NWFlyer

My concern would be less that you don't remember how to pack (it takes practice, and repetition, and you're brand new and haven't been jumping), and more whether you're able to adequately evaluate the suitability of the gear you're considering. It sounds like you don't know that many folks, so do you have a rigger that you can work with to evaluate the safety and quality of the gear before you make a final purchase? Do you know someone that can help you evaluate your skill set and recommend appropriately sized canopies for your experience level? Without those things, I'd recommend against a purchase until you are able to reconnect and find those people who can help you out. "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.miamiherald.com/2012/04/20/2758871/floridas-welfare-drug-tests-cost.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/us/no-savings-found-in-florida-welfare-drug-tests.html 108 of 4,086 is "a lot"? That's 2.6% by my math. I'll grant you that 2.6% is "a lot" in certain circumstances (manufacturing error tolerance, for example) but in this case, seems pretty darned low. But it's a good thing the good taxpayers of Florida aren't subsidizing those drug users 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

But, but, but, that's written in Lawyer. I need my information translated to Sound Bite, please. "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

Cheaper in the long run since you're getting a lot more nutrition out of that food. "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 the hype you created? (And tried to create again)? Do you remember the hype about the 100,000th post? Pretty sure that was before my 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

You mean the hype you created? (And tried to create 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

Used to be that lawmakers passed stuff like Medicare and Social Security – things that were awesome in the short and mid term was predictably unsustainable. So what happens is all the Senators and Reps who pass these laws are dead of old age before the bill comes due. Yeah, but we've gone from a one-to-two generations definition of "short term" to a one-to-two month/quarter definition of "short term." Not that either sets us up well for the long term, but it seems to be getting progressively worse. "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

And his signature is on the BCA of 2011 that caused it. He proposed it, I think. Anyone notice the new thing in politics is to come to some agreement that sets up some prospective disaster. The supposed disaster is a known byproduct of the action, and indeed “disaster” is the very reason for it to be set up. Then disaster looms and as it approaches the doom and gloom take front page over and over. The result is inevitably some dumbass deal that provides a short term bandaid, thus ensuring that the specter of another doom and gloom horror show will develop in the next three to six months requiring action now to prevent catastrophe. I’m pretty sick of it, actually. It rewards short-term thinking, that's for sure and absolves lawmakers from any responsibility to the long-term consequences of their actions. Wait, this is starting to sound kinda familiar... "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

But they're usually much more cooperative if you toss 'em a beer (and make sure they're ready to catch it, first). "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, given that I'm 6'6" and have two suits - one for belly and one for VFF sitting around not being used right now... How about I just send them to you to use. You'll need to have someone bring them in an bit since I was 240 when I bought them. You pay the shipping. I don't care what everyone else says about you. You're pretty awesome in my book. "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 see you're having reading comprehension problems again. BRK-B. "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 two episodes in, and I'm pretty sure that I'll be spending a good portion of this weekend on the couch powering through the rest (it's supposed to be super windy at the dropzone, so at least this gives me something to look forward to instead). Spacey is phenomenal, and the rest of the characters are pretty great, too (though I'm already annoyed with little miss journalist, I understand she's an important plot device). "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

Now, now, bless their hearts, they ratified it waaaaaay back in 1995, which was practically right after the amendment was passed. It's just some silly ol' paperwork, after 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 caught up on Daily Shows last night and I had to rewind that one to watch it again I was laughing so damned hard. "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

What I did with Canon batteries for my Grand Canyon trip (knowing that I couldn't charge for the entire 9 day trip) was to use the battery that came with it as my primary battery and I bought two more off-brand batteries cheap as my backups. I think I got to day 7 before I swapped out the original battery (of course, I'd changed settings on the camera to maximize battery life, like turning off the automatic display of photos, lowering the brightness of the display, etc.). The knockoffs may not be as good as the Canon ones, but they're a lot cheaper. "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

Unfortunately I don't have that kind of liquidity! But catsup is liquid. Actually I think it's a colloid. Not your point, was it? In a very anti-SC move, I have to say "You're right, I'm wrong. Thank you for providing additional evidence to change my opinion on this issue." I'm not sure I had a point. Except that I now own shares of BRK. Mmm... HFCS-based condiments. "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

This (though not at Summerfest, at the American Boogie a couple years ago). Of course I'm a canned/bottled beverage marketer's worst nightmare in that I basically drink three non-alcoholic beverages: 90% tap water, 7% coffee, and 2.5% hot tea. The other 0.5% is assorted and occasional packaged soft drinks, usually club soda or seltzer. "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

Unfortunately I don't have that kind of liquidity! But catsup is liquid. "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 buy catsup. I might pick up BRK-B. "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

Interesting take on student loan debt and its impact on financial health: http://www.wisebread.com/student-loans-the-third-way-to-ruin-your-finances "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 Canon PowerShot D10 that I got for my Grand Canyon rafting trip. I've been very happy with it in terms of ruggedness and photo quality. "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

The farther along someone is in their career, the less I care about where they went to school. If I'm hiring for a position that requires a degree, then I just care that they went to school, but if they also bring 10+ years of experience, I'm much more interested in that work experience and what they bring to the table than I am about what school they managed to get into when they were 18 (or, for that matter, if they even followed a traditional college path and started at 18). That said, "name" schools can and do open doors, either directly (one of the intangibles you get with a prestige school is access to a broad and often very well-placed alumni network), or indirectly (people see a "name" school on the resume and you get an interview where someone else might not). But your "El Cheapo" vs. "Harvard" comparison isn't necessarily the best one. There are some top-notch public universities whose names carry a lot of weight in the marketplace (at least among employers who care where their employees went to school) and there are some schools that cost a fortune (as much or more than the top-notch private schools like Harvard) that have a horrible reputation in the market. Cost is not necessarily a measure of quality or prestige of the degree. "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

This seems relevant ... http://xkcd.com/1052/ "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 feel like I've gotten my money's worth for both my bachelor's and masters' degrees, but I finished college almost 21 years ago and finished my masters' program almost 16 years ago. If I were starting today, I might make different decisions than I did back then just because the costs have skyrocketed and salaries haven't kept up. I was fortunate that my parents were able to pay for my college costs, which were at a public university at in-state rates. I seem to recall annual tuition when I was going was somewhere in the $5K/year range, which was something that my family could manage with the money they'd been putting away to cover college costs. My best guess is the tuition even for in-state students is 4 to 5 times that amount now. I paid for my own masters' degree, with loans, and I graduated with about 50 or 60K in debt. That was a lot and it took quite a while to pay off even with a decent salary (and I had a couple periods of not working during my debt payment period, having that debt didn't make dealing with unemployment any easier!), and I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone go into that kind of debt, let alone significantly more; but these days, that seems to be what it takes. So yeah, my decision might be very different if I had to face tuition as it is today. If I had a kid looking to go to college right now, I might suggest that he/she do a couple of years at a community college (at a significantly lower tuition cost) while living at home to save money on expenses, then transfer into a four-year program for the latter two years. But even that can be tough these days as community colleges are squeezed with budget cuts and high demand. All that said, I still think higher education has value, value that can go well beyond what you get out of it in increased salaries. But you have to make smart choices and understand that the cost/benefit may not be purely financial, and go into that with eyes open. "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

Very clear statement. I don't know why they're getting all pissy about 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