Luna

Yes, and TV was once free as well. And hey, wasn't the point of paying for cable TV that there wouldn't be commercials? Yeah, well... I subscribe to Sirius, and no matter what you might think, I'm certainly not gullible. I don't expect the lack of commercials to last forever, but it's really just a perk. I live in a crappy market, where there was just one really great station which got yanked and changed over to a country station about 9 months ago. I'd already been considering satellite radio anyway, that was the last straw. The music selection just can't be beat, especially in smaller markets. Sirius has now become cheaper than XM if you factor in what you have to pay XM to get everything you get included with Sirius (web broadcast, sports stations, etc.). And no matter what I think of Howard Stern, I'm a Sirius stockholder, so he made my week with that little announcement! My stock price just shot up, and if he brings even a few million of his listeners over in fifteen months...

You are right. I thought that this was the case as well, but he said that his reserve was deploying before he pulled his reserve handle, but he clearly was not aware enough about what was going on. His total was a hard pull. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who knows, but I'd think that more totals would be from hard pulls than from misrouted bridles. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

But, it does make a distinction between PC in tow and "total malfunction" and lists two different actions for them. In other words, it gives two options for the PC in tow, but for other "total malfunction" that would not be considered a PC in tow, it simply says to pull reserve. Whatever people are most comfortable with, that's fine, but my SIM tells me that if I have my PC still in my BOC, I should not pull cutaway. Logically, this makes sense to me. As Wendy pointed out, what if I have trouble locating my cutaway? What purpose am I serving in this case by pulling the cutaway? I'm simply wasting precious seconds by performing that function, and even more so if I have a problem finding it. PC in tow, as you know, is a WHOLE other story! I'm not trying to argue with "Big Al" or anyone else who wants to pull their cutaway first in a total...I obviously don't have the experience to! I'm just inclined to think that if it's in the SIM, there's a good reason, so I'll go with that. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

If you read that section of the SIM that you referenced, specifically 5-1.E.Total Malfunction.2.(a), it says that for a total, which is what we are talking about in this thread, you should pull reserve. It doesn't say that there are pros and cons, or two schools of thought, it says simply, "pull reserve." I just quoted this section of the SIM to my husband who had a total over the weekend and pulled both. He has an RSL, so effectively he didn't lose much time, but I made sure that he understood why he probably should not have cutaway first, and he has said that upon reflecting on it a lot, he would go straight to silver next time. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Probably the classic is Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Dr. Susan Jeffers. Depends on how in depth you want to go and what you want to learn, really. Any of the books about Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) will address fear in addition to many other emotions, and are a great resource. PM me if you ever want to talk about it. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

As Eener said, Alaska has a boogie every year. I don't think Nebraska was the problem either. I wish I'd saved the last few e-mails, because there were one or two where they basically went to a DZ near the border in another state and were given a "bad spot" so that they "had to" land in the state they were seeking, one was at a rest stop, I just can't remember which states those were! Some very interesting stories to be told! They travel a lot for work, and go to a lot of the POPs meets, so if you ever see them around, ask about some of their crazier stories. In his final e-mail about getting the 50th, Harry said that it was more about the journey, and making the memories, than the destination. In other words, it was cooler to do it than to have done it, you know? And no, I've not heard of any plans for the territories, although they are talking about going to some outside the U.S., but just to go, not like they pursued the states. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I just got news from friends of mine, Harry & Betty Moore, that they just jumped in their 50th state, Hawaii (great place to finish!). Perhaps you have seen them come through your DZ on their quest over the last seven years. They are a super nice couple, and I'm so happy for them. Harry & Betty know of only 4 other people to complete this journey, and they have jumped with all of them. You'll be reading about their accomplishment in Parachutist and Skydiving soon I'm sure. Congratulations to them both!

I picked up the book at Sam's Club today at a great price. I don't know when I'm going to have time to read it, as I'm taking 3 classes and working "part-time," which right now has been basically full-time. But, I don't know how anxious I am to read it right away anyway. Am I the only one who is a bit sad that it's about to be all over? I normally read books rather quickly, but I'm thinking I'll savor this one...make it last as long as I can. I don't want to say goodbye to them. I know that I'll always be able to go back and read the books again, and I probably will, but it's not going to be the same. Their time has come and now it's gone, and I just think it's sad! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Depends on how sophisticated the software is they are using. When I first got blocked, I just started using the IP address (69.28.204.25) instead of the URL, and that totally bypassed it. I just have a few quirks about logging in, like I have to do it from the home page or it won't take, but other than that, it works great. This won't work for everyone, but it's an easy place to start. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Story online here, a shortened version is on the AP wire today. Nice pic made it into the print paper, but not the online version. 93-year-old celebrates her birthday with a big leap Former President Bush's jump at age 80 inspired Polly Gifford to take the plunge. BY JUDITH HAYNES 247-4627 September 13 2004 NEWPORT NEWS -- Polly Gifford's 93rd birthday was Sunday. She lived to tell about it. In this case, the "it" was not the birthday, but the way she celebrated. She jumped out of a plane Saturday at 14,000 feet. Her first skydive. And probably her last. Gifford wrote a poem to Jim Crouch, who is director of safety and training for the U.S. Parachute Association and who took her on the tandem jump. Part of the poem describes what it feels like to be in the air: "Everything seems so silent and still "Unless you've done it, you can't imagine the thrill." They jumped with several other people Saturday at the Middle Peninsula Regional Airport in West Point. Former President George H.W. Bush's jump at age 80 in June inspired her. "I thought, well, if he could do it, I guess I could." Her friend Audrey Morrison of Poquoson arranged the jump with West Point Skydiving Adventures and gave it to Gifford as a birthday present. Gifford is tough to buy for. "Polly is one of these people that it's hard to know what to do for her," Morrison said. "I may go years now and have no clue what to do for her." Gifford, whose real first name is Nancy, is an elegant woman who lives in an elegant townhouse in Newport News. She lives independently and still drives. "They gave me my license till '06," she said with a grin. Every day, she works out on her treadmill and stationary bicycle. In addition, she said, "I have something I have to do every single day. If you don't feel like getting out of bed, you have to, if you have something to do." One of her life slogans is, "Worry about nothing, pray about everything." She was initially a little concerned that she might break a bone in the skydive, but when she learned how good Crouch was, she trusted him completely, she said. As they landed, he told her to pick up her feet, and he extended his legs out past hers, cradling her in his lap. "You shake when you come down," she said. "Not from fear, but just from the fun of it." She didn't tell any of her five sons about the jump ahead of time, in case it was canceled by weather. When she called to deliver the news, "They thought it was great. They said, 'Way to go!' At first they thought I was kidding them." The skydive was wonderful, she said, but now she has done that. Time to move on. Gifford said she's done many crazy, daring things in her life, and "I've never been afraid of anything." When she got to be about 85, she figured she was ready to die. She wants to go before she becomes incapacitated - although it would be nice to earn enough points in duplicate bridge competition to become a master. "I don't think I'll live long enough to be a master," she said. She needs 300 points and has only about half that. Sometimes a win earns only a quarter of a point. "I'm ready to go home any time," she said. "I'm just passing through." Copyright © 2004, Daily Press

Every weekend through the winter...probably not. But, on weekends where weather is not a factor, yes. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Well, the winter weather surely won't be what you are used to. DC snows a bit. Southern Virginia doesn't get quite as much, but yeah, it gets cold, cloudy, and sometimes windy. We do jump all year, but some people choose not to, and there will be weather days. Put on a few layers of clothes, gloves with glove liners and latex gloves, and a full face, and it's not that bad. Some people set their limit around 35 degrees on the ground, and we really don't reach that too many times during the winter. As for the DZ's, I haven't jumped anywhere but STP, but I've heard great things about all of them. From what I've heard, they each have their own vibe, so check them each out and see which feels best for you. At STP we have an Otter for at least a few more weeks, and we usually have a King Air over the winter. Don't know when you are heading to DC, but we throw an awesome Halloween boogie, our biggest boogie of the year. If you are in the area by then, head on out. In any case, if/when you decide to try out The Point, drop me a PM. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Let me clarify for him, as I have done numerous events for TNT in the past. The link that you posted is the official Team In Training web site. The link that he posted is legit for his fundraising efforts. Active.com is a very legit web site that is normally used for registering for races and listing all different types of sporting events that you can participate in. They also have a way for people who are doing fundraising events to create their own fundraising page, through the active.com server. That's what he has done. When fundraising, it's very convenient to have a web site that people can donate through, and TNT has not provided one to their participants in the past. I just received a newsletter saying that my chapter will be providing them starting with the brand new season, but his chapter for his season probably still wasn't, so he found active.com. Does that make everything clear? It's not a scam, it's a very legitimate cause, and a very legitimate web site. Chris, good luck to you! I was a fundraising Mentor for several seaons...if you need any advice, let me know!

hmmm that sounds alot like "We will be doing alot of drinking this weekend here in NC." If it's raining in NC, head on up to Skydive the Point for Carol Clay's Birthday Boogie! Unless there's a big change in Frances, we shouldn't have too much rain. See details on the thread I started in this forum about the boogie, or at www.skydivethepoint.com. It's really not too far a drive, and we have plenty of room to spend the night. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Did the out of town thing just come up? I mean, you are the one who suggested that you jump every other weekend for 10 weeks. Were you not looking ahead at your schedule when you agreed to that, or did it just come up? I've agreed to make some huge sacrifices to get things that I want, like not going to a good friend's wedding, and even though I really wanted to do both, I am the one who said that this is what I'm willing to give up, so I had to stick to it. If something came up to screw up the schedule after you agreed to it, I guess that's something else that has to be figured. My opinion is that you should keep your agreement, otherwise, what assurance does he have that you will ever stick to any agreements that you make with him, and therefore, why will he be willing to even make agreements like that in the future? I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Sorry to say, but I've heard the death toll is up to five. My husband works up by the airport and we live in Williamsburg. He took Rt. 60 home instead of 64 and it took him almost an hour and a half, but he made it. He works with someone who lives in Shockoe Bottom (for those not familiar, this area was the worst hit, with reports of up to ten feet of water in places). He lives on the second floor, so we think his apartment was okay, hopefully, but he was pretty much writing off his car at 9:30 last night when there was seven feet of water outside his apartment. We still haven't heard from him this morning to see how it turned out. I feel for you guys! We got a tree on our house during Isabel, and I'm just really glad I don't live in Richmond right about now! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Just a reminder that Skydive the Point is the place to be this Labor Day weekend to help Carol "The Queen" Clay celebrate her birthday in grand fashion. Club picture will be taken on Saturday between 3-4pm. Once again, we expect that the clubhouse will be torn down before our Halloween boogie, so this will be one of your last chances to come say goodbye to a landmark in Virginia skydiving. Hope to see you out there! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Okay, so is anyone here planning on attending? I know we have a lot of Skydive Virginia and Orange jumpers on here. Anyone? Just got confirmed on some 4-way organizing with one of our 4-way team members. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Me & my husband will be there this year for sure! Flights already booked!

September 3-6 Labor Day Carol Clay Birthday Bash- A long weekend of Casa jumps with organizing by Roger Ponce and others for all levels of Relative Work. Freefly organizers and fun loads such as raft dives and hybrid jumps will also be arranged for all who are looking for something different to do! Bring your rafts and hoola hoops for Casa tailgate fun! Food vendors on site. $15 registration buys you all the beer you can drink in 4 days! Also, for any club members, former club members, or anyone who has jumped at Skydive the Point over the many years, our clubhouse is scheduled to be torn down before the Halloween Boogie. This will be one of the few remaining opportunities to bid it a fond farewell. On Saturday, September 4th we will be doing one last club picture in front of it before it's gone. If you are not a current club member, come anyway! It's a piece of our very long history that is about to be torn down, so come see it before it's gone! If you need any more information, feel free to PM me or check out www.skydivethepoint.com I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

When are you going to come back and find out? I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Are you sure you're not looking at Bonnie? Because she never reached hurricane, and that is what is over Florida right now. But Charley is a Cat 2 hurricane and definitely looks like a hurricane. He's still down in the carribbean right now, but should reach the Keys later today. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Offer to buy him a nice dinner somewhere. Or just ask him what he wants. Great job on the cutaway! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Start working on the rest of your A license requirements. If your DZ uses the ISP, they would put you with a coach to start working on this. If they don't, you will have to take action on your own to get with someone who can sign off on the requirements and do the necessary jumps. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!