NWFlyer

So... I went back and read the actual text in the October Parachutist. I think that it's pretty clear that they will NOT be borrowing from the Trust Fund. Here's the last part of the last paragraph "Because there are restrictions on how tax-deductible donations to the independently administered U.S. Parachute Team Trust Fund may be used, USPA loaned $10,000 to the effort, to be repaid with interest from next year's proceeds." So, we can argue over whether this is the right thing for our dues money to support, but it's pretty clear that the Trust Fund isn't being touched 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

A used one. "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/AboutUSPA/Donations/tabid/316/Default.aspx Interesting interpretation of how that fund can be used. And by interesting I mean completely inappropriate and incorrect. "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

On the other coast. We have 'em on the schedule about once a month. "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

Sure, you can sell it; the new owner will have to catch up on the maintenance before he/she jumps it. Just be sure to be specific that the maintenance is overdue when you do sell it, so that a prospective purchaser can consider the cost of the maintenance in the price they are willing to pay. "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 win the scariest costume award, don't we? You weren't the only one freaked a bit. You were pretty scary. "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 saw it stalking toddlers! It's a miracle none of them were killed. "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 hits the nail on the head. At certain points in our projects, we emphasize face-to-face time with all the various parties. At that point we'll all gather in a conference room somewhere, and the team will typically include folks from various offices, many of whom are working away from their primary location. But for much of my work, it involves being accessible to people who are scattered around various locations. So long as I respond to my email, stay logged in to instant messaging, answer my phone, show up on the conference calls I'm supposed to be on, etc., I'm doing exactly the same work I'd be doing if I were in the office, just in a different location and in different clothing. As for productivity, so long as I meet the commitments I have to my projects and my management, no one gives a flip where I do the work. Sometimes, though, that commitment does mean being somewhere in person for a particular meeting, but otherwise, I get to work where it's best for me. Most of the time I need to be available to other project team members during standard business hours, so I tend to work standard business hours (and put my work away outside of those hours), but other jobs may have more flexibility around hours, too. "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

Updating my responses since they're ANCIENT! 1. Whats your name? Krisanne 2. How old are you? 34 40 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? Always been on my list of things to do, so I finally got around to doing it. 4. Are you single or taken? Married? Single. Know anyone cool? Met someone really cool not long after that last post. We've been together over 6 years now. 5. Do you have kids? No 6. What do you drive? 2001 Passat GLX (5 speed, tyvm!) (still!) 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? Not yet I've done a bunch since then, including one this weekend from the inimitable JohnMitchell (especially fun since he just left lip prints on my full face shield) 8. Where do you live? Seattle? Oakland 9. Do you have any pets?Nope. I even kill plants. Since then I've brought two cats into my life; one only lived two years (but she was born with kidney disease, so it was not due to any mistreatment or neglect on my part!) The other is a happy, healthy 4-year old. And I have grown a plant or two since then, too. 10. How many jumps do you have? 33 832 11. What color eyes do you have? Blue/Green/Gray depending on the day and... uh... other factors. 12. What is your nationality? American (British/German stock) 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? Yes 14. Favorite Movie? This is Spinal Tap 15. What do you do when you arent skydiving? Work as little as I can, play as much as I can. See profile. 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? No 17. If not... do you want to? To be determined 18. Do you have siblings? 1 older brother 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? Spain (still!) 20. What's your favorite color? Green 21. Where was the last place you flew to ( not skydiving )? SoCal (still the same, it's the most recent place I flew both for work and for 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

Oh hell yes! I was fortunate enough to live in Greece from age 5 to age 8 (1st through third grade) and it was one of the true formative experience of my life. I went back to Europe again at age 16 with a school trip to Italy, and again the following year to the UK. I have amazing memories of those trips - travel at that age is phenomenal. It sounds like you have a great, trusted set of chaperones for your daughter, she'll be traveling with a good friend, and there doesn't seem to be a huge amount to worry about. I did this "independent" travel back in the days before email, back when the internet was something that guys in government and academic labs used. I didn't call my parents at all on the trip; they trusted that I (or my chaperones) would call if there were an emergency, and that otherwise I'd be fine (and I was). Today, of course, you could "check in" regularly via email to make sure everything's going okay - it might make both of you feel more comfortable. It sounds like a phenomenal experience that will not only open her horizons (even if it is to the French ), and will give her a taste of independence (while still being safely managed by adults). "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

Steve pretty much summed up my feelings on full-time telecommuting as well. My setup is a bit different, though, and I like the balance. Depending on where I am in a project's lifecycle, I may be working from home every day for several weeks; or I may work from home only a few days a month. My "in the office" days are sometimes local, but are generally out of town, so I get the joys of business travel on top of being in the office. I have a cubicle in a local office that I visit from time to time, sometimes because I want access to tools or space in the office that I just don't have at home, though that's rare; often it's that I want a change of pace, or I need to hit the big box retailers out in the suburb where my office is located, so I combine it with a visit to the office. If I need to collaborate with folks in person, I don't mind going into the office at all, but if I'm just working on my own or on conference calls where all participants are scattered, I'd much rather take them from home. I'm pretty good at keeping the balance right; I just shut off the work laptop at the end of the day and put my Blackberry away till the next morning. It helps that I have a personal laptop and a personal phone, so I never have to pull those out to do personal stuff in the evenings, so I'm not tempted to look at any work-related stuff that comes in. "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

FIFY. "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 reading all these responses has been interesting; I suspect that, on the whole, you'll realize that skydiving culture is probably not all that different from any other group of people who share a common interest, particularly groups where there is a limited set of locations to perform the activity, and which require some level of social interaction to be involved in the activity Since I just recently did a whitewater rafting trip - that's probably a decent analogy; you can only raft by going to a river and there are a limited number of available rivers; similarly you can only skydive by going to a dropzone, and there are limited number of those. So you're going to be seeing the same faces regularly. Both sports can be done solo but are typically done in groups, etc. Both have relatively small, tight communities, at least of those who participate in the sport regularly and/or professionally (like skydiving instructors or river guides), and also have a large group of people who participate infrequently or a single time and only with the guidance of an experienced person (tandem students or whitewater raft trip clients). Both have a high risk factor that can be mitigated by careful risk management, and different participants take different approaches to risk management. All this prelude is to say ... I don't know if you're going to find anything particularly special about the skydiving culture that you couldn't also find in other similar group cultures. I'm not sure that the characteristics of the group would be due to the sport itself, or the type of culture that is formed/fostered by the way that you participate in the sport. "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; I'd say exactly the opposite. I feel like since I'm in a committed relationship, that fact right there defines quite clearly the boundaries of any relationship I might have with another man. Nothing romantic or sexual is going to happen, so any relationship the two of us have, by definition, isn't going to go any farther than friendship. Even if I do find the guy attractive, by the terms of my relationship with my boyfriend (commitment, exclusivity) I won't act on that attraction. So the positive feelings I have toward that guy get channeled into a good friendship. Which is cool, because if I'm "attracted" to them in a way that (if I were single) might make me want to date them, I'm also attracted to them as a person and I will likely have a good friendship with them. Of course, all of this presumes that I have (as I do) a partner who is secure and confident in his role in my life, and it presumes that in all of my relationships outside my primary one (be they friendships, family relationships, professional relationships) I respect the main one at all times. Goes both ways, of course - he's got to respect the relationship as well, and I've got to trust that he'll do that despite also having friendships with women. "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 why I was very careful to say "can" instead of "will." I jump with some folks with 100 jumps that I've known since they were pre-A jumpers and I've watched their freefall progressions and I've seen how they've taken advantage of every coaching and skill-building opportunity out there. I know what they can do, and it's more than some people with 300 jumps (hell, it's more than I could do when I had 300 jumps!). With an unknown person, the conversation is usually more detailed than "how many jumps do you have" - I often ask jump type as well, which would suss out the situations described above that would also change how I'd plan things. But, at the dropzone, I think it's generally assumed that the answer to "how many jumps do you have?" is "jumps from aircraft." "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

Last, and only, time I saw it was at my Byron Boogie in 2005. Here's a photo of Vinny the Anvil gloating over his wheel winnings - you can see the wheel in the background with the prize options next to it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/krisanne/46823743/in/set-1021826 (Note to anyone who wants to get all nostalgic and look at the whole set of photos ... it's a tough set as it has lots of photos of friends who are no longer with us. ) "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

Because BASE jumping is not skydiving. Besides, "Count" for what? For licenses? For ratings? For an evaluation of your freefall skills? Here's an example. If you came to me wanting to make a jump and said "I've got 300 jumps; 100 of them are skydives and 200 are BASE jumps" I would probably plan a different type of skydive than I would if all 300 were skydives. Personally, I'd prefer to know the difference, because having 100 skydives can mean you have very different freefall skills than having 300 skydives. For bragging rights? Sure, whatever. "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'd skip the built in navigation system - I already have one on my phone, which is with me pretty much whenever I'm in the car. That technology may continue to evolve and I figure I'll be more likely to upgrade my phone (or its apps) than anything in my car. I second the rain-sensitive wipers; my 2001 Passat that I'm currently driving has them, and it's one of those things I didn't know I needed till I had it. Then again, since I've owned it, I've lived in Seattle and the Bay Area, both of which get more rain than Southern California. If I were buying today I'd get an input jack so I could connect an MP3 player. I have one that was retrofitted to my car, but having one built in would be nice. I'd also want the sound system set up for satellite radio; with how little I drive now I probably wouldn't bother paying for a subscription, but it'd be nice to have the option if my driving patterns change significantly. I've had a sunroof on my past two cars (one I bought in 1992 and drove till 2000, and the one I have now, bought in 2000). I like 'em but I can live without them, too. I also have leather seats and one thing I've really noticed is that they maintain their "new" look a lot longer than cloth seats. "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 never been injured badly enough to be an inpatient, but I have been to the ER and sought medical care there and subsequently from my doctor on three separate occasions (with two different insurance companies) for more minor skydiving injuries. Both insurance plans were through my employer (two different jobs). I've never lied about how I was injured, and it's always been covered fully (other than copays, of course). That said, the information I just gave you is 100% useless to you (unless we just happen to be employed at the same place under the exact same plan ). What matters is that you read the specific detail of the plan you choose to find out what is and isn't covered. Searching for the phrase "Exclusions and Limitations" in the fine print is a good place to start. "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

Not all that much; in my normal day-to-day life I might have one or two drinks a week. At a boogie, I'll typically have a couple a night, and these days I only go "big" a couple times a year, if that, and even that is still not drinking to the point of blackouts. Definitely quality over quantity - if I don't enjoy what I'm drinking (typically beer or wine) I don't bother. Lots of reasons - I feel healthier the less I drink. I feel better the less I drink. I can't recover the way I used to, and going big just doesn't interest me that much anymore. I've had periods of heavier drinking, but I've always been a "take it or leave it" person and don't go nuts if I can't have alcohol for whatever 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

At that altitude? Get more fabric over my head. (And I voted "other" in your poll because though I'm saying I'd pull the reserve, a canopy transfer is not a given). "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

Nah Timmay's just old. "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 awesome thing for both her and Shah is that I'm willing to bet they'd be mutually unattracted. "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

From the great folks who brought you Boogie in Belize: http://skydivenicaragua.com/ "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

Mmmm.... that looks good. I have a 7.0 CF chest freezer being delivered next Friday, and shortly after that I will pick up the 1/4 cow that is in my friend's freezer. Tasty, grass-fed, hand-raised cow. Drooooool... "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