lauras

Great minds & all that, Miss Rosa! Forgot to add a great website for booking tables in the US: www.opentable.com. And Piis, that's a very pleasant version of a "chain!" Not something I'd turn my nose up at!

I HAAAAATE chain restaurants. That said, that's practically all there is in Tampa, so sometimes I don't have a choice. *cry cry* My Absolute Numero Uno Bust The Bank Restaurant is French Laundry in Yountville, California. Went there for dinner on a Friday night, begged to get a table for lunch the next day. After lunch the next day, begged even more to get a table that night. Absolute Numero Two-O is Mamoun's in the East Village, NYC. Cheap as hell falafels that make me extremely happy.

hbty, hbty, hb deaaaaar scaaaaarleeeeeet, hbty! i'll buy ya a beer tomorrow too!

What, 14 hours at Bedford & they're STILL not willing to buy a little time for themselves! Tell those cheap bastards to suck it up! Sally shouldn't worry about this, but I'll be throwing a small party in her loft this weekend. And all the rum is missing already. Mysterious

Dude, during the summer, the answer is "kinda" . The planets need to be aligned, humidity below 70%, etc.

4 mals: first two with d-rings, second two with pillows. i put the d-ring back on. i happen to like getting all my fingers around some metal while i'm being spun around on my back (damn ellipticals & me!). i have had a student panic and grab at my d-ring in the door once and that made me bend his fingers backwards really fast. it's made me super hyper-aware of how students get in the door. i've thought of changing to the low-profile d-ring since then which i think would be a perfectly fine option for me, but i don't know how people with big hands would fare. jody recently packed one up and could barely squeeze in a thumb. not a great option when you're in the basement, i think. as a side note re: cutaway handles: even when i owned a javelin & currently my wings, i installed a relative workshop cutaway handle because with my munchkin hands + neumanns, i felt i had the most secure grip with it in comparison to anything else on the market. the aerodyne pillow handles, i felt, were "backwards" in that the front of the pillow was flat and the back was curved. just felt weird to me. they may have changed it though...this was on the '05 models. i can see in freeflying that things like hackeys & d-rings could easily become potential snag points, but not in fs - even with really fast 4-way verticals. not that i've gone all that fast...

oooooh, i'm telling oren you were talking smack about sport bikes!

well, yeah! you should have heard the collective "oooh" when rook & melissa nelson's 4-way team did a round head-down at nationals '04. with booties on!!

talk to me, baby!

Fancy schmancy: Le Bernardin or Daniel Romantic: One If By Land, Two If By Sea. Steak: Peter Luger or Sparks Sushi: Kuruma Zushi Italian: Felidia These are all my expense account recommendations, btw. It's so much yummier when the company is picking up the tab!

funky openings aside, your wing-loading of 1.04:1 is pretty exciting with 30 odd jumps. why the rush to downsize? i know you own it, but personally i would recommend that you stick it in the closet for a while, get your hands on something considerably bigger and jump jump jump.

http://www.skydiveratings.com/tandem.html Do a search in this forum for Bram & Elly Clement. Detailed, professional and famously even-tempered in that vierd Dutch kinda way. Added bonus of perhaps planning a trip to Zhills in the winter?!

Not that I can tell. I'm having it for breakfast.

excuse me, but shouldn't you be busy making potato salad for me??

there were 2 different groups that made 5 4-ways each day with billy andrews & bu klinge plus oren & scotty had 10+ ways going all day last weekend. you missed out! oren's organizing at skys the limit in pennsylvania this weekend, but mike wolfe, scotty and all the usual suspects will be there. there's something going on just about every weekend, but yes, it is a bit slower in the summer... i think we flew only 19 loads on saturday... this weekend should be pretty good: the weather forecast looks great, the team (steve johnson, rodney cruce, billy andrews & bu klinge) is training, chuck blue is out & about, martin & pip are organizing the freeflyers... business as usual!! you're totally right about the daily storms though. it's much more important to get an early start during the summer - get the jumps in before 2 or 3 and then crack open a stella & watch the rain blow through!

Damnit, Peter!!!!

You might want to be careful what you ask for...the last time we had a lingerie jump at Zhills, TK showed up in a lacey black thong and the image of Stan Busey rear floating in a red g string is still burned in my memory.

Koreans are REALLY into genealogy...every clan can trace back at least 500 years, no matter how lowly or high-ranking in status. It's practically a national obsession. From what I understand, after some ancestors decided to retire from the Mongol hordes, they made their way to Korea for some r&r. There may have been some mixing it up along the way with Russians as my Gran was born with auburn hair, very pale skin and light brown eyes....that's the family joke anyway. On my Dad's side, a direct ancestor from about the 1600s was something like a chief advisor to the king. He managed to annoy the king and his punishment was to drink a bowl of poison. Pretty SOP for the times, but he made it into some history texts because he asked for 2 more bowls before dropping dead. Every kid in my family knows this story...

well, generally speaking, when you pick up a snake by the tail & start swinging it around and making it mad, other people won't want it handed to them...

Big dogs = lots of training! Huskies are awesome dogs but they need a lot of consistent commands and attention. They're also wanderers and need tons of exercise. Once his knee is healed, get on your bike and run him up down & sideways. I know everyone make fun of the "Dog Whisperer" show, but the guy's got lots of great advice. I grew up with Dobermans and without becoming the pack leader (a big Cesar term - you'll know what I mean as soon as you watch the show), the boys would have been out of control. Since we laid down the rules early & consistently, they were fantastic companions. When my parents got older, they switched to little Pekingeses and all training went right out the door!! He's a beauty! Congratulations!

Dude, I'm starting to think you & Alienangel are one & the same...playing devil's advocate mmmaybe?

Hmm, I think I'll have to try one out! Thanks, guys.

Any feedback on the Synchro jumpsuit? No reviews in the Gear section and I've only seen a handful in Florida. I'm not too worried about repairs as I do all of that myself already, but I'd like to know about overall construction and how much abuse the suit can take in the tunnel. Thanks.

Skydive City's hosting Swoop du Jour I think on Saturday 7/1... the info's on the website www.skydivecity.com in the events section. Bring 4 tickets & $20 for a chance to win $1000 cash for the fastest dive! If you can, bring a team of 4... The dz's closed on Tuesday & Wednesday during the summer, but since the 4th falls on Tuesday this year, the Otter will be flying. Johnny Gates usually puts on a big fireworks display.

My father gave me and my brother a wonderful childhood. One of the best compliments I've ever received was "I can tell your Daddy loved you and raised you right."