bshl

I'll second that one. Moderators? Blue skies and happy landings!

This is a fear of mine (losing, not washing). What do you experienced folks do to protect against it? Shucks, in addition to my doing something stupid, there are always fires, sacrifices to the moving gods and all sorts of other dumb things that can go wrong. What to do? By the way, Don, chicks don't dig the jigsaw puzzle variety log books... Blue skies and happy landings!

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all;" PLUS "A fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual orientation of the wisher." (Disclaimer: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher who assumes no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit.) Blue skies and happy landings!

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all;" PLUS "A fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual orientation of the wisher." (Disclaimer: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher who assumes no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit.) Blue skies and happy landings!

*While* SCUBA diving? That must have been interesting... Blue skies and happy landings!

Staggering sunset. Thanks for sharing. Blue skies and happy landings!

Regarding #6, where's he plug it in? Or should I ass|u|me he's hauling a generator in the back of the truck? Blue skies and happy landings!

D'oh! Thanks, Doug. I'll remember it for next time. Blue skies and happy landings!

Yeah. There were only five boxes for the poll so I tried to pick the four I normally see/hear about with a wildcard for the fifth. Cheers! Blue skies and happy landings!

Just curious as to who likes what. If you go for the last one, what's your favorite and why? Blue skies and happy landings!

I do computer support for a living and have found that Dell's tech support has taken a real dive. They've given us a terrible time on multiple occasions. It took a month for them to replace a hard drive that their utility determined was bad! We've actually talked to a tech at Dell who said they've been told not to replace parts if they can avoid it. It's gotten so bad that our sales rep finally gave us a free contract for premier support so we can order our own parts from them and do our own warranty work, no questions asked. For my money, you're better off with a Gateway. We have about 1200 computers in my department and have seen an even failure rate of Gateways and Dells. Gateway systems are more up to date out of the box and we spend less time configuring them. It just seems like they take a little more time and care with their boxes and they don't sit on the shelf as long before shipping. Don't get me wrong - Dell builds a great system. It's what you get (or don't) after the system arrives that has really turned me off. Gateway's tech support tends to be a lot better than Dell's (think five minute hold and real support instead of a 20-40 minute hold and a hassle with Dell). Some of the Dell techs still try to give service but they're the exception rather than the norm. Gateway's just the other way around. Granted we all can have different experiences but with the number of computers we support, we deal with everybody. Avoid the Celeron systems - they're just too slow. The Pentium 4 is a powerful system but sucks up a lot of battery. The Centrino (was known as the Pentium Mobile) will detect when it's on battery and step down the speed of the processor to save battery life. People typically aren't using a lot of the computer's brain power; they're usually typing or reading or something so you don't really notice the difference in speed. It can crank the battery life up to about five hours, though. Niiiiiice... If you're going wireless (ie, you get a Centrino), make sure you get 802.11g - it's a lot faster. You're right in that the Centrino processor speeds are confusing. My understanding is that a Centrino 1.4 GHz processor is basically equivalent to a Pentium 4 2.4. A Centrino 1.5 is like a P4-2.6; a Centrino 1.6 is like a P4-2.8. The Gateway 450 series of laptops are fantastic (personal experience) and have received great reviews in magazines. One more thing: Get a three year warranty. That's non-negotiable. With desktop systems, parts are a dime a dozen. With laptops, everything's proprietary and costs a *bunch* more. The first time you need to use your warranty, it'll probably more than pay for itself. It's cheap insurance. Feel free to e-mail me if you want any more information. Cheers! Blue skies and happy landings!

Thanks for sharing, Kristi. I'm sorry it happened and that you were involved, even if peripherally. It's a sobering reminder to us all to be careful. Blue skies and happy landings!

Yeah! What he said! Where are the threesome options? Happy diving! Blue skies and happy landings!

I like the skirt! Blue skies and happy landings!

Excellent advice; I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for taking the time to post it! Blue skies and happy landings!

I've seen some folks at my DZ with them, most without. Never during my student progression was the knife addressed but, after my first solo jump (post AFF level 7) was a line over right in the middle, I got to thinking it would be nice to have one in case a reserve ended up the same way. IMHO it would be nice for instructors to give at least a quick blurb on what they're for and how to use them. Blue skies and happy landings!

Straight out of the SIM. Hmmm... Methinks there's a reason the SIM is stressed. Safety, perhaps? I detect a theme here... Blue skies and happy landings!

4/10. I'm as clueless as you are... Blue skies and happy landings!

Pretty ingeneous way of getting picture, Kathryn! Blue skies and happy landings!

If I didn't have three of my own, I'd be tempted to say he's the cutest! Blue skies and happy landings!

Just be careful where you leave the toys when you finish with them... Blue skies and happy landings!

Kudos to you both, Chris! Blue skies and happy landings!

Thanks for the info, Aubrey. Nice to have someone answer several of the issues that have come up in this thread! Blue skies and happy landings!

Can anybody out there educate me as to the differences between the Spectre and the Triathlon? I'm looking to get my first main and have jumped the Triathlon but not the Spectre. I'm jumping just under a 1.1 wing loading. I plan to get a demo canopy but would like to consult the massed wisdom of the DZ.com forums to see if there's anything I should pay particular attention to. Thanks! Blue skies and happy landings!

'Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't sleep. I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep. The leftovers beckoned - the dark meat and white, but I fought the temptation with all of my might. Tossing and turning with anticipation, The thought of a snack became infatuation. So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door and gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore. I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes, Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes. I felt myself swelling so plump and so round, 'till all of a sudden, I rose off the ground. I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky, With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie. But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees.... Happy eating to all, pass the cranberries, please. May your stuffing be tasty, your turkey be plump. Your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious, your pies take the prize. May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs. Blue skies and happy landings!