nightjumps

Well... I've said it before and I'll say it again - The whole world's gone to shit since John Wayne died and the only way I'm getting in touch with my feminine side is; if she's laying in the bed next to me.

I have an MBNA card (not a uspa one) and they are terrible bastards!*** Well, I did some account transferring today and called MBNA to get a forecasted payoff and they are more "terrible B!@#$@#@" than you may know. In calculating the payoff, my rate was going to be $70.00 over the balance of the statement I received the other day. That's $10.00 a day in finance charges. Course, I had $13,000 on it. The point of this is... It doesn't matter what your balance is, they are a "Variable Rate," not a fixed rate card. So, if you make the minimum payment each month, two times the minimum amount accrues in finance charges each month. So on your balance, look at the minimum charge, multiply it by 2 and that amount gets rewrapped and finance charges on that get applied in the following month - finance charges on finance charges. If you can, you should attempt to find a fixed rate card. Perhaps there is one with a 0-3% for 6 month introductory rate with a fixed APR of X. It might be worth the effort for you to at least investigate. You can find a symphony of opportunites to investigate at: http://www.only-low-interest-credit-cards.com/

Good reaction, thanks.

Brent, thanks for the feedback. I do use mine as a debit card. If I can't afford to pay it off at the end of the month, I can't afford to buy it. If there is something I need/want that exceeds my monthly budget, then I treat it like a layaway card. I buy it, place the card away and don't take it out until its paid. I will say that if that item can't be paid off in three months, then discipline requires that I save up for that item before buying it. I was debt free once (except for the home mortgage) and its a wonderful feeling.

Perhaps not, but I know that there are more jumpers who could use more money in their pocket. That 1.09% on $10,000 is $273.69 over a year. Changing a credit card to 0-3% for 6 months and lowering your interest rate - free I misses ya, Mar.

All, I applied for and received the USPA Visa Card last year thru First USA Bank. Towards the end of the term, I received a new USPA Platinum Card except this one was issued by MBNA Bank. I assumed MBNA had purchased the account, but had not been notified. When I received the first statement, I noticed the APR had changed from 8.90% to 9.99%. I contacted MBNA and explained their transgression. They tried to say that they had sent me the information and that by not responding - had accepted the terms of the agreement. I explained that I had entered into an agreement with First USA and they had nothing on file with my signature accepting these terms. Legally, I may have implied acceptance by using the card, but it was without the knowledge that there had been a APR increase. They went on to state, "Technically, we don't have to notify you of a rate increase." Which is not true and am familiar with the Fair Credit Act. I told them that I was closing the account tomorrow by sending a letter to the CEO explaining (I found him on Yahoo Finance faster than their customer service rep could internally) why that 1.09% was going to cost them more than what they made by purchasing the accounts receivable, my experience as a new customer, along with a check and the cut up credit card. So tomorrow I will send the CEO the letter, the check and the cut up credit card and copy our Executive Director (usually targeted groups like ours that receive a "branded" credit card receive a portion of the proceeds, although I don't know if that's true in our case - but I did get it to support the USPA, not because I needed another credit card). All they had to do was lower it to the 8.90% and we could have moved on. I would encourage those of you who have a USPA Visa card to check your APR. If it has increased and you can afford it, pay it off and close the account. If you cannot afford to pay it off, find a credit card company that is offering a 0-3% six month introductory rate and a long-term rate that is lower than your current rate. Its a consumer's market in the finance industry right now. Keith

Yep, GG does my rigging.

1300+ no reserve rides. 1. Anal retentive packing 2. Thoroughly inspect my gear after the last jump of the day and/or before the next boogie. 3. Tip packer at boogies at the beginning of the day while explaining my packing preferences and explain that the other half of the tip is at the end of the day for no reserve rides. 4. Use same packer all day. 5. 30 day maintenance on rig. 6. Replace or have rigger repair worn or damaged stuff prior to jumping. 7. Don't exceed riser, suspension line or canopy manufacturers life-span recommendations. There's two kinds of skydivers; them what's had reserve rides and them what's going to have reserve rides. It's not about not having reserve rides, its about minimizing the opportunity for a reserve ride.

Skydive Dallas Skydive San Marcos Skydive Spaceland et.al.

PM sent

I don't know that we ever answer that question.

Please allow me to quote mojosparky, "A good solid punch right square on the nose will get his attention."

That's not an absolute. It depends on your skillset and project. I was a GE Smallworld GIS magik programmer, SysAdmin & applications developer. After my company played this game, it cost them more for consulting and in turn, more for my services. Now, if you're an MCSE "type," that could be true. Fortunately, there is life after I.T. and I don't know that I could ever go back. Sure the money was great, but the quality of life is better. I make half as much, but enjoy it twice as much.

I would suggest you find out who the potential outsourcing agencies are and list with them as soon as possible. IF you cannot find out, then list with all of them in your area. You could find yourself working on the same project, just for a different company....maybe more money.

Uh Oh. You mean I can only do one or the other at any given time?

Uh oh. A quantum probability theorist is in the zone

Most skydivers hit a "wall" somwhere around the 25-50 jump mark. This wall is the result of your exposure to a lot of information that has finally come together. While a student, the brain's perceptual filters have a way of isolating bits of information so that you don't "overload." Finally, there comes a point where the emotion and logic collide and you realize not only what you're doing, but the myriad of things that can go wrong. Needless to say, logic kicks in more and you begin the, "What am I doing?" phase. Here's what I've suggested to folks that I've seen hit that wall... 1) like the thread above, take a break from reading all the downsides, incidents, etc., 2) make ten more fun jumps. Nothing complicated... just get out by yourself or go with someone,but maybe making three clean points on the dive rather than trying for ten or twelve. Enjoy the skydive. Push past the wall. Stay away from the negative. Make some fun jumps, enjoy yourself for awhile.

Most excellent. Thank you. As the article states.... the best scenario is to prevent a two-out situtation.

All you would really need to do is, "...grab right rear riser of main and pull down." Once you get the canopies to separate where the canopies have about 5-8 feet of separation is cut the main.

While I haven't had the luxury of having a two-out situation, I have seen a low two-out which caused me to think about handling it and developing my own alititude algorithm. If greater than 250' - disconnect the RSL, force the downplane by using the opposing rear riser of the main to "pull" the main away from the reserve and cut it away. Any other thoughts on this?

You won't be belly-to-earth when you grab the handle, however you will be belly-to-relative wind. The main focus of this exercise is for you to know where the ripcord handle is before your first "Clear & Pull." Focus on that. Keep your arch while hanging from the strut. Most folks take a couple of jumps because they miss the handle by bending at the waist. One exercise I give my student is "Door Drills.' Place you feet about 18 inches from a door about shoulder width apart. Place your pelvic (pecker only)on the door (no stomach or chest). Simulate the "Go" command and then just move your left arm over your head as instructed and your right hand to the ripcord handle simultaneously. Now, practice moving your hands to the ripcord handle about 50 times without moving your body - arms only.

Happy Birthday, Bill. Regarding skydiver rememberances of historical feats of the past... I think that skydivers might be the last bastion of society that remembers and respects the accomplishments of its elders. The things you guys did paved the way for the rest of us. Without guys like you, Bill Newell, Bob Buquor, Bob Sinclair, Lew Sanborn, etc., jumping out of planes would still be a military insertion technique. Nothing makes me happier than to see some twenty year old hot shit canopy pilot immersed in a conversation over a beer with a member of Jumpers over Seventy. Not some superficial conversation out of respect, but deeply engrossed in what the elder is passing on to the next generation and in turn; generations to come. Some day, that 20 year old will be standing around as a member of JOS in the year 2053 telling some then 20 year old about the time he got to talk with Bill Cole. One generation passes it on to the next. Its how our lineage will continue. Its why our logbooks are so important. It is a chronology of our history.

Well... it does make me think the artist is a jack-off. Does that count?

By the time he puts on the G suit, gear, climbs in does the countdown, etc. We coulda done two loads outta Mullin's plane.

Lickin' asses & taking names... Is this a hazing? OH wait, sorry... just re-read that.