NWFlyer

Fair enough. I grew up with a different example - my uncle's ex (they split up when their daughters were young adults) was always welcome at extended family gatherings on my uncle's side even after they split up (and she's still welcome although my uncle has passed away). Now I don't know the details of whether she'd be welcome at smaller gatherings, but she was usually around for the big gatherings that involved my uncle, his siblings, and all of their families. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Is the ex the mother of your kids? Are the kids involved in the family gatherings? If so then I can see that being a nice gesture to prevent your kids from having to take "sides" at the holidays, provided you two can be grownups around each other. Now, if there's no kids involved, that does seem a little unfair to you ... you're the blood relative. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Oh I know, mostly being silly. Besides, it sounds like he threw the case - depending on the size and construction of the case it could potentially break a window/injure someone if thrown at high speeds. Or fall apart and leave a creamy mess. Either way I just don't get road rage. Life's way too short to get that frustrated. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

There will be plenty open in the warmer states, but I presume you're asking for something in relatively close driving distance of Ann Arbor? Good luck with that (though I'll defer to the locals if there are any hardy souls that still jump in that area in December). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Um... a missile? I love that the guy with the gun gets charged with a misdemeanor and the guy with the yogurt gets a felony charge. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/event.php?eid=153225984703181 There's some info on FB now. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Yeah, but you're sleeping with the bus driver. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Informative, but not the incident where Shannon was hurt. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Forget all of that and listen to your instructors. Ask questions - that's what your instructors are there for. Have fun! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

If you're jumping with an organizer, ask for feedback. Ask a lot of questions when you're planning the skydive. "So if I'm in the rear float slot, what am I trying to do on exit?" Once you get a little more experience you can phrase them as confirmation questions "So on rear float I want to leave a hair early and drop straight down? Is that right for this exit?" Talk to organizers and people you're jumping with about things you want to work on. If you're often in the base and want to practice diving, say that, but also ask questions about what you need to know as a diver, and ask for feedback. If every time you do a donut the piece ends up spinning, one or more people in the donut is doing it wrong ... ask about how to prevent that. There's a bunch of examples I could come up with, but really it's just a matter of looking at what worked and didn't and trying to understand why what didn't work didn't work and doing it better the next time. As those things become easy, figure out what the next, harder move is and try that. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Considering there are skydivers all over the world who aren't USPA members I'm guessing a lot. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

You can't "skip" a step - for example, to get a C, you still have to meet all the requirements for an A and a B even though you might never apply for the B license (that's what I did). In my case I had about 150 jumps before I managed to get water training, and I saw no immediate value in the B, so I just waited till I was ready to apply for the C. Took both tests at the same time and documented requirements for both but only applied for C. If someone asks me to sign a bunch of jumps in a row in their logbook I'll mix it up and use each of my license numbers to sign different jumps. All of them are valid numbers. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Timmmmmmmaaaaaaayyyyyyyy! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Board members are not paid for their time. Their expenses for travel to/from the board meetings are covered, and I believe regional directors get a small amount to cover travel throughout their regions, but that's about it. USPA headquarters staff are paid employees of the organization. Links to some financial documents were recently posted in the USPA Elections forum: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3984746 "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Might it have been a celebration of the championship that they have already won ... the NLCS, which was won out of town? I agree that if they're prematurely celebrating a WS victory that's just tempting the fates! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

If google searches mean anything there will be a lot of Jersey Shore this year ... http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/ghosts-goblins-and-haunting-halloween.html "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/2010/10/50-bestworst-halloween-costumes-ever-of.html There are some ...um.... fine costumes in here. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Since one of the USPA Nationals 10-way teams this year was called "How'd I Get This Black Eye" I think the spirit is still alive. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Ah, cool, looks like they just extended it (probably because of the problems they were having). This will be my PIA, so I'll defer to those who've been before to talk about what to expect. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Definitely. 10-way speed (not just stars, but other formations as well) is still an event at USPA Nationals, and there are many "speed meets" still going on (two I know of are the Elsinore Speed Meet and the Perris Rumble Seat Meet, though I'm sure there are more). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Bump... reminder that the early (save $100 on full registration) registration window is scheduled to end on Monday. I just registered today (the problem with online registration has been fixed). BTW, I very much appreciated the e-mail receipt from the "PARACHUTE INDUSTRY ASS." "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Do they have a new set of wheels back in Arlington? Cuz they sure came off the bus up here ... "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Welcome to San Francisco, Texans! http://ht.ly/3141b "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I have a bank of "PTO" so sick and vacation comes from the same pool of time. The good news is that my job is one that I can do from home, so I'll usually do that rather than taking a sick day when I just have a nasty cold or flu. We do have a separate bank of days for serious injury/illness, but I think you can't use those unless you're hospitalized, have surgery, or will otherwise be out for 5+ days for sickness. Edited to add - my best legit "late for work" story was that I couldn't get out of my street because there was a hostage situation down the street. It was a one-block, dead-end street and they had the whole street blocked off past my house - it was a decent neighborhood but the perp had decided to hole up in his grandmother's house (who lived on my street). My boss just laughed at me and said "Really? You couldn't come up with anything better than that?" "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Yep, if we end up going to the Halloween party at SkyDance our plan is to reuse our CR costumes, too. Mine will now be accessorized with a lovely walking boot. I hope she didn't throw away her "implants." "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke