Nightingale

Did you know you've got 632 dots on every ceiling tile?

she looks bored.

Sparky - I'm sorry to hear you've decided to stop jumping (please don't refrain from commenting in the forums! you have so much knowledge and experience!). I was hoping to get a chance to jump with you again. My last jump with you was jump 28 with you and Jerry Borguin, and I remember being so excited that we'd gotten seven points on a three-way and I actually managed to stay in the formation. Thank you so much for taking the time to jump with and encourage a newbie. I am honored to have both your signature and Jerry's in my logbook. -Kris

My favorite Irish saying: "May those who love us, love us. And for those who don't love us, May God turn their hearts. And if he can not turn their hearts, May he turn their ankles, So we may know them by their limping."

No, I don't think there is enough time spent on PLFs. I think part of this is that students are working on PLFs on concrete or a piece of carpet tossed over concrete. It'd be cool if a DZ would pick up a couple of old gymnastic tumbling mats from the local gym (just duct tape the holes) and teach students on that. They'll be able to practice longer because when they make a mistake (and they will), they'll know it, but it won't hurt as much, so they won't hesitate to try it again, and they'll put more energy into it instead of just falling over because they're afraid to get hurt. I know my karate students learned breakfalls about ten times faster after we got mats, just because they're not as afraid of getting hurt on hard ground.

At 31 jumps, that rig sounds like an excellent way to kill yourself. As a comparison, I weigh about 15 pounds less than you do and have 69 more jumps (which isn't a lot). I bought my first rig at 20 jumps under the close supervision of instructors and friends who had my best interests in mind and did not profit from my decision. It was a silhouette 190 (a good beginner canopy) with a 178 reserve (which I promptly demoed to make sure I was comfortable with it), Javelin container, and a cypres. I bought a new canopy at 90 jumps. It's another 190. It's a spectre (also a good beginner canopy, because at 100 jumps, I'm still a beginner). My wingloading is conservative. I know that. I keep it that way because when I screw up (not if, but when...everybody screws up sooner or later), I want to have the best chance possible of walking away with a few bruises instead of being carried away in a body bag.

My next rig is going to be a vector. it's hard to find another rig with safety features that outweigh the skyhook.

My cat is a Lakers fan. I hate the Lakers in particular and basketball in general, but my ex boyfriend taught my cat to love watching Lakers games. The cat runs up to the TV and sits right under it, staring straight up at the screen and watching the basketball go back and forth on the court. He gets in a snit if I change the channel.

the $150 difference is because the vet will do blood tests to check for problems and to figure out the anesthesia levels. The low cost places usually don't do that and just make an educated guess. The majority of the time the animal is just fine. There's a rare chance that it'll react to anesthesia without the tests.

I thought it was a cool picture. Then again, I grew up watching the surgery channel during dinner, so not much grosses me out, medical-wise.

What actually happened, as described in news reports of the surgery, was that: Just as surgeon Dr. Joseph Bruner was closing the incision in Julie Armas' uterus, Samuel's thumbnail-sized hand flopped out. Bruner lifted it gently and tucked it back in. Dr. Bruner later elaborated on some of the exaggerated and false claims made about this picture: "It has become an urban legend," says Bruner, the Vanderbilt University surgeon who fixed the spina bifida lesion on Samuel. Many people he hears from wonder whether it's a fake. "One person said the photo had been reviewed by a team of medical experts and they had determined that it was a hoax," Bruner says with a laugh. More commonly, people want to know how the photo came to be. Some opponents of abortion have claimed that the baby reached through the womb and grabbed the doctor's hand. Not true, Bruner says. Samuel and his mother, Julie, were under anesthesia and could not move. "The baby did not reach out," Bruner says. "The baby was anesthetized. The baby was not aware of what was going on." -snopes

How do you know that the woman was a recent immigrant? I've seen cowboys from norco give the same attitude to police when they came to break up a bar fight.

Is there an address where we can send cards?

I never showered in the locker room at college... I had three hours of dance classes every morning, and then an hour break before my academic classes in the afternoon. I'd put on warm-ups or comfy clothes and walk back to my dorm, shower there and then go to lunch. Don't know about weight lifters, but most of the dancers seemed to schedule things this way.

Alcohol can be a good, pleasant, and sometimes healthy item when consumed in moderation at appropriate times. Like anything, it becomes dangerous when abused or used irresponsibly.

No book is ever going to be truly original if it's based in today's world. One of the reasons Dan Brown's books are so popular is that he writes about things that people have talked about and theorized about, taking facts and theories and basing fiction on them.

I like Kubler myself, but they're all good.

Liquors De France is usually a bit better than Fee Vert. All their absinthe is pretty good, and they guarantee delivery. www.absintheonline.com

Yes. I picked up two ten year old girls who thought hitchign a ride would be "fun". I brought them home, told their parents (who flipped out), and I'd bet those kids won't be doing that again.

If what your son is telling you is correct, the teacher really needs some lessons in classroom management. Those are both things that should've been handled in class by the teacher. Provided he's in public school, sending him out of the classroom for things that trivial are depriving him of his right to a free and appropriate public education. If that's how the teacher is handling such a minor disruption, he may not be learning much in her class, because it sounds like she doesn't know how to control her class. Head over to the principal's office and request he be switched to a different teacher. If you make a big enough deal about it the principal will usually make the switch (sometimes just to get you out of her office). Your kid will be better off with a teacher that has better management skills (and isn't picking on him, if that's the case), and you'll be better off because you won't be getting phone calls from the principal.

If they're not chocolate (which melts), send them to a soldier overseas.

Body Worlds was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. They not only have bodies, but they have various organs that had different diseases (ever wonder what cigarettes really do to your lungs? or alcohol to your liver? You can even see what arthritis looks like.) I was expecting to be grossed out. It wasn't gross in the least, and the way it was presented showed a lot of respect for the body donors. I can't wait until it comes back to California. If you can go, GO. You won't regret it.

My great grandmother used to sing that to me, Gary.

Congressman Gary Miller, 42nd District. I never bothered calling the senators, because the congressmen are the ones that usually deal with messes like this. There's a lot more congressmen than there are senators, so things usually get done faster if you go through the congressman.

It did get straightened out eventually, but it took months, and a congressional inquiry to do it. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't known that I could contact my congressman for assistance.