gemini

I'll be there. Steve is taking an Otter. Fred Clark, Rich Delgado are in for sure. Conway wants to go, but I am not sure he got in early enough. Anyone else? Blue skies, Jim

He did meet with her. She didn't like what he said or his attitude. On the same day he met with her, he met with other families. I listened to an interview with several and they talked about how sincere, friendly and humble the President was and how much time he spent with each of them. They were satisfied with their meeting, but she was not. BUT she did get her time with him! He did not avoid her as she claims. Blue skies, Jim

Anyone going this weekend? I understand all 80 slots have been filled.

What size student canopy have you been jumping? Also be aware of the new SIM data that will be coming out (from a Safety & Training thread): SIM Section 5-3 will include the following wing-loading recommendations as a maximum: A license—1.0 psf maximum B license—1.0 psf maximum C license—1.2 psf maximum D license—1.4 psf maximum Blue skies, Jim

I was trying to defuse some earlier negative comments about Temple and Austin. Glad to hear you are handling larger groups. My comment was only to point out that if they wanted to jump on the same flight, to consider the location with the larger aircraft. I like Lexington and have been there several times with the Otter. Tell Cindy I said hello. Blue skies, Jim

They both may be absurd statements, but what we were talking about was her "protest" not American policy in the middle east. Stick to the forum Bill. Most of us can't be drawn out like we used to. Blue skies, Jim

What are the RW, VR/FF & CRW records for your state or country? Please include POPS and Women's formations. RW-Relative Formation Work WRW-Women's Relative Formation Work RWWR-Relative Formation World Record RW POPS- RW Parachutists Over Phorty RW SOS-RW Skydivers Over Sixty RW JOS-RW Jumpers Over Seventy VR-Vertical Formation Record VWR-Vertical Formation World Record WVWR-Women's Vertical Formation World Record VWR-Women's Vertical Formation Record CRW-Canopy Formation Relative Work CRW POPS JOE-Jumpers Over Eighty Countries: Australia RW-81; WRW-47; CRW-21; VRW-8; WVRW-6 Brazil RW-??? Canada RW-54; WRW-33; POPS RW-21; CRW-18 Czechoslovakia RW-??? France RW-??? Germany RW-122; RW SOS-10 JOE-1

I can understand your and Wendys point about the marriage, but what about the other 3 younger children? How is this effecting them? It may not only be the marriage that is coming apart, she could be tearing the children apart as well because they are usually torn between the mom and dad in a divorce. Is not her responsibility to continue to care for her surviving children and help support them in their time of crises? After all they lost a brother and the husband lost a son. She is not in this alone! And to think that terrorism will suddenly stop if the US leaves the Middle East and Israel leaves the West Bank or Palestine. Absurd! Blue skies, Jim

You can count me for the big ways Todd. I will try to convince a few other big way jumpers to come. Since this is a World Team year, please release the organizers name as soon as possible because big way jumpers are trying to show their stuff right now to all the organizers they can find...so they can get an invite to the World Team in Thailand. Blue skies, Jim

Don't believe everything you read in these forums. I have jumped at Temple, Austin and College Station. The DZO's were friendly, competent and very open about their capabilities. I observed tandems at each location and the level of instruction was handled professionally by an instructor who seemed interested in the student and enjoyed what he was doing. I see your problem as simply being open during the week when you can get there and the size of your group versus the equipment the dz has available. As someone pointed out, Austin and Temple are currently Cessna DZs and can only handle one or two tandems on the plane at a time. (If the tandem wants a video, only one at a time since the plane capacity is 4 passengers). College Station has a larger plane (sorry I don't remember the capacity) and San Marcos has an Otter which can hold 21-23 at one time. San Marcos can better handle a group your size so I would try to work with them. If you don't get a good feeling when talking with them, call Todd at College Station (Aggieland). He is a great guy and very personable. I believe both DZs will bend over backwards to accomodate you and your group. Good luck and blues, Blue skies, Jim

Her message may be valid, but she is destroying the family she has left. Does that make any sense? Would you destroy your family because you were convinced someone else made a mistake? She will end up a bitter, old woman and no one will care then. Blue skies, Jim

I'm sorry her son died, but it looks to me like she has lost touch with reality and is now destroying her own family: (1) BUSH PROTESTING MOM CALLS FOR 'ISRAEL OUT OF PALESTINE'; VOWS NOT TO PAY TAXES Anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq, is calling for Bush's "impeachment," and for Israel to get out of Palestine! "You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism," Sheehan declares. Sheehan, who is asking for a second meeting with President Bush, says defiantly: "My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004. You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny...you give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me (for back taxes) and we'll put this war on trial." "And now I'm going to use another 'I' word - impeachment - because we cannot have these people pardoned. They need to be tried on war crimes and go to jail." The 48-year-old California mom remains tented up in a ditch along the one-lane road that leads to Bush's Texas ranch. As her protest entered its second week, hundreds of people with conflicting opinions about the war in Iraq descended on the area. TIME mag reports in new editions on Monday: Sheehan gets support from her surviving son, Andy, in principle, but he recently sent her a long e-mail imploring her, "to come home because you need to support us at home." (2) Sheehan's Husband Seeks Divorce Bush roadside protester named in California petition filed Friday AUGUST 15--The next well-wisher approaching Cindy Sheehan at her tent encampment outside President George W. Bush's Texas vacation home may actually be a process server. That's because the California woman's husband--in a curious bit of timing--filed for divorce Friday afternoon (below you'll find a copy of Patrick Sheehan's complaint, lodged August 12 in Solano County District Court). With Sheehan, 48, entering a second week outside Bush's Crawford retreat, her husband's divorce petition cites "irreconcilable differences" for the demise of the couple's 28-year marriage (the Sheehans, the document states, have been separated since June 1). Along with a Vacaville home, Patrick Sheehan listed other "community assets" as "any and all benefits payable as a result of son's death," including a Prudential insurance policy and "benefits from the U.S. Government." From her roadside outpost, Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Casey, an Army Specialist, was killed last year in Iraq, has become the face of the U.S. antiwar movement, telling reporters that she will not budge until Bush meets with her and explains "why our sons are dead." Noting that Bush has referred to the war as a "noble" pursuit, Sheehan told Reuters, "If it's such a noble cause, why aren't his daughters over there?" Patrick Sheehan's lawyer, Glen DeRonde, did not return a TSG call, so it is unclear whether the divorce complaint will be delivered to her in Texas or when she returns to her home east of San Francisco. (4 pages) Media blitz or not Bill, there was something wrong with her story from the beginning when she said "Bush refuses to meet with me" without disclosing she had already met with him.

0:20:0 Got to fill-in at tail for SPX8 during their coached weekend! Think I'll sleep good tonight!

I had fun too! Got my 2000th jump, did a 30,500 foot HALO jump for free, got my UK t-shirt in the great t-shirt swap, and got to jump with Alanab and Amanda965. Blue skies, Jim

Depends on your age too. I thought the music was great, until the evening bands fired up. The live bands were so loud a lot of us left it to the kids. Blue skies, Jim

Church does not have to be institutionalized, in a building, or be led by degreed pastors. "Whenever two or more of you are gathered in my name, there will I be also.") Blue skies, Jim

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/gallery/imageFolio.cgi?direct=Personal_Galleries/Sopheavy Blue skies, Jim

Darker night skies would be helpful and most of us would probably still be up anyway... For as long as records exist, the Perseid meteor showers have always been strong. This summer's Perseid shower will be exceptional. The moon is mostly out of the way later in the night, and higher-than-normal activity rates are expected over the United States. The Perseid shower's parent body, comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, is notable in being a comparatively huge comet in an orbit that passes close to Earth's orbit frequently. It measures 24-31 kilometers in diameter, 2 to 3 times the size of comet Halley, and is so big that the continuous ejection of water vapor and dust during its approach to the Sun does not move the comet much off course. It has spewed dust for at least 5,000 years and most likely thirty times longer. It has built a massive meteoroid stream, most of which is located just outside of Earth's orbit. Earth passes through the outer regions of that stream in July, and hits the center on August 12. At that time, the annual Perseid shower peaks at 80 meteors per hour under ideal circumstances (no clouds or moon, dark sky, stars of magnitude +6.5 just visible). When comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle was rediscovered in 1992, scientists noticed in alarm that a delay of 17 days in the next projected return of the comet in 2126 could cause it to collide with Earth. That fear dissipated when the orbit was recomputed using data from sightings in 188 A.D. and 69 B.C. The more precise orbit has the comet approach Earth in 2126 to within only 23 million kilometers, but there's no danger of us being hit. In September 4479, the comet will approach Earth even closer, to within about 6 million kilometers. It will then be as bright as Jupiter (-2.1 magnitude) in the sky. The dust released will spread along the comet orbit because some dust grains make wider orbits than others and return later. When Earth encounters these dust trails, a meteor storm may be observed. But only if the very narrow trail is steered smack in Earth's path by perturbations of the planets. Most dust does wander far from the comet, which is why the best showers are observed in the years following when the comet returns, while lesser outbursts occur when dust further along the comet orbit wanders in Earth's path. The next big shower is not expected until the next return of the comet. For now, a nice outburst is projected for Aug. 12, 2005, at 08:18h UT (= 04:18 EDT and 01:18 PDT), when Earth will encounter the dust ejected in the return of 1479. Rates can go up four fold to about 240 per hour on top of the 80 per hour annual activity, for a brief period of time (approximately 1.2 hours). In addition, rates may increase again around 13h UT, when Earth is slated to encounter the Filament component, rising to less than 86 per hour on top of normal, annual activity. That Filament is older dust presumably in mean-motion resonance with Jupiter. Blue skies, Jim

Sorry to hear about your accident Justi. Hope you heal quickly. Shoulda' been with us at WFFC! Blues, Jim

You can get great deals at WFFC since the dealers don't really want to haul all that stuff back to their home locations. Usually the best deals are containers and canopies. I have seen some great jumpsuit prices too! Good luck. Blue skies, Jim

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/gallery/imageFolio.cgi?direct=Personal_Galleries/Amanduh/Skyfest_2005 Damn kids Blue skies, Jim

Victoria, TX Hillsboro, TX Leesville, LA Anniston, AL Columbus, GA Baltimore, MD Washington, DC Saigon, Vietnam Dien Khanh, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam Nha Trang, Vietnam Plekiu, Vietnam Ban Me Thuot, Vietnam Sydney, Australia Kadena AFB, Japan Honolulu, HI Marshall Islands, Micronesia Merida, Mexico Cozumel, Mexico Quito, Ecuador Santiago, Chile Lima, Peru Maui, HI Austin, TX Toronto, Ontario NYC, NY Killeen, TX Yorktown, TX Prague, Czech Republic Houston, TX Blue skies, Jim

Ummhhh.....I would, but will be in Rantoul by 6PM with Karen & Larry. Wait maybe we can postpone the trip to be with you guys? Blue skies, Jim

I herniated L4 and fractured L5 from a hard opening. Right leg went completly numb from hip to toes. After pain management (similar to a spinal block) there was no bending, tying shoes, and no picking up anything for a month. Then 4 months of PT including stretching both leg nerves and muscles, and a lot of reverse sit ups (similar to arching) with reps and numbers increasing each week. It still bothers me the day after jumping, but is just a dull ache. I was lucky since my primary MD is a jumper and her goal was "to get you back in the air as soon as possible." Blue skies, Jim

The bulldozers started clearing the taxi way this morning in the first steps to paving the runway! The dirt they remove will be spread around in the primary landing area. Let's see 14 inches of dirt and grass x 3300 feet. That should get us up out of the mud. Can I hear a hoohah from the skyfest jumpers??? Blue skies, Jim