SivaGanesha

Thanks! I will look for you this weekend! "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Actually I haven't asked about costs yet so I really don't know whether people would jump with me for free or not. But I guess I was assuming that at a minimum I would offer to buy the coach's jump ticket as a gesture. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Based on the replies you've gotten I've adjusted my 'time in sport' to more accurately reflect actual years where I was somewhat active. However my 'skybirthday' will always be a significant day for me even if there were many intervening years where I made no or few jumps. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I guess I've been answering these wrong then. I thought the three numbers were jump total on Friday/jump total on Saturday/jump total on Sunday. Just for the record I was assured I did not owe additional beer after last weekend.

If a student has graduated from AFF and is now working towards their 'A', what would you recommend--if funds are a bit of an issue--that their focus be--coach jumps or solo jumps? The tradeoff here seems to be that one can learn a lot more on coach jumps but on the other hand if one REALLY wants to get some jumps in, solo jumps will be less expensive and easier to get more jumps in. Obviously some coach jumps are needed to get signed off for the 'A' but other than that where should the priorities be? "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

:2:1 Was winded out for the first part of Saturday but returned to the DZ in late afternoon and made two jumps and then one on Sunday. Also bought a lot of beer but was actually told I'd bought too much--that I should save my pennies for skydiving! "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Looks like my paycheck has hit my bank account today so I am on my way to the DZ tomorrow--hopefully there will be gear for all (of a not too inappropriate size) to jump "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Hmmm....maybe I won't be getting too many jumps in even if I do turn up. Amanda and I were competing for the same Action Air rental rig last weekend

Hmmm....maybe I won't be getting too many jumps in even if I do turn up. Amanda and I were competing for the same Action Air rental rig last weekend

Depends whether I get paid on Friday or on Monday. If I get paid on Friday I'll be at the DZ for a bunch of jumps--if not I'll have a quiet weekend and jump next weekend. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I never actually met either Kathy or Steve; however, Kathy's exhibition jump into Seagram Stadium (now University Stadium) in Waterloo at a football game was a big factor in my originally getting into the sport years ago. The jump was in support of Dave Shannon, a rugby player (not, to my knowledge, a skydiver) who had recently become a quadriplegic and it gave me a very positive impression of skydiving and skydivers--it changed the image of skydiving that I'd previously had. Dave seems to be doing well for himself these days--he's currently on an expedition to the North Pole: Introduction | Team Independence '09 "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Congratulations on the new rig! And good to 'meet' you on the forums. Question: is it difficult to get as far as your 'B' license while (I presume) continuing to rent student gear? I'm getting back into the sport--just graduated AFF--after many years away. One reason I suspect I didn't stick with the sport the first time was that I never had my own gear. So I'm trying to decide at this point whether to make as many jumps as possible--renting student gear still--or making just as many as are needed to stay current as a post-AFF student or A license holder--and saving the extra money to buy my first rig. Funds remain a bit tight due to the recession but I REALLY want to stick with the sport this time around. You are the first person I've seen who apparently got all the way to their 'B' before getting their first rig so I'm interested in your experience. At my DZ I discovered last weekend that once you finish AFF you stop renting from the student gear room and start renting from the local gear shop (Action Air). I'm taking this as a hint that it is time to start thinking about buying gear but am still mulling over the timing based on my budget. Again, congrats on the gear! "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Yes, Steve Sutton would be "Mr. S". "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Panama isn't covered by the WHTI, at least according to the following websites: Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Caribbean Region The USA, of course, no longer has any connection at all with the Panama Canal Zone. It seems that Panama is a unique case and this may have accounted for the confusion. As of right now and until June 1, passports are not required for land/sea travel to/from Panama: Caribbean Tourism Official Rails Against WHTI However, as noted in the earlier links, it appears that for all other WHTI countries they will be requiring a passport card for land/sea entry, but for Panama--uniquely--they are now requiring a full passport. It still leaves unclear what documents are acceptable for Panama before June 1, though. On the one hand, passports aren't supposed to be required until June 1--so proof of citizenship should be acceptable, and the passport card should serve as proof of citizenship. On the other hand, the passport card is quite specifically not intended for use in Panama. Bottom line is that I can see why there is a lot of confusion where Panama is concered--it is clearly being handled differently from all other countries under the WHTI. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Panama isn't covered by the WHTI, at least according to the following websites: Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Caribbean Region The USA, of course, no longer has any connection at all with the Panama Canal Zone. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Around 10:40am Pacific time. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Yup...4.3 seems about right. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Anyone feel it? "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

0 : 2 : 0 Graduated AFF on Saturday so I finally feel like I'm really back in the sport after being away for about 20 years. Then did a solo jump later in the day but am now out of money till my next paycheck. I bought a case of 12 Coronas but was told this was only half a case

I think you can just resume payments then and go after the lawyer separately if you think you have a case against the lawyer for malpractice. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

I know you were making payments prior to getting the lawyer involved. I think the question would be whether you continued to make those payments after the lawyer got involved and the OIC / appeal was being considered--and whether you ever received a notice that you defaulted on your installment agreement (that would be notice CP-523 and it would come by certified mail). "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

It may depend on whether regulator has formally defaulted on his installment agreement or not. If he's been continuing to make payments as the OIC is considered, as he should, then the installment agreement should still be in force and he can just continue making payments. Even if he defaulted, he should request reinstatement, with a cover letter explaining that he was unemployed. Essentially the IRS has 10 years after the date the return was filed (which was late in this case) to collect the debt. The 10 year clock stops while certain appeals are considered and then starts again when the appeal is resolved. The IRS should accept the agreement as long as it doesn't jeopardize collection of the tax. So the monthly payment offered should be large enough to ensure payment in full, including further interest and penalties, well before the 10 year clock expires--so that the IRS is assured that they will have options open to them in the event of a further default. Because of the past problems, it may take the IRS awhile to make a decision on a new installment agreement. Begin making the agreed payments even before a decision is made so that things look as favorable as possible when a decision is made. I still don't understand how $185/mo amounts to interest/penalties only on an $11k IRS debt. Was $11k the original tax due which got increased substantially because of late filing/late payment? "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

At this point I'd recommend getting a new installment agreement with the IRS and also trying to get your monthly student loan payment reduced for awhile. The IRS is right that they come first in line ahead of a non-government student loans when it comes to paying debts. But you may be able to use this fact for negotiating leverage with the student loan--remind them that if push comes to shove and you can't pay all your bills, the IRS can come in and take everything--leaving not only you but the student loan folks with nothing. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

My take on this is that you have a strong valid complaint against the lawyer but not so much against the IRS--I think the IRS treated you fairly but the lawyer did not. If you originally owed the IRS 11k and you paid 5k to the lawyer, you'd have to get the IRS debt reduced to GREATLY below 6k to come out GREATLY ahead. Meaning that if the scenario your brother-in-law described actually played out, the lawyer would end up getting substantially more than the IRS. Perhaps the IRS figured--and if so I can't entirely disagree with their conclusion--that if you can afford to pay a lawyer $5k all at once you can afford to pay the IRS in installments. What was wrong with continuing the installment agreement but just making larger payments to actually pay it down rather than letting the balance increase? Also something about your numbers doesn't add up. You say you were paying your installment agreement for a year. The IRS is only supposed to charge one-quarter of one percent a month in penalties on approved installment agreements, which would add up to $330 a year on $11k. $185/month for 12 months would be $2220. And you say the balance actually increased by $250 because of interest. This would have to mean the IRS charged $2220+$250-$330=$2140 in interest--a rate of 20%!!?? I've had installment agreements with the IRS and I know that their interest rates are quite reasonable--well under 10%--certainly nowhere near 20%. The IRS charges interest rates that are often much more reasonable than you'd get from a private loan, although you have to factor in the penalty as well (again, in your case this should have been $330). Something about your numbers isn't adding up. I suspect this lawyer usually deals with much larger unpaid tax debts. Someone with a tax debt at your level who has a job (or a reasonable chance of getting a job soon) is usually expected to work out an installment agreement. Sorry to hear you got screwed by the lawyer but I can sort of see why the IRS responded the way they did. The lawyer, though, should have known how the IRS would respond and should have told you this honestly before taking your money. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

September 14th for me.