ChasingBlueSky

You're right, it would have been much better to have no one at all. Well, I doubt that is how I would have handled it. I'm certain there are others out there that could fill the roll. Even when I find the PERFECT candidate for a job I still look for others to fill the roll. Many times that backup is needed despite how much I sell to my clients why the should pick the first/only person I sent over to them. There are a lot of people in DC with experience - Bolton is the PERFECT and only candidate for the job? If so, then DC is really f'd up _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

What is the baseline for that humility? What comparison point do we have? Are we really pea-brained - how do you know this god is smarter than you or has some sort of superior power? Do you want to live your life against a set of rules that are over 1500 years old, created in a time nothing like today....without the knowledge and education we have acquired? Science may become the new religion - theory that becomes fact thrhough well defined methods. Why do we need to go off fairy tales that were told to children to keep them in line? I refuse to support an idea or belief that does nothing but tear the world apart and create space between us. If your ideal god was real, I'm sure he wouldn't want his name to be the weapon that kills so many. There is the all-time fall back the believers use: free-will. It is the band-aid, cure all excuse that is relied upon too often. Chris, I mean no disrespect for your beliefs....however, the power that people wield in the name of religion has been the most destructive force humanity has ever seen. There isn't a need for such a thing anymore. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Uh, huh! Because he doesn't cave in to Democrats attempts to jump start his Lame Duck Presidency, he's bullheaded. Um, I don't care what the politics are - but when you put a man that is that controversial in a spot to represent us to the world? I'm not sure bullheaded is a strong enough word. This is just another step by Bush to make this country into an island. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

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

As I read this article I kept thinking in my head "Sure plays some mean pinball..." http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/fun.games/07/28/blind.gamer.ap/index.html Blind teen amazes with video game ability Brice Mellen demonstrates his mastery of video games. (AP) -- Brice Mellen is a whiz at video games such as "Mortal Kombat." In that regard, the 17-year-old isn't much different from so many others his age. Except for one thing: He's blind. And as he easily dispatched foes who took him on recently at a Lincoln gaming center, the affable and smiling Mellen remained humble. "I can't say that I'm a superpro," he said, working the controller like an extension of his body. "I can be beat." Those bold enough to challenge him weren't so lucky. One by one, while playing "Soul Caliber 2," their video characters were decapitated, eviscerated and gutted without mercy by Mellen's on-screen alter ego. "I'm getting bored," Mellen said in jest as he won game after game. Blind since birth when his optic nerve didn't connect because of Leber's disease, Mellen honed his video game skills over the years through patient and not-so-patient playing, memorizing key joystick operations and moves in certain games, asking lots of questions and paying particular attention to audio cues. He worked his way up from games such as "Space Invaders" and "Asteroid," onto the modern combat games. "I guess I don't know how I do it, really," Mellen said, as he continued playing while facing away from the screen. "It's beyond me." Mellen knows this much: He started playing at home when he was about 7. "He enjoyed trying to play, but he wasn't very good at first," said his father, Larry Mellen. "But he just kept on trying. ... He's broken a lot of controllers." When the question of broken controllers comes up, Mellen flashes a smile and just shrugs. "I used to have quite a temper," he said. "Me and controllers didn't get along very well." Now they get along just fine. While playing "Soul Caliber 2," Mellen worked his way through the introductory screens with ease, knowing exactly what to click to start the game he wanted. He rarely asked for help. Once the game started he didn't need any help. "How do I move?" an exasperated opponent, Ryan O'Banion, asked during a battle in which his character is frozen in place. "You can't," Mellen answered before finishing him off. "That's what happens. It's why I don't play him," O'Banion said after his blood-spattered character's corpse vanishes from the screen. How Mellen became so good is a mystery to his father. "He just sat there and he tried and tried until he got it right," Larry Mellen said. "He didn't ever complain to me or anyone about how hard it was." Mellen hangs out any chance he gets at the DogTags Gaming Center in Lincoln, which opened last month. Every now and then someone will come in and think he can easily beat the blind kid. That attitude doesn't faze Mellen. "I'll challenge them, maybe. If I feel like a challenge," he said, displaying an infectious confidence. "I freak people out by playing facing backwards." There's nothing he likes better than playing video games, Mellen said. He will be a senior in high school next year. After graduation, he plans to take a year off because he wants a break from school. When he does go to college, Mellen wants to study video game design. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

??? Are you serious? You want full-blown, cold blooded killing terrorists with 35+ years of violent actions against all those that stand in their way to keep their guns? (plus, do you think the IRA couldn't get weapons if they changed their mind?). Most of the Irish people I know (and that is a few), have been tired of this IRA stuff for well over a decade. Pushing for gun rights and having the IRA as your poster child is a bad idea and a good way to get people to ignore your argument. I know I already have. To say this idea suprised me is an understatment. America has only had to deal with terrorism on it's soil since 9/11 - and look how frustrated we are. These are two countries that have had their lives rudely interupted by men with small minds for close to 40 years!! You want to make a soap-box out of a peaceful move in the right direction? As far as the news item - God, I hope this is finally true. Now, I hope the other terrorist factions related to this follow suit. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Last year officially broke the record for the coldest days in August for Illinois - a record that was over 100 years old. To say it was odd is an understatement. All of us were caught off guard and froze our asses off at night while we sat on the ground during the day watching a low cloud ceiling (made for some entertaining hop-n-pop moments). Overall August is considered the hottest month in this area and some of the weeks at Quincy were just hot as hell (and humid). You can always expect it to be hot, humid, and at least one or two powerful storms. "THE Storm" at Quincy took out nearly all of the tents as the winds topped out at 90+mph for a few moments (the same storm blew out several windows in my apartment). In a typical year it is 80-90F in Aug with at least one storm a week. As eeneR said - weather here can change kinda quick. In one day we went from six weeks of almost no rain, 102F temps, to 70's and two solid days of rain. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

That is a nice area - really great condo's as well. I just couldn't imagine living in a city this big without a car. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

overexaggerated by a lot. they have their own parking lots and I've never had any trouble. as for the rest of the parking spots, all one needs to do is get a scooter or a motorcycle and your looking for parking becomes a 1-2 minute thing Not really - Any trip to my sister's place required an extra hour to find a place to park, and I had the guest pass to park anywhere. In Andersonville if you get there after 9pm at night, good luck finding parking. In the winter, after a major snowstorm, you will find that most never dig their cars out and parking is then a rare commodity. I used to spend 3-4 nights a week at my ex's place and the nearest store was too damn far to walk when it was 0F and the winds were blowing. More than once I had to run to the store and spend well over an hour trying to find a place to park again. That parking issue now extends from Lincoln Park up to Rogers Park. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

eh, I've done that - lived in Uptown and Roger's Park, spent plenty of time at my ex's place in Andersonville/Ravenswood and my sister's place when she lived less than 5 minutes from Wrigley. I understand some of the initial attraction to the area and the energy the nightlife has.... But it would be a huge pain if I lived up there - outside of some amazing places to eat and drink, I find the northside lacks the stores I like to shop at. Plus in the middle of winter it sucks to walk 9 blocks or more just to pick up something from Jewel, Whole Foods...and if you choose to drive your car over there, that 5 min trip now takes over an hour since you can't find a place to park. Then you have things like the dropzone or friends that just aren't anywhere near that area and you NEED a car to work on your own schedule to get out there. (alot of my friends live in Mokena, Oak Park, Tinley Park and Homewood). Like you said - different strokes....but for me I have a huge two flat in Chicago with full hard wood floors, all the free parking for me and my friends, a half block walk to the CTA bus that takes me to the Orange line which is 10 min away. Plus my rent is more than likely half as cheap as yours (did I mention a free washer and dryer?) so it is easy to afford a simple care like a Neon. My trip in on the train only takes 30 min. You do have me beat on the view from the balcony. The culture may be younger and more energetic up there, but it just seems like I would have to make too many compromises to live up there. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I've never understood the desire to live in such a crowded area that has no room for privacy or my car! _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I believe that some contract security personnel are there to provide personal security for people living in dangerous places. Most heads of state have bodyguards -- there's always the possibility of their killing someone, too. It's not good. But hiring on as someone's bodyguard doesn't make one bad, either. If you do it because you're looking forward to it, that's a bad thing. But, well, whoever you're guarding probably won't like that either -- nothing is safer than avoiding the dangerous situations in the first place. Wendy W. Bodyguards and cops are not hired to kill people. They are hired to protect. Sometimes circumstances happen beyond their control that force them to react. Those that proactively kill....well... Me? The concept is something that has never cross my mind. However it intrigues me to listen to the deviant, misguided minds that try to justify it. There are some very sick people in this world that feel it is ok to kill for money. Life is sacred. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

The funny thing is - the amount of American people with an Irish heritage that actually support the IRA is tiny when compared to how many there are. I grew up with grandparents that were from Ireland on the South Side of Chicago where we are proud to be called Irish. Most of my friends families growing up were either first or second generation American and we were all very active in our community. My family still lives in Ireland and one even helps fight against terrorism. The closest I have ever been connected or heard a whisper about the IRA would have been from my grandfather about his brother that served in the true IRA in 1916....or the IRA bombings I witnessed while I was in Ireland in 1993. It cracks me up thou how often someone in my social circle has been asked if they knew someone in the IRA or if they supported them. I feel sorry for the ignorance and prejudice that guides them to that thought. If any of us did know we would turn them in immediately. However, we don't so we just would prefer to live out our lives without being incorrectly connected to a group of extremists that do not represent us or where our families came from. I think Darius was right on when he pointed out the typical serial killer: White male. Just because you are a white male should it be assumed that you know one, are hiding secrets about one, etc? _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

As did those that worked at Skydive America. Loyalty didn't help them much when the criminal charges came down against certain individuals and helped shut the DZ. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

When they are that young they want to do nothing but play all the time. I've found the more you socialize with them and play with them now the better they will behave down the line. btw - for when you just want to finally relax and she wants to play - get some rawhide string that is about four feetlong, tie it to the end of the pull chain on your ceiling fan. It will keep her going for hours as long as you hit it from time to time. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

And what of all the workers that lost money because of the practices of Skyride? Or how much money did the Martin Memorial Fund lose out on because of the phone number scam? If you knew what was going on, as you now do, would you continue to work there? If anything they should be upset that the owners of Skyride have but their well-being and paycheck on the line so they can do what? Make a few bucks more? The workers at Enron or MCI didn't know what was going on, but the actions of those that ran the company had a negative effect by all working there. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

The good news? Solid proof of their practices that will hold up in court. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Until I went and spent time with my family in Ireland I wasn't aware this was going on. While talking with my cousins that own a large farm in Limerick, I made mention that at least the attacks don't happen around them. I had no idea just how wrong I was - the mutilations and torture that occurs on a small individual level caught me off guard. All of it based on what religion you happened to be born into . They told me about a catholic farmer that had his knees drilled out ONLY because he married a protestant. I have a large family that still live up and down the entire west coast of Ireland (from Sligo to Kerry)....and all of them are tired of it. They don't care anymore if the 6 counties are returned to the South - they just want to go on with their lives. However, idealists that have no connection or clue to what the people of their country really want continue to wage their little war. The northern and southern terrorists are not a true representation of their people...and they are fighting a battle that many don't care about anymore. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

I didn't see this posted yet... July 22, 2005 BY GLEN JOHNSON WASHINGTON -- The House voted Thursday to extend the USA Patriot Act, the nation's main anti-terrorism tool, just hours after televisions in the Capitol beamed images of a new attack in London. As similar legislation worked its way through the Senate, House Republicans generally cast the law as a valuable asset in the war on terror. Most Democrats echoed that support but said they were concerned the law could allow citizens' civil liberties to be infringed. After more than nine hours of debate, the House approved the measure 257-171. Forty-three Democrats joined 214 Republicans in voting to renew key provisions of the Patriot Act that were set to expire at the end of the year. 'The threat has not receded' The bulk of the back-and-forth centered on language making permanent 14 of 16 provisions that had four-year sunset provisions under the original law, which Congress passed overwhelmingly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The bill has 10-year extensions to the two other provisions set to expire on Dec. 31, one allowing roving wiretaps and another allowing searches of library and medical records. ''While the Patriot Act and other anti-terrorism initiatives have helped avert additional attacks on our soil, the threat has not receded,'' said Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the panel, said he backed the majority of Patriot Act provisions but feared the extensions could lessen accountability. ''Ten years is not a sunset; 10 years is semi-permanent,'' he said. President Bush hailed the vote. ''The Patriot Act is a key part of our efforts to combat terrorism and protect the American people, and the Congress needs to send me a bill soon that renews the act without weakening our ability to fight terror,'' Bush said in a statement released by the White House. As the House debated the bill, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved its own extension of the act, though it included only four-year extensions for the roving wiretap and records search provisions. A competing bill also has been approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which would give the FBI expanded powers to subpoena records without the approval of a judge or grand jury. That ensured further Senate talks on the terrorism-fighting measure. The House legislation will also have to be reconciled with whatever emerges from the Senate. AP _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Because women mistake arrogance and assholes for confidence. They are attracted to men that they feel are manly. It's more of the idea they are attracted to than the actual practice of it. I've had a few women confess to me that they will use/abuse a guy they feel is 'nice.' A lot of times they seem to interpret respect, patience and understanding as to someone that has no backbone. Is this all women? No. But it seems to be the majority of the ones I have spent too much time with. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Hey bud - I know you have been stressed out over the last couple months...glad to see you are finally on the home stretch. Enjoy your few days off! /cheer _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

You have said what I've repeated nearly a dozen times in this thread. The issue is not the business model - it is time tested and used all across the world by some of the biggest and best. I don't care if a DZ has a good, honest and legal way to make money over their competitor. The issue is how the business is run and the means they will use to produce a profit. The issue is the unethical and illegal methods it utilizes. This is damaging for everyone connected to skydiving. Bill Booth has said many times that it would only take one major law suit to bring down this industry - the ironic thing is that with Skyride it may not be connected to a fatality or injury. Every few pages in this thread it gets off track from a troll or someone wanting to transfer their anger towards the wrong person/DZ. There needs to be focus behind this, and people need to remember why this is different than anything else in this sport. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

In the long run? Not really. This is coming from a person that has set up pay-per-click via google, yahoo and MSN. You could effect anywhere from pennies to a few bucks per day, depending on how large they bid for ranking when keywords are searched. The cost is nothing that one tandem a week couldn't cover the cost of. You would be wasting your time mostly. My guess from playing with searches on google is they paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $1-5 for words like "skydive and skydiving" and additional words like "Chicago, New York, Los Angeles." However, they would only need to do this over a certain period of time before they could lower their bid for those words. Each click on the ad would also raise the ranking within Google - thus when someone searches "skydiving chicago" the skyride site should be in the tops of the unsponsored links as well. However, using their ads against them is just as unethical as they are. No one shold be doing it. It is now called 'click-fraud' and companies like google are working to prevent it - rumor is, they already have a measure in place where an IP addy is blocked out from registering after so many clicks in a certain period of time. There is also a lawsuit in the works against a company that was clicking on the links of their competitors to drive them out of the market. No one knows just how much data Google does store, but I'm certain they could chase down the people who commit this fraud. You can't fight fraud with fraud and hope to come out the winner. It has been said a few times before - the only way to make an impact against skyride is to: 1) Get DZs to stop using them and to make official requests to have their names, images, etc removed from any skyride related site. Send the request via certified mail so they can be used in court at a later date. 2) Bring them to court - not only the owners but every corporation connected to Skyride. I have it under good authority that the USPA actions are only the start of things to come. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

Well, its more a case of they like it if you are PMI certified if you apply for a PM position. If memory serves me right, the certification requires some practical experience... But have a look yourself at the site to see what it entails. You need 5 years worth of experience before you can test for it. Also, I would stick with the schools and training centers listed on the PMI website. There are a ton of terrible classes led by sub-par instructors floating around out there. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....

If you have 5+ years of leadership type rolls with no MBA then I would suggest getting your PMP certification from PMI - even if you are not looking to change jobs soon. Consistent career growth and training is a key item when looking over resumes. Personal improvement for the sake of personal growth is a quality that all hiring managers are looking for at this high a level. The certification is an initial qualifier that many companies are starting to use. I can't think of a client that has demanded a PMP - but it does help and there is never anything wrong with adding letters after your name. If you continue down this road I would recommend getting your MBA as this will become a hard-core requirement within the next five years (you will not be able to compete in 7-10 years if you do not have one). Therefore the PMP would be a good stop-gap. Also, some sort of training on process control and improvement would be a good idea as well - take a look at Six Sigma. PMI is well respected on a global level partially because you have to apply to take the test. It is also one of the best networking groups I have ever been associated with (I have several local chapter memberships due to my profession...and one of the exceptions as I do not have my PMP). Google the PMBOK - Project Managment Body of Knowledge. It is the bible of the PMP and you will need to study it to pass the tests. _________________________________________ you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me.... I WILL fly again.....