Deuce

Dude, when you buy a head of lettuce, a roll of paper towels and a large container of Astroglide they know you weren't there to get stuff to make salad.

Yeah, I'm being sarcastic, but I really do want some indication I am approved to jump camera in the UK. I got a Herc Boogie camera-approved sticker on there now. Is the sticker thing common throughout europe? Here in the US we just do stickers or bands for boogies, pretty much, to show the gear was inspected. The Herc Boogie sticker was proof of inspection (and presence of cutaway system) JP

Great narrative Bill! I feel so incredibly lucky, as a camera flier, to have been able to "crash" nationals the last couple years. The teams dedicate so much time, talent and treasure to their passion, a visitor just can't help but be impressed and carried along in the excitement. I was only around for 4 way, and then paying close attention to canopy piloting, but it really did seem like skydiving at it's best. I was especially jazzed by Black Majick's feat of doing competition turning judgeable points on thier backs!. It's stuff like that which define skydiving for me. Always some way to make things weirder and cooler. I hope I can make it to Arizona for "Nats" next year, it's addictive.

Hey, Scott, it looks like there are no thumb loops to help hold that wing open. Is that the case? Interesting airfoil design, with that much wing kept close to the body. The tail looks as challenging as an S3, but the wing looks easier, I guess it's not, huh?

Congrats, Katie! That's really cool! I got my Master's to prove to myself I could be a good student. I was, uh, undisciplined, getting my bachelor's to the point where the Air Force sent me off to the Marine Corps for OCS. (f*cking zoomies ) Have fun with it. You are a constant inspiration to my girls. Send some pictures our way. JP

Until you have seen Girlfalldown get her groove on, you haven't seen nothing. She occasionally dances in parking lots with vagabonds. OMG I think I've lost my jiggy! You'll have to teach me how to two step again Deuce! xo! fo shizzle girlfizzle.

Until you have seen Girlfalldown get her groove on, you haven't seen nothing. She occasionally dances in parking lots with vagabonds.

Sweetie, I know you just a little bit. Byron is very no-pressure. There will be tons of really neato very drunken naked things to do. Or not. I've never done the naked numbers at the boogie, and I'm as much a Byron fixture as anybody. I'm a practicing Catholic ex-cop. The Byron boogie is a beautiful thing. Nobody but NorCal can do such a free-love, no pressure thing like Byron. Look me up, Evelyn. If things are freaking you out, I'll need a sitter. PM me for my number, if you don't already have it. You will have a great time. I promise. JP (The swoopless NorCal version. Tastes great, less filling)

Over two hundred yards??!! Holy crap! That is just amazing! Congrats!

Start screaming that you just bit into a human finger and put your finger down your throat and vomit profusely on whoever is nearby. Refuse the first settlement offer, accept the second one. If they offer to call an ambulance, take it. Your settlement is based on 2.5 times the cost of treatment, regardless of whether or not it was needed. Work it.

Nah, dude, I've been 42 for a month now, and it's cool to say that you are twice the legal limit. Happy birthday. Me and Derek and Kelli and Ben got together out here and saw a Giants game today. Derek was Monkeyhatrepresenting.

Ha ha.. that is hilarious.. the spelling is not quite right, but an amazing attempt.. Love ya! The keyboard is missing all the Klingon umlaut thingies. Arm the photon torpedoes, bud, they are having at the dykes.

Happy birthday Iwan!

That is because you are a genius. Como se dice in Espanol (Klingon) "Genius"

You and your man are perfect examples! Wonderful, educated, fun people to skydive with. Like the vonNovacks! A respect can develop that transcends politics. You and I are fairly differing in opinions, as me and Lewmonst may be, but that does not stop us from opening our homes to one-another. We've broken bread (that was one funny freaking dinner) and bonded. Come stay with us for the Byron boogie. That's really what I was thinking about. My meet friends, my boogie friends, my dz.com friends, and how there's a place to stay.

Noice! Just some red wine, and I just started. Australian boxed Merlot. Byiotch, remember that Muenkel load, about 4 years ago? Don't talk to me about connecting with folks via the internet. Sebazz and Corndog, Oh my!

Negative, Ghostrider. As a semi-official penis checker, my left hand assures me that the person in question does indeed have a penis. It filled the palm quite well, thus one would assume that it was of adequate length and girth to fulfill it's assigned tasks. Oh shit, that was my outside voice again, wasn't it? Yeah, it was, and I have jumped with the penis in question, but the DZ.com thing is not a geek thing. Posting here will bring the biggest response, across the spectrum. Many of the responders will be newbie sky-gods. Beware of those. Not Wyatt-probe.

P.S. I'm sober now. -but that will soon change.

Because it does. How many of these people have you met? How many of them matter? How many of them tell you, when you see them, "I love you" ? Care for people. Be prepared to be scared when you matter to them because of what you have posted. Be ready to recieve hugs, and to give them. The internet matters, maggots. Submit. I love the internet. I am blessed with friends. JP

Lack of penis.

I use a Finley articulated, but I usually don't move it out of the way. I did at first (first helmet was a Hawkeye LT), but I really don't even notice the ringsite anymore, except when I'm trying to center something.

Marc Doolittle first JP Furnari second Ryan Brownlow third Lewmonst and Vic Krusi tied for 4th. Way to go!

Bill, I am a former expert on bureaucratic government. Unfortunately there are lots of idiots and beneficiaries of nepotism in local governments. Ideally, it would have been a qualified civil engineer notifying the state that the Hurricane went over category 3 and the local levees were only built for that. State level public works guy says, "shit" and opens binder. Binder has list of people to call and stage for "shit happens when we have hurricanes over Cat 3". National Guard (commanded by the state governor) mobilizes with flood disaster releif stuff and General in charge of national guard notifies regular army general about shit hitting the fan. Meantime, civilian counterparts notify state and national and civilian relief agencies that the shit is potentially about to hit the fan. Why didn't this happen? I worked the Loma Prieta earthquake and the Oakland hills fire. Why did that happen so fast and what are some things that went wrong? The local agencies had spent the money from the federal government on stuff the feds expected to find when they got there that the locals had spent on other stuff. Busted. All politics is local. If the mayor didn't request help, the Army is not expected to invade, oust him and install a junta. We really don't want that. I think we are going to find very few fatalities, relative. This was not a tsunami. The water came up and people sought high ground or whatever above the water line. People so poor they didn't have 3 days worth of tuna or soup in cans? Not likely. But we'll see. I think regardless of how poor or "stupid" they might have been, they were more resilient than to strap themselves to their couches and let the water rise over their faces without fighting.

Bill, as an ex-bureuacrat I can tell you this is more a problem of not being requested than not being prepared. As consumers of government services, taxpayers do not want government bureaucracies charging off everywhere they can provide a service. They only want them responding to specific contingencies that are defined in colored binders. I think that as things unfold we will find that New Orleans and Louisiana did not want help because they did not want strangers in their house. Because their house was a mess. FEMA and other disaster bureaucracies define themselves and thier funding by proving how useful they are in emergencies. They need disasters to prove they need funding. The bureaucrats in these agencies want nothing more than to parachute in to a disaster and be photographed giving bottles of water to dehydrated nuns in orphanages. It's becoming clear that the state of Louisiana told these folks to stay the hell out. Why? No binders. And no bureaucrats to open them regardless of the opinions of the local politicians. The nature of "republican" government is local control. We don't want a soviet style of government where a federal power imposes it's will on local control. When local control is crappy, people suffer. I don't think the blame will rightfully fall on the federal government. Or the Red Cross, or other non-governmental assistance offered.

You know, a camera flier in my area, where we were packing, was talking with a member of his team about how he needed a mini DV tape and didn't want to pay what the store was charging. I had picked up a batch from Costco and they run me about $2 a piece or so. I said "hey, here's one, for $2" the guy and his team mate nearly crapped. What goes around, comes around, and I told them so. When I see them in Texas and I need something, it will happen because I did a decent thing in Perris. Look at Kwoo's story about getting a freaking CAMERA while on jump run. (or a tape or whatever) The beer karma thing is real. I needed a stroboframe shoe and Don helped me out. Hopefully I'll be able to do something as valuable for him. If not, then I'll do my best for someone else, and the karma will even out. You got some great gaffer's tape karma going Phree, thanks!