muff528

Pogo and Li'l Abner. The Phantom, too. Prince Valiant and Steve Canyon on Sundays.

Hello, sir? I'm here to inform you that you are not a skydiver. Please turn in your ID card. Come and get it. Sir? I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car and submit to a field sobriety test. Please fill in the blank; Blue skies, ________ death. Blue skies, black crotchless underwear death.

Sadly, a Florida lottery winner ultimately found himself buried under a concrete slab about 2 years after he took a lump-sum payout of 17 million. He was constantly hounded for money by "friends" and strangers until, finally, he was allegedly scammed out of what was left and then murdered. His disappearance and murder was covered-up since April 2009 until his body was discovered last month.

my first alti was a barigo - solid as a rock, and a good machine, until it fell out of my backpack when the zip broke, never did find it (mind you I was on my motorbike when it happened!) I bought a replacement (Barigo) and it was shit - nearly all plastic, and lasted about 20 jumps. I had just cleaned and resprayed the original one as well, it looked like it was new again. My first and only alti is a Barigo. Never cleaned or serviced, never needed it. Always worked flawlessly.

And since they're both dogs, how come Goofy always walks upright, while Pluto is always on all-four's? Dang that global warming! Now it's spread to the outer reaches of the solar system, and it's making dogs look sun-burned! OK.......... Goofy is a mule. He's too stupid to know he can't walk upright. He's also responsible for the breakup of Mickey and Minnie. Edit to add: OK, I looked it up on the interweb and Goofy turns out to be an anthropomorphic dog. (Same thing as a mule.

Just my opinion---- MFG1 may determine the level of sponsorship he is willing to provide. Super-custom item may or may not have been unreasonable. The offer of a "substantial discount" was probably reasonable. But, we don't know the agreement made between MFG1 and the sponsored jumper. MFG2 did not need to provide any explanation for his need for the material. Many companies, even those in direct competition, sometimes will help each other out when a particular item is not readily available from suppliers for some reason. They may one day need that favor returned. Best to get along, especially in an industry where everyone knows everyone else. The employee informed the boss and that was the extent of his responsibility to his company. With regard to this issue, any further action or contact with MFG2 or the SJ, would have been the bosses job. Firing the employee may or may not have been a little harsh but within the rights of MFG1. We don't know if this was the only problem with the employee or if this was the "last straw". The sponsored jumper probably should have been more "up front" with MFG1 about his expectations or renegotiated his agreement. He probably should realize that skygods in search of sponsorships are a dime a dozen. MFG2, if he elects to "sponsor" the SJ, will do so knowing that this particular SJ may "step out" on him at some point in the future and can customize any agreement based on that knowledge. The only loser in this case is the employee who overstepped his boundaries, even if he thought he was doing the right thing. Yes, I'd buy from MFG2 if they offered a quality product at a good price. Edited to add--- Maybe the custom item was outside the scope of the sponsorship agreement and MFG2 simply agreed to provide the item to the SJ for the event. This may or may not have been known to MFG1 and may not have affected their agreement anyway.

Next-----A bad batch of Botox. ".......................... That the brown botox that is circulating around us isn't too good. It is suggested that you stay away from that. Of course it's your own face. So be my guest, but please be advised that there is a warning on that one, ok?"

I think I'd much rather swim in your lakes with harmless dead people than in our lakes with some kind of amoeba that swim up your nose and eat your brains from the inside out.

When you leave the plane, do NOT jump UP! You will already be high enough! Jump DOWN......that's the direction you will be going anyway.

I can't disagree with that. If you posted that same message, swapping the words "Democrats" and "Republicans", I couldn't disagree with that either.

I've always loved The Who, but half the original band is DEAD. Also loved The Grateful Dead, but I don't go see any of the "Dead Guys" retread bands either. I don't even know who "the kids" are listening to anymore - or care. HOWEVER, there are a few rare & notable exceptions, Neil Young and Paul McCartney come to mind. But the rest of them are an embarrassment. I went to see Neil Young at USF in Tampa around '91 or '92. He was touring with "Sonic Youth" and some other head-banging band. Everyone at the concert was either over 40 or under 16. Probably a good marketing move on his part. (I was surprised to find myself entertained by the younger groups.)

They seem to have their own detractors, just like our USPA. [/laugh] http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-hate-USPA/175408247882

Lessee......I turned 14 after Gemini 1 but before Gemini 2, both of which were unmanned tests.

Sadly, she was absolutely right this time. Some of these old farts just need to gracefully sit back and bask in their legendary past. I saw Foreigner several years ago in Tampa. It actually was a good show but the way Mick Jones was rocking out I was hoping they had an ambulance backstage (just in case).

Forced myself to get up and stand out in the central Florida cold to watch this one last time. Still spectacular from over 100 miles away!

I was happy to see a Reutimann finally get there. I remember watching them guys, Buzzy and Wayne, waaaaaaay back in the day on the local tracks. I don't know if you're old enough to remember Saturday nights at Phillips field....every once in a while somebody would go off into the river. Phillips was only a little before my time. I had an uncle who was involved with sprint racing around the Tampa area in the 40's and 50's. I have some old pics of him at the fairgrounds and some of the old tracks. I do remember the dirt track at East Bay (still there!) and Golden Gate Speedway. I remember my aunt sewing flags for Golden Gate when we visited her in Tampa. My dad grew up just south of Zephyrhills and he knew the Reutimanns from just being around that area. He mentioned that he knew Emil but I don't know if he meant Buzzie or his father. Here's a couple of cool old pics....

Especially this year. Bump-drafting is again allowed this year at Talladega and Daytona. Also, restrictor plates are opened up this year (but not eliminated). The cars should be aerodynamically able to handle the increased speeds better than before but they will be going faster. That'll allow more passing, too, and the "slingshot" will return. It's been more than 20 years since restrictor plates were first used at the super-speedways so it'll likely be "new" for most of the drivers. I'm not sure when (or if) Danica will graduate to Cup racing, but that'll be a whole new world for her, coming from IndyCar. She readily acknowledges that the ARCA, etc. races will be learning experiences for her and she intends to use them as such.

Yes, isn't it strange that nature selected pandas to eat bamboo exclusively. Our bears get to eat berries, seals, garbage, hikers and naturalists, nice fat salmon, and anything else that gets within swatting range.

Ramen noodles. I'm sure they can be made to taste even crappier to meet your specs. (I always suspected that Ramen noodles are Soylent Green)

On the other hand, some of the more "civilized" types of auto racing, IRL or CART, seems to have some of it's participants born into the sport, much like a "feudal system" of sorts. Most notably the Andretti's and the Unser's. These guys, and F1 drivers seem to be more acceptible to the "Winey-Cheesey" type of fanbase as opposed to the 75 million worldwide (claimed by NASCAR) "rednecks" who are fans of stock car racing. Maybe Patrick is smart enough to see an opportunity and seize it whether her motives are purely for her love of racing or are for personal advancement. I think she has taken quite a chance moving to NASCAR at this point in her career. Although she was doing OK before going to stock cars, she really hasn't asserted herself consistently at Indycar. NASCAR racing is an athletic sport; physically & mentally demanding even though the perception is that the drivers are a bunch of overweight, beer-bellied rednecks. Maybe that's how it started, but not now. Off the track they're expected to be as flamboyant and "out front" as any WWE wrestler while maintaining the professionalism that it takes to remain competitive.

Eh, she's just a marketing gimmick. Literally hundreds of far better racers (some of whom have won more races than she has ever entered) are left sitting on the sidelines because they don't have a marketable butt. This was probably the final step in the transformation from NASCAR to NASJOKE. NASCAR, itself, is a marketing gimmick and has been since long before Danica Patrick showed up. And you can bet that marketability is one of the reasons she is there. In the past, and maybe still, some of the "old timers" who worked their way up through the dirt tracks and local speedways had some resentment toward the guys who were given chances based on marketability. Now, for the most part, even "they" realize the value to the sport of people like Patrick. In the end she will, or will not, demonstrate her worth to her team and her sport in competition on the track. I don't think 500 miles at 200 mph in a 3000 lb stock car is a piece of cheesecake and to me there will be no shame in any effort she may make. Like they say..."the BS stops when the green flag drops". I'm betting she will do well.

Yep!....if they're not squeezing every advertising dollar they can out of her they are missing out. How much do you suppose that patch would cost The Farm?

She's a skilled driver and I'm all for her entrance into NASCAR. I consider myself a Danica fan. She showed a little bit of her icy temper at Indy a couple of years ago when she was taken out in the pits so she should fit right in to NASCAR.

Me too!! Otherwise I have to pay! Hey! I discovered that if you have a lot of other email addresses you can log out of that vote page and then use another email address and vote again!! We all have more than one email address don't we? Allll Riiiightt!!! ........Chicago-style!! I voted... waiting for confirm email.

The display at the Library seems to be quite a testament to his interest in skydiving and the importance that he placed on his jumps. He's obviously proud of them. If he started skydiving at a much younger age the course of history might have been much different. (not intended to be a political commentary in any way)