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Anomaly (Trent, Jed & Stevie) won the Gold in Open Freeflying and Bling (Shannon, Rodney & Meg) won the Gold in Intermediate Freeflying. Congrats to everyone! Still no scores posted anywhere. Blue skies, Jim

Congrats BB. We're all proud of you! Blue skies, Jim

Hey that's right by John and Mary Lee's house. I called John and we will get bu there tonight, Thanks for the update. Blue skies, Jim

Blue skies, Jim

Since Omniskore won't be in Perris till the 3rd and the Artistic Events started today, does anyone know where to get the scores on-line? Blue skies, Jim

Shooting a cop when the cop is commtting a felony is not a capital offense Bill. He has sworn to uphold the law. I don't remember any exceptions for shoes, hurricanes, floods. Blue skies, Jim

I agree with your facts about increasing production, usage, etc., but I disagree with the timing of the price changes. US oil refineries are operating at nearly 100% capacity. This means that the companies are afraid that any change that effects either production of crude supplies or refining capacity could have a detrimental effect on output of the finished products (gasoline, heating oil, distillates). Therefore it is very critical to the oil companies to be able to anticipate when those changes may occur and react immediately in order to protect their supply of crude. Unfortunately for the retail and wholesale consumer, a "anticipated" change in supply results in an immediate change in retail and wholesale prices regardless of current storage levels of the product that were purchased and refined at a lower cost. The gasoline you are purchasing today at an equivalnet price of $70 BBL cost the oil company $40 BBL plus refining/transportation costs. Even if demand was constant, the prices would change up and down based solely on the "anticipated" supply. This is a bastardization of the supply and demand you are discussing. Think of it this way: Each time the market price of cattle changes, your local deli raises or lowers the price of your sandwich. Oops, today Canada has a mad cow so there may be a shortage of beef, Your sandwich today costs 2X what it did yesterday even though the deli did not purchase any beef today. Blue skies, Jim

Speculation. Winter may be colder than normal requiring more heating oil. Raise the price now. Arabs may reduce production and cause a shortage in the future. Raise the price now. A refinery is shut down which will cause a decrease in refining capacity/output nationwide as soon as what's already refined runs out. Raise the price now. The price doesn't have anything to do with what your buying today actually cost. It's the replacement value if all the "what ifs" happen. Not a bad deal because if the "what ifs" don't happen, hey my profit margin increased and I don't have to give you a refund! Blue skies, Jim

Only if it is my dog! Blue skies, Jim

And now this??? http://www.swiftreport.blogs.com/news/2005/05/foes_of_evoluti.html Accomodation and "creative" alternative theories??? Blue skies, Jim

Hate to burst your bubble, but you better check your airline black out dates if you are gona' travel over "holidays'! Blue skies, Jim

The Editor who reviewed the article for publication better look out too! Blue skies, Jim

Easy John! You're beginning to sound a little to conservative here. You didn't spend that much time with us in Texas!!! Blue skies, Jim

Although it was a different time (1900), the Galveston Hurricane killed 5-8K and stranded the city from outside help since it is on an island. Martial law was immediately declared because looters were stealing not only from homes and businesses, but from the dead. I don't recall how many looters were shot, but basically if you were caught looting you were shot. Again, I can understand people needing/stealing food and water, diapers, even medical supplies (e.g., basic human needs), but this has gotten out of hand while the authorities wring their hands. Blue skies, Jim

Mine was at San Antonio. Funny thing was the swearing in. An officer told us to raise our right hands. Some people raise right, some left. After the yelling stopped, and we all had our right hands up a sargent came in and we were told to put our hands down. He and the officer talked for a few minutes and then the officer announced "Ok gentlemen, the first two rows nearest the door follow the sargent." After they left, the officer looked at the rest of us and said "You boys don't know how lucky you are! Those guys just joined the Marines! Now raise your right hands." Oddest thing was even though most of the people there were draftees, there were a few of us who were RA volunteers, but when they pulled those guys out it didn't matter one bit! Blue skies, Jim

Insurance pays your loss if I steal your car too. Does that make stealing it ok? There were restuarants in the French Quarter that were giving away their perishables, but it was their decision to "give" them. Most of us can understand stealing food when we are starving, but come on the storm was still raging and they had looted a grocery store of food, drugs and cash from the ATM. I don't think they were hungry at that time anyway. Are we a society that is controlled only by the force of law? Blue skies, Jim

Finally here are Andrey's pics. http://skyphoto.ru/phpgallery/thumbnails.php?album=69 Blue skies, Jim

From this mornings on-line Houston Chronicle: Looters Take Advantage Of Katrina's Devastation Mississippi Governor: As Many As 80 Dead In One County UPDATED: 1:04 pm CDT August 30, 2005 NEW ORLEANS -- In some of the cities hardest-hit by Hurricane Katrina, looters are running rampant. An Associated Press reporter along the beach in Biloxi, Miss., said it "looks like a free-for-all," as looters come running out of souvenir shops, loaded down with merchandise. He saw two men riding go-carts taken from an amusement park near the beach. Two other men were pushing a large plastic garbage can with wheels -- so full that it took both of them to drag it down the street. There's a similar scene in downtown New Orleans, where looters are taking advantage of the destruction. At a Walgreen's drug store in the French Quarter Tuesday morning, people were running out with grocery baskets and coolers full of soft drinks, chips and diapers. When police finally showed up, a young boy stood at the door and shouted a warning -- and the crowd scattered. A tourist from Philadelphia compared the scene to "downtown Baghdad." She said the scene was insane. She stood there and snapped pictures in amazement. "I've wanted to come here for 10 years. I thought this was a sophisticated city. I guess not," Denise Bollinger said. Another witness described it as a chance for "oppressed" people to "get back at society." One man walked down Canal Street with a pallet of food on his head. His wife insisted they weren't stealing from the nearby supermarket -- and said, "It's about survival right now." She said she had eight grandchildren to feed. Nearby, looters ripped open the steel gates on the fronts of stores on Canal Street. They filled industrial-sized garbage cans with clothing and jewelry and floated them down the street on bits of plywood and insulation. Some of the looting has been taking place in full view of police and National Guard troops. One man with an armload of clothes even asked a police officer if he could borrow his car." Blue skies, Jim

Sounds like the WFFC. Definitely a smaller crowd this year. Blue skies, Jim

http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1437 Great example of one way it can go wrong! Blue skies, Jim

Bwaaahh.... That's a good one! With my belly and bad back I can't lift my legs high enough or bend over far enough to get my booties off in the air even if I wanted to! Send the video. I'd like to find out who was jumping my gear! Blue skies, Jim

Can you get banned by a greenie for calling yourself a moron? Blue skies, Jim

My understanding is also that it is the true story of Arlo's induction experience. How else would he know all the details like that?. I actually saw it the year I came back from Vietnam and haven't seen it since, but remember the induction center part because it was so accurate. None of my non-service friends believed it though. Blue skies, Jim

As pointed out above, the organizers must act quickly to establish the landing pattern and reinforce the rules when this happens. It is extremely dangerous to have 100+ people landing in every direction. The thing to remember in big way events is that people get cut for screwing up not only in the air, but for violating safety rules. My experience is that it is easier to get cut for violation of a safety rule. Let's see I spend money on airfare, auto, room and board plus the event cost making each jump very expensive just to get cut for a safety violation? No way brother, I am following the rules even if it means taking a downwinder! Blue skies, Jim

Nope. Don't think there would be any grit kissing in this one. It was originally a compilation of songs and stories that Arlo Gutherie would sing and tell that was made into a movie in the 1960's. A great anti-war film that poked fun at the "establishment", Blue skies, Jim