NWFlyer

Who will be running in opposition to him? Do we need a write-in campaign? The USPA membership will decide whether Glenn Bangs is reelected as a member of the board. If he is reelected as a member of the board, the board will then decide whether or not he is reelected to the Executive Committee and to serve as Board President. Glenn Bangs is a National Director. Up to 8 people can be elected as National Directors in any year. As long as at least 8 candidates (whether they are on the ballot or write-in candidates) receive more votes than Glenn Bangs does, he will not be reelected to the board. (This assumes he runs for National Director, he could, of course, choose to run for Regional Director in his region). Details in the governance manual, found here: http://www.uspa.org/publications/manuals.htm "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 townhouse - we have four units in our little "complex" in the city. Things I love about it ... -I got new construction in the city (fewer things to maintain). -I don't have to maintain a yard. -It feels like I have more space than a condo or single-level house because it's on multiple levels. -I have more of a view than I would in a single-family house. -I really love my neighbors (but I got lucky that way.) Things I don't like as much... -I would like outdoor space just outside my living room ... I have to go downstairs or upstairs to get that. -Schlepping up and down three levels can be a pain. -Laundry room in the basement, bedrooms on the third floor. Laundry's a pain. This seems to be a (stupidly) common townhouse layout. -The way my unit is laid out, if I were ever injured, I'd really be screwed because I have to come up a flight of stairs to get to my living levels. All that's on my entry level is garage/utility/laundry room. "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

Me neither... my prescription was ready at Walgreen's before I got bored enough to buy it. But not before I got bored enough to take a photo and send it to him. "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

Aww, thanks, but really it's just moving my postwhoring/TV watching from my couch to theirs for the evening. I fully expect the peanut to be asleep the whole time. (Watch... tomorrow night she'll decide to deviate from routine and wail the whole 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

Surely the turtle has a secret admirer out there who wants to give him some groovy love. "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 think the distance between us is starting to put a strain on our relationship. It's not the distance. It's that you don't give me big fat kisses anymore. "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

Woo hoo! "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

Define "alone." I'm in a relationship but won't be with my sweetie. And I will be spending the evening with a young lady who will (I hope) be asleep the entire time. She's 3 months old, you see, and I'm doing a favor for her parents so they can go out for a nice dinner on V-day. So... I don't think I'd say I'll be alone, per se, but she won't exactly be providing great conversation or exciting company. "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

Lessee.... Didn't get in a workout in Orlando, even though those who were staying at the hotel that had free passes to the really nice Y were nice enough to scam me free passes... but I did do that skydiving thing and that's kind of a workout at times. But I did get up this morning in time to do 15 minutes on the elliptical before the brand-new morning yoga class at my gym (yay for them finally adding a morning yoga class). It was a great class but there were only two of us in it, so unless the attendance picks up in subsequent weeks I fear they'll cancel it. "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 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

Looking at my numbers, I'm probably not the person you'd expect to say it, but I like the idea. Then again, my per day numbers have gone steadily down in the past year as I've noticed the signal-to-noise ratio change. I don't foresee any issue staying within a reasonable post-per-day limit most days. "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

Ooh, thanks for the heads up. Setting tivo to record it right now (love the ability to set that from the web!). "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

Thanks for your carefully neutral clarification, Q. Great to catch up with you as well.

Base to final she was thinking "I hope the hoo-man doesn't make me move from my nice, warm sunny spot." As they made it to the ground, she's saying "Again, again!" That's what everyone says when they go on plane rides, right? "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

Who are you again? "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

USPA is way behind and taking a while to catch up ... but they are catching up. Slowly. As someone who works in IT, I can sympathize ... a poorly implemented project can actually set you back farther than no project at all. "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

Damnit, Spence, I coulda spanked you in person this weekend. Happy b'day! "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 C license ... I never went officially uncurrent. And although the weather went a bit wonky mid-day, I don't think it ever actually rained, so pooh on your dire predictions of doom and gloom for my visit to Z-Hills, Marc! "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 sat in the Nominations and Elections committee meeting Sunday morning and I think that it was pretty clear that it was a priority ... but I think they also realized that they are absolutely not going to be ready; and rather than risk fucking it up royally this cycle, they'd rather wait. I give them credit for that; fucking it up royally could mean no online balloting for a long time to come ... waiting one more cycle could mean getting it right the first time and having it from now on (of course, it's inexcusable that we're this far behind the times, but given that we are where we are, I think it was the right decision). "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

Ask to get back on the list, I guess. "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 attached the only one that I have, which was taken at The Farm at the Christmas Boogie in 2006. To download the full-resolution photo you can click on here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krisanne/319972820/sizes/o/in/set-72157594415934844/ Or for a smaller one, you can go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krisanne/319972820/sizes/m/in/set-72157594415934844/ Let me know if you're having any trouble. Lee used to ask me to resize photos for him all the time because he said he could never figure it out. Maybe it runs in the family. "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 finally have 'em for the first time in a long time so I'm gonna start the thread this week. 1:3:1 One very "interesting" USPA Board of Directors meeting attended. Three awesome jumps at Z-Hills yesterday, finally getting in the air after a three month layoff, and damn, it felt good. owed for my first (but definitely not my last) visit to Z-Hills. Got to meet some of the amazing folks there and do some very fun jumps, including chaoskitty's 500th (that we later found out was also xenaswampjumper's 200th). Congrats to both ladies on their milestones!) (for those who can't remember, it's humps or other meaningful number: jumps: beer owed) "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

According to the discussion in both the Nominations & Elections Committee and the Full Board, a considerable number (no exact numbers were given, so I do not know if it is a majority or not) of ballots are photocopy versions. Quite a bit of voter turnout comes via grassroots efforts of candidates and dropzones who bring ballots to prospective voters (members) and request that they complete them. The board did make a commitment to e-voting, but also recognized that they are not there yet and that they didn't want to rush it for this election cycle. Getting it right is important - I'd hate to see them rush it, get it wrong, and be doomed to paper forever because everyone would then say "e ballots don't work!" "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, hopefully the board will think better of the decision at the summer meeting. But if they don't, it just means getting more creative in how you encourage people to vote. It means giving them information in another format and getting them to go to their Parachutist and get the ballot (and bother to mail it themselves ... hmm... getting a buncha lazy skydivers to do things for themselves????) "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

In the USPA Board of Directors meeting today, a decision was made to declare that only the actual ballots that are sent out Parachutist magazine elections issue are legal ballots. In all past elections, photocopied ballots were legal, so long as they met all other requirements of a legal ballot. As a USPA member, I have to say that this new requirement absolutely appalls me. Coupled with two other decisions that came out of this meeting (the delay of online voting, which is actually a wise decision given how behind USPA already is technologically, though it's sad that we ARE so far behind; and the decision by the board not to consider any term limits for board members), it's crystal clear to me that there are at least some members on this board whose only interest is protecting their position on the board. I understand where it is coming from - it is an attempt to minimize the potential for fraud. But frankly, with abysmally low voter turnout already, this will only serve to further minimize turnout, and hurt the chances of challenger candidates who wish to distribute blank ballots to jumpers at dropzones and jumper events in an effort to drum up support and enthusiasm for the election. With electronic voting still at least one election cycle away, we've got to work with paper ballots for the next cycle. The board has accepted photocopied ballots for as long as there have been elections and photocopiers - why change now? Fear? There's still one more board meeting prior to the elections in which this decision can change, and it will be on the agenda at that meeting. I strongly encourage every USPA member to write to your regional director and national directors on this issue and let them know how important it is to encourage voter participation and that allowing photocopied ballots is a critical part of that process. "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