ChasingBlueSky

I was pretty wired at the time - I just wanted to tell the guy what a stupid ass he was but I just kept thinking if I went off on this McNasty Jr he would hold onto it. One of the guys in the truck pointed out that we wouldn't ransom off one of his cows if it wandered onto our property. Very valid point IMHO. Oh, and can I just say - I'm sooo happy I didn't have the RSL connected. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

2 jumps, one cutaway, one argument with a farmer. See story here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=704016;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

http://www.angelfire.com/mi2/myguya/buyduck OR Q. Why don't ducks wear underwear? A. Because their peckers are on their face! OR A duck walks into a bar and says, "I'll take a shot of bourbon and put it on my bill..." _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

cross post from talkback Well, it was bound to happen. After nearly 5 years in the sport, 500 jumps and roughly 4000 pack jobs...I had my first chop this morning. Rushed to the dropzone Saturday afternoon after working all day and made the sunset load ($13 jumps!!!) - I've known for a couple of weeks that my canopy is slightly out of trim with around 300 jumps on the lineset, but I had the brakes adjusted to spec (couldn't afford a full re-line at the time) - my Stiletto 170 (loaded at 1.5) made a slight turn into line twists upon deployment that was easy to kick out of. I decided to sleep in this morning and walked into the hanger around 11am. Sarah wanted to do a two way (I would be belly, she would sit) and we got onto the next load. I felt a little weird all the way to altitude thinking about the opening I had last night....that nawing feeling in the back of my head should have been a warning. In fact, I was going to mention to Sarah that I would probably drop my canopy off for a re-line tonight if she thought the store could get it done by Friday....but she had her eyes closed. At 10grand we all got up for gear checks and I practiced and visualized my emergency procedures three times. The winds up top were hauling ass and we knew the spot was going to be long, esp since we were going to be out just before the tandems. Somehow we managed to funnel the exit but still had a great jump. I remember noticing that her main pin flap on her Mirage had somehow come open....I also noticed just how floaty she is in a sit! During my track I reminded myself that the opening could be interesting and I made sure I was stable all the way thru deployment. Checked my alti as I was passing thru 3500, waved off, reached and pulled right around 3000. I let go of the PC, felt the risers come off my back and swung into the saddle evenly. I didn't even get a chance to look up at the canopy before I saw my left riser come into view and I was starting to spin. Looked up, saw at least 4 or 5 twists half way up the lines with the slider above the twists. I thought "no big deal" grabbed the risers and kicked. Nothing moved. Hmmm...try that again. Nothing. By this point I am on my side and the speed is increasing. Hmmmm...looked up and realized I was kicking the wrong way and kicked the other way ....oops, wrong move....I was now on my back in a violent spin and thought "hey dumbass, you are in the middle of killing yourself" and instantly grabbed both handles, arched and pulled. Nothing happened, and the handle was still there. I pulled without peeling! Instantly I had both hands on my handle and pulled with all my force....cha-chink and I was back in freefall doing a headlow backtrack watching my canopy and handle go away (I remember thinking "there goes $40"). Flipped to my belly with one hand on the handle and then pulled with both. I was still clearing the ripcord from the channel when I realized I was under a canopy again. I looked up and said - OH, it's yellow and had a good laugh. Stuck my handle in my jumpsuit, reached for my toggles as I looked at my wrist - I'm just at 1100. Those PD reserves fly sweet! Picked a wide open field close to wear I guessed my canopy would land and did a nice PLF. I turn around in time to see my freebag land in a field near a tourist attraction and notice a large group of kids running to that location. I then went back to watching my main land ON TOP of Farmer McNasty's Barn roof. I chuckled when I saw that. I couldn't walk to the barn because of the large ravine in the way...thats when I saw someone from the farm next to me take of on a quad towards McNasty's barn. The house I landed near was nice enough to let me call the DZ and let them know I was fine and where I could be picked up. Someone was already out there trying to find me and noticed someone on the roof of the barn and noticed all the kids. Yup, the kids took my freebag (WTF are they going to do with it?) and I wasn't able to get it back. The canopy wasn't on top of the barn anymore, so we went to where the quad came from - yep, this guy took it and was quite proud of it. In fact, he wanted me to pay him "several hundred dollars" to get it back. WHAT???? Are you serious? That's not even your farm, and thats MY canopy. You trespassed to steal? His defense was he wanted to make sure there wasn't a body attached to it and that someone paid him $250 to get one back last year. After several minutes of arguing as calmly as possible, he finally handed the main back over to me. I tried to shake his hand when I said thanks and he refused then bitched about how he almost broke his neck saving my canopy. I just kept my mouth shut and got back into the truck. That was one very expensive $13 jump! Looks like I may not be jumping for a while since I can't afford both the repack and a re-line. Oh yea - that was the riggers first save. He has a nice bottle of Jack coming his way this weekend, and there will be beer at the bonfire as well. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Well, it was bound to happen. After nearly 5 years in the sport, 500 jumps and roughly 4000 pack jobs...I had my first chop this morning. Rushed to the dropzone Saturday afternoon after working all day and made the sunset load ($13 jumps!!!) - I've known for a couple of weeks that my canopy is slightly out of trim with around 300 jumps on the lineset, but I had the brakes adjusted to spec (couldn't afford a full re-line at the time) - my Stiletto 170 (loaded at 1.5) made a slight turn into line twists upon deployment that was easy to kick out of. I decided to sleep in this morning and walked into the hanger around 11am. Sarah wanted to do a two way (I would be belly, she would sit) and we got onto the next load. I felt a little weird all the way to altitude thinking about the opening I had last night....that nawing feeling in the back of my head should have been a warning. In fact, I was going to mention to Sarah that I would probably drop my canopy off for a re-line tonight if she thought the store could get it done by Friday....but she had her eyes closed. At 10grand we all got up for gear checks and I practiced and visualized my emergency procedures three times. The winds up top were hauling ass and we knew the spot was going to be long, esp since we were going to be out just before the tandems. Somehow we managed to funnel the exit but still had a great jump. I remember noticing that her main pin flap on her Mirage had somehow come open....I also noticed just how floaty she is in a sit! During my track I reminded myself that the opening could be interesting and I made sure I was stable all the way thru deployment. Checked my alti as I was passing thru 3500, waved off, reached and pulled right around 3000. I let go of the PC, felt the risers come off my back and swung into the saddle evenly. I didn't even get a chance to look up at the canopy before I saw my left riser come into view and I was starting to spin. Looked up, saw at least 4 or 5 twists half way up the lines with the slider above the twists. I thought "no big deal" grabbed the risers and kicked. Nothing moved. Hmmm...try that again. Nothing. By this point I am on my side and the speed is increasing. Hmmmm...looked up and realized I was kicking the wrong way and kicked the other way ....oops, wrong move....I was now on my back in a violent spin and thought "hey dumbass, you are in the middle of killing yourself" and instantly grabbed both handles, arched and pulled. Nothing happened, and the handle was still there. I pulled without peeling! Instantly I had both hands on my handle and pulled with all my force....cha-chink and I was back in freefall doing a headlow backtrack watching my canopy and handle go away (I remember thinking "there goes $40"). Flipped to my belly with one hand on the handle and then pulled with both. I was still clearing the ripcord from the channel when I realized I was under a canopy again. I looked up and said - OH, it's yellow and had a good laugh. Stuck my handle in my jumpsuit, reached for my toggles as I looked at my wrist - I'm just at 1100. Those PD reserves fly sweet! Picked a wide open field close to wear I guessed my canopy would land and did a nice PLF. I turn around in time to see my freebag land in a field near a tourist attraction and notice a large group of kids running to that location. I then went back to watching my main land ON TOP of Farmer McNasty's Barn roof. I chuckled when I saw that. I couldn't walk to the barn because of the large ravine in the way...thats when I saw someone from the farm next to me take of on a quad towards McNasty's barn. The house I landed near was nice enough to let me call the DZ and let them know I was fine and where I could be picked up. Someone was already out there trying to find me and noticed someone on the roof of the barn and noticed all the kids. Yup, the kids took my freebag (WTF are they going to do with it?) and I wasn't able to get it back. The canopy wasn't on top of the barn anymore, so we went to where the quad came from - yep, this guy took it and was quite proud of it. In fact, he wanted me to pay him "several hundred dollars" to get it back. WHAT???? Are you serious? That's not even your farm, and thats MY canopy. You trespassed to steal? His defense was he wanted to make sure there wasn't a body attached to it and that someone paid him $250 to get one back last year. After several minutes of arguing as calmly as possible, he finally handed the main back over to me. I tried to shake his hand when I said thanks and he refused then bitched about how he almost broke his neck saving my canopy. I just kept my mouth shut and got back into the truck. That was one very expensive $13 jump! Looks like I may not be jumping for a while since I can't afford both the repack and a re-line. Oh yea - that was the riggers first save. He has a nice bottle of Jack coming his way this weekend, and there will be beer at the bonfire as well. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Nah, I work for a culinary school - all the cheese that I want down the hallway. Thinking they may get mad if I eat some of the chocolate sculpture the Master Chef made last week. UM...If I'm not mistaken, the store has a sign that reads "On a load, back in 15 minutes" _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I hope I can make it - 16 miles from work to home (have to avoid those damn runners practicing for tomorrows marathon), get clothes out of dryer(yea, I wear clean clothes to the dz) ...make 75 mile drive to the dropzone (hour drive if no traffic) .....hopefully for the sunset load tonight. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Noice! Have a great day and an amazing life together you two! _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Sitting here at work today - from 9am-4pm....clear blue skies upper 70s, light winds and $13 jumps at Skydive Chicago. wow, this working thing has a few bugs in it..... _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Found this on MSN.com today.... Back when I was in high school, geeks were not highly regarded as potential boyfriend material. (Being one of them I am eminently qualified to attest to this.) Comic books, thick glasses, computers and chess club just don't match the selling potential of varsity jackets and cool cars. However, it's been noted that some geeks grow up to found software conglomerates, and even those who don't tend to be more agreeable later in life than they were back in their teens. Like everyone after high school, we mellow out, ditch the young-wizard glasses, and develop the social skills that seemed so sorely lacking when we were pimply youths. However, that doesn't mean that we've lost our geekhood — we just conceal it better. More importantly, since you've grown up since high school as well, that geekhood which was so unpleasant back then is kind of charming now — try it and you may be surprised. There's no longer any shame in dating a geek, and it can be well worth the effort. The only issue is that sometimes you may find it difficult to understand our peculiarities. While it's not necessary to know the difference between Sauron, Saruman and the Sarlaac to successfully date one of us, mastering the art of tolerance and bemused understanding will assure a long and fruitful relationship with your geek. Geek care and feeding is easier than many think, because we are generally healthiest when left to our own devices. This doesn't mean we can't do things together; but we do thrive when given a little time to do our own thing. (This conveniently frees you from having to be part of it.) For example, let me wander off to the computer section while you're browsing CDs at the store. And though I am betraying my people to share this, adhere to the strict "yes-no rule" of computer product purchases: If I come back clutching an object in a brightly colored box, let me buy it only if I didn't buy something last time we were shopping. We do tend to overextend our finances, especially on computer equipment — it changes so fast, and the stuff is just so neat — so it also might behoove you to check the price tag and confirm that I really need this item. (My interpretation of "need" at this point will be highly subjective, so ask the tough questions.) Remember that there's a good chance I only want it because it's new. Geeks are suckers for new stuff. We geeks are comfortable in herds, so keeping yours content requires that he have the opportunity to associate with his own kind now and then. Conveniently, this also solves the movie problem: Our taste for multiple viewings of certain films may not appeal to you, so let us go with our friends as often as we like. Since geeks generally like movies of all kinds (we just gravitate towards those with dragons or starships over others), you can feel free to choose whatever films you'll see as a couple without fear of whining. Try that with a football star. If you live together, it's also helpful to grant your geek a little space to call his own. Here we will build our model airplanes, operate our ham radio, play our games, whatever — all in gleeful privacy. After a school career of constant abuse, we are rather unsurprisingly embarrassed by our geekdom, so letting us practice it in solitude is a very considerate gesture. We'll appreciate it and you won't have to move all our miniatures off the kitchen table every time you want to eat. Geeks are among the sweetest and most adoring of boyfriends, and the old prejudice of greasy-haired basement dwellers has long since fallen by the wayside. We can dress ourselves and perform routine grooming tasks, and as geeks move into the mainstream, we are becoming more sought after by savvy women. If you don't share some of your boyfriend's more esoteric hobbies, remember that they'll almost never interfere with all that you do share — so let him enjoy them. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Interesting how the blood is missing from her outfit in that shot, just like it was in the trailer. Why did he bleep out a name in the Vivica Fox scene? He did it a couple times? _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Great movie - I enjoyed the ending. If you loved Samurai Sunday's growing up, this is going to be one hell of a flick for you. Couple of items: 1) Since it was Tarantino flick, I was half expecting a punch line in most of the dialog, but he toned it down alot. Once I got used to that, I understood the pacing better. 2) I loved the ending. 2a) I loved the Darth Vader nod with the Bruce Lee twist! 3) I knew the crowd wasn't going to like the movie when I was one of the only ones that laughed during the opening "SCOPE" sequence. It was an 8pm showing and I think I was one of the oldest there....that could be part of it. 4) I found myself laughing as much as I cringed during the fight scene. I also realized I was one of the only ones laughing. 5) Amazing fights! All without Matrix style to them! 6) This is a classic movie, I can't wait for Vol2 in Feb. I can see why he split this movie in half - it would have been a lot to take in all at once. I get discounted movie tickets thru my job, I may go see this one again in 10 days when those tickets are valid. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

And yet we keep electing these people. sigh. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Oh, I loved that movie, wasn't Travolta in it? _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

agreed _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Yeah, kinda... Its a newer thing when we are just talking about desktop PCs. Still isn't even very mainstream though. I gave up on overclocking when I quite playing FPS games. Actually, they are selling WaterCooled Cases at CompUSA now. What people don't realize is if you don't sand down the top of the CPU, the connection won't work as well as it should. By not lapping, you can leave a space between the cooling unit and the CPU which can cause condensation to form, thus smoking your system instantly. Oh yea - lapping voids your warranty and isn't as easy as it sounds. This isn't something for newbies unless you have money to burn. They still water cool Mainframes in datacenters - the last datacenter I had the joy of working in had two of them - one of them busted a pipe and flooded the room - some paper from the printers slipped into the raised floor and clogged the drain - we almost lost a few millions dollas worth of equipment due to that. As stated - water cooled is something new in the PC market started about 4 years ago when people realized you could seriously overclock some early generation P2 and P3 CPUs. HardOCP.com was able to OC a 3ghz P4 to 4ghz via watercool shortly after the 3ghz hit the market. The cooling market is huge now - you can do it for just about any component in your system (I still don't see why you need active cooling for the southbridge). However, most is not needed - you can play a heavy duty FPS for hours on a simple cooling solution and have the system stay stable with a high frame rate. Well, unless you are using WindowsME. OC's are more in it for the stats then playing the games. It is a subculture within the computer geek culture. Oh yea, my system is OC'd from the AMD2100 level to about the 2300 level with a simple solution (the nvidia2 400 mobo is sweet!). There is no reason to pay that much for a cooling solution anymore when the next CPU in performance range is often cheaper than the Heatsink/Fan combo unit. Just check out www.pricewatch.com _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Theology 101 that was taught by a priest with his Masters in Applied Spirituality. If you see disdain in my parting remarks, then you read it wrong. Democratic party? Huh? When did I mention politics in this? Apples and Oranges. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Princeton Student Sued Over Paper on CD Copying Thu Oct 9, 6:07 PM ET By Ben Berkowitz LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three days after a Princeton graduate student posted a paper on his Web site detailing how to defeat the copy-protection software on a new music CD by pressing a single computer key, the maker of the software said on Thursday it would sue him. In a statement, SunnComm Technologies Inc. said it would sue Alex Halderman over the paper, which said SunnComm's MediaMax CD-3 software could be blocked by holding down the "Shift" key on a computer keyboard as a CD using the software was inserted into a disc drive. "SunnComm believes that by making erroneous assumptions in putting together his critical review of the MediaMax CD-3 technology, Halderman came to false conclusions concerning the robustness and efficacy of SunnComm's MediaMax technology," it said. SunnComm, which trades on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board, said it has lost more than $10 million of its market value since Halderman published his report. The software was used on a CD, Anthony Hamilton's "Comin' From Where I'm From," released last month. Halderman, who has done research in the past on other CD protection technologies, said the software could also be disabled by stopping a driver the software loads on the computer when the CD is played. SunnComm alleged Halderman violated criminal provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (news - web sites) in disclosing the existence of those driver files. Halderman -- who received an undergraduate degree from Princeton earlier this year and is now pursuing a doctorate in computer science with an emphasis on computer security -- said he had not yet heard directly from SunnComm in regards to litigation but was unconcerned. "I'm still not very worried about litigation under the DMCA, I don't think there's any case," he told Reuters. "I don't think telling people to press the 'Shift' key is a violation of the DMCA." A spokesman for BMG, the unit of Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites) that licensed SunnComm's software and released the Hamilton CD, declined to comment on the planned suit. The music industry, claiming a sharp decline in CD sales is the result of digital piracy through online file-sharing services, has worked to develop methods to secure music on discs and restrict its copying. Halderman's graduate advisor at Princeton is Ed Felten, a computer science professor who once sued the Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites) in a challenge to the constitutionality of the DMCA. The RIAA had threatened action under the DMCA against Felten and colleagues after they said they would publish a paper disclosing flaws in an industry security initiative. That suit was eventually dismissed. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

WrongWay, You are in a class with many other "angry" Catholics in this country....but, not all priests are in the category as you speak. There certainly were a large group of the older generation of priests that spewed plenty of venom then went and sinned. I believe part of that comes from the fact they needed to agree they were going to be priests at age 13 as they entered High School. Geez. It took me eight years of schooling to realize it wasn't for me, plus at 13 I had no idea what plans I had for the rest of my life. Thankfully, the system has changed now.... There are some very good priests out there that do serve the community and do good. I know a bunch of them, and a lot were friends of mine in school. Please be careful on your generalizations. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Wow, I really goofed that one up. Thanks for the correction. Yea, it was Thabo that called for dissidence and support the idea that poverty was the leading cause. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Nice job! I remember you posting what you were hoping to accomplish and how you intended to go about it, and have to admit I was a bit skeptical that walking alone would have that big an effect. Looks like you're proving me wrong. Congrats! Blues, Dave I've gone from 270 to 238 this summer just by watching what I eat. I was working out when I was unemployed, but since I started my job, I haven't had the time. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

EXACTLY! What you and qtnsassy just said are the two most important things. The rest falls into place. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Ok, want to know the official church teaching on the Regulation of Birth? Then please read the official documentation: http://www.newadvent.org/docs/pa06hv.htm You can find the majority of the major issues that people have misunderstood about the church right here:http://www.newadvent.org/docs/ Have I read all of them? No. Have I been taught or read parts of a lot them over eight years in the seminary? For the most part, yes. However, that is in my past (I left the seminary in 95). I usually need to refer back to these documents as a reminder. Do I hate the church? Hate is a strong word, and honestly...thats my business and not yours. I've seen more of the church from the inside out than probably the majority of the people on this board. Add to that church services everyday for four years, morning prayer everyday and night, seminars, lectures, twice a week vocational studies, theology classes five times a week for eight years, three summers living in parishes, one summer in Ireland working at a church....and a whole lot more. I know what I like, I know what I dislike and it would take a few years worth of explaining to make you understand how and why I feel the way I do. Do I still believe? Yes, in something - but you would probably have to live my life to understand fully what is in my heart and soul. Is there good to organized religion? Yes. Is there bad to organized religion? Yes. Is there a good balance of both in the Catholic Church - from what I saw, maybe - it depends on the day of the week. St. Francis made some changes in the church in another time....another man named Luther tried as well and caused a schism. Could I have stayed and made a change? I doubt it. The church is a global body, and each country has it's own interpretation (most people have a very myopic view of "the church" to what they see in their backyard) - and this Pope became a world traveler to try to fix that. I'm not sure the church has gotten any better since 1979. Again, there is both good and bad - and I have plenty examples of both. However, the church gave up on me when priests in high-up positions refused to help me with many of my questions, therefore I gave up on them (this was not the only reason). Do I further bashing of the church? No, just as I don't of any other religion. I suggest this book for those that feel they should be allowed to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0195154800/qid=1065762146/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/102-8146380-3951337?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice by Philip Jenkins Sinker and Anvil - I applaude you in your convictions, esp in these days when it is social wrong to be Catholic. However - do not refer to the Church as "She" or as some sort of living entity. That can lead to pride and vanity. Your faith should not be defined by the brick building you visit once a week, or the people you see there. It should have no boundaries, and attacks against it should not cause you to faulter or get angry. Expand the horizons of your belief...... _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

In America this is a trend in the Northern States...not as much in the South. From my undersanding, the majority of Europe still has a very strong following in the Catholic Church. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I try. Sorta. Maybe....kinda? Jaded? Moi? Naaaah _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....