tkhayes

funny, when I was in the ER the other night, I never saw any illegals, any snifflers, pretty much all the people that were there SHOULD have been there. elderly folks that are in pain and cannot walk, children with injuries, one lady on the floor writhing in obviouis kidney/hernia/appendix pain, and yes, I even got in ahead of her oddly enough. I am tired of piss-poor customer service. Every system is built to STOP the people from using it just in case the one person who is not entitled might try to sneak in. The fact is that MOST people are basically honest, and EVERY system that exists has people that take advantage of it, whether that be healthcare, education, paying your fair share of taxes or stealing from the fruit stand. Do we want to spend all of our time trying to stop the few, or servicing the MAJORITY? Ever call DELL, or HP lately - jesus what a joke - like I said, the entire system is designed to WITHOLD services from you - Since I pay a lot for healthcare, am I wrong to demand decent service? Say what you want about the Canadian system, and sure, Canadians gripe about it too, but NO ONE in Canada would give it up for a privatized system...... TK

well that is where we disagree - I think the government's primary responsibilities should be to feed the people, educate the people and provide healthcare for the people. Pretty much everything else is optional. the 'right to life' is in the constitution that you so stanchly uphold..... Anyone can have an accident, very few can afford the consequences of it..... TK

20 years ago, in Canada, my roomie slammed a door on my finger and broke it I went the the ER in Calgary late at night, waited 4 hours to see someone, got it xrayed and bandaged up and sent home Last week here in Zephyrhills, I sliced my finger open at 9pm, went to the ER at 10pm after surrendering to the fact that it was not going to stop bleeding. I waited 3.5 hours to see a doctor (1 doctor on with 25 people in the waiting room and 15 more in the treatment areas), who looked at me for literally 30 seconds and then asked the nurse to bandage me up. The difference? I pay $750/month right now for my health insurance in the USA and get lousy service. Not to mention the trip will cost me $200 out-of-pocket for deductibles as well. So would I rather pay higher taxes and get lousy service or pay through-the-mouth and get lousy service? AT least in Canada no one has to fight with the insurance company on top of being injured, nor do they have to deal with bills rolling in from 3-4 different companies that 'touch you' during an ER visit. The system in the USA ain't all it is cracked up to be - neither is Canada, but I will take the socialized system over the crap I have today...... And no, I do not have a 'selection' of other places to go at 10pm when I cut my finger open....... TK

http://www.heavens-above.com/logon.asp?TimeOut=True Heavens Above is a cool website - you have to sign up, but you put in your location and any date/time, the Whole Sky Chart will show you a map of what is there,

y'know, I just do NOT miss that -40 Calgary winters.... not a bit not at all TK luv ya Mur!

great if primary care is all you ever need. colds, bruised knees and cuts are not what bankrupts people in this country. The broken ankle, costing you $25,000+ is what causes the headache - and that is nto covered by this 'cheap' plan.

call Mark Kruse at Rigging Adventures Crosskeys, he can do it

Hey she was the doctor and said it was not broken when they hauled her away int eh ambulance....

we have warning signs all over the DZ, but they are in Finnish

Easter Boogie at Z-Hills - just 'cause it is at a regular dropzone, does not mean it is not big. Thanksgiving this year, 500+ jumpers, 4 aircraft, and 4500+ jumps, 9 days Christmas Boogie, 700+ jumpers, 5 aircraft, 7000 jumps, 10 days Easter is typically 400-500 jumpers, 4 aircraft and 4000-5000 jumps. And it is early this year, so still cold and miserable up north and probably even more people attending. "A dropzone does not a Boogie make" It is the people who come who make the event. TK

no one said that - let him have his day in court. THEN when he is convicted, turn his ass loose int he general population in prison. he will either get killed or have to become somebody's bitch forever for protection. either one is pretty good justice....

excellent read - just finished it.

Thanks to everyone that came out for the Boogie. Despite lots of morning fog, and a couple days of almost no jumping - over 600 people jumped here during the week, making some 6600+ jumps total. The helicopter flew a bunch of loads too, managed a couple high altitude jumps, the night jumps went off without a hitch (Thanks Marius and the girls), and surprisingly, no injuries (one tweaked ankle yesterday) Pirate Day and the party were great - Marcus took care of the fireworks (nice job too) and our pilots worked their asses off, especially on Thursday/Friday/Saturday, when we flew 177 loads in those 3 days. I am taking the RV for a weekend - need a break - outta here! TK

I think the cost of everything has gone up over a lot of years. My dad died in 1969, he was making $6000/yr. My first job started at IBM in 1981 and I started at $18K/yr, which I thought was pretty darn good. and it got better. My first rig, was $2300 Cdn in 1983, all brand spanking new. and gas was about 40 cents/liter Cdn at the time. now it is 25 years later, it does not surprise me that gear/suits/whatever costs a bunch.

Over the years I have been there, there have been several - so if it was something really recent and really dangerous/amazing, then I expect I would have heard about it. We get radar service from Tampa almost every load, and we notify on 2 frequencies at 3 times during our flights of our intentions. despite all that and even with the best technology, there is nothing like looking down once in a while..... TK

latest calendar has been updated at the website, http://www.skydivecity.com Fins start arriving today, apparently 110 of them coming

as long as the oil companies and their spin-off corporations run this country, nothing will change. TK

Tim Horton's coffee from Canada mmmmmmm....timmie's......

here's our 'raccoon dog', Heidi, a rescued Aussie. She looks a lot like a raccoon or a hyena. TK

Bring some Timmie's

talk to Joe Chow at Skydive Toronto. We always boasted that IAD was a far better system, but Joe did direct bag with squares for years and is proof that it can work and work well, despite what might be behind it. I still prefer IAD, but that is what I spent 15 years doing, so of course I am biased. I would not try direct bag without seeing how someone like Joe does it first and trying to mimic that as closely as possible. no sense in reinventing the wheel.

At the time of the trial, there was plenty of footage of his daughter on TV and such, she was everything that was described in court, in constant pain, agony, massively deformed, hopeless in every way except to stay breathing and suffering. i have no problem at all with the mercy killing as an option. Everything has a place in our society, just not in all circumstances. Abortion, mercy killing, death penalty, etc. All these ethical issues are just that, ethical issues. But for every one of them, there are plenty of examples where they would be viable and plenty where they would not be.

As well, The Wingsuit guys are here, Phoenix, Tony Suits, and Skysuits (EG), with our team of organizers, Jeff and Chuck (and many others). Freefly gurus are here, John Kleug is back, Dave Colucci and Martin too (and many others) And our regular RW organizers, Sky, Oren, Chuck, Roy Harper, The bar will have cold beer, and Janine will having dinner every night

I only disagree with the way he did it. I am sure that with consultation about the matter with a few doctors, he could have found one that would have helped him with the process. It would not be called 'murder', it would read "Died from natural causes' or died from complications due to her various illnesses" etc. That sort of thing (I believe) happens every day. in the USA, Canada and I am sure the rest of the world, where people are left to die or 'helped' long by well intentions families and doctors. But even so, I think the guy should be released on time seerved - it was a touchy case in Canada, but the law is what the law is. bad laws need to be changed, too bad politicians think to much about being re-elected and will not touch the issue. TK

We have another good lineup for the Christmas Boogie this year. 600 people attended last Christmas, be part of the best Xmas Boogie in the country! December 21 - January 1 Starting on the 18th , 102 Fins will be arriving to skydive their butts off. 22 - Night Jumps on Saturday Night & Alhouette Helicopter here all day for jumps - $48 23 - High Altitude Loads, 8am briefing. Load going to 22,000' 27-31 - Markku & Eric Big Way Camp - 40-60 Ways Invite Only, contact mteivainen@yahoo.com FMI 29-30 Brian Germain Canopy Course, $200 per person plus jumps. contact bgermain@bigairsportz.com to enroll. 25-Jan 7 - Skydive Saulgau from Germany is welcomed for the Boogie 28-29-30 - Helicopter jumps for the weekend 29 - Night Jumps 30 - Last High Altitude Load of the year. 31st - New Year's Eve Party & Pirate Day Bash. Midnight Night Jumps, Fireworks Show, the John Price band rocking the night Jousting in the Swoop Pond. Help Global Warming here>> http://www.skydivecity.com/html/calendar/PirateDayatSkydiveCity.htm