NWFlyer

Don't be silly. What do the Irish know about drinking? Seriously, tho, you'll have a fun time. It's been 15 years since my only trip to Ireland, so I'm afraid I don't really have any recollection of specific places we stayed or visited, but it's a beautiful place with great people. "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

Well, two are mine, and two are the S.O.'s. Regular & water rigs for each of us. (And my water rig is cobbled together by a bunch of borrowed gear, so I'm not that spoiled). "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

Can you tell that everyone has their loyalties? Check 'em all out - see which one or ones you like best. There are some people in the area who are "homers" and some who bounce around to different DZs depending on what's going on where, or on how the weather patterns are flowing that day (there's lots of little micro-climates that can make one DZ jumpable and one 50 miles away socked in or winded out). I moved to the Bay Area a year and a half ago, though I'd spent a lot of time down here before I moved. I've jumped at most of the DZs and each has a different vibe and a different crowd - you may find one clicks with you, or you may like to float around. It's one of the nice things about living in the area. I consider Skydance home, but I'll pop around to some of the other DZs when there's something fun going on or a friend is having a milestone. Within 3 hours you'll have the ones mentioned so far (Skydance, Parachute Center, NorCal Skydiving) plus Skydive Sacramento, Bay Area Skydiving, Skydive Hollister, and Skydive Monterey Bay. Lots to check out. I think I got all of them ... I'm sure someone will chime in if I missed one ... I'd also recommend you join the Yahoo group that is used by skydivers across northern California. People use it to talk up events both on and off the dropzone. Good way to keep connected. http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/norcal_skydiving/ "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 met some folks from WV at Skyfest a couple years ago - they jumped here, which is just over the border in Ohio: http://www.dropzone.com/dropzone/Detailed/355.shtml Not sure how close it is to where your family lives... "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

SO true. The b.f. and I usually get each other something silly. Last year's led to a great story - he gave me a massive mylar balloon in the shape of a monkey holding a valentine's heart. We put it in the living room and my cat was immediately fascinated with it, tugging on the ribbon, and watching the balloon bounce up and down. Well, the ribbon somehow got attached to him, and suddenly he's TEARING down the hall to the other end of the apartment ... with the balloon following him. He does this two or three time, up and down from one end to the other till finally the balloon stops "chasing" him. He then went and hid under my bed. I should give it some context - this is not a scaredy-cat - he readily comes up and checks out all new people in the room, and the only time he goes under the bed is when he's trying to retrieve one of his toys that has ended up there. So I comforted him and picked him up to bring him back to the living room (and the balloon). Sheer terror! Low to the ground, clearly traumatized, he takes off running again to the bedroom. After a few times of trying to acclimate him (and laughing our asses off at the poor guy in the process), I finally put the balloon in a closet. To this day, the cat turns tail and runs at even the tiniest mylar balloon. "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

January 30th. "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've used it for 10+ years and have used the web-based version for several years now (before that it was the CDs). I find it intuitive and easy to use and I haven't heard of any security issues with the service. If you happen to have a Vanguard account (my work retirement savings account is through them) log into Vanguard first - they're offering a discount on TurboTax but you have to go through the Vanguard site to get the discount applied. "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.uspa.org/SIM/Read/Section5/tabid/168/Default.aspx#970 That's what USPA recommends. As an A license holder with more than 60 days since your last jump, USPA recommends recurrency training. Exactly what your DZ will ask you to do is up to the DZ. You certainly can't go wrong re-reading parts of the SIM and reviewing emergency procedures for a variety of possible situations.

Depends. If they're enough of a tight-ass to turn it into a diamond, it might be kind of romantic. "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

We're not snowed in (but it is a little drizzly out there ) but this thread inspired me to make French toast anyway. Didn't find any day-old at the bakery, but I grabbed a nice loaf of hearty white buttermilk bread and left the slices out overnight so they were nice and stale. Mmm... food coma! "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

We loved it. We used some Marriott points a couple years ago on a Perris trip and the closest location was Riverside. Found it on an internet search and it turned out to be one of the more memorable breakfasts. As the reviews said it doesn't look like much, but the food is fantastic. "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 now have four freshly-repacked rigs sitting in my living room. Are we there yet? "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

Best French toast I have had, ever ever ever was made with cinnamon rolls. Not cinnamon bread, but massive cinnamon rolls that were wonderful treats in their own right. Actually ltdiver could probably go enjoy that French toast since it's at a place sort of in her neck of the woods - at Brandon's Diner in Riverside. "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

People make it without vanilla extract? Who knew? Good thing my mom wasn't one of them. Little bit of cinnamon and sugar, too. Mmmm... I'm not getting snowed in but I might have to buy some bread, too (got everything else). Maybe I'll check the day-old shelf at the neighborhood bakery. "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 I hear 20? "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

An old friend of mine who is now a pretty well known blogger/speaker/writer about astronomy commented on that very topic today ... he's definitely pro-science when it comes to NASA's budget. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/02/01/president-obamas-nasa-budget-unveiled/ "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

It's been way too long! Looking forward to catching up. "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

It was only making partial sense to me but when I got home yesterday I checked my box and since I'm a member there was something there for me. Now it makes MUCH more sense. "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

Here we go again. Sounds like we've been here before with this one. Apparently the "right people" told him a 150 would be just swell. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3727947 "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

As you alluded to in mentioning your canopy sizes, this is yet another reason to keep your reserve in a "shit hits the fan" size rather than "really small so my rig looks cool" size. "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

Hey, Rich - you mentioned school supplies - are there any particular kinds of things that people usually bring or that are typically requested? "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'm lost..... Me too... although I guess once I get my magazines this month I'll know which one it's in this time. "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

Heh heh ... she said "package." I didn't realize they'd changed the site. I've been up there since Oct but it used to be an animation that changed so if you didn't look at the right time you wouldn't see me. "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

Follow-up article: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100128/A_NEWS/1280317/0/A_NEWS "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, that's a big point in favor of laser printers. I think the 4L cartridges are around $20 for a refurbished one these days and, like I said, I think I've bought two in the 15 years I've owned the printer. Maybe 3. "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