AndyMan

One of the biggest rushes for me on my first jump was the initial moments after I left the plane, when i realised I really was committed to the act I was going to do. The feeling was partly that of extreme surealness, surealness in that I WAS still alive - as if somehow it was the act of leaving the plane that would kill me, not impacting the ground. I'm amazed at some of the first jump students who are pumped up before hand (just like I was), confident in the plane on the way up (just like I was), and were aggresive in the door (just like I was), but showed little more then a smile and "yeah, it was fun" afterwards. I wonder if these people were overcome in a similar manner that I was, but for whatever reason choose to repress it. I think they repress it. _Am (scott, BTW - have you let trish out of the closet yet?) __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I would like to emphasis KNOWLEDGE. It's entirely possible to completely fry a significant investment if you screw up. Done carefully, it can work very well. Done halfhazzardly, better go warm up yourr credit card. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I used the term perceived because I have never seen any drug activity at this dropzone. Apart from the incident last year, I haven't heard of anyone jumping stoned, nor pilots flying while intoxicated, or anything that sets off alarm bells. I've only heard stories that I won't repeat because most stories are false or at least exagerated. In all my visits there I have never once felt my safety in danger. My only objection is the manner in which one email message framed the annoucement in comments that suggested other DZ's had problems. Skydive Chicago is good enough they can stand on their own without slamming the competetion. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I bought mine at Walmart, it cost me $15. The only downside is that it does not have the logos of gear stores or manufacturers, nor is it in my custom colors. Some people would argue that's an upside, though. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Nope! Kakakee is over 80 miles. MAPQUEST __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Now that I'm not running on 3 hours sleep, I'll clarify. Suggesting I not read this emails are pretty lame. By the same token, you should just not read what I have to say, either. Nor should anyone else who doesn't like what I say read it. My bigger issue is that I saw the announcement as nothing more then attempt to combat a perceived drug problem by trying to bring other dropzones down to the level of SDC. I saw the annoucement only in that light - attempts to hide criticism in the idea that "drugs are everywhere, but just not here anymore". If his solution to a perceived drug problem is little more then to bring others down to his level, then I seriously doubt anything serious is being done. That said, only time will tell if this announcement is based on substance, or just name calling. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

He never named anyone, but seeing as it's essentially the only operating dropzone within 50 miles, the suggestion was quite clear. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

My objection, is despite what the email implies, their biggest compeditor (well, only compeditor, actually) DOES have a drug test policy, and had it on the books years before Skydive Chicago did. I firmly believe this policy is nothing more then marketing, Rogers attempt to clean his image. It will be interesting to see how broadly it is applied. It leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Despite what Roger Nelson implied in his last email, yes. I wonder if he ever wonders why so many people dislike him? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It's not a great one, because it completely ignores context. Have you forgotten how many times the US, even GWB himself overlooks attrocities in other countries? France is only being dragged over the coals by the US to discourage them from opposing the US next time. The US is sending a message that says "go against us, and we'll use every tool we have to make you regret it". What France has done is no worse then what the US has done countless times. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Even though the SARS outbreak is a major problem, we need to keep in mind that it only has a 4% mortality rate. In Toronto, for example, where 147 were diagnosed with it, all but seven are recovering. A 4% mortality rate is pretty lame for a biological weapon, so I doubt this is the product of a hidden weapons program. The region in China this came from has literally billions of people living in near unimaginable levels of poverty. There are major cleanliness and sanitation issues, with people living very close togeather. It is a textbook case of an environment that breeds disease. I'm surprised we haven't seen more nasty bugs from that region. We should also put the "common cold" factoid into perspective. The "Common Cold" isn't a virus, or single bug - infact there are 7 bugs that cause the "common cold". The cold is really one of seven different viruses. SARS is similar to one of these. Why does everything cause "flu" like symptoms? Simple - raising the body temperature, coughing, running nose, are all a lot more then symptoms. They're not even effects of the bug, as much as they are mechanisms in which the body fights viruses. Many diseases have "flu like symptoms", because "flu like symptoms" are the methods the body uses to fight viruses. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I got no worries. Just wait t'ill ya see what happens this weekend.... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I find it interesting that a: there isn't a standing law in place allowing for this already and b: that it is expressed in such frightening terms, such as "apprehension, dentension", etc. It sounds disturbingly like 'The Stand'. It's interesting to compare it to Ontario, which effectively did a similar thing last week, only they have a standing law in effect that only requires a disease to be labeled communicable and dangerous by the minister of health, but only applies if people are unwilling to quarantine themselves at home. Once a diseased is labelled communicable and dangerous, those who have it can only be confined if they refuse to stay home. It's odd, that a country that values its liberties as much as the US does, would be so quick to go to an extreme position. Are there documented cases of SARS in the US yet? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Never in my life have I met someone who celebrates death and desctruction as much as you do. You've got issues, dude. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

As to my running on production servers... It's been runnign so stable for long enough, I bit the bullet. I now have it running on 7 severs, plus my laptop. Each of the seven servers are Xeon processors, but some of them are slower. We'll see how it runs. I doubt I'll catch up to you guys, though... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Registerd: Feb 26, 2001 Posts: 3017 (3.9 per day) Jumps: 500 Awards: 1 - "Muppet of the year, Chicagoland Skydiving 2002" Ratings: 0. This gives me a WendyRating(tm) of 4. Although, I do think my award should count for something. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Which statement? The Colin Powell one? It's mostly true, just out of context. The "Australian Dentist"? Yeah, that's crap. If you want some more "nice crap", I'd be happy to write some fiction for you. I guarantee my writing will in fact be 'crap'. I'm told I write like crap frequently. Who's to say snopes is correct? Certainly not them, actually. However, they have got a stellar reputation, I've never heard of them ever being wrong, they're not commercial, are as close to being unbiased as possible, and they use documented research to explain why something is right or wrong. Most importantly though, they're actually willing to stand behind their statements, unlike the authors of most of the crap I find in my INBOX. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

It's premature to talk about Fayard loosing his planes. His assets more then double his liabilities, his balance sheet is in not terrible shape. I do imagine there will be some changes in the way he runs his business, but I doubt he's going to be forclosed upon. That said, I do wonder how much usage his CASA's get. It seems like his super-otters are in much more demand. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

No, I see a pretty compelling difference between people who blindly forward the crap they find in their INBOX , and people who do their best to accurately report on events they don't understand. That said, I do report factual errors when I see them. I've been the cause of at least 3 retractions in major newspapers so far. However, most errors made in reporting skydiving fatalities are analytical, not factual. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

C'mon guys, do some simple research before posting these things. It's not like it's hard. This one is false. http://www.snopes.com/rumors/america2.htm "This was written by Peter Ferrara, an associate professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law in Northern Virginia. Mr. Ferrara's commentary was originally published in the National Review on 25 September 2001." Kinda changes the tone of it, doesn't it? _AM __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Also picked up right where he left off from the Vietnam war. Strange how that work earned him a Pulitzer, but the same work now gets him fired. T'is odd how times change. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Puleaze. I got WAY more where that came from.... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I guess you weren't paying attention very well. You might want to do some research to find out exactly who the source of that "feminist diatribe" was. I think you'll be surprised. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

If Americans were to be judged by the actions of white supremacists, it would be FAR worse. Judging a country by it's 'freaks' is never fair, nor wise. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Unfortunately it's false. Trinidad, Greneda, Puerto Rico, and even Hawaii are all good examples. Editied to add: According to snopes, it's actually true! http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/powell.php _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.