TriGirl

Now, wait a minute -- first we tell Nigel that he should be considerate of his wife's feelings of being left out, of her being uncomfortable with his 4-way team having a young woman -- now, when he has made the effort to help her get more involved with the sport, we laugh at her being uncomfortable with a "filthy" drawing in her log book? Nigel -- I agree with you. It isn't funny to do it to people you don't know. I'd be more than a little upset if someone did that to my logbook, especially if I wanted to share my skydiving experience with my parents. I've never heard of that, or flashing the pilot. Beer for firsts? Paid more than my fair share! But we even offer non-drinkers the option of buying some other beverage of their choice. However, I'm definitely keeping my stuff out of sight now. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Hey, Nikita! The only place I can recommend from experience is Aqaba, Jordan. I went there for two days of diving with some friends -- two of us did our advanced, one did her full open water. The other guy just came along to do some dives.

Actually, the link you reference was the link Grasshoppergirl originally posted.... in the Glory thread!

Thank you, Grasshoppergirl! http://gawker.com/5932333/american-rowers-third-place-in-rowing-first-in-boners See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

And of course, there is my old standby: "I just did a 3-way with your girlfriend" See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

So...um...when is the house-warming party? About a year ago. But let me know next time you're in ANKARA! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Oh I second the relationships one, never thought of that but I find myself unable to maintain a long-term relationship, I get bored quickly You should expand on your fear of heights, not somethig you expect from someone who jumps out of planes! I start to freak out if I get more than 5 ft off the ground. I've learned to work through it though. I can even go indoor rock climbing now but on my first climb I have to stop about 5 ft up for about 5-10 minutes and deep breathe and convince myself I'm ok. Skydiving doesn't bother me because we start out so high, I don't get that vertigo feeling and by the time I get close enough for it to bother me, I'm already used to the height. I actually know quite a few skydivers who are afraid of heights. *raises hand* Yep, me too. Kind of wonder why I was assigned an apartment on the 24TH FLOOR of my building. In the kitchen I have floor-to-ceiling windows along two walls that meet to form the corner of the kitchen eating area. The "balcony" is actually (literally) just a "flower ledge" -- about 20" wide with a "railing" of glass. (and no, I don't allow BASE jumping from my place! ) See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Some may THINK she's flashing the sign for "Rock & Roll," But with her thumb sticking out, it's the sign language abbreviation for "I love you." See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

The AP reporter that wrote this piece is a jumper. And the NBC Nightly News broadcast reported it tonight, too!

I can't have children. Does that mean any marriage I have would not have the same status? (okay, that was for argument's sake. just making a point) See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Are you sure? I'm pretty sure that they can't claim a federal 'marriage' deduction under the umbrella of a civil union. Agreed. Here is an example: As a military member, I could get married to a man and start getting about $2500 in housing allowance, since he would be a dependent and I would be responsible for supporting him. He would also get access to the base there in Tampa, and be able to walk into the health clinic on base and get medical care and prescription medications on demand (for significantly less than what you would pay on the economy -- in some cases totally free of charge). He wouldn't have to hold a job. He could get a diplomatic passport and get free flights to visit me here in Turkey during my assignment. I could transfer my GI Bill education benefits to him. If I had the same legal relationship with a woman, she would get NONE of that. Now let's assume for the sake of argument that the relationship with the man is just a legal arrangement. Where is the outcry for the lack of a "traditional" marriage? Not existent. He could be less than half my age. We won't be having children. But as long as I'm not sleeping with anyone else, I'm not breaking any laws, and no one would be trying to take any of that away. (Note, not all government institutions are that way. The State Department treats same-sex partners as full-benefit spouses) See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

"Can my brother and I come on your next load?" (from the Scotty Carbone thread) See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

So many of those diseases and some types of diabetes are all autoimmune disorders, cousins to lupus. In fact, the lab doing lupus research that we support is the University of Washington Division of Rheumatology. Research into one yields benefits for many.

Well, it is pretty amazing that she swam the event a full FIVE SECONDS faster than she ever had before! But, each medal winner gets tested. If she comes back clean, then she can laugh in the face of all the doubters (including the merely skeptical, such as me). Who knows? Maybe she was holding back in all previous public races, and she was simply China's secret weapon! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

While I ALWAYS love to see a PM from V or John,

Hey, John! Electronic option = Do you still have a paper check/snail mail option? T See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

So, this decision admits that Planned Parenthood is willing to stipulate that there are women who terminate pregnancies and then commit suicide. It says that it's not necessarily the abortion that leads to suicide, but some a variety of factors that contribute to her state of mind (possibly the woman's situation that might lead her to seek an abortion in the first place, or a myriad of other catalysts that end in suicide). So, how is this the justification for making a woman wait for medical care, so that she can get psychological care that she may not even require? It seems to me they have decided that every woman seeking an abortion in South Dakota needs to undergo some kind of psycological treatment, but does not need to be helped in any other way in any timely fashion. Yeah, let's pile on the harrassment and see how well that helps your statistics. How about the extra stress placed on a woman already in a tough situation, because you make her come back later (like she hasn't already thought about it), go home to face who could possibly be an abuser, or take more time off work, or arrange yet another ride, and pay for another appointment, etc., etc.? If I would have had to go through this nonsense and judgemental verbiage, I WOULD have joined the suicide statistics. Luckily, I was treated with dignity like a PERSON, by medical professionals. If only anyone seeking medial treatment could get the same consideration. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

It really depends on how the event is defined. According to the article, it would seem to be a community event, and therefore the uniforms shown in the photos are appropriate liberty attire (I didn't see any utility uniforms in the article photos, so I'm just going by what was reported). I'm sure there were participants carrying signs promoting their individual political agendas/opinions in conjunction with this event. Those in uniform would have been prohibited from that type of demonstration activity, just as they would not be permitted to wear buttons/pins/armbands, etc., that are not authorized for the uniform. Had the event been scheduled/billed as a rally to promote XX social agenda/political opinion, or to encourage political action, then I would say the wearing of a uniform by an active duty military member would be inappropriate. However, I expect the event was also attended by opposition groups who did stage political demonstrations nearby. Those events would not be appropriate venues for the wearing of uniforms either (goes along with carrying signs/wearing buttons for those participating in the subject event). Bottom line: just because people are against the premise of the festival, doesn't automatically qualify said festival (including "parade") as a political event.

I'd be 42 years younger. I'd settle for 42 years old. I AM 42 years old, so I'll just say it's all good. Actually, that coincidence reminded me of comments I would get when I was 18, fresh out of high school and about to start college. I heard a lot of "if I were your age again...." It made me focus on the fact that I WAS my age, and had a fantastic opportunity. I didn't want to be THEIR age and wishing I had done things differently. The result is that I still "own" my age. I don't care who knows my true age, because I've enjoyed every stage (while still accomplishing goals), and ultimately, I earned these years. Of course, I compare myself to what I remember of my mother at this age, and it just doesn't compute! I mean, sometimes that number just doesn't seem right. When did this happen? See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Can't wait to hear all about it, and see some pics. I hope someone submitted the story and photos to Parachutist!!! But, for those of us who couldn't make it (stupid work ) -- how was it? I'll be here for two more years, so HOPEFULLY Skydive Dubai thought it was a good enough idea to continue doing it. Any feedback? See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Someone actually had to ask this question? Oh, and besides Tony Suit being about 500m from manifest, a quick trip into town (Zephyrhills) will get you to the facility where Wings containers are made, too! (

Hope you had a great birthday, Lew! Congrats. And THANKS for everything, from all of us! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Refer to the attachment in Post 1 of this thread. Excellent summary! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Come on now, Skymama -- it's okay, they own it. They're "Farm Animals!" I tried to be nice and call them "Farmers" once. Didn't go over so well. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Many have joked that the Para-Commandos (SOCOM) is really the "Golden Knight Retirement Program". It's nice when you can keep jumping, keep doing demos, and keep representing the services.