dbattman

I used to jump there from about jump 5 to 50 back in '01. and I visited last fall. They are a pretty good group and a lot of fun to hang with. You'll have fun there- bring Coors light if you're legal.

Health care costs are spiraling out of control because the system has been abused for decades. Practicioner fees are expensive because there is a huge shortage that increases every year. I know a hospital in NY that is so hard up for people they will pay off the schooling in exchange for service. Want to go into pharmacy? Give them six years and they will pay to put you through school, and we're not talking about a slave wage either. The only way to attract more and better staff is to increase your pay rates and that money needs to come from somewhere. Why aren't more people becoming doctors or nurses if the pay is so good? It takes years of schooling, years of residency, and when you finally finish at 30 you now have a target on your back saying 'sue me.' When I go to the dentist now, everything is covered in disposable sterile plastic wraps and sometimes the hygenist looks like he walked out of a level 4 bio lab. WTF? Is that really necessary? We have the same ambulance abuse here in ATL. People want to go downtown, call an ambulance and get a ride to Grady. Some people don't even go into the ER- they just get out and walk down the street. Try refusing to transport a healthy person standing on the corner that you know just wants a ride. There's a pill for everything under the sun now. Kids are acting up? Here's a pill. Not feeling quite like yourself? Here's another pill. Not a real social butterfly? Here's another pill. We market these things like candy with signs in airports, TV ads, online 'quizes' that if you score more than four, you may have 'ADULT ADD' [gasp]. Everyone wants their drugs paid for as well. I now get to pay more taxes to buy my dad's Lipitor. Wonderful- let him buy it himself. Have an elderly parent, relative, uncle, whatever that has trouble making the med payments every month? Now is the time to step in and pull as a family. Insurance is sooooo expensive, who can afford it? It is expensive because people use it all the time. I have coworkers who have kids into the doctor every week, sometimes more than once. I had another one who would see every specialist under the sun because she had whatever was being talked about on the news that month. None of them think they should have to cover anything themselves and complain every year when the rates go up. Insurance is supposed to be for the big things- paying for the flu isn't any fun but try moving employees from a 90/10 to an 80/20 or raising the deductible $500. My group plan last year cost the company almost $3k for me. Just me- healthy, 32 year old single guy. I know other people without insurance who say they can't afford it, but you see them every weekend straping on the rig or hear them talk about the shows they watch on their 200+ channel dish network with high-speed internet. Why don't they buy insurance? They can't come up with $75-100 a month to buy a personal individual plan from Kaiser because their priorities are screwed up. That's OK guy, the rest of us will cover it for you eventually. I remember watching a news program about 'alternative medicines' and there were advocates trying to get a bill sponsored to require insurance to cover 'holistic treatments.' They weren't talking about accupuncture or other known successful treatments- they wanted insurance companys to have to pay for things like coffee enemas and those herbal wraps where they put different crystals on you to absorb and balance 'negative energies.' OK- personal opinion rant is over. Now for the flip side- even with all the venom I spewed out, I still think it is the best deal in town. Why do I think that? Go spend a few weeks shaking bug crap out of bandages in the thrid world. A real eye opener. Check out the photos- they may not be much to look at, but this is still pretty good compared to what you'd find two villages over where the hospital is a small building with an exam table and maybe a small supply closet staffed by a WHO worker. Check out the water tower. When the wind actually blows for long period of time you get running water, otherwise it's the bucket brigade. For general use, you use the tanks collecting rainwater from the gutters [carport for tank]. The staff get a small room with a bed and communal kitchen in the nurses quarters. At least the buildings are decent and now have ceilings in the hallways so they don't have a bat problem anymore. There is a functioning OR that gets used twice a year when the volunteer surgical teams come through (cervical cancer is an epidemic among the Amerindians) and a C-arm X-ray machine that no one knows how to use or even wants to learn. But the Med-ex is skilled and competent at diagnosing the local illnesses, does a great job patching and stitching up the owies, and somehow manages to vaccinate 95%+ of the population. Heck, they even get a supply truck every quarter and if the drunk administrator doesn't screw up the paperwork they might even get some of what they need! It's not all bad though- you get romatic evening meals every night. I may not enjoy paying copays, deductibles, inflated rates to cover other peoples irresponsible behavior but I consider myself damn lucky to be where I am and after coming back I will never complain about it. What is the solution to our problems? Tort reform, nationalized health care, price caps, compulsory insurance, subsidized medical schooling? Do you not help the migrants and the illegals that pick crops or subsist on day labor? Do we need draconian fraud investigations on every bill to see if its paddeed or if the nose job for a 'deviated septum' was really deviated? I really wish I had the answer, but I don't and the problems will only get worse as the population pyramid shifts towards the blue hairs.

What the @#$#? I left the bar at 8:45 cuz I was still by myself! What, were ya hiding in a corner or something?

Taking a sudaphed helps, particularly during the colder months when everyone has the sniffles and a little congestion.

They've got the best scenery around, too. And a DZO that likes to have fun with his airplane

Of course, Liz is in a class by herself. I've never seen someone tear through tandem rigs like she does- probably seven minutes a pack? I watched her pack several in a row trying to pick up the technique, but I have no idea how she does that without hardly breaking sweat.

Up in the Knoxville area they have several hyperbaric chambers that they use for treatment of BR bites. The higher pressure oxygenates the tissues quite well and helps with abating necrosis and pain involved. That's a long ways away, but just FYI for other people reading this.

You are correct- All people that practice Muslim/Islamic faith are not suicide bombers or even suicide bombers to be. BUT, so far in recent history, all the suicide bombers have come from the radical Islamic sects. Should we be turning our focus on the Mosques and the Muslim community, or should we also be worrying about those darn subversive Wicans? Never know when they might start going off. Let's also remember that the catalyst for this whole thing occured BEFORE the occupation.

No, but they carried the same level of fanaticism that is now seen coming from the Muslim homicide bombers. Kamikaze was a tactic born out of desperation by the outnumbered and outgunned Japanese air force to disable allied ships and aircraft carriers. The volunteers were glamorized with ceremonies and honors before taking off and crashing a 500 pounder into a carrier deck. Of course, only the raw recruits did this- the experienced pilots were too valuable. To say it is just the Mulsim religion is a little distorted. It is more of a 'brainwashed fanaticism' that is spawning this, and it just happens to come out of the radical Islamic faction right now. If there were suicide Wicans blowing themselves up there would be the same focus on that group. (just my $0.02)

Personally, I do not find either of the Skydive Orange-Maryland sites to be deceptive at all. Clicking on the links provided for pricing takes you to the 'Skydive Orange' site where everything is listed in plain dollars. Locations are clear up front, and if you call the number will you be greeted with a cheery 'Hello, Skydive Orange'? Having DZOs on the board abstaining from the ASC group membership vote was also the correct thing to do and the only way to get a decision that wouldn't be subject to challenge based on conflict of interest. I also don't see how it helps the USPA- they just lost money every year because of it. I think there needs to be some clarity to the issue and I can only describe it as I see it. Like many (not all) people on the anti-skyride side I don't see a problem with the 900 websites saying 'give us a call for a great time'. You can call that 'brilliant marketing' if you like but I see it as no different than setting up a card table on Airport Road and selling tandems to the dropzone 200 feet down. I don't see a problem with the tanden reselling. I don't see a problem with lining people up at a dropzone to make a jump and handling the reservations for them, collecting a reasonable port from the customer (disclosed up front) and a referral fee from the DZ. It becomes a problem when the customer has no idea where they are going to jump until they hand over the digits. It becomes a problem when you include mystery junk fees, bogus taxes and security fees that do not exist, insurance that is nebulous as to its purpose and value, rental fees that are already included in the initial cost, yadda yadda yadda. It becomes a problem when someone shows up with a $400+ tandem certificate and sees "Tandems $165, video/stills $75" on the board behind manifest. It becomes a problem when they send Skyride customers to places that want nothing to do with them and leave the DZO to deal with 'What do you mean you don't take these? I called the number on YOUR WEBSITE!' These customers leave and tell everyone they know that the dropzone is run by a bunch of crooks after finding out they will have to drive hundreds of miles to find a participating DZ. And yes, it becomes a problem when you steal someone else's phone number that they are paying for. No one has an issue with turning a profit in this industry. If we hated ASC, Ben, and Cary for making money we would also hate Deland. We would hate Perris. We would hate Skydive Chicago, Z-Hills, the Ranch, and every other place that has managed to do more than a marginal business. Do we hate these places? No, not really. They have their flaws to be sure but try to find the venomous 'anti' sentiment that exists with ASC and Skyride. We take issue to turning a profit through deceit, fraud, and outright thievery that pollutes a sport that we all dearly love. We take issue with exploiting ignorance and naivete. No place and no one is perfect and I'm sure supporters can come up with 'Well, this place did this' all day. I think ASC and Skyride are in a class by themselves right along with 419 and Internet Lottery scams, telemarketers that con old ladies who just want to talk to someone, and people that don't turn off their cell phones in the theatre ( on that last one). That's all I have to say on this issue; replies will be ignored since it is obvious that no opinions will be changed by this thread and picking on spelling errors or sentence fragments in a post is just plain childish.

Cedartown.

Out and about Chris. Doing some short-term consulting (That work is gooood!), still interviewing for permanent stuff, staying out of trouble.

C'mon someone help this guy out! He's even offering beer! Help! Steal my roommates cat!

Hey, I've been looking for a new hobby. Being a professional pain in the ass could be a lot of fun.

I believe that is the man's intent- to make Souter a defendent under his own ruling. Will it happen? I have agree with Kallend and Jdhill- snowballs chance in hell. But with several million dollars behind it, anything is possible. Unfortunately I don't have several million dollars.

Whether they are on board with the project is completely irrelevant. If it is my property it is for me to decide when to sell it and how much to sell it for. Developer approaches me to buy my lakefront lot where I have lived for thirty years. I built this house myself, I raised my kids here, my daughter was married under the oak in the side lot and I plan on dying here. Since the developer wants to build a ten story condo building the local politicians are on board with this. I do not want to sell, I rejected their offer. Is it 'public use' as originally stated in the 5th Amendment for them to kick me out and hand me a check in this situation? Depending on the statues, yes or no but the SC just struck a strong blow to the 'no'. Exactly. More money in the coffers, fifty new jobs generated by the condo association, standard of public good met as considered by the board. Drop your drawers and bend over sir- this won't hurt (much). Same situation with the parent case in question. Thank you Josh, you have just illustrated the problem quite nicely. It's still my house and if I want to keep it instead of seeing it bulldozed for a health club, or a casino parking garage, or a waterfront that should be my decision regardless of what the local board has to say. There is no road, no school, no public anything involved. Now there doesn't need to be one, just something that is 'public good' as defined by goodness knows what. 'Just compensation' lower than fair market value? Interesting phenomenon. I had a developer make me the generous offer of buying my house for approximately 85% of reasonable FMV to make it easier for them to build their houses behind me. This also just happened to be slightly more than I owed and a huge loss. No discussions on price, no second offer as I requested even after he stated himself that it needed to be raised. He then threatened me with ED several weeks later and never tried to follow through when I said 'fine- see ya in court', so hopefully you can understand my venomous attitude and apologies if it came across as personal in any way. ***If your state allows this, don't bitch about it here, take action to change your state's laws on the issue... and / or tell your Congressman and Senators to do something about it at the national level... I'm sure there is plenty of public support out there, and in the end if the voters don't vote for the guy that is in the developer's pocket, he does not get reelected, no matter how much money they have. J That's strange, I thought elections were bought and sold like everything else and the people with the money made the rules. 'Public good' instead of 'public use' has probably just invalidated or opened for challenge the standards in place and by the time that is sorted out it will be too late for lots of people. Let's see, there are those people in CT and another group in NC (I think) those businesses in Freeport TX, the people fighting off Wal-Mart Supercenters in Alabama, the runaway development going on in Florida. Speakers Corner is all about the bitching, and many thanks for filling out the picture much better than I could have done alone. I hope this stuff does get settled out soon, but it will likely be many years and many court battles for lots of people.

The rules have been changed. If it wasn't for a definite public use (i.e. road, school, et al) than you had a chance at fighting it. ED now applies to the transfer of property from private owner A to private owner B because private owner B will do something with it that pays more taxes or employs more people. You just need to convince a few politicians to go along with this. This was going on all over the country before this decision- it just got a whole lot easier. This is all about money, money, money. Form an S corp to build this hotel, sell 250,000 shares for $100 each to pissed off property owners like myself and see what happens to the balance of power and equality.

Souter may not want to sell, or the developer makes him a typical lowball offer. Why wouldn't someone consider condemnation- because he's on the SC? Big deal- let him hire an attorney and fight it like the rest of us peasants. Several groups are already moving forward under the new ED ruiling to grab property. Do a Google- you will see.

My hats off to this man. Moving forward with a hotel on David Souters house

Whoops- I misread the original post. I thought it said the D was 1/3 mile, not a C of 1/3 mile. I though that looked like a strange discrepency- a full order fo magnitude off. My bad.

The SC ruled on the definition of 'public use' and that is all. Nothing Constitutional was involved. This entire thing was motivated by developers that wanted to seize property so they could build on it. Essentially, the SC ruled that whoever pays more taxes should have the property rights. Is developing property to increase tax revenue part of the public good? The SC said yes. Well, the five on the left did- the four on the right did not. You now own property as long as the local council board says you do. Intersting thing about the recommendation to the states- didn't we just have a ruling that states cannot trump anything federal? So if a state were to legislate it's own definition of 'public use', but now there's this federal/constitutional definition out there that says something else, who wins?

Yes, that is correct. However the developers involved have convinced the five liberal judges of the SC that increasing tax revenue is part of the "public good." More revenue means more money for government spending, but real estate has essentially been destroyed as an investment vehicle. If you own an empty lot, for example, that you are paying $600 on taxes and someone wants to build a house that will pay $2200, the SC has ruled that your lot can be taken from you and given to that someone. You get a check for whatever the county appraiser decides the lot is worth instead of what someone is willing to pay. Nice, huh?

I'm getting: 3.14159*(5280/6)^2= 2,432,847.3 ft^2 The other answers do not have the formula written correctly.