meltdown

Call your local Tax Assessor/Collectors office. In my county they have an auction once a month or so on the courthouse steps. You can get put on a mailing list that gives a very basic description of the properties and the addresses in case you want to check any of 'em out. They send out a mailing a couple weeks in advance. Then, if you are interested in something, you can go to the courthouse and research the property for liens and such.

*** No problem! Just don't throw the cigarette butt on the ground. Put it in the ashtray. _____________________________________________ This is so annoying. There's an ashtray RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, and yet so many choose to toss it in the road. Can't figure that one out.

Oh yeah, and another one: people parking in handicapped spaces that don't have a tag AND people with handicapped tags that have no business having them. My 7 y/o daughter has cerebral palsy and uses a walker, and practically everywhere we go, there's either some fucking jackass sitting in his car in the handicapped space just iding, or someone who can walk normally parking there because they have the tag from a dead aunt or something. One time we went to Krispy Kreme on a Sunday morning, and a guy pulled into the handicapped space right in front of us, and leaped out of his car to get in line. We parked in a regular space and walked in and my wife located the guy, asked him if that was his truck parked in that spot, and introduced our daughter to him. The look on his face was priceless.

People that throw cigarette butts out their car window. I always want to pick it up and say "you dropped this" and throw it back in their car, but too much risk of getting shot.

This is my experience only (as a fellow low timer), so take it for that. BUT, when I was on student/rental gear, I couldn't tell the difference between the 190, 200 or 210 they had for rent. I jumped the smallest thing available. I weigh 165 out the door (probably 170 on those rigs). It wasn't until I demo'd a 170 that I noticed any discernable difference, and that's what I'm jumping now.

You will be able to hear the recorded tracks as you're laying down new ones. I would also recommend getting the lowest minute tapes you can find because they are typically thicker than the longer ones and can stand up to the rigors of 4 track recording better. You can get excellent results out of a 4 track if the sounds going into it are good to begin with and recorded properly.

I have a Yamaha MT3X that's pretty nice for a 4 track. It has 7 inputs which is pretty helpful if you're recording drums or something that requires lots of mics. Tascam is also a good brand.

I guess that's why it's so cheap. Thanks.

Looking to possibly buy a used PISA SR-71, but I've never heard of it. Have you?

Run. Fast. And get a watchdog.

Minority Report - only cost me a video rental though, not full price, thankfully.

That answers my question. Thanks

Just one more question: has anyone had this same experience? I was learning to pack a couple of weeks ago, and I just couldn't make heads or tails of anything. A lines, B lines, I couldn't tell. I STILL don't know what it means to "quarter the slider". I think that's why this is a legitimate concern of mine. Anyone? _______________________________________________ My last 3 jumps were on my first 3 pack jobs and they all opened fine. Just be sure to tell 'em on the plane you're a high puller! I just bought a rig, and thankfully, the previous owner color coded the lines, but it still takes like all day to pack the fuckin' thing. You probably ought to figure out the slider thing before you jump it though or you might get whacked.

*** There are examples aplenty: Enron ________________________________________________ This one is great. Bush got an unbelievable amount of flak over Enron, but if you look at Bill Clintons ties with Enron, they are numerous and well documented. Not to mention Clinton crony Bob Rubin trying to swoop in and save the day for them (and Citigroup, another evil capitalist institution) in the 11th hour.

*** Of course! Terrorism and the use of WMD's is evil unless it helps us out a bit, in which case we wholeheartedly support it. Confused? Use this handy right wing redefinition table to determine how to view any event: An ally uses weapons of mass destruction against someone we don't like: They are defending themselves against an aggressor. An enemy uses WMD's: Any monster who would use WMD's on people must be destroyed for the sake of humanity. We fund terrorism: We are funding freedom fighters. Someone else is funding terrorism: Anyone who supports terror is evil and must be destroyed. A fledgling democracy arises near an enemy: We support freedom and democracy wherever it tries to rise above tyranny and oppression. A fledgling democracy arises near a trading partner: We oppose any unilateral decision that might bring independence to a new democracy. Meager and very doubtful evidence is found linking a country we don't like to 9/11: "Remember 9/11 when we invade!" Strong evidence linking an ally to 9/11 is found: We don't really need to know anything else; I'm sure our intelligence department will tell us if there's anything unsavory going on. Saudi Arabia supports UN sanctions against Israel: All those Arabs are just banding together. A government we installed complains of the UN's ineffectiveness: What a scathing, independent denounciation of the UN! _____________________________________________ Yikes! I never realized we righties were so stoopid and simple. Thanks for pointing that out.

*** Can you flat turn 90 degrees at 50 feet? Flare turn 45 degrees? Land with rear risers? Pull off a high performance front riser landing? ___________________________________________ Bill- I am curious about the HP front riser landing, and in what situation that might be needed as a life saving tool. Perhaps if you are overshooting badly, or need to get down quick to avoid something?

*** The man has really bad taste in movies. ______________________________________ Hey, Elf was funny, so there.

I did my first jump 3 months ago at 39 (I'm 40 now), and the wife started a month earlier. We bring our daughter (7) to the DZ regularly, and she loves it out there. We're enjoyin' the hell out of it.

*** I packed my rig,jumped it, spotted the plane all on A HOP-N-POP. ____________________________________________ Jumped your first pack job on a hop-n-pop? Yikes!

It depends on the DZ. AFF for me was 2 tandems, and 5 jumps with jumpmasters. Then you may have to do coaching jumps (all of it counts towards the A). The new A requirement is 25 jumps, but it often takes more than that, because you have to perform a number of tasks (riser turns, accuracy landings, docking, packing, etc), and unless you're really focused on getting them checked off, you can easily get to 25 jumps and beyond without finishing the card.

If I was you I'd get through AFF as quickly as reasonably possible, then take your time getting your A if you need to. Once through AFF, the fear/pressure factor subsides considerably (did for me, anyway).

This thing sucks! It's got more accuracy landings, more docking, swooping to dock, etc. It's also more difficult to understand what the task is. I want the old card, dammit!

I've got an A card from the DZ I did my AFF at that is completely different from everyone elses at my home DZ (different than AFF DZ). The one I have is 4 pages (1 sheet folded in 1/2) and on bright yellow paper. The others I've seen are a more orangy paper and just 2 pages. Even worse, it's got a whole lot more stuff to check off than the "regular" card. Can anyone shed some light on this?

*** I think that about flying my canopy on every jump without exception. I think the same about flying my airplane. I can't imagine not thinking that about flying anything, given that I'm not a bird. ________________________________________ I wonder if birds are thinking that when they walk.

Thanks everyone for the tips. I will go down Bill's checklist and look into a canopy school before I try that smaller canopy. Thanks again.