AlanS

+2 I only drank coffee for one year while I was in college and working the night shift. (I had to pay for my college and worked at a physics laboratory during the evening and nights to get the funds.) Coffee started off keeping me awake, but as the year went along I found I became more dependent on it. Once I realized I need coffee to function normally I knew it was time to stop. One day I decided to stop cold turkey and while I had a headache that entire week, it was my last cup of coffee. Loud music worked also well, but sometimes annoyed the graduate students who also up at 3 AM in the morning trying get stuff done.

I do agree some designers do copycat others, but in general they aren't as good as the one who originally created a design concept. One way to handle this on 99designs, is to create a blind contest. I've dealt with it by just giving that design a lower rating and sending a quick message to the designer that they should try a different concept to get a higher rating since someone else created it first. I'm not sure why you think this is an issue for only 99designs. This site is a summary of the top 10 crowd-sourcing sites. http://tomuse.com/logo-design-contest/

From those three I like the first one best. I like the idea of the site and will sign-up in case I can help. I've done this a few times for things I've written and really like using the site - 99designs.com - to crowdsource a logo. Have you looked at them? Something to consider is showing the logo in ALL the contexts it will be used. For example, a large logo on a web-site and a small logo used for the app of an Android/iPhone app are two very different beasts. You might also want to make sure you have version that look good on light and dark backgrounds. Hope your thing works out.

I might visit Elsinore sometime in 2015 too. Any idea on the cost of renting a car vs. taxi/Uber to and from Elsinore? Similar question for Perris and Eloy too.

Going to a Trombone Shorty concert at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco. See video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yRhacGLGEs

Skydivers and ladders are not a good combination. The fall is too short to deploy your parachute.

Based on the experience of my friend adopting two rescue dogs, I would recommend the following. Don't worry about getting a particular breed. Just go the a nearby shelter and ask if you can "foster" a dog for a while. By fostering, you will be helping a dog get ready for being adopted and at the same time learn if "this" dog, or "any" dog is right for you and your current situation. In the case of my friend, she originally fostered two dogs that were in the shelter for over a year. Each had problems. One was old and deaf, and the other was abused by it's previous owner. For the first two weeks - the abused dog - hid under the bed and wouldn't let you touch it. She changed her home so the dogs would have a nice sunny area to play in while she was away (at her 8 hour a day job with a 40 min commute) and got training for the dogs. Occasionally she would get a dog walker, or asked a neighbor with young kids to walk the dogs. I would watch them when I could. It took a while, but the abused dog eventually blossomed into a wonderful creature that would jump into your lap almost wagging its tail off, when greeting you and became much better around strangers. When the day came to take the dogs to an "adoption" event she couldn't do it. They were part of her family, so she adopted those dogs - which wasn't her original intent. The decision to adopt these particular dogs didn't happen at once, it happened gradually over about 6 months. This was a benefit of fostering, it allowed her to discover if keeping the dogs was right for her. If you area allows you to foster rescue dog(s), I think that is the best way to find out if it will work for you too.

Yes, "now". Need to proof-read my posts!! I was in Hawaii back in August, but couldn't jump then without the B-license. I'm looking forward to doing it next time. I did get a chance go scuba diving, but I'm an "air hog" and was the 2nd person up on both dives. Also had a headache for the rest of the evening even though the dives were only 40 feet down. Not sure what caused it. And thanks, I will check out North Shore Shark Adventures next time I'm out there.

Just updating my intro thread. I've not got my 'B license'. Happy about that.

Given that he landed 70 miles away from where he took off, I'm interested in hearing details about how the recovery team tracked him. In the video I see what appears to be a skydiver run toward him as the first person to greet him. Then in a later shot a helicopter is landing nearby. So, am I correct to assume that a helicopter was in the general areas where he was expected to deploy and as he got near the landing area someone jumped from the helicopter to be the first person on the ground to greet him back to earth? Could this person also help in figuring out the wind direction? Perhaps by setting the landing pattern for him? I'm interested in seeing more video from the jump or if anyone involved in the project is interested in giving a technical lecture on how this was done, I'd like to know when and where so I can attend. Very interesting stuff.

So any video from the actual jump? I'd like to know if he avoided the spin that Baumgartner had just as the effect of the Earth's atmosphere were beginning to kick in.

My favorite vacation ever was to the Galapagos Islands through REI Adventures. We got a room on a small 20 person boat and enjoyed an 8 days cruise visiting each island. http://www.rei.com/adventures/trips/galapagosdest.html The wildlife there is amazing. Sea lions will swim and play with you there. Birds will be nesting right on the path and will only briefly glance up at you as you walk by them only 2 feet away. Animal life there has no fear of people, and it is wonderful to see. Here is a link to a video I shot. My intention was to swim down and get a nice picture of my girlfriend from about 15 feet down ... then a sea lion shows up. This was taken with a GoPro and an water proof camera mount. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtldcUeQXEg This one below shows the baby sea lions coming right up to us. We were in a group of 10 with one guide. At about 1:17 in this video you can see the boat in the background. Each day we would be at a new spot and at night they would sail to a different island. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXsaCb7O1aw To get there you will need to fly to Ecuador. I would recommend going to Quito, Ecuador and having at least one day to explore. In Ecuador they use the US dollar. My favorite meal was walking into a random restaurant for locals where they sold empanadas for about one dollar each.

Hmm... maybe also a good idea not to bring the red canopy incase you have to walk across a field with a bull in it.

When jumping alone, as many forward front flips as possible before hitting terminal velocity.

New poll here: http://99designs.com/logo-design/vote-uby11d Thank you to everyone that looked at the poll and let me know which ones were your favorites. I'm now on day 4 of this logo design contest and it is time to select 6 of the 33 designers to make it to the final round. I've created a second poll with 8 designs from different designers and would appreciate it if anyone can take a look and vote. The best way to vote is select your favorite design and give that one 5 stars. Then just as important select the WORST design and give that one one star. For all the other design give those between 2 and 4 stars based on how they compare to others. If you like you can call add comments for any design to describe what you like or dislike about them. Here is a link to the poll. http://99designs.com/logo-design/vote-uby11d The feedback is appreciated.

And I still have no idea what a foil is. I vote #97, 'cause I do know what a cloud is, and I assume that's where you're sending this hypothetical 'foil' thing.

In this case a "foil" is a "slide" in a PowerPoint presentation. The reason it is not called "slide" is I couldn't find a short domain name for sale with the term "slide" in it. So, when this web-site is up in a few weeks it will be called www.sendfoils.com

Hello, I've stated a poll to design a logo for a product I'm working on. The link is: http://99designs.com/logo-design/vote-pk8sm2 The project will let a user use there cell phone as a remote control when presenting PowerPoint or Keynote foils. All you need to do is upload your foils to your DropBox account and have the software installed on the machine (not yours) connected to the projector. Then it will figure out that your cell phone is the remote control to go forwards and backward through the file in addition to displaying your private slide notes to yourself. The part of the logo design contest is focused on JUST the icon as a concept. After the concepts are selected, the next phase will be on making the entire logo look nice. So for this poll, do worry about the color scheme or text or polish. Just look at "the icon as a concept" to see if it conveys what the project will be doing. I would appreciate anyone that looks at the poll and gives feedback. I'll have a few more during the next few days. Alan

I was one of Carrol's students through AFF ground school. Carrol was a genuinely nice guy who cared about his students and kept up with them as they progressed through student status. When it came time to learn how to pack, not only was Carrol ready and willing to teach me and others everything we needed to know, he got down on his hands and knees and packed with us, multiple times and on different days until we "got it". I'll forever be thinking about Carrol as I'm using my pull-up cord. So to Carrol, I hope you can read this where ever you are. Thank you for teaching me at AFF ground school, thank you for teaching me how to pack, and thank you for jumping with me on my birthday. I would have liked to jump with you more, but your signature and skydiver stamp in my log book are cherished. Blue Skies, Alan

According to this link provided earlier in this thread. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micromort You get one micro-mort per 6 miles of driving a motorcycle. So it really depends on how far you travel. 54 miles on a motorcycle equals one skydive.

I've only got an A-license so will defer to the more experienced here. But do I see a line twist on opening? Could a line twist prevent the slider from coming down and as a result change how the chute opens (i.e. either quicker or slower)?

Well my attitude would be "It's not over until it's over" so I would be: a) Looking for my rig - or someone else's rig

Please let me know if there is ever another boogie jumping at the Blue Hole in Belize. After seeing a video (is that your video?) posted on the internet, this went to near the top of my bucket list.

I'm not aware of a local dealer for helmets where I jump. I'll ask the next time I'm there. Assuming there isn't one, what is the next best alternative?

I've just got my A-license and after online research have concluded I want to get a Cookie G3 helmet. I've not had a chance to borrow anyone's from around my DZ, so here is my question. Can I get this helmet just by ordering it online (chutingstar in this case) with the correct measurements, or should I really do some more research first. If so, what type. How did other here approach getting their first helmet?