craichead

Yes, my job ended on May 25th. My severance package included six months of COBRA coverage, so now I'm trying to figure out what happens when I decide not to continue that coverage. I talked to the HR Director about it, but I can't seem to get a clear answer, so I emailed her assistant instead (no answer, yet). _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

I just spoke with the HR Director, and she said that coverage had to be purchased in monthly blocks. She seemed very reluctant to give me information about retroactive coverage once my current COBRA coverage is canceled. _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

Hmm, I didn't know you could do that...I thought it had to be purchased in monthly blocks. I guess they could prorate it. I'll ask HR about that, too. _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

Yah, someone else mentioned that to me via PM. In my original post, I failed to include that we're currently under COBRA coverage. My job ended May 25th and as part of my severance package, my employer paid 6 months worth of COBRA coverage. I'm not sure how the retroactive thing works in that situation. I'm going to call HR today to get more info. _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

AndyMan and I have a small dilemma. My health insurance ends November 25th, and AndyMan's doesn't start up until December 1st. We're considering going uninsured for this "in limbo" week, but we're under the impression that it's not such a good idea to have a lapse (no matter how small) in insurance coverage. We won't be jumping in the limbo week since the season ends this weekend, so we're not worried about accidents. What we're most concerned about are the possible consequences of the lapse, e.g. the new insurance won't cover pre-existing conditions. Is a short period of no coverage a problem? Is it worthwhile to buy additional COBRA to ensure non-stop coverage? The monthly cost of the COBRA premium is about the same as Andy's contribution for group coverage through his company (covering us both). _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

If anyone is curious about what the Skyride advert in SkyMall looks like, I've attached a couple photos of the ad. The price is quite surprising! _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

Thanks everybody for the suggestions! You guys rock! _PM __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

LOL Well, it's really a business trip for AndyMan. I'm just tagging along! We figured we should make the most of it. _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

That's pretty cool! Sounds like a great place to meet our NYC friends for dinner and drinks.

Yeah, but we've got Blue Man Group in Chicago (I used to live right down the street from the theatre, and I've lost count of how many times I've seen the show). I know that the shows are different in each city, but we're looking for something uniquely New York. What else you got for us? _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

So, AndyMan and I are flying to NYC tonight, and we're leaving Sunday evening. What should we do with our long weekend in the Big Apple? We were thinking about going to see Spamalot, but available (i.e. scalped) tickets are ridiculously expensive for not very good seats, and Hank Azaria isn't in the cast again until 12/2. What are the more interesting and offbeat things to see and do in New York? I was hoping we could go to the Museum of Sex. What else do you DZ.commers recommend? _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

You have a wife who wears perfume and lipstick?! _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

My long-lost Whoopie Cushion twin was at Skydive Chicago?! _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

Tips for Professional Email Letter Writing Etiquette "Dear Ms. Thompson" is probably your best choice. _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

Aren't the semicolon and comma supposed to be inside the quotation marks? Also, I think you missed a single quotation. Does it even need the single quotation marks? Jim, where John had had "had," had had "had had;" "'had had'" had had the teacher's approval. A site that you might enjoy: Pain in the English _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

Steve, have you been snorting the con azafran again?! _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

mouth, I sincerely appreciate your efforts as a teacher and agree that much of the fault lies with the parents and students, too. However, I still have to wonder, in the average American school, "How is the information being taught?" and, "Is the correct information being taught?" As I said, I don't know what the average school is like these days because I graduated a private high school 10 years ago, and I've no children of my own. So, all I can tell you is what my experience was when I went through middle school and high school. We were taught all of the grammar/spelling basics, given weekly vocabulary lists/quizzes, diagrammed sentences, and did grammar/spelling drills ("correct the following sentences and explain the rule" type thing). In high school, we learned and used both MLA and Chicago Styles, and learned copyediting markup. If we made grammar/spelling mistakes on our homework, tests and/or papers, they were marked, and we had to correct them. The teachers did not correct them for us. On a separate piece of paper, we wrote out the incorrect sentence, followed by the corrected sentence, and then the rule that was applied. Those corrections were often graded, and the score was figured into our averages. I distinctly remember Warner's English Grammar & Composition being the bible in most of my English classes. The student was forced to take a more active role in learning grammar and spelling. Needless to say, I had awesome teachers who had awesome curricula. I also have awesome parents who always pushed me to do well. However, they rarely helped me with my homework. I was just an awesome student. Anyway... What concerns me the most are statements like these from teachers: (from rocketdog's post) (from FallinWoman's post) If I were a teacher and those were my colleagues, I would be incensed! First of all, what kind of attitude is that for a teacher to have? "Well, I knew what he meant even though the grammar is wrong." Secondly, the English teacher can't speak proper English. If this is the attitude and information that is being relayed to students in the average American school, then I say some of the blame has to fall on the teachers and the school system. _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

Ah, there it is...I knew there was a better explanation of airlocks somewhere on Brian's site. Thanks for posting that one, too. _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

I have painful ear problems even with a little bit of jumping. The problem began earlier this year when I started jumping regularly again, probably about 5-7 jumps per weekend. I used to take some type of allergy pill (Claritin, Alavert, Allegra) + a non-drying decongestant which usually took care of things. The pain and pressure usually happen on the climb to altitude at about 6-8k, then the pain settles down, and then my ears pop after deployment. Sometimes I'll get sharp pains in my ears when I'm just sitting around, and it usually occurs in the right ear. Most days it feels like I have sinus congestion behind my ears, and I have an "itchy inner ear" and/or "underwater pressure" feeling that I can't pop/clear. I also feel congestion deeper in my sinuses (in the middle of my head), but I rarely have nasal congestion. My doctor thought that it might be eustachian tube dysfunction (my ears don't drain properly). Many toddlers, including my 2-yr old niece had this problem, and I guess I never outgrew it! Anyway, the Dr. prescribed Flonase, which didn't help at all. She finally referred me to an ENT, so maybe he can shed some light on what's going on. There have been more than a few times where the pain was quite bad, and I wasn't comfortable jumping for fear of bursting something in my ears... _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

Grammar? Good on you and Marc for correcting "axed." That's definitely a pet peeve of mine along with "nucular." Argh! _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

I never said they gave protection against the dangers of flying in turbulent conditions. I simply answered udder's question. The inflated canopy wing seems to stay more rigid in turbulence, which in my mind means that the canopy itself is more resistant to the effects of turbulence. A couple weeks ago I was watching people land in bumpy/choppy/gusty 30+mph winds. There were a lot of heavily-breathing canopies that looked really scary and on the verge of collapse, and then there were a few airlocked ones that looked quite solid. Yes, I'm well aware that both canopy and pilot are still susceptible to turbulence and still get jostled around in the air when flying through the turbulence, but the wing pretty much stays inflated. Just my observation that day. I also understand that if a dust devil or similar comes ripping through and whips yer butt near the ground, you're screwed with or without airlocks. So obviously the best course of action is to avoid jumping in turbulent conditions, which is what I do. I'm just throwing the information about airlocks out there...he's a newbie who wants to learn, so why not give him the information and let him decide for himself? The more you know... _Pm Edited to add: For udder--I recommend doing a forum search on the words "airlocks and turbulence" or "airlocks and collapse." You'll find a lot of opinions (pro and con) and experiences on the subject. __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

Airlocked ones. Edited to add: The same article can also be found here on this site. _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

So, I'm curious...if you, as a teacher, saw a grammatical error on a student's paper, would you correct it so that the student would learn from his mistake and improve his skills, or do you just let it slide because you understood what the student meant? _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

You are a cunning linguist! _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

D'oh! Duh on me; I didn't even look at it that way until I saw tso-d_chris' edit. That makes much more sense as an example. I guess I was thinking way outside the box on that one. It just goes to show there can be several interpretations if the grammar, spelling and context aren't quite clear. Edited to add in response to the rest of the post: Yeah, what he said! _Pm __ "Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)