livendive

It seems to me the person who was subjected to the "routine traffic stop" is more in need of prayers (from those who believe in such things) and that he was the one who made the ultimate sacrifice. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

My mixture of answers might be kind of odd. I think USPA costs a little too much, but just barely. I think USPA HELPS keep jumpers jumping. The AAD fund helps keeps SOME dropzones open, however there seems to be a cronyistic method of applying it. USPA is an overbearing, restrictive bureaucracy in some regards, but not in others. I like and support USPA but think we would also be just fine without them. The thing you didn't mention is the Group Member program. If the commercial interests in skydiving would get out of our (the jumpers') organization and back into PIA where they "fit", I think everyone would see improvement. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Well I don't know about the weakest sex quote, but the one about this being a man's world is all James Brown. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

or at least not get caught! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

A government can simultaneously throw money at it's military while giving the shaft to it's working class troops. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

marvelling atheistic hedonist Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Oh yeah? Well I just bought TEN tickets for Wednesday's drawing! I'm practically guaranteed to win, right? :-) I'd buy two new cars and a nice motor home, and pay people to finish the landscaping on the house we built last year. I'd stay at work and be a royal pain in the ass for my management team until they fired me. Probably sometime next spring I'd move to northern California and open a wine store in the Sacramento area. I'd then enroll in viticulture classes at UC Davis with hopes of starting or buying an existing winery back here in Washington...or I might just stick with the retailer gig if it stayed fun. Oh...and I'd pay off my tab at the dz and buy two new rigs, so I'd have dedicated CRW, freefall, and swooping rigs. "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

DirectTV rocks, especially if you want fox sports regional networks. Pricing ain't bad. I pay about $50/month for an awful lot of channels plus 7 HBO channels and the LA and NYC affiliates of all the major networks. So I can watch a 10:00 show at 7:00 (on the NYC station) then 8:00 and 9:00 shows on the LA station and be in bed by 10:00. "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Unintentionally - maybe a hair under 800'. I figure I settled in (under my main) at somewhere around 400', as my canopy ride was 15 seconds long with the brakes stowed for 11 of them. Intentionally - probably around 1300 a couple times and 1500 several times. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

There are plenty of skydivers around Gresham. It ain't far from Ralph's place in Eagle Creek (i.e. Ralph Hatley of Western Parachute Sales). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

In my little town of 130,000, Wal-Mart opens at 7 or 8 AM and closes at 11 PM. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Hey, I have a tandem pic too (screen grab, so considerably lower resolution) here

Sounds like you'd be quite happy if we adopted a system of Islamic law. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Nope, that's why I asked. Demo jump, dense cloud cover, got out over Lake Erie by mistake, 14 of the 17 jumpers drowned. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Additionally - organic, limited to environments similar to ours (atmospheric, gravimetric, and temperate), similar in structure to life forms we recognize (e.g. have a brain, blood-like fluid, endo or exo skeleton, etc). I figure there are probably many, many "alien" life forms, and it wouldn't surprise me if we've already interacted with some at some level. We just have no basis for recognizing them. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

"but it's just a harmless little bunny isn't it?" "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Sorry for the late response. Something popped up while I was checking that required my immediate attention. :-) "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

And this is why Bush pulled out of the Kyoto protocol? Why one of his biggest goals is the exploitation of the arctic national wildlife preserve? Why his answer to forest fires was to exempt forest management from the national environmental policy act (thereby eliminating the environmental impact analysis and public comment opportunities, among others). It's pretty clear that when environmental goals and industrial goals oppose each other, the republican party stance will side with industry. Yeah, and Bill Clinton was a christian. One pro-choice republican doesn't mean they all are, and one scandal-ridden president doesn't mean all christians are adulterers. Republicans depend on the religious right at the voting booths, and thus cater to them on this prominent issue. From www.davidduke.com "Welcome to the David Duke Report Online! I am currently an elected official of the Republican Party in Louisiana, serving as chairman of Republican Parish Executive Committee in the largest Republican Parish (county) in Louisiana. But, of course, my Republican position is not why the liberal media focuses a lot of hostile attention on me. That occurs because I dare to speak the unvarnished truth about race..." Granted Strom Thurmond was a Democrat when he first became known as a segregationist, but he ran for president as a member of the "state's rights" party in opposition to Truman, as defiance against Truman's demand that Democrats get with civil rights program. Thurmond was a democrat for 10 years of his senatorial career. He was a republican for the other 39 or so years. Don't get me wrong, the democrat's have had their share of racists (and still do if you include sharpton, jesse jackson, etc), but in overall consideration of civil rights, the dem's have clearly gained the upper hand. I didn't suggest that republican's want to make everyone christian. I simply stated that I don't want my government and my society's religions to mix. The "Faith-Based" stuff that Bush has been up to is one example of a mixture I oppose. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I guess I would be classified as a Democrat, as I vote for them more often than any other party. That doesn't mean I can't objectively disagree with many things the Democrat politicians assert. I just objectively disagree MORE with Republican ideals. I am opposed to most gun legislation. I am a firm believer in personal responsibility. I am totally for individual liberties. I wouldn't mind a tax cut, as long as crucial programs are funded and the national debt is being paid off. I would absolutely like to see some serious welfare reform. I would absolutely like to see stricter enforcement of our immigration laws. I'm totally against affirmative action or any other law that discriminates against me as a 34-year-old white male heterosexual atheist without significant physical handicaps. Sound like a Republican? Wait... I believe protecting our environment is a critical responsibility. I'm a firm believer in womens' right to choose. I believe civil rights are worthy of substantial defense. I believe we should try to be good global citizens. I am totally opposed to any mixing of government and religion. I think the war on drugs is simply a war on individual liberties by the religious right. I think prostitution should be legal and taxed like any other occupation, regardless of how "sinful" the religious right thinks it is. Hmm...how can one person hold these same beliefs? Could it be objective consideration of the individual issues? Someone should make a law that says people must blindly follow one political party or another! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Attack of the Killer Bees (or something like that...I was like 8 and scared of bees for years after) Great White (a Jaws ripoff that was pulled from theaters after like a week because the Jaws folks sued) The Exorcist Amityville 2 Edited to add Invasion of the Body Snatchers after reading it in someone else's list. Man that movie freaked me out. I can still vividly see the final scene in my mind, despite not having seen that movie in 20 years or more. "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

While I think I agree with you, I also feel a need to play devil's advocate. If the guy in this situation had been a clean-cut white man in his late 30's and had been wearing a decent business suit, do you think the police would have been so quick on the trigger? For some reason I kinda doubt it. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I've moved 5 times in the last 3 years. The last one was into a house we built. Hopefully I'm now settled for awhile (unless the g/f kicks my ass out). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

That would depend on the individual cop and the individual criminal. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

You mean like here (attached)? Also, don't kid yourself. Seattle PD definitely have their problems, as do (I suspect) SFPD and the Mounties. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Yeah, I was initially going to recommend Beyond Good and Evil alongside Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but figured Zarathustra was an easier introduction to Nietzsche. I keep both books in my office. Deeper topics throughout the rest of the book notwithstanding, some of the one-liners in Beyond Good & Evil are fun for entertainment purposes...e.g. - buona femmina e mala femmina vuol bastone ("Good women and bad women need beating") - w/ regard to the wingloading BSR proposed in General Skydiving topics "It is not enough to possess a talent: one must also possess your permission to possess it - eh, my friends?"