MakeItHappen

... No calendar system can adjust for the fact that an orbital year in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds. I am setting sail above your head. No animosity intended - just the premise of a different time keeping system. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Really? I always thought that 'the message', tenses, spelling and grammer should be different metrics in writing. If your message is great, but spelling, punctuation and tenses are atrocious, does that really mean the big picture is wrong? Just get some 'fix-its' applied to the solution and the overall product is better. Good editors are extremely hard to come by. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I am waiting for the Decimal Time Keeping System. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I am taking a fictional story writing course online. This is my second story. Let me know what you think. Decimal Time Keeping The metric system is supposedly superior to the English measurement system because the arithmetic is easier. For time keeping, we have a very strange calendar. It was originally 10 months. Then a couple of months were added and it became 12 months per year. The time keeping of today is inadequate because we still have to 'correct' the system every 4 years with a 'leap year.' We have to add in an extra day because the year, months and days do not really reflect the physics of the situation. For your consideration, what if the solar year - that exact amount of time that it took the planet Earth to orbit the sun - was divided into 10 equal time slices, that we would call 'months'. Then each of those time slices was divided into some multiple of 10. IOW, say it was 10 'days' per month or 100 'days' per month. Then each of the 'days' was divided into 10 or 100 'hours'. Each of the 'hours' was divided into 10 or 100 'minutes'. Then each 'minute' was divided into 10 or 100 'seconds'. After that we could go decimal easily, as we do today, with milliseconds, picoseconds and nanoseconds. It would be so much easier to keep track of time. Well, the arithmetic would be easier. The big drawback is that the time you 'wake up' or the time you 'go to work' would vary from day to day. (I wonder what new alarm clocks would do?) This is a result of the disparity between the Earth's rotation and the arbitrary division of the solar year, months, days and minutes into 10 or 100 intervals. That suggests a way to 'fix' the system. Instead of dividing the 'months' into 10 or 100 time slices, divide the solar year by the time interval of the Earth's rotation. That would give you the exact number of 'days' on Earth per 'year'. In the physics world, this is called 'normalization'. But wait a minute! The political correctness of this solution is compromised. Martians will claim discrimination. Why shouldn't the solar year be based on the Martian orbit and the Martian day? The Earthlings over-rule the Martian objection because life on Mars has not yet been proven. So civilization creates a time system based on the Earth's rotation. That seems like a great idea. Many billions and billions of years later it is noticed that the Earth's rotation is not constant. It has been slowly diminishing over the millenniums. Oh crap - what do we do now? There must be some sort of 'universal' time standard. Scientists across the planet Earth search for such a standard. They take years and years to search for such a standard. To date, no such system has been established. In the meantime, the everyday 'algebra-challenged' and 'fraction-challenged' people use the arcane system of 365 days per year, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes to an hour, 60 seconds to a minute and add a day every 4 years to compensate system. Then the math teacher asks 'Is time keeping base 24, base 60 or base 10?' It's a 'trick' question. Don't answer it, you can only get it wrong. Or you could try saying 'It is 10.5 right now.' Instead of '10:30'. That may get you a point. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Some other things you ought to know about this 'donation' - the fund was set up by Jeff Sands' family - not Caseras - the money comes from jumpers paying $2 extra per ticket - whether they know it or not - the company that administers the fund also gave (the new) Mile-High (management) an $800,000 loan in 2004 at 3.51% [source 990 forms from Community Foundation available on Guidestar.org] . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Whoa - WTF are you talking about? Maybe senility has hit me early, but I do not recall any discussion or motion about grandfathering in people (organizers) as Coaches. BTW, my name is Jan Meyer - two e's and no s. Gary only has one r. . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I beg to differ. Getting a multicast stream from a single camera isn't remotely close to "a lot." I could tell you how to do it over the phone. The problem isn't getting the feed to the people, it's getting the "people" feed to the BOD in real time. That *could* be accomplished by having a specific text forum that would allow up to XXX subscribers to input questions and responses in real-time, and the BOD would need to have a text wrangler to weed the crap from the relevant messages in the text forum. You have a DV camcorder, you probably have a laptop, I'm certain they have a network connection that is at least 512Kpbs. That's *all* you need to stream it live, aside from a fixed domain presence, which can be temporarily used free of charge from places such as no-ip.com or dyndns.com. Edited to add: Jan, I own a couple of Play systems and a Tricaster with switcher. I'd be happy to send one of them to you. All you'd need is your camera and network connection, it's a one-two setup. And the Tricaster can set up a chat room for up to 100 participants. Call me and let me know the specifics. I sure ain't gonna promise live if I don't know how to do it now or have the equipment. I can promise delayed broadcast and 'select the most common Qs from members' now. Under promise and over deliver - that's what they told me. My other client has a lot more requirements than a simple USPA mtg. The other thing that I hope I'm proved wrong on is that most members won't do a damn thing. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

We are living in the 21st century.... anyone ever heard of the INTERNET It would be very easy to use technology for a wired USPA meeting with each region holding a regional meeting locally tied into the national meeting. With video conferencing this would get more people involved, and have their voices actually heard....MEMBERS.. not DZO's who write off the trips as a business meeting. The cost of getting a working system at a BOD mtg would be 'a LOT'. I am currently building a streaming system for another client and - it ain't cheap or easy to do. It is doable, but it does cost a lot to do it. Short of that - maybe USPA members can create emails or YouTube vids to be read/shown at the mtg and have the BOD answer those questions. If CNN can go this way for Presidential debates, maybe USPA can too? The real problem is that most USPA members do NOT contact the BOD members directly. They may send emails to a HQ addy, but that rarely gets forwarded to the FB, unless its 100% praise on the job HQ is doing or the sender specifically requests that it gets forwarded to the BOD. Here's what I'll offer to do. I'll bring my video camera and record the GMM. And I'll DL selected youtube or other vids sent to me to run at the GMM to ask the FB or other plenary sections of the BOD mtg. The local vids can be played easily and cheaply. Live streaming is expensive. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Yeah it was posted when it appeared in the WSJ. Will exclusive tunnel training create "100 minute wonders"? The 'fear factor' in the general population about 'jumping out of a perfectly good airplane' will probably not change no matter how many hours of tunnel time you get as a kid. Add to that the sudden 'out of your element' factor in comparison to skydiving and all the extra burdens real skydives have, tunnels will probably not increase the numbers of skydivers. Extra marketing efforts at most tunnels will add to the skydiver rosters. The vast majority of skydiving fatalities/injuries are related to stuff other than FF skills. Tunnel time does not prepare someone for - gear checks - protecting handles - EPs - altitude awareness - CC - packing - etc. You take a kid with lots of tunnel time - where he is an expert flyer -and then put him into an environment where he could kill himself if he doesn't have altitude awareness or gear awareness or CC awareness. Add in some hot sweaty packing lessons, PLFs, EP training etc. That may not encourage kids to start jumping. It may encourage them to do more tunnel time. About the only thing that I could 'for sure' predict about tunnel rats becoming jumpers is that jumpers will be more of the 'Gas-n-Go' mind-set and that packing will eventually be removed from the A-license requirement. Time will tell. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I received the notice too. You can get court docs via PACER. The statement you received has the plaintiffs and defendants listed. It was filed in the Southren District of NY. From the http://ccfsettlement.com/ web site you can read the complaint and the use PACER to find the rest of the documents. One change, that has resulted from this case is that your foriegn transactions now have separate fees charged to exchange rates etc on your CC statement. Before, those extra charges were 'hidden' and inflated. That was the basis for the lawsuit. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Send me more pics of the B&W brindle and of mom dog. I want the runt of the litter. Then ask Keely if she really would bring a pup back to SoCal. They look small enough to fit under the seat. see first link in sig block for contact info. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I finally thought of something. The online DB of members helps out the membership when they forget their USPA card or don't have it yet. There are benefits for the DZO: - discount rates on Parachutist advertising - an email newsletter that comes out once in a while - ability to use AAD funds, on approval of the BOD - listing on USPA web site that promotes their DZ to the general public. (I only put that here because 'in theory' that's what it is supposed to do.) - use of the USPA GM logo(s) For the most part, a 'novice' jumper (that was the term to refer to jumpers cleared for self-supervision but did not have or qualified for an A license) did not have a problem finding qualified people to jump with. Most DZs and other jumpers made sure a novice was on appropriate skydives. This makes no sense. The people that conduct the course are USPA rated. They run the same course, no matter the GM status of the DZ. The 'level of trust' that you allude to applies to the course director, not the DZ. A DZ, GM or not, runs a certification course to get more rating holders. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I know of several. Definition of a 'student' jumper: In 1998, the definition of a student jumper was changed from 'until cleared for self-supervision' to 'until obtaining an A license'. This was motivated by DZOS at a DZO Conference in Phoenix proclaiming that their marketing of their 'more than 7 level' jump programs could not compete with other DZs that proclaimed the conventional 7 level program. I remember one DZO from Ohio proclaiming that their DZ 'could not compete' with a neighboring DZ that claimed 'be a jumper in 7 jumps' because they had a 20-level program and their program was BETTER (as they stated). USPA HAD to do something to level the playing field. The student definition was changed primarily to provide a marketing advantage over supposedly backward DZs. It was the squeaky DZOs that promoted and succeeded in getting this change made. Many DZs still sell the 'get certified in 7 jumps' idea. You see new jumpers proclaiming their success at 'passing AFF'. Have you ever heard a new jumper claim 'passing SL' or 'passing IAD'? The downside of this, aka the detriment to jumpers, is that the new jumpers now must do more jumps to clear student status, fewer people are available to jump with them beyond the 'cleared for self supervision' point. Costs to the new jumper are more. Part of this was reversed with the BSR change that allowed D-licensed jumpers to jump with the 'new-age' students under certain circumstances. SIM 2-1.E.6.b When the A license was bumped up to 25 jumps, then there are even more jumps that a new jumper must do at more cost. Certification Courses at USPA GM or pay an exorbitant fee: Certification courses must be held at USPA GM DZs, unless you pay some extravagant fee. This increases the cost to members. USPA members attend these courses, even when they are held at non-GM DZs. How does the extra fee help members? It does not. All it does is restrict the number of places that a certification course may be held or increase the cost of a course. That seems to be a good case of restraint of trade and anti-trust. Hosting US Nationals Long ago, US Nationals could be held just about anywhere by anyone. Today, the rules say you must be a GM. The GM program deliberately and willfully constrains the hosting of Nationals to GMs. It does not matter if 100% of the jumpers at a DZ are individual USPA members, the DZ cannot host Nationals unless the DZ is a GM. Group Member Program does not pay all its bills For many years, the GM program has operated in the red. The money to pay for the deficit comes from the rest of the individual members. -- Many years ago there used to be a TMMI (or some such acronym) program. This provided liability insurance for students that were not USPA members and was available to GMs. This program disappeared last century. There are remnants of this in the relationships DZs have with airport authorities. Many airport authorities believe, or are lead to believe, that there is some additional insurance provided when a DZ is a GM. This, at one time, was true, but it has not been true for at least 7 years. The only USPA liability insurance available is the policy that comes with your USPA membership. IOW, there is no liability insurance for student jumpers that are not USPA members. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

It is in Robert's Rules. RR is the in Gov. Man. by reference. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Just to clarify... Is that $120 /year for phone calls, PLUS travel and accomodations are covered for meetings? I think that's what you were saying (and what I've read elsewhere), but I just want to confirm. Yes that is right. Also I forgot to mention that RDs can get up to $500 reimbursement for travel in their region on 'official' USPA business. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Why are so many BOD positions filled by DZOs? Because the amount of work required for the unpaid (I assume there is some remuneration but not much) positions really only makes sense if you have your livelihood on the line. If you want a steady stream of non-DZOs to run then you have to pay them. Small town aldermen don't get paid; the result is land developers and realtors dominate small town politics. Major cities pay enough that it is a full time job. If the membership of USPA want a professional board that is not in conflict of interest, they need to be prepared to spend an additional $15.00/year or so to pay for salaries. The amount of 'work' that BOD members put in can be as little as handing out a few awards and attending two 3-day meetings each year, plus answering a few phone calls or emails. At the other end there are people that put in more hours, but it does not even come close to even a PT job by any stretch of the imagination. BOD members get $120 per year for phone calls, travel to/from meetings, accommodations at meetings and a $35 per diem at meetings paid. Breakfast usually costs $10 at these places we have the mtgs at. The thought that 'average-joe-jumpers' cannot afford to be on the USPA Board is not true. Yeah - you won't make money, but there is not a BIG time requirement either. The 80-20 rule applies to the BOD. Eighty percent of the work is done by 20% of the members. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Dude, I have no idea of what you are talking about. You make a bunch of posts but I have yet to understand WTF you are talking about. Who is Mr. Garrison? Maybe I'm from a different generation and "don't get it" ? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Whoa!!!??? that was a long time ago - back in Muskogee. My speaker evals came back as 'WTF was she talking about?' It was one of the last times I tried to explain physics to skydivers. Shed a vortex - yes that may be what it takes. There is a maelstrom a happening and something needs to be done. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Well, cool, that gets me over the 'thinly veiled' hump. I guess readership will have to attain a higher vocabulary to understand me. Such a price to pay. Yeah, yeah yeah, you know I made a borg post after the first mtg I went to. FYI: I have been able to disable the implant. I put my arm under a 'black-light', aka ultraviolet light, for several hours during the day. I also get a SoCal 'tan' from it. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Well, I'll move up to your region just to vote for you. very well. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

The Stepford Wives Do you remember the movie The Stepford Wives? I thought it was a way cool movie when I first saw it back in college. It has been re-made, but I haven't seen that version. The version I saw had Katherine Ross as the main 'wife' character and the woman that played Ginger in Gilligan's Island as her best friend. SPOILER BELOW - STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE PLOT In the story, the wives of Stepford, a town on the east coast, become robot-a-matons that are programmed to be 'idealized' wives. The mutated wives become a personification of a stereotypical concept of 'the perfect wife'. Their memory is replace by a computer program (probably early DOS 5.x version) that has limited vocabulary and limited conceptual capacity. Basically, the real wife's personality is reduced to a besotted version of her original self. Now, comes the really weird part. I don't live in Stepford, but I do think that this same thing is happening to me. Sometimes I can't remember the big twenty dollar college words that I used to know. I think that some sort of initial transplant device is in me. I scratch at my arm as John Nash. Sometimes I think that I have been Borg-ized - you know like Captain Picard. I am being fed insidious and incorrect information that I am 'programmed' to reply with. I sometimes actually feel 'compelled' to reply with this incorrect information. There is a stalker that continually proclaims that I must surcease these thoughts and ideas. He keeps saying that my invidious thoughts must be quashed. I don't know what to do. I have the right to say whatever I want, unless I abide by some rule or dictate. But there is no dictate that has been forth-coming that restricts me. I've asked repeatedly for such requirements, and none have come forth. The people that used to provide guidance are no longer speaking to me. I cannot contact 'Home'. Am I paranoid or what? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Joe Crane The NG is Ed Scott and his first day on the job as Executive Director is tomorrow, 12/3/07. and I hope they find this some day in the future. after the posts on the TX fatality I see this to be 'almost' true today. We don't have to wait another 40 years. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I am taking a fictional story writing course online. This is my first story. Let me know what you think. Fantastic Voyage There was a trip taken by a party that literally went down the drain. The party was reduced down to microscopic size, placed inside a vessel and then swallowed as a capsule into a host body. The fact that the vessel and its occupants were now considered parasites by the host body did not deter the captain of the vessel to navigate it. The vessel was steered into the esophagus. This caused a big problem in the host. The host choked and coughed. Hack, hack, hack all night long to try and remove a irritant deep is his throat. He tried antacids, cough suppressants and finally gagged himself to try to remove the irritant. None of this worked. The vessel eventually reached the stomach. The rocky road of palpitations and great undulations took its toll on the vessel's occupants. The occupants were plagued with motion sickness and just wanted the trip to end. It could not end. There was only one way out. That path took at least a day to travel. Once in the stomach, the vessel was subjected to an acrid environment. The exterior shell of the vessel was slowly eaten away. Leaks developed in the hydraulic systems. Cables were eaten away. Guidance and control systems were compromised. The occupants asked what they could do. The sacrosanct captain pejoratively told them that there was nothing they could do. The captain guided the vessel. Guidance and control systems were flaky at best, but the captain tweaked and jerry-rigged solutions to navigate the stomach. The captain inculcated that only he knew the correct path to save the vessel. The intense storm ameliorated into an environment of softer flagellations. The vessel moved along its path. The vessel had reached the small intestine. The walls of the vessel were compromised. The host extracted life support systems from the vessel. Needed nutrients, oxygen and fuel for the vessel's occupants were sapped by great osmotic pressures. Eventually, the vessel drifted into the large intestine. The undulations became softer and gentler. The vessel's occupants saw large chunks of brown matter that bumped and tossed the craft around. The watery channel gave way to a near solid mass of brown matter that worked as a slurry to move the vessel along. Then all of a sudden there was a great pressure put on the slurry of brown, part solid and part liquid matter. The stream ejected into a large retaining pond. The host set off a control to wash the matter away. There was one piece of matter that did not wash away. The host grabbed it up with a serving spoon from his kitchen and placed it into a plastic bag. The host rushed down to the hospital and asked about searching for the vessel's occupants. One of the occupants was his long time venal friend. One rescue pod was found intact. The pod was super-sized back to reality. The occupants were few. The captain survived. He told the rest of the world what had 'really' happened. There were talk show appearances and books written that lauded the venerated occupants and berated the host for eating a bean burrito during the experiment. The phrase 'Shit-canned' came from this incident. I think it needs a better ending.....???? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

oh, how I wish I could do that. see avatar. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I know the OP pretty well. I added an avatar to my profile. Now y'all know what I look like. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker