NWFlyer

Couple choices. 1) You ask someone else to buy the beer on your behalf, and you enjoy the atmosphere on the dropzone while the beer is being consumed. Whether you actually consume any is, of course, your personal choice. 2) You bring in something else that you can legally purchase and enjoy to pay your "debt," whether it's a cooler full of ice cold sports drinks & bottled water on a hot day, or buying a stack of pizzas to feed the hungry masses at day's end. Note that some people will disagree with me on #2, but I think it's more about the sharing and camaraderie of "paying your debts" than it is about beer, specifically. #2 works for people who can't or don't drink, whether due to age or personal choice. "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

Added one. As others have said, suck it up and finish the degree. "Use" it immediately or don't, but give yourself the opportunity to use it by finishing it up 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

No, the 3k for the A license is separate. So 6k it's enough for good used gear? around how much is a new one? Brand-new everything can run you in the 7-8K range. 6K is plenty for used gear; with 6K you could even get a combination of used and new gear. Or you could spend less on gear and use a good portion of that for jumping. Newer, flashier gear doesn't make you a better skydiver. More jumps can. "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://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/07/roger_loves_chaz.html A friend posted this on FB this morning. Very very sweet (and typically excellent writing).

Yup, I was asked to remove a t-shirt that a DZO considered offensive. The DZO handed me a free t-shirt and asked me to change. I started to argue, then bit my tongue and said "Okay, no problem" and changed, because I realized it wasn't my DZ, so it wasn't my rules. This isn't a free speech issue. It's a business decision. You don't have to like it. You can take your business elsewhere. You can decide based on this one that you never want to give Lake Wales any business. That's all cool, that's your right, just as they have the right not to do business with you for any reason that doesn't break a law. "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

Fair enough - I can appreciate your points and will give them some thought and weigh them against my primary reason for taking off the helmet, which is that I have found that I will significantly increase the likelihood of fogging on my full-face if I wear it all the way to altitude, even with the visor up, especially in colder weather. So it's not a "wah wah it's too hot" reason, it's a "I'd really like this visor to be fog-free when I'm in freefall" reason. "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, I was thinking packing, but that'll work too. To the OP: as for a percentage, it's probably meaningless since we all have such a wide range of income. So I could tell you I spend 20% of my income on skydiving, but it doesn't mean anything unless you know whether I make $20,000 or $200,000. "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 absolutely agree with both of you - ready to go the whole ride up. However, I've thought about it, and I consider my helmet to be non-essential gear in the case of an emergency, and I am more than willing to jettison it if necessary for an emergency exit. I will not stop to put it on if there's a GTFO situation. So I sometimes choose not to wear it above the "belts off" altitude. Leg straps, chest strap, all the "mission critical" stuff is set before I even climb into the plane, though. "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.fool.com/personal-finance/saving/budgeting-for-lazy-people.aspx Or, to simplify it even further, can you make it so that your expenses < income such that you have enough left over to skydive? And remember, income doesn't have to come from just your primary job. "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

Oops. Did they find it? I lost one on exit a few years ago and found it. (story here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2861976) "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 don't see how pointing out that neither side is getting this right is "giving a pass." Just to make sure I'm perfectly clear, "neither side" includes both Democrats (including the Obama administration), and Republicans. Unless you'd like to show me articles that show that the Republicans are doing much better than Democrats in their treatment of women in the workplace, I'm going to stand by this one for now.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/10/18/white-house-record-on-women-should-be-better/ The Forbes article addresses both issues; definitely sounds like there's some "there there" but it also doesn't sound all that different from a lot of U.S. employers. Not that that's a GOOD thing, per se, and it would be nice to see the White House hold itself to a higher standard (overall, I agree with the author's premise that the records should be better). But the reality is that the White House staff are all products of U.S. workplaces of various types, and arrive with that experience of "how things are" under their belt. So, y'know, neither side is getting this one 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

Source? (Serious question... if this has been in the news, I missed 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

We're all missing the part of this story that's the most fun (and that will provide all kinds of Comedy Central late night fodder): "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

Blue Skies, BillyVance. "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 mean an audible? "Dytter" is a brand name that refers to an audible that is no longer produced by L&B (but can sometimes be found used). Do you want one that logs jumps as well or one that just provides audible tones? Either way, if you want inexpensive, you'll probably want to look for used. There are good deals out there from time to time, but you have to be patient and willing to check the classifieds regularly (or ask around at your dropzone for people who might have one sitting in their closets). "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

Beware of "I can fix this;" it's killed more than a couple of people. Wendy P. Thanks for that, I was shaking my head because I couldn't figure out what another option would be. I consider "fix it" to be just forestalling the inevitable decision between "keep it" and "chop it." Making the decision at the right time about trying to fix it preserves both options. Keep trying to fix it too long and you are stuck with 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

1500ish is the absolute lowest I'll go without a landable parachute over my head. But I keep my audible "flatline" setting at 2000. Why? Because if I ever hear it in freefall, and haven't yet taken any action to deploy a parachute, I'm pretty sure that muscle memory is going to kick in and I will reach immediately for my main. If I hear that alarm at 2000, then I've still got a sporting chance at getting the main deployed and opened up before AAD-spooking altitude. It means that very occasionally I hear the flatline while the main is deploying. I'm okay with 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

Like skydiving, I'd say that skydive radio is not for everyone. Personally, I really enjoy their brand of banter, swear words and 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

I use an AAD Because in the case of incapacitation, it takes me from guaranteed death to possible survival. Not guaranteed survival. "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

Scrabble, but the smallest travel versions might not be small enough for what you want. "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

Likely outcome on the first part: even fewer bills would make it out of committee. Likely outcome on the second part: each party can create polls of its constituents that will get them exactly the answer they want (either that a majority support it or a majority don't support it). I guess I'm not seeing which of the myriad problems with our legislative bodies that this solves. "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

Wasn't trying to oversimplify your point, just bringing up another angle.

That's an interesting twist on this. My current employer offers benefits both to spouses and to domestic partners. I'm pretty sure the packages are identical. For DPs it doesn't require a civil union or any other formal state-issued legal document; it just requires that the employee sign an affidavit stating that they are in a domestic partnership (with lots of specific terms defining what that is). That's available to both opposite-sex and same-sex DPs. I believe that by law (can't recall if it's CA or US law) if they offer DP benefits to same-sex couples they also have to offer them to opposite-sex couples. It'll be interesting to see if same-sex marriage becomes fully legal nationally whether we'll see DP benefits go away altogether (under the premise that marriage is now available to everyone), or whether employers will continue to provide benefits to those in committed relationships outside of marriage. "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 haven't watched that movie, but I've heard enough about it to know that I'd probably be frustrated with it as vegan propaganda. THAT SAID... I am a firm believer in the science that supports our need for the nutrients that we can get from animal protein, but I am also in full support of a lot of the points made by vegetarians & vegans about how horrible the majority of the meat produced in this country is for health and the environment. So, instead of going veggie/vegan, I've gone in the other direction; virtually all the meat I prepare at home (which represents 80%+ of my meals) is from traditional, sustainable sources; grass-fed beef & lamb, pasture-raised pork, well-raised chickens, wild fish (though sourcing fish is really getting to be a challenge). I buy in bulk directly from the rancher for most of the meat that I have (that 7 cf chest freezer helps). Keeps the cost/lb way down while still ensuring high quality. So, I think there's ways to address the issues raised in Forks Over Knives without necessarily abandoning meat. But it does mean you pretty much stop buying meat at a typical grocery store. I'd also maintain that I eat as many or more vegetables as a lot of vegetarians & vegans I know. Not to paint all with the same brush, but I know some who survive largely on processed foods and don't actually eat a lot of fresh veggies. "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