PhreeZone

Groupon is a "Group Coupon" type deal. The coupon is only for sale for a set amount of time (1-3 days usually) and it requires a certain number of people to take part in it for it to become valid. This is a option that the location has to set a minimum on the number of coupons that need to be sold for the deal to go "active", if the number is not met then the Groupon is never activated and the customers are not charged a dime. This is a way for something like a bistro to guarantee that they see at least 250 coupons being sold to make it worth it to bring in that many new customers. I've seen several deals locally not sell enough to go active (one specifically was a Botox deal that was like 65% off ) but Groupon is usually pretty good about working only with companies that their product is popular enough or the minimum is low enough it triggers the deal with in a few hours of being posted for the day. I've seen most Groupons either sell like wildfire the moment they are posted or they slowly sell until the minimum is met then they will spike over the next hour or two once people see the deal is on and active. The concept is that the place sells a $50 certificate for $25 and gets $12 from Groupon. The customer must spend at least usually $75 to use the $50 certificate. The bistro ends up getting the $12 and the $25 ($75 minus the $50) so they end up making $37 at least on it. They spent $38 in revenue to get the customer but if a certain percentage of the new customers become repeat customers then that expands the profit over future visits. Also if the person ends up spending more then the $75 then the margin goes way up and might even cross over into profit. We use the Groupons to go to a Sushi place locally. They had $50 certificates for $15 earlier this year but we have to spend at least $60 to use them. We tend to spend way over that since from our math its $35 off the bill at least. We get at least $60 worth of sushi for $25 but the total bill tends to be more around $90-100 since we splurge a bit more and order extra things since its at a discount. We pay with the $50 certificate and the rest is cash. The place ends up seeing us more often since we typically would not go out quite as often and sine we had never been to the place before the Groupon was posted so they ended up getting a repeat customer out of the deal. Places like Ski Resorts, tour operators, museums and other places with lots of excess capacity for little or no additional cost love it since it draws in people that would not otherwise come out. I know I've bought a few groupons just since its for someplace/something I've wanted to try or go to but did not want to pay full price. I've seen things like tickets to car shows, art exhibits, skiing, hair salons, food, flight lessons and segway tours on ours in the last 9 months. Lots of these have excess capacity currently and the new business is mostly pure profit. Other places view it the same as advertising cost since they may lose some per transaction for the redemption of the Groupon but they had their ad directly displayed in the in-box of thousands to tens of thousands of people in a specific geographic location that is in the middle of their target market. The other thing is a certain number are never redeemed so its a pure profit at that point. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

How I've seen most DZ's get around the 50% off rule is they show their "regular price" to be something like $250 or $275 and discount that the required 50% to $125 or whatever. They then run "sales" like a spring tandem sale at $199 and then a Mothers day special, a summer special, a 4th of July special, etc that lets them keep their normal prices really high but always end up selling things at a discounted price. For the DZ side of things my quick math shows it can really depend on a few items but at the $125 price the DZ might see $80-90 back from Groupon. Out of that there will be the slots and the instructor pay that had to come out as well as money for repair of the gear. Pay the instructors $30 and that leaves you $50 to pay the slots and the maintenance so its razor thin margins. If you pay the instructors more the margins are even smaller or negative. The big area that is the profit maker seems to be in the unredeemed Groupons. That is $80 per coupon with no cost at all. The odd thing with Groupon sales that I've seen is that can be an easier push for video since you basically can pitch the video plus their groupon price was about the same price as the undiscounted tandem so its a real bargain to a lot of people. On the flipside it can seem to drive large amounts of "Bargain hunters" that seemed to be more interested in penny pinching and not wanting to spend any mote time or money then absolutely needed to redeem their certificate. DZ's have to be able to accommodate the large influx of customers if they want to use it. I've heard from several different people that some DZ's had seen anything from 200 all the way up to 2500 certificates being bought for a given DZ. It is a beast to deal with and to keep track of and the margins are really thin on it. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

It seems that there are lots of attacks against their competition also in that email and the linked documents. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

The PD 421 is an older design that for the most part works but was replaced by most DZ's with more modern and better performing designs. The issue on the 421's is that they will not really fit into the Sigma's that well if at all. This would mean you are looking at needing an older Vector2 to put it into. Most new Sigma's are set up with a 360 reserve and either a 340 or 370 main canopy or even smaller at some DZ's. Before you look to buy a tandem rig I would get your tandem rating and do a few dozen tandems. There is a decent amount of people that get their rating and quickly decide that tandems are not for them. Also a lot of DZ's will not pay instructors for the usage of their personal rigs when the DZ has tandem rigs. Typical cost on each tandem jump is $8-10 in terms of money needing to be put back to replace or maintain the gear. If this is the case its a lot of wear and tear on equipment that you will not be paid for so unless you are looking at opening a DZ I'd see what the DZ policy is. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

I got a copy of a letter that it seems all the US tandem gear manufacturers signed that outlines their position on under 18 tandems. Looking over the list of who this was sent to is interesting since it was directed at the FAA also. RE: Letter from the Tandem Parachute Manufacturers Attached please find a letter of declaration signed by Parachute Laboratories Inc., United Parachute Technologies and Strong Enterprises in order to make it crystal clear that these manufacturers of Tandem Parachutes, have jointly stated that their Tandem Parachutes Systems are not to be used to carry student/passengers under the age of majority, or 18 years old, whichever is higher. In order to prevent these manufacturers from being litigated out of business they need to have the support of USPA as pertains to the minimum age for Tandem student/passenger. These manufacturers are requesting that USPA regulations be changed to reflect their needs in this matter, and to eliminate confusion on the part of the Tandem Instructor as to what rules he must adhere to in order to avoid suspension or revocation. Please put this matter on the agenda for the next B.O.D meeting. Regards, Ted Strong D-16, President I can't seem to attach the letter but all three manufacturers - Jumpshack, Strong and UPT are stating that "Failure to observe this minimum age requirement is deemed by the Tandem Equipment Manufacturers to constitute misuse of the tandem parachute assembly product" List of people that were sent this letter includes the entire USPA BOD, FAA, Parachutist Magazine, Blue Skies Magazine, PIA, All Strong tandem instructors and all owners of the Dual Hawk tandem system. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Yes, Bridle is on the pilot chute. Depending on if you want a collapsible or non collapsible Pilot chute will depend on how they build it. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

It depends on where you are and what the volume of students are at the DZ you are at. At some DZ's the full time instructors might get 400-500 jumps a year, at others I know instructors that are doing 1200-1500 a year. Average pay is $30-40 per jump with 3-15 jumps per day on the weekend and some during the week so do the math there. As a packer you could get $5-15 per pack job and do 10-50 pack jobs per day on weekends and some on weekdays. You can either be near or even under the poverty level or you might be making $40k a year. As an independent contractor you have no benefits and rely on the weather and the DZ to provide your work. If you are at a good DZ that markets and is growing then you might get more work, if you are at a DZ that does nothing to foster growth and even living in a beat up camper or tent on the DZ will make it hard to feed yourself. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

There are automated methods that are in use that if certain triggers are met will mark an ad as a scam with out us doing anything. This is because on most days and weekends most of the people on the site are not around a computer to delete ads and we do not want to leave harmful ads online to trick more people. In this case you are hurting your own efforts to get this fixed by deleting the ads. We need to look though the logs and the details behind the ad to see what is occurring but when you delete the ad all those records are erased and there is nothing we can do. Its great that you have all the things good going for the DZ but if it happens again in terms of the ad getting marked as a scam please just notify us via this forum since there are only about 4-5 people in the world that have access to the classifieds and only 2 of them that can look to resolve this. Deleting the ad only makes it worse and we are pretty responsive once issues are brought to our attention and we can do something on them. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Pay the bills around here and we can start to talk... Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Boehner has an advantage of having one of the largest Air Force bases in his back yard that serves most the generals and other upper command with direct access to DC via any size plane they want for the military access flights including the same Gulfstream and 757 that the previous speaker had access to. He is also in a district that has two major airports that have multiple daily direct flights to DC including a major hub for the second largest carrier in the US. Its only roughly a 14 hour drive to DC or about a 1:15 flight. I think I could make the flight from here to DC non stop in a 182 in about 3 hours. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

MediaMonkey does not require Itunes to be installed. It is a replacement and I never bothered to install iTunes at all fora long long time. Most the other programs do not require Itunes either. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Split Screen in Campaign is gone but now its added in Multiplayer. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Try MediaMonkey. I used it for a while and found it a lot better then ITunes was. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

I believe the latest is that the Caravan will be heading down in the next 2 weeks or so and then is when the DZ will really open. They are working on the facilities still and getting things prepped out for the winter. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

The Zombie level will let you unlock a trophy or two. I got to about level 7 and die on it. And yes, the MW2 maps are on the PSN store. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Two map packs were released for both platforms. The Insurgency pack is the one to buy if you only buy one. I blew through the Single player option on Black Ops last night. Overall it was blah. It was way more of a spray and pray shooter then the MW series was. Rapidly switch between the aim and trigger and start anywhere near the person and they go down in single player. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Most DZ's say their FJC is 8 hours but it rarely takes that long. Most times it around 4-5 hours and the student is ready to jump. It might take longer if the student is having issues around a concept but otherwise the material is faster but they want people to allow for the entire time anyways. You would not believe how many people try to do something like plan an tee time at like 5 since "you said it was only 3-4 hours and we started at 9" and thought they would have the entire rest of the day to do things. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

http://skydiveaggieland.com/Aggieland%20Closing%20-%20PSA.pdf Direct link. To Our Friends and Family in the Brazos Valley and beyond: It is with a heavy heart that we must announce that Skydive Aggieland, Inc. will be closing its doors on November 20, 2010 due to the unreasonable and uncompromising demands made by the City of Bryan. It is very disappointing that “the only civilian drop zone where a President has jumped,” and our almost 9 years of service to our community must end this way. We have been honored to be a part of the now ending history of skydiving at Coulter Field Airport that dates back at least as early as 1957. We have shared wonderful experiences and extraordinary memories with many of you, and we thank you for your loyalty and support. Coulter Field Airport, in the past, was a friendly supporter of general aviation; however, this attitude appears to have disappeared beneath a focus on revenue that we do not have the ability to provide. We will greatly miss the opportunity to continue providing skydiving instruction to you, our Brazos Valley friends and family, and to your sons and daughters who have been patiently counting the days until they turn 18 years old. Todd Spillers will continue skydiving and teaching at our sister USPA Group Member skydiving facilities. He is currently serving his fourth year as the Gulf Region Director on the United States Parachute Association’s Board of Directors and is also Chair of the Safety and Training Committee. Please feel free to contact him for information on other locations where you can still experience the exhilarating joy of skydiving. For more information about skydiving and USPA Group Member skydiving facilities, please visit www.uspa.org, or contact Todd Spillers at director@uspagulfregion.org. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Yep. I am going to miss it too by a few hours at this point Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

I'm going to be watching it from Orlando if it launches on time! Can't wait! Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Here is the FAA's take on Stent's: PROTOCOL FOR THE EVALUATION OF STENT IMPLANTATION A six-month recovery period shall elapse after the stent implantation to ensure recovery and stabilization. 1. Copies of hospital/medical records pertaining to the requirement for the stent to include make, implant location, length and diameter, admission/discharge summaries, coronary catheterization report, and operative. 2. A current cardiovascular evaluation, preferably by a cardiologist or specialist in internal medicine, shall be obtained. This evaluation must include an assessment of personal and family medical history, a clinical cardiac examination and general physical examination, an assessment and statement regarding the applicant's medications, functional capacity, modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, motivation for any necessary change and prognosis for incapacitation during the certification period. 3. A report of fasting blood sugar and a blood lipid profile to include: total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides. 4. A current maximal treadmill stress test. All stress testing should achieve 100 percent of predicted maximal heart rate unless medically contraindicated or prevented either by symptoms or concurrent medication, such as beta blockers, calcium channel blockers (spec. diltiazem and verapamil), or digitalis preparations. These medications should be discontinued for at least 48 hours prior to testing in order to attain maximal stress and only after consulting with the attending physician. An applicant will be expected to demonstrate a minimum functional capacity equivalent to completion of Stage III of the standard Bruce electrocardiographic exercise stress test protocol. Tabular report, interpretation and actual electrocardiographic tracings should be submitted. Tracings must include a rhythm strip. A full 12-lead ECG should be recorded at rest (supine and standing) and during hyperventilation while standing, one or more times during each stage of exercise, at the end of each stage, at peak exercise, and every minute during recovery for at least five minutes or until the tracings return to baseline level. It is the responsibility of each applicant to provide the medical information required to determine his/her eligibility for airman medical certification. A medical release form may help in obtaining the necessary information. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Next is another series that will pick up post Caprica and Pre-BSG that covers young Adama's life. I see it as being a big of a failure as Caprica was. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

Around here you are more likely to see either the kit lens or the Canon 10-22, very few people are still using the Sigma 15mm. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com

I'll give this advice having did the ring shopping not long ago. Think past the engagement ring and into the full wedding band. Set a max price and stick to it. Its really easy to get into the trap of "just a bit more" stone or "just one grade higher" but in the end the money you are putting into the ring is money you are taking away from things like the wedding, a house or even car payments. Look at the size of her hands, a 1+ caret stone might be too large on it, I know that when we looked at 1.2-1.5's on my wifes hands it looked too large and drew way too much attention to the ring. Also a ring like that really limits the options for a wedding band so it might need to be both the engagement and wedding band. If she wants a separate band also for the wedding ring think long and hard about what those options are. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com