BDashe

Ah, you're one of 'those.' You burn a flag, everyone else pays for it. Same person that is the reason McDonald's now has to label every inch of their coffee cups with "Caution: HOT" warnings. Lawsuit for everything. Thank you for ruining America, and for that fine sense of humor of yours. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

"I'm here to kick @$$ and chew bubblegum... and I'm ALLLLL outta bubblegum." So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Oh snap! Come on Napier get the attorney general on the phone right now, I'm sure they are violating something! No need to, they're not in Tennessee. Ahhhhh, so CA is too far away for someone to take your business with better facilities. got it. competition sucks when you lose, don't it? Some people try to improve when they lose, others... I used to fly out of camarillo and santa paula all the time, would be a very scenic place to skydive, ocean is only about 10 miles west and you can see the channel islands. Sunset would be pretty amazing as well I'm sure, quite a bit of air traffic though. Wonder where they squeeze in between LAX and BUR airline traffic along with all the GA in the area. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Your main matches your RC plane... You have my support McBride. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

This thread isn't big enough to cover that question. A different source/media for page 24. ...or mediaN page 24... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

While i feel like that post could have been greatly shortened, sounds to me like they were very up front with you about chances of jumping and their priorities. Clearly, it isn't a fun jumper dropzone. Doesn't sound like at any point they guaranteed a jump, and that you chose to show up and wait for a shot at cessna jump at a DZ that manifests days in advance rather than enjoy your vacation. Call me crazy, but it sounds like the guys are trying to run a business and keep their paying customers happy. £165 per jumper or £24 for some new guy that is a potential hazard to himself that is never gonna come back anyway. My guess is had they had a chance to throw you in a slot on their time when they are free, you would have jumped. It does not sound like any of their instructors at any point in the day had any time to properly prep you to the point where they felt comfortable enough to let you jump at their DZ. Sounds like a hefty drive to the semi-sketchy landing area (for 40 jumps), with a limited staff that is purposely maxed out to maximize efficiency at a tiny tourist dropzone, and they warned you ahead of time. Maybe they could have handled it a little better, but sounds like they have a routine and couldn't cater to a guy with 40 jumps, despite trying to get you up. I have never been to that dropzone, or any DZ outside of the continental US, and do not have any connection to that DZ or its staff whatsoever, just my take on your post. I showed up to a DZ 10 days in a row during AFF hoping to jump but got weathered out. had to drive 2 hours to get there each way. They told me, 'we might get a load or two up depends on weather and we'll put tandems on the first load before AFF in order to test it out for safety.' I made one jump in ten days, still love that DZ. It happens, be aware of the big picture, you just got bumped out of the photograph this time. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

+1 backflying is weird when you start. video and someone that may be willing to hold you steady in freefall helps. you will always have a much better success rate in new flying disciplines with a coach present for a few jumps, rather than just huckin' it... in addition to the safety reasons/briefings/lessons. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

...Then shalt thou count to twenty-four, no more, no less. twenty-four shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be twenty-four. Twenty-five shalt thou not count, neither count thou Twenty-three, excepting that thou then proceed to Twenty-Four. Twenty-six is right out. Once the number twenty-four, being the twenty-fourth number, be reached... thou can suck it. seriously, Monkey is crafty. cracked my ass right up this afternoon, i peed a little. P.S. I'm still in my office So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

If you know Monkey, you'll realize he is the next Dan Brown. AwESome dUDe... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

HA HA HA!!! Jesus H.! Monkey: Un-be-f*cking-lievable!!! I needed that today. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Or, I could suggest that the skydiver thats seeks out coaching (so he can downsize quickly to a sub-100' canopy loaded at 2+:1 and feels the need to do the really impressive swoops) decreases his probability of survival. Those are two separate actions: 1. getting coaching and 2. downsizing. Both can affect the probability of surviving a jump, further supporting my point. Agreed. also agree with what JohnMitchell said earlier on. of the over half dozen or so people that i have known who arent with us anymore, all but one include some kind of canopy collision or avoidance type maneuver with an otherwise perfect main. the risk of a double malfunction, every whuffo's concept of all skydiving deaths, is there just not nearly as frequent as the other shit that will kill you after you have a perfect and happy canopy over your head. That's not to say there aren't other dangerous aspects of skydiving to be very aware of, of course. Just my experience thus far in our little universe wrt injury/fatalities is after a good canopy opens. Seems applicable since the OP was hinting at a double mal type scenario. edit: grammar So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

That's just cuz you didn't eat enough... I don't get horny but i can f*ck like a maniac on a numb johnson, though I prefer to wander around in sunny outdoor places... anyone gonna be in the park in 20 minutes? I'll see ya there. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I agree with this emphatically. As I've said before, I hate all politicians equally, i just happen to believe in capitalism and low taxes. "The fact is the majority of the politicians who have been making complete asses of themselves lately, come from the GOP." I agree with this too, though not ALL are repubs, a lot have been. I think the GOP's innate flaw, which is something i don't agree with, is that they can be SO threatened by change, that as it happens they can't deal with it. Now, I can understand the guy's frustration and wanting to just call a spade a spade (no racial implications of course, the phrase predates that slur by centuries), but there are much better forums to make that happen than while the freaking president is in the middle of reading, err... speaking. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

MX is wearing the unbelievably stylish, sexy, and simply perfect red FF2 camera helmet. Last one to land at the end of the video. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Jax is going off this season, it's gonna be fun to watch!!! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Don't be jealous of our male super powers... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Excellent post! GO 'DORES!!! Harvard is just p*ssed cuz our chicks were/are hotter and easier. Chillin, Jay Cutler So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I agree with you on most of your points, actually. We are, generally right of center on the global scale, however when you compare to democracies only around the world, and you look at obama's agenda then the pendulum starts to lean left. On America's scale, that is WAY out of sync with our founding principals. Obama was elected for his rhetoric, he detailed very little of what his actual policies were. again, wtf is 'vote for change?' since america was so anti-bush/anti-right wing; it didnt matter what 'change' was, it had to be better than bush right? ...maybe not... I agree, lots of the strong opposition are total A-holes that will say anything to be heard/scare. I dislike a lot of right wingers myself. Agreed, pres has a VERY tough balancing act. Obama ain't balancing well, IMO, for reasons I stated earlier. patriotism is one thing, he doesn't need to cater to the far right since there is no pleasing them, no pressure. Now, I do agree, it can be difficult to sway someone like me, closer to the center, but not impossible. Despite what he says, his actions are what are speaking to me, and the rest of the moderates or more centered righties. They are telling me 'tax, and spend, rob the rich, give to the poor.' I agree, it is early on, and there are lot sof unknowns, a couple more years will give much more clarity. From what i've seen so far, however, he is gonna keep trying to steamroll the right until we vote to balance congress and senate when he cant do that anymore. I wouldnt say a high percentage of the right wing have that attitude, but i will agree a disturbing amount of die hards are too ignorant to see beyond their bubble. keep in mind, same would probably be true for the left should mccain have been elected. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

whoever does it, i want video from both mr. bill participants, and Captain PCA, for mor fun, add outside video? maybe PCA #2 for a proximity opening out the other side of the chopper? he he he... So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Ummmmm... So I'm joining late, i kinda skimmed the thread. First off, I think the name calling and labeling is hysterical by the same old offenders, not to mention about as hypocritical as you can get. If i had a kid, I'd probably let em listen to the speech and go over it with them at home afterwards to see what their thoughts were. I think it is fine people are pulling their kids from school, nothing wrong with disagreeing with the president's agenda. I think it is a bit of a stretch saying that the country is coming apart at the seams, however I feel the country hasn't been more divided in years, possibly as long as i can remember (which isnt THAT long i suppose...). Obama has done a pretty sh*tty job of reaching across the aisle. Now I will say, the right hasn't really given him much of an opprtunity as they arent exactly extending an olive branch. I think the main reason is because the dems control EVERYTHING right now, and Obama wanted to make his 'clean break' from the Bush admin, so he rammed a bunch of liberal sh*t our way in the first 100 days, and no one could do sh*t about it. Right there he lost the trust of the right by putting on a show for the left. Now, when he tries to reach across, the right hates him for his left wing power as our checks and balances are crippled, and the left are frustrated he isn't sticking his course and socializing the US. This ties into the speech because I think the guy is honestly trying to reach out to the kids and inspire them. Look how good he was in the primaries, and leading up to election day. His "Yes we can!" campaign was legendary with inspiring people to 'vote for change,' whatever the hell that meant. Talk about an ambiguous, sexy political slogan! Bottom line, he inspired people. Anyway, i think the guy has his heart in the right place, but his tactics and policy are just so far left, he loses touch with reality. I think he genuinely wants to inspire kids to do well in school, but then he tries to throw sh*t in, for example, like to have students 'write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.' THAT gets scary and reminiscent of a dictatorship. That is not 'ask not what you can do for yourself, but what you can do for your country' that rings of 'help me succeed in my agenda.' The guy just can't seem to get it right, errr, i should say correct. Based on the last 30-40 years of politics, not nearly as many people are willing to follow political leaders blindly on their paths of righteousness. We are in the information age and we know about alterior motives. So before you judge someone for not having faith in our progressively more left leaning government, understand they're trying to protect their children from potential propaganda that loosely ties to influential leaders of the past which ended in disaster. edit- bold So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

I don't really know exactly what this weekend holds, and i doubt I am going to remember. maybe I'll wear my go-pro on my shoe to become the next internet sensation. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Look who woke up form a nap!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/03/walmart.people/index.html CNN link, pretty cool, has only been live for a few weeks, no marketing, and it is growing liek crazy. Good for them! So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

Look bill, I'm not trying to get into a pissing contest. I've lost some friends too, one of the nicest guys with the biggest hearts left us just a few months ago while training afghani troops. It makes me angry. It doesn't take one person to make the decision to go to war, no matter how you want to paint it. Our service men know they may have to go to battle against their political will, that's a catch 22 of being in a voluntary military. It may be a tough pill to swallow, but welcome to reality. Yes, I vote based on what I think is fair. I dont think it is fair for our government to play robin hood. I don't trust our government based on my own experiences. I do plenty to 'help this country' and others, I'm content to pay taxes, but not at the rates the left wing dictates, or for many of the programs they opt to support. As I heard a gay guy state in SFO about a year ago 'I'm fiscally conservative and socially fabulous!' Be safe, Brett So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983

fixed it. once the war ends for either side, that issue is fixed. I prefer to keep more of my money, and making my own decisions. the cost to me is listening to some christian babble every so often, but you get a little of that with the lefties too. I like downward's post. So there I was... Making friends and playing nice since 1983