livendive

Uh oh... Why? Is he a rip-off of Vonnegut? Oh no, they just write in a similar style... i.e. sharp-witted, completely irreverent, fantastically developed characters, and plot used mostly as a vehicle rather than a payload. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

In such a (purely hypothetical) scenario, the changing of my mind would be obvious by the smell of urine, the sound of me screaming like an 8 year old girl, and the sight of me running away much faster than you think a fat man is capable of. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

fuck that! I HATE spiders. I would NOT be that close to either of those. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I have both underinsured motorist-bodily injury and underinsured motorist-property damage coverages. The property damage portion costs an extra $36/year for $20,000 worth of coverage and has a $100 deductible. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Absolutely. I wasn't trying to say that the fact that she didn't skydive was the cause of the relationship's demise, but rather that we didn't do any of things that I consider really fun together. Skydiving just happens to be the funnest thing I did without her, and I imagine we'd still be together if she'd been into some of the other activities I consider really fun. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I just ended a long-term relationship with a non-jumper (other than the 7 or 8 tandems she did with me). I always maintained that her jumping or not jumping wasn't important to me, but in the end I think it had a lot to do with the decline of the relationship. Basically, skydiving is the most fun I have. That means that everything else is less fun. Since she didn't jump, I was always having the most fun without her and less fun with her. Other things I like doing include fairly rigorous activities that she also didn't do, like snowboarding, wakeboarding, rockclimbing, downhill or single-track mountain bike riding, etc. So skydiving was just one thing (a very important thing) I did without her, but the combination of things made a situation in which her and I just didn't have enough fun together. There were several problems in the relationship, but that one probably had the biggest impact on the eventual failure of it. It's wierd to be doing something with someone you love, while at the same time wishing you were doing something else without them. I won't say that you shouldn't date a non-jumper, but if you do, you should ensure there are plenty of other activities you two can have fun doing *together*... and sex only counts as one activity. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I've only had 8 with zero replies, but several more with only one reply. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

If you like Vonnegut, you have to try Tom Robbins. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Super well-known: Tolkein Of course you've probably already read them... Less well-known: Douglas Adams I've never read a sharper blend of smarts and wit. Not so well-known: Tom Robbins Another Roadside Attraction, Jitterbug Perfume, Skinny Legs and All, Still Life with the Woodpecker, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues...all great reads. Half-Asleep in Frog Pajamas is pretty good, though not quite on the same level. In making sure I didn't miss any, I found that he's written two more that I haven't read yet...Villa Incognito and Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates...I'm ordering both now.

My daughter got an A+ for the following paper a few years ago, but you'll likely have to add a bit to get to 1200 words. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Made my beerth birdman jump this weekend as well (yesterday) and shared a case with friends at the DZ last night. Everything went well, sweet opening, 69 mph average. Need to scrounge up some extra cash now. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

LOL - playing around with colors on an S3 right now & trying to figure out how to afford it. Prices on these suits have sure gone up since they became popular! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

69 :4:1 Only made 4 jumps this weekend. Owed one case of beer for my first Birdman jump. Average fallrate on that jump was 69 mph. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

An incredible movie. The first time I watched it, it didn't matter that I didn't "get" it...it was thoroughly engrossing. I think it's totally cool that Lynch can pull the emotional strings he wants without the viewer having to understand the story. Laying in bed that night, I couldn't get it out of my mind, so I got up and watched it again. Then again the next afternoon, and a couple times since. It's so difficult to follow because dream/fantasy and "reality" are interlaced, and the timing sequence is completely hosed. Basically zonerat got it right. A gal moves to Hollywood to become an actress. She falls into the drug use and promiscuity and eventually commits suicide. During her descent, she constructs a fantasy world in which she can blame her problems on other things outside of her own control rather than having to take responsibility for her problems. The gal she has lesbian sex with is a perfect example... the young girl first gets to exercise some control over her, then loses a part to her (due to mafia type influences, not ability), then transfers her desire to act into a fantasy relationship with that women to live her dream by proxy. The scenes in which those two have sex are dream sequence. The scene in which she's masturbating furiously is reality (while having those dreams). The restaurant scenes are pretty cool. Definitely dreams, watch the waitress's nametag. I think the guy talking through his fears is just a male representation of our star, and the bum in the back ally represents the worst parts of her personality. Perhaps the bum killing the guy with fear is symbolic of the entire movie (i.e. her killing herself). The cowboy is just an enigma as far as I can tell. David Lynch always inserts a scene he calls the Duck's Eye, and I think it involves the cowboy in this one. Anyhow, if your curious for other theories, start here. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

How many of those better teachers will still be in the publicly funded schools? You don't suspect they'll be recruited to man the explosion of private schools that are now voucer-funded? Or will the voucher schools only get the the bad teachers who are fired from the public schools? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

No, only false analogies are fallacies. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Hans Blix didn't, and I weighed his opinion pretty heavily. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

14 or 15 hours... done a fair number of jumps that involved limited freefall. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Just a couple guesses... The clouds look stationary because they were dim except for during the lightning strike...think of a one minute exposure inside a very dark room with someone running around in it...then pop one flash during that minute. I'm guessing the person would appear stationary in such a picture. Also, the overexposure of the moon could make its trail tough to see, and the reflection might have a trail that just isn't obvious (i.e. in a shorter exposure it would simply be narrower). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

ehhh... no. Its really slanted to the lower side. Remember that the segment on the upper income side are much larger, so that end of the curve would be even thinner. It's not that bad. If we assume even distributions within ranges, we can break the ranges into 10k chunks with the attached result. Not a perfect method, but close enough for DZ.com. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

That is the closest thing to a normal distribution I have ever seen in any poll on this site. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

760:8:1 Drove 760 miles (120 to West Plains Skydiving on Friday, left DZ at 2:00 pm Saturday and drove 520 miles to Seattle & back for Mariner's game/Edgar Martinez retirement ceremony, arriving back at DZ at 4:00 am) and 120 home last night. Made 8 jumps including 4 AFF's with our primary pilot who we stole away to a boogie for the weekend, 2 hybrid jumps, an 8 way, and a nice 15-way to finish the weekend. Didn't owe any beer, but took a case anyhow. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Are you really complaining about him not voting to spend additional deficit money on a welfare program? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Been there twice, once while married, one it was a girlfriend. I wanted to try and reconcile with the wife but wasn't given the opportunity, so when it happened with the girlfriend I kept her around while I tried to forgive her. I realized after a few months that infidelity is just something I can't get past, so I dumped her. I hope to never find myself in that position again, but if I do, the day I find out will be the last day of the relationship. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I got a pink slip last October announcing my lay-off date of November 14th. I got a sweet severance package, collected unemployment for 3 weeks, and then started a new job closer to home that's much more interesting and earns me 35% more. I have a very large raise in the works right now, and by November 14th this year (1 year from my layoff), I have a reasonable expectation of earning over twice what I was making at the job that laid me off. Getting laid off was one of the best things that's happened to my checking account and my mood while commuting each morning. Make the best of it. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)