ChasingBlueSky

Yup. You can ditch the jacket if you REALLY hate them. Shirt, tie, good shoes, and nice pants are required. _Am I rarely wear a coat - and its not because I don't like the couple. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I'm not a Dixie fan, but have long been a fan of Incubus - but that is a very subjective statement. Honestly, this administration hasn't given anyone these freedoms, they have just carried on the traditions of this country. If anything, the current administration has done as much as possible to take many of those freedoms away. I guess I've never understood this double standard _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I've flown the Sabre, Sabre2, Safire1, Stiletto, Crossfire1, Samari, and Lotus at low WL's (.9 to 1.2). I never felt they were unstable, nor were the openings "interesting." They flew like huge boats, very unresponsive - or not twitchy as some would say - impossible to steer with harness input, and just like any other huge canopy they were effected more by light turbulance that smaller canopies never felt in the same conditions. The Stiletto at a light WL had more power in the flare than any of those other canopies. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Everyone went nuts about the Dixie Chicks practicing their right to Freedom of Speech, why hasn't anyone said a peep about the new Incubus song?? Maybe all those conservative types are just sexist? (hmm..that should get me flamed ) Original story at: http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1483949/20031230/incubus.jhtml?headlines=true Web page where you can watch the video:http://www.enjoyincubus.com Full Lyrics posted at end of this post. Story from VH1: Using powerful images from the past, Incubus leave little doubt about their position on present-day politics in the video for "Megalomaniac." The title of the first single from the band's fifth album, A Crow Left of the Murder, refers to a person with delusional fantasies of power, and the video applies that definition to the United States and President Bush. Shot in late November by Floria Sigismondi, the director responsible for such visually stunning clips as Christina Aguilera's "Fighter" and Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People," the five-minute video is a hyper-stimulating barrage of images, most of which flash by only momentarily to underline the subconscious level of programming some propaganda campaigns have employed. The clip opens with guitarist Mike Einziger in front of a radio switchboard, appearing to give a speech. The sign on the wall before him reads "No Grace Period," while the one to his left reads "Operation Freedom Control," presumably a play on "Operation Iraqi Freedom" that ironically suggests that the U.S. controls the Iraqis' independence. A six-volt battery on a shelf bears the label "super power." The scene morphs into a shot of the giant-sized bandmembers performing on top of buildings. A zoom into one of the buildings' windows reveals a TV showing the film "The United States Air Force Presents ... Brain Washing" before a series of war scenes culminates with Adolf Hitler, with airplane bomber wings on his back, flying overhead. It's then that singer Brandon Boyd offers the song's opening lines: "I hear you on the radio/ You permeate my screen/ If I met you in a scissor fight, I'd cut off both your wings ... on principle alone." Later, a politician looking like Bush addresses a crowd of protesters who hold signs reading antiwar slogans such as "Not in Our Name" and "Drop Love Not Bombs." As the podium from which he speaks morphs into a gas pump that inflates skyward, the protesters clash with police. Boyd, meanwhile, repeats the line "Step down, step down." Amidst the pandemonium, the politician's head peels back and the head of a bald eagle grows in its place. The birdman then proceeds to devour the audience members, whose own heads have become those of fish. But there is an eventual silver lining to Incubus' dark cloud of a message. After showing a 1940s wartime family feeding its baby a bottle full of oil, a symbol of America's thirst for Iraq's greatest export, and a crowd of people fleeing from falling bombs, the fish-headed masses begin to revolt against their bird-brained leader. Piranha heads are sported by those who topple the birdman's tower and proceed to ravage him. This is met by a shot of the crowd applauding. While "Megalomaniac" has just started to get radio play, the video is expected to surface at TV outlets in January. It's currently being streamed on Incubus' Web site. A Crow Left of the Murder, the follow-up to 2001's Morning View, is due February 3. This report is provided by MTV News Lyrics for Megalomanic: I hear you on the radio You permeate my screen Its' unkind, but if I met you in a scissor fight I'd cut off both your wings on principle alone On principle alone Hey megalomaniac You're no Jesus Yeah, you're no fucking Elvis Wash Your hands clean (or Yourself) Maniac Step down Step down If I were your appendages I'd hold open your eyes So you would see That all of us are heaven sent There was never meant to be only one To be only one Hey megalomaniac You're no Jesus Yeah, you're no fucking Elvis Wash Your hands clean (or Yourself) Maniac Step down Step down Yeah You're no Jesus You're not Elvis ... You're no answer Hey megalomaniac You're no Jesus Yeah, you're no fucking Elvis Wash Your hands clean (or Yourself) Maniac Step down Step down _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

And hope they all dont meet. Just keep the chain short enough and they never will _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Read Gen Clark's book - he walked into the Pentagon before 9/11 and the GWB admin had told them to come up with a detailed plan on how to attack Iraq and oust SH. They were also told to come up with plans for several other countries that were eventually listed in the "axis of evil" speech. These were to be a series of quick wars to overthrow the leaderships of several countries - all would be pre-emptive attacks. Clark mentioned that they couldn't be quick wars, but everyone in the Pentagon felt they would be. Clarks response in the book? He was surprised at how detailed the plans were, and at which countries that had chosen. He felt that if they were going to do this, they should plan an attack against Saudi Arabia and secularize that country. Warmongers, the bunch of them. Edit to add - this is going to be one of the ugliest presidential campaigns we have ever seen IMHO. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Yup! All of that - here is their story from the web page (and let me tell you, that 80s station in Chicago was great, probably one of the best dedicated formats I've ever heard....too bad the signal sucked). In early 1999, a small yet ambitious company called Big City Radio gave the go-ahead to launch America's FIRST true "All 80's" music radio station. Program Director Chris Shebel, Music Director Jeffrey T. Mason & Consultant Steve Davis were hired to create this monster. On Friday, August 6th 1999 at 12 Noon, "The 80's Channel - 103.1 WXXY" was born in Chicago, IL! The first song: "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles. (The first video ever aired on MTV!) The 80's Channel started a trend that many radio stations across the globe would soon follow...and tragically wreck. This was due to leaving out key ingredients in the recipe. This simple recipe called for broad-spectrum 1980's music. (Pop, Rock, Dance, New Wave, Rhythmic, Hair band...even Bubble Gum!) It called for high-energy, flashy imaging between the songs. It called for compelling personalities with a love for the 1980's and it's music. It called for innovative promotions and marketing tactics - to keep the listeners interested and excited! WXXY contained ALL of these ingredients. However, most of the "clones" did not. Many 80's stations tried and died...by either leaning in ONE musical direction too far, or just by lacking the PASSION required for this type of station. Music in the 1980's covered SO many genres. On any Top 40 station of the day, you'd hear Bryan Adams, followed by Prince, followed by Duran Duran, followed by Bruce Hornsby & The Range, followed by RATT. A true 80's music lover wants to hear ALL those types of songs. Not just hair bands or new wave. So, these stations ultimately failed. "What happened to WXXY," you might ask? Unfortunately, it died as well. ABC/Disney signed on their version of the 80's format in Chicago in late 2000. Due to a weak suburban signal, the powers-that-be decided that WXXY could not compete with a full signal competitor, and decided to bail on Monday, January 29 2001. After a mere 6 months on-air, ABC's "94.7 The Zone" gradually morphed out of the 80's format by adding 90's and current music. Had Big City Radio known then what they know now, "The 80's Channel" MAY have stayed on air longer. But, that's a moot point. WXXY had quite the following in Chicago AND nationwide, thanks to streaming audio on the internet. After signing off the air, there was an outpouring of emotion from 80's music lovers worldwide. "Where will we go to hear our favorite music?" "Who can we turn to?" Now, almost 3 years later, we have your answer. "80's Now Dot Com." ...to pick up where stations like "The 80's Channel" left off. We will play ALL THE HITS of the 1980's! Whenever you tune into 80's Now Dot Com, you will hear a song you LOVE. We are here to bring back memories of a much simpler time in our lives...A FUN TIME! We won't play JUST the modern rock tracks, JUST the hair bands, or JUST the ballads. We'll play it ALL! It's been said that "every song paints a picture." Here at 80's Now Dot Com, our canvas is HUGE. And our paint palette is limitless. Radio stations today are so strictly researched. They seem to think this will allow them to play ONLY the hits their audience wants to hear. In reality, that only allows them to play the hits that SPECIFIC group of people wants -- NOT the entire audience. WE PLAY ALL THE HITS! Our "research" took 10 years. It began on January 1st, 1980 -- and ended December 31st, 1989. It's called "LIVING THROUGH THE 1980'S." Listener feedback is not only welcome, it is MANDATORY! We are very excited to get YOUR input, and put it to good use. Teach us! We will quickly become your new, favorite music source. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Just happened upon this one tonight, and it's a top notch streaming radio station. I've been listening to it via my wireless connection for the last 30 minutes with no interuptions. www.80sNow.com _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Ditto At the last tandem meeting I went to this was discussed: students do the practice touches, turns, etc on the first tandem. On the second tandem, the focus is on relaxing, arching, body awarness and pulling. Generally turns are not done on the second tandem so the student can gain confidence that they can relax while in freefall. Canopy control, finding the airport, and landing procedures are included in both tandems. All students help with turns, flaring, etc. On second tandems, they are encouraged to steer the canopy to find the airport. This way a student doesn't feel so scared and isolated on their first AFP jump or under canopy. I started on a Safire 230, moved up to the Safire 260 when I had some landing issues, then moved down to the 230, 210 and eventually the 190 Safire on my last student jump and first rentals. I purchased a Sabre 230 as my first canopy since I had a hard time finding a rig that would fit a 190 at the time. I jumped a Stiletto 190 by jump 89 and owned one by jump 95, I've been under a Stiletto pretty much every jump since. Oh yea, all jumps were done via BOC on the training program. While I was at Quincy 99 someone told me Roger would kill me because I was using BOC and a Safire during my student jumps. Funny thing is, Roger went to his DZ a few months later and helped convert his student program over to AFP, BOC and tapered canopies. We now have one Student Mirage we are testing out. Ditto. And I was glad to have that muscle memory on my first malfunction. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

How about this right from PD's FAQ on their web page: http://www.performancedesigns.com/faq.htm#5 What is the difference between a tapered, elliptical, or semi elliptical canopy? These terms refer to the shape of the wing when viewed from above. Any canopy that is not rectangular can be called either semi-elliptical or tapered. The amount of taper affects the canopy handling and performance, though in combination with several other parameters. While the term elliptical is often used to describe some canopies, no skydiving canopies are truly elliptical. The curve in a canopy is approximated by a series of straight-line segments, and they do not form a true ellipse. What we are really dealing with here is the relative degree of taper from one canopy to another. This involves not only how much taper there is, but where it is located. Some canopies are more tapered than others, regardless of whether they are called "elliptical" or "semi-elliptical.” PD prefers to use the word "tapered” for several reasons. As soon as skydivers began using the word “elliptical,” many people created the idea that every "elliptical" canopy will have certain specific characteristics, some good and some bad. In reality, a non-rectangular canopy may not have any of those characteristics. We like the term “tapered” because it simply means “not rectangular,” while the term “elliptical” implies certain things about a canopy that may or may not be true. Rather than the actual shape of a wing, most jumpers are really interested in performance characteristics: how does the canopy open, fly and land? These characteristics are influenced by taper, but not totally dictated by it. The degree of taper is part of a whole package. Airfoil, aspect ratio and trim angle are also very important. Wing loading, or body weight compared to canopy size, is actually the main factor that determines canopy speed. The degree of taper generally influences the responsiveness of a canopy, though other variables come into play. This is why it is not necessary for a jumper to know exactly how tapered or “elliptical” a particular canopy is. The proof is in the performance, and in the handling. Therefore, it is best to read descriptions of the various canopies, and try demos of those that might suit your needs. Dealing with all the different terminology used can be confusing. Just remember that this terminology is often just one company's choice of packaging, rather than actually describing something different or new. Every company wants their products to be viewed as different from another. These types of word plays are one way to achieve that. In the end, the canopy’s performance in the air is what really matters. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I have heard that this "skydiving connection" of theirs was why Bill Booth was in "The Firm" movie (starring Tom Cruise). He was a seaplane pilot in a couple of shots and even had a speaking part. Here is a proof: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0095818/

tunnel is pretty much booked up until May _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

not impressed - just trying to snag some yuppies away from SUVs and get them in a pickup that most would never use to haul anything in. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Um, you met this goofy guy that decided to go back home to 4F weather in Chicago. What's this about a dinner date! _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

When this was first announced/leaked a couple of weeks ago, it was rumored that that Bush admin was looking to generate some positive public appeal. They figured that could do the same for GWB that the moon speech did for JFK. This is just spin that any candidate could have used, GWB just decided to become the first Mars cheerleader without any risk to his career. Now, if he had given a closer date that would have happened within the next 5 years, then it would have given him some press. I'm a space geek, but would rather see him focus a bit more on domestic policy and Social Security. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I see no reason for anyone to file a lawsuit in this sport. Even if you do everything right you can still die, and it was your choice to leave the plane. However we have made the decision that it is an "accetable" risk and play the odds - and your number can be up at any given time for a variety of reasons. Do you feel that Reflex should have been sued for the closing loop fatality a few years ago? What about Sunpath that had a fatality for the same reason only a few days later? Even with the SB and those two deaths, there are companies that still place the closing loop inside the main tray - the gromet may not be able to cause a problem, but there is still something there to tangle with the lines. I jump a Javelin which as we all know has the closing loop inside the tray still - I have the SB done, but there is still a chance that something could happen with it, and I could bounce. And I know that full well - yet if I was injured or killed because of this, I wouldn't want anyone to sue on my behalf. Why? I made the choice. I have been injured in this sport several times, and at least one of those times a lawsuit could have been filed - but I chose not too. From that incident I have a bum knee that no longer allows me to run and can cause a decent amount of pain at times; and I will need surgery on it as I get older. To this day, I am glad I never considerd to sue. Recently I found that my old Javelin had an issue that was tearing the main lift web, and it was hidden from site during gear checks - this same setup killed a jumper in Miami this past year. If this kid had not gone in, it would have happened to me eventually. Once I found out, I sat down with my family and close friends and explained what could have happened to me - all of them said they would have sued. After talking to them for a few hours, and explaining how making the choice to jump is my responsiblity, they promised never to sue if anything was to happen to me, no matter what. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Which is why I would never jump a Precision product. When I was trying to purchase a used reserve, I had to go through several SB's just to make sure the reserve I was thinking of buying didn't fit into a small space of serial numbers. Needless to say, I found it the wiser choice not to go that route. Now, why would I want to jump one of their mains? As far as ACME talking about insurance liability - My insurance company chased me down for a year because I refused to tell them WHERE I injured my ankle (it was at a dropzone in the middle of the night, after too many beers doing something stupid I was warned not to do). I knew they would go after the DZO for liability even thou I was a waivered guest. They threatened me with insurance fraud, etc....but after a year they stop hounding me and just paid the bills. The final cost to me was $201 (my 20% per the coverage) and some lasting damage to my ankle. There are ways around the bully tactics that insurance companies pull, and with perseverance you can usually win out. My PPO was not going to pay for the PT I needed for a lower back injury just because they felt like changing their mind after they saw how much it was going to cost. It took four months of phone calls to get them to pay. Once I started to inform them that I was taping the phone calls for legal use, they changed their tunes and paid every penny. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

When my brother-in-law was in law school, all the law students racked up huge student loans. Then, the first thing that they did out of law school was declare bankruptcy. Of course, those are professional scammers, you expect them to be better at it. Some loans are not covered by declaring bancruptcy. Most education loans need to be paid back, even if you declare. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Join the club - 87 in a 70 just south of Atlanta on Sunday. Two others from my DZ were busted on their trip thru GA. The GA cops had a trooper at almost every bridge/exit ramp. I've never seen so many people pulled over...I made an effort to slow down at every off/on ramp, but I guess I missed one. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

They also do it to prevent people from scamming money. First time applicants need to complete 30-days of classes before a dispersment payment can be issued. There are plenty of people out there trying to use school as a way to get money they have no intention to pay back. Did you know that if enough students from a college go default on their payments, the gov't will no longer allow funds to be issued to incoming students? _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I work in sales/admissions of a private college - I deal with this issue all the time. The amount of lower-income families that get denied loans/grants because of this question is astonishing. I do have one kid that just got out of jail from a DUI conviction and he is getting FA. I have had one person that was very serious about getting into college and cleaning up his life - he went to the program mentioned in the article, and he should be receiving funding onec he has completed it. There are options. Here is something else - if a male has served his country in the military and never filled out selective services form, he can be denied Gov't Funding. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Wow - you all look cold. You should move the boogie to Florida next year - I was in shorts day and night for the Zhills Holiday boogie. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

That bonfire was HUGE! I can't believe the benches almost started on fire just from the heat. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

24 (hours it took to drive 1,143 miles home thanks to a nasty snow storm), 0 weather holds during the boogie, 80F the entire trip:5jumps this weekend:0 Well, since I spent all day Sunday driving from Zhills to the arctic north (aka Chicago), I was only able to fit in 5 jumps this weekend. I spent a few hours going about 5mph on very icy roads in Indiana. Looks like I missed a few DZ.com folk while I was at Zhills. It was an amazing Holiday boogie!!!! _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

It was 80F at Zhills, 50F at night. It's been shorts weather since I have been here, no winds and swoops were to be had! _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....