BikerBabe

GAH! Cincinnati One "t", two "n"s. Sorry...I grew up there, this is a pet peeve of mine. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Yes, this is a football post. Did I not call the current Pittsburgh Steelers situation, or what? http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1049701;search_string=NFL%20draft;#1049701 I just was off by 9 years or so! heh. Go Big Ben. Where's Eli Manning now, huh? Oh, Philip Rivers? What are you doing? Not winning 5 games in a row in your rookie season, you're not! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

This one is pretty hard to argue, isn't it? Sad. Just.......sad. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

One thing that I think helps new 4-way jumpers the most is learning the dive pool. I know it's sort of a Catch-22, in that you need to have seen the formations before you can know them, but knowing in general where you're supposed to be in each formation will help you tremendously. Print out a dive pool (you can find one here: http://www.omniskore.com/ipc_pool_menu.htm) then ask one of your more experienced teammates to sit down with you and explain where you go in each one. Don't worry about block technique yet, you're just looking for pictures. If you have access to the Airspeed Mindmaps CD-ROM or one of the other DVDs (Majik or the Golden Knights), try to watch it as much as possible. Also, the Airspeed articles that are linked at the top of this page are a great resource. That way the next time you plan a skydive, you will at least be familiar with the formations and your slot. Good luck! ETA: These may not make your body move faster, but it will help your mind move faster during the skydive, which DOES make a difference, trust me! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Yes, it totally rocked! I can't believe you didn't stay for the party, Rosa! I had many elsinore people saying they had never seen the patio so crowded. I think a band played, but I totally missed that. Too much partying....waaaaaay too much partying! If I spoke to any of you at the party...errrr...cool! I probably don't remember, and I apologize. Can't wait for the next one! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

An email from a friend about this report/article. He explains it much better than I could... Similar spreads are seen on the Duelfer report. Interestingly, both sides (close to 80% of each) believe the Bush administration is saying that Iraq had WMD and direct, cooperative ties to al-Qaida. Which is actually true. Bush supporters just take it on faith, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. This, I think, is the direct result of the niche broadcasting that has emerged over the last decade or so. People listen to biased news that tells them what they want to hear, and perceive "facts" as what their side's spinmeisters tell them they are. They distrust traditional media to such an extent that everything is now subjective. Or, more accurately, what you read/hear is the facts, and everything that contradicts is media distortions. The British have had this system for a long time, I wonder how their numbers would look. But I also think the mainstream press has partly played into the Bush administration's propaganda enterprise, because they refuse to call people like Cheney liars when they make claims like "Iraq had WMD immediately before we invaded" and "Were they involved in 9-11? Maybe, we just don't know." They're so desperate to avoid the appearance of bias that instead of actually fact-checking statements, they'll be "balanced" and add a quote from someone with a dissenting view, as if both views are equally valid, and there's no possible way they could actually, say, look up the 9-11 Commission Report, or the Duelfer Report, and find the actual answer. Michael Kinsley said this best: So Bush can say "The sky is green," and it will get reported as "President Bush today announced that the sky is green. This view was immediately renounced by the Kerry campaign, which issued a press release stating that the sky is, in fact, blue, except at night, when it is black with twinkly white bits, or possibly when it is overcast, when the sky has varying shades of gray, possibly also including blue." And then Ann Coulter will decide that anyone who thinks the sky is not green is a traitor, and should be in prison, or better yet, executed. And Michael Moore will release a movie, alleging that the Bush administration, in its ties with the Saudis, is attempting to dismantle regulations on copper-based gas emissions, and change the color of the sky. Is there any way for this to improve? I find it very disturbing. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

And....Jon Stewart talks more about his appearance on crossfire: http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2653047 Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Yep, over and done with. Ballot was filled out and sent last week. All the "debate" (for lack of a better word, though that's not what it is) on here is just waves crashing fruitlessly against a seawall to me now. How nice. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Relax. Breathe. Now, go download Ad Aware SE and run it. It's a totally free program and it will find any spyware and bad stuff that got placed on your computer. Here: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ Run your virus scanner. See if that helps. Good luck! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I already answered that question. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Wow, how transparent can you be? This: and this: just confirmed for me that you (and a few others on here, as well) have absolutely zero interest in actually having a rational or civilized discourse on anything having to do with the election. You are just looking to bait people with no intention of honestly listening to anyone who may disagree with you. I'm not going to answer this one...and I would encourage others not to rise to the bait, either. I'm so proud of myself that I figured you out. I'm giving me a gold star. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I voted for "uneducated Americans" because, well...I mean, just read many of the posts on this board. That's my excuse for why anyone would vote for Bush. Besides, it sort of encompasses all of the other choices. With the current record in this country of botched presidential elections, I'm not going to be 100% sure about who won the election until that person is inaugurated. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Only one place to be over Christmas: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=518 Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

At the competitors meeting with USPA after Nationals, Doug Park came up with one of the best ideas I've heard for dealing with this issue. Now, I'm sure in theory there could be something better, but this one was also easy to implement... Basically, draw the line between advanced and open class based on team average after three rounds or so of Nationals. Since USPA is unlikely to merge with NSL anytime soon, it would be hard to track a competitor's average throughout the season, not to mention a logistical nightmare. Doug's idea was to have everyone in the same class for the first three rounds or so (we jump the same dive pool, anyway), then after that, draw the line. Teams that "made the cut" would be in open, and those that didn't would be in Advanced. It's totally based on performance as a team at the meet, and it's easy to implement. Plus, there would be no more worrying about who medaled when and where...so if Kim and Doug Glover were on a team together with two newbies, then they could compete where they belong based on their performance. The "tracking averages throughout the season" idea came up, but we have to suggest something that is actually feasible for USPA to do. Anyway, thoughts? Like I said, it wasn't my idea, it was Doug's but I think it's one of the most realistic ways I've seen to define the classes... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Yep, it'slike riding a bike. You'll probably be a little rusty, but you'll get it back in a few jumps. You'll probably be a little scared on that first one, too. I know I was. But then you'll land and it will be like you never stopped. I can't wait to jump with you this weekend! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

How did I miss this thread? I live here now...of COURSE I'll be there! Add me to the list, I'm coming to play! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I love my Jedei. Here it is. I believe, and Brian can correct me if I'm wrong, that the kanji means "Ascension". It was made for Chuck Karcher, but now it's mine and I will keep it forever. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

it was 16-way, which was last saturday. No wonder the balloon thing is winning...it's the only thing with commentary! I would have liked to have heard something about the other three... BTW, that antenna that the balloon got hung up on is a popular BASE spot in ABQ...it's close to 1000 ft high and there's plenty of fields around to land in. It's also really close to the Balloon park...go figure. See, just another reason to ALWAYS be wearing gear when you fly... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

you think that's strange. Here, in LA, we had a THUNDERSTORM. Now, that just doesn't happen here folks. Well, at least not that often. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Yeah, he can show 'em how it's done. Speaking of Moto GP...guess who's got her tickets to the US grand prix at Laguna Seca next July? w00t! That's right! MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! HAH! 3-Day Admission to the 2005 US Grand Prix: $90 Pit Pass: $25 Hotel in Salinas: $85/night Watching Valentino Rossi smoke it through the Corkscrew: PRICELESS!!! errr...not to rub it in or anything... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Yes, they deserved some sanction. What made most people irate (especially those from the SoCal area) was the implication that Exceed's violation of the rules was intentional and that they had lied to the judges. Anyone who knows the people on that team knows that is just not possible. Those three are the most clean-cut, honest people on the drop zone. To imply that they lied is completely unreasonable. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I live in CA, but I already voted absentee in PA. It was for Kerry. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

As someone on the other side (on a PC team but not the PC), I say amen as well. I mean, what am I? Chopped liver? I'm choosing to spend my money and time this way because it's making me into a better skydiver and competitor in the fastest time possible. I'm impatient... I like to think that my regular teammates and I had something to do with our personal and team success at nationals this year. Alena's a damn good skydiver, but she wasn't flying every slot... Look at the medalists in Advanced this year and count how many were a product of a PC team. How is that a bad thing? Now, it may surprise you, but my opinion on regulating PC teams hasn't changed. I just got outvoted. Andi Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!