollar for a letter that takes 3 days to cross the country is a pretty good deal. More people will use electronic means like email instead of Christmas cards, their demand will drop, the business can scale back some and still be profitable.

That is about the most massive oversimplification of a situation that I has ever heard. Take that same 'scenario' and apply it to LA Cops following a blue pickup truck. apparently your delusions are indeed grandeur about the abilities of most people. Perhaps you should stop watching Die Hard movies.

olives for the martini......

that's not actually true. As far as energy output, a gas engine wastes a huge amount of energy in heat and other wastes. Electric motors use 95+% of their energy converting to torque and RPM. Electric generation is pretty efficient as well, much of the energy consumed goes directly to power output. Batteries simply do not hold enough power (yet). The cost of electric generation compared to the comparable output from fossil fuels is unmatched.

the fire extinguisher was only one of hundreds of examples. Clothespins, coat hangers, aspirin, an axe, a hammer, pipe wrench, spare windshield for my car, can of sewing machine oil. The point is that the odds of needing any of these things are absolutely miniscule. Therefore the 'fantastic logic' argument is flawed. None of them are 'useless'. None of them are really needed either. nice try though everyone.

No different that the logic that says the chances of me ever needing a gun in my lifetime are minuscule, so I better carry one around all the time. Just like I carry a fire extinguisher with me every where I go.

not a replacement for most conventional cars. But still a viable market for short runs, and certainly a model to look at when the oil runs out.

Skydive City Z-Hills is an hour from the beaches and 20 minutes from USF/Busch Gardens/Ybor City areas. All popular spots

who said the shooter was 'nutso'? That has yet to be determined.

prove those three statements. That's right - you cannot because you do not have the data.....

same rules (pretty much) apply to auto registration in NYC. If you don't pay you lose our driving privileges, granted you do not lose your car, but you are 'forced' to comply. So I am OK with being 'forced to comply' in both the case for guns and cars. Comply and get your gun back. Comply and get your car back. works for me. We do not have the data we need to diagnose the problem of how guns go from 'legal' to illegal. Every single gun out there was 'legal' at the time that it was manufactured (at least here int eh USA). At some point so many of them become 'illegal', yet we ban the very tools we need to track where they came from how they moved and we could very well fix the 'holes' if we only had the information.