livendive

Congrats brother. I've got a few months left before I hit half that. All together now, "SPEECH!" Care to share any pearls of wisdom with us low-timers on this momentous occasion?

The last three >$150 bottles I've bought have been terrible. The first two I dumped, the third got set aside while we drank a couple decent bottles, then guzzled just on principle. Then again, you probably weren't referring to flaws or provenance problems. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

If I order a zin from the Shaw vineyard, and get something from Charles Shaw, I'm gonna be pissed! :-) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Actually, blanc and gris/grigio are two different wines. To confuse matters Alsacian versions of gris are usually called "tokay pinot gris", and have absolutely nothing in common (as far as I can tell) with Hungarian Tokay. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

LOL! LSHIFF! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Someone want to send that guy a care package of cheese? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Hey great idea Dave, don't listen to what HE says wait till afterwards and let someone else TELL you what he said. Pick the right channel and you can make sure and have the "spin" on it that suits your pre determind idea. I won't watch the highlights on any "channel", I'll read them. If anything particularly interests me, the transcript will be almost immediately available and I can go to it for exact quotes. FYI - These kinds of speeches aren't really about what "he" has to say anyhow, as much as what his speechwriters and handlers have to say. If he wanted to tell us what *he* thinks, he'd write his own speeches or better yet speak freely without a teleprompter. Nothing against him personally, that's just the way politics work. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Watching Bush speak is like watching senior citizens copulate. Given that it's a canned speech with no immediate significance (hopefully!), I'll just catch the highlights after the fact. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I signed up and just did the first randomly assigned subject. Apparently I have a slight preference for chaos versus order. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Sweet! There's a name I haven't heard in awhile. Gonna have to dig through some boxes to find that CD. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I learned about people not recognizing obvious fakes the hard way. A few years ago my ex & I were headed to Vegas for some fun and some formation loads. My mom kept bugging me beforehand that we better not be running off to get married. Well of course that sounded too good to pass up so when we got back I found someone's wedding picture online, pasted our faces onto it, and sent it to my mom with a "got home safe, look what a great time we had" message. She took a few hours to get back to me, with "Now that the tears have stopped for a little while, I guess I should congratulate you. I can't believe you were so selfish as to deny your family the opportunity to celebrate with you, but what's done is done. This will take me awhile to get over, but I love you and wish you both the best." I thought she was giving me a dose of my own medicine till my dad called me (he NEVER calls me) to tell me she'd left work and bawled her head off all afternoon, had forwarded my message to the rest of my online family with a few choice words about my apparent choice, and had printed out a copy & taken it down to my 80ish year old grandmother. I had to eat some serious crow over that one and learned two things. 1) what's obvious to me isn't obvious to everyone and 2) mom's don't think some jokes are very funny. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Do you usually freeze within the first 3 minutes of the ride? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Two weekends ago, a 6-way RW, and a 4-way freefly. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

You must throw one hell of a right hook! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I can't believe I haven't seen a Repo Man or Jay & Silent Bob quote in this thread yet. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Private life insurance is easy...there's no requirement that the named beneficiary be a spouse or dependent child. If I'd died last year, my girlfriend would have gotten almost $600k, and if I die tomorrow, my mom will. I suspect the life insurance being provided in this package is run similarly, so that shouldn't be a concern. Given that, the only thing at issue is the proposed $100k death benefit (currently $12k). If worded anything like the DOE employee death benefit ($150k for those who die or have died as a result of having worked with radioactive material in support of DOE missions), it will only be awardable to a surviving legal spouse or dependent child(ren). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

And to end on a funny note: Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Watch the screen get all fuzzy reading this one, from a thread entitled "dropzone scenery" in which people were discussing which DZ has the most beautiful view: Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

and another: Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Blind John is one cool dude. Also, Dan Rossi (who has done a 2-way with Blind John) used to post some fantastic stories on rec.skydiving. This thread seems like a good place to post a couple of them. Here's one: Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Cool beans. The death benefits have been woefully inadequate for a very long time. This is definitely a step in the right direction. Just to stir the pot though, do you think they'll word the bill such that the benefits are payable to a surviving "domestic partner"? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Am too! err, I mean thanks...I think. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I didn't even realize that mug shots section existed, but I did post a couple pictures of my face in your "post your face" thread not too long ago, here and here. I've also got a few pictures up in my personal gallery, a couple of which show my face. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Grill up a couple good steaks with Tom Douglas' Steak Rub (Rub with Love line) Make this green bean recipe. Do something simple for a starch, whatever she likes (fettucini alfredo?) Buy a good bottle of red wine to go with dinner and whatever she likes to drink while relaxing (e.g. in the hot bath you'll draw right before she gets home). Get her favorite dessert take-out from a local restaurant. Note: if presentation is an aspect (e.g. creme brulee), ask if you can take the dishes home & bring 'em back tomorrow. Prepare to be molested. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Broke off a 4+ year relationship in September. New house in November that involved buying all new "stuff" Christmas in December Major vehicle damage and maintenance in January My drama is reacquainting myself with single life while dealing with a 3-month checking account hemorrhage. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)