mattb

Keep it and ask for a free t-shirt or something - looks sharp.

Early December - during the 300-way when all SDC was flying was a Cessna

Or better yet here's the original - http://www.theonion.com/onion3903/un_orders_wonka.html

depends on the state In Illinois each toll costs between 40 and 75 cents (with some exceptions that are $2.00) and tolls are every X miles on the highways where X varies according to no logic. Oh and some on/off ramps charge between 10 and 35 cents. Love the government!

Construction workers, outdorr concert goers, and skydivers at boogies . . . . Quoteforward: The Porta-Pottie Dump -- Construction workers and outdoor concert goers will tell you about going in a portable toilet. My best description would be, “It's like taking a shit in an upright coffin.” It's claustrophobic and it smells bad... best advice... go in a paper cup. reply]

Ha! Not too far from the truth about Minnesota. Last weekend myself and the to-be in laws were visiting my parents there. My fiancee's dad asked at what temperature did we cancel the hunting trip we had planned - what was he thinking, it was only -11 - who wouldn't want to go walk for 5 hours outside?

Before last season I couldn't afford the deal - what a bummer all season I was making $20 jumps and my friends were making $15 jumps (last years prices). This year its $14 jumps for me all year and the first 100 are already paid for!

Your attachments don't work - they are valid files but the extensions are off. Matt

I excerpted this from a long rambling e-mail that somebody forwarded to me. Normally I would have deleted it without reading it but it came from somebody who generally doesn't pass on junk. I am forwarding it on as well, hopefully you don't mind. I have deleted the ramblings about terrorism, Saudi Arabia, American jobs, etc due to atrocious grammar and poor logic. You can draw your own conclusions. Major companies that imported Middle Eastern oil during the period 9/1/00 - 8/31/01: Shell............................205,742,000 barrels Chevron/Texaco.........144,332,000 barrels Exxon /Mobil................130,082,000 barrels Marathon/Speedway...117,740,000 barrels Amoco.........................62,231,000 barrels $30/barrel = more than $18 billion Here are some large companies that did not import Middle Eastern oil during that period: Citgo....................0 barrels Sunoco.................0 barrels Conoco................0 barrels Sinclair.................0 barrels BP/Phillips........... 0 barrels Hess....................0 barrels All of this information is available from the Department of Energy.

Looks very good - information for up jumpers would be nice. I couldn't find basics such as what type of plane is flown.

How did you acquire your gear? I hope I don't sound too rude in saying that you should have asked before buying and a good dealer should have recognized that you were a new jumper and could use suggestions. If its a late model Javelin and been well maintained it's probably freefly friendly. What happened to cause the premature deployment, or don't you know? If you have questions about if your gear is safe please ask an instructor or experienced jumper BEFORE experimenting. Oh my god - I'm turning into a gear nazi. I really need to get a job that keeps me occupied and off these forums. Matt

Unless somebody has a hotmail account they can't login to download the picture via the link you posted. phew - that was a mouthful You may want to try saving the picture and then uploading it. If you need help just ask - someone here will probably respond. Matt

Chicago Wait - that's the same weather and triple the traffic

I've had the same problem appear from time to time. I've tried clearing cookies / cache / etc. It's always on the same machine (Windows 2000 / IE 6) - I think it occurs most often when I have switched networks. If I'm logged in at work and go home (it's a laptop) I'll never have to log in again to get to the forums but sometimes will have to log in to view profiles. Not a big deal at all - just trying to help. -mb

Yes this really happened A student at my high school was going off to A&M to join the corp. He received a list of supplies he was to bring to campus (6 pair underwear, 6 t-shirts, the like). He set off to Wal Mart and was almost done shopping but he couldn't find a shoe tree. So he asked the manager - I need a shoe tree but I only have a hatchback so is it possible to just get the seeds?

Poor postal service ? ? ? My t-shirt came just fine - in a ziploc baggie with a note saying "Sorry, our system chewed up your mail" Matt

A few days back somebody posted a link to a flash/shockwave skydiving game. The link went to a page in a language I don't speak (Danish???) and the following photo was on the page. Anybody want to speculate on why the pilot chute appears in front of the landing jumper ? ? ? -mb

Wedding / honeymoon

Anybody used a product other than Intuit's TurboTax for filing in the U.S.? I've used TurboTax in the past and am sick of all the mail-in rebates associated with it. It costs $30 which includes one free electronic filing and one free state form download. However, I shell out almost $100 and then mail three separate forms in separate envelopes to get my money back. Looking for suggestions Matt

Does this mean they have rental gear available? Skyrose, let's go! Yes - I think it's safe to assume that rental gear is available year round at SDC. If things haven't changed since I rented gear (almost 2 years) it's $25 a jump (Javelins w/ Sabre 2s) or $75 a day (misc rigs from the gear store formerly know as Active Wear). Matt

From one of the weekly updates - "From now until March we will only be jumping on a reservation schedule. Yes, there will be someone here everyday but there may not be a pilot. We are officially closed but Kirk and Woody are here to fly the Cessna if I am not here to fly the Otter. Yes, the Otter is here all year we run the drop zone as a full time business and have no other occupation. Therefore, if it's a nice weekend or day and you want to jump, it is best to call ahead. On January 25 Dave C. will be hosting an AFP refresher course to keep you in tune."

Some AFF/AFP programs require a hop-n-pop. I know I had to do one before graduating - around jump 15 or so. -mb

Look online as well - a quick search turned up one http://www.extremefly.com/aerodynamics/dealers/atair_dealer_application.pdf Also I've heard that companies may require you to maintain an inventory of demo gear.

Ahh - the simple pleasures. More enjoyable between waking up and the morning dump though.