gravitational

I do also have a sharebuilder account that I put money in for my nephews and received costco's initial match for the first deposit don't recall what the match amount was though. For what I do, Sharebuilder does not fit the bill for me, but for once in a while trades it works for the UGMA/UTMA type account I'm using it for. ------ Michael

Ditto on Scottrade. I also have an Ameritrade account, but prefer Scottrade. ------ Michael

I'm not sure which year it happened, but it was recent. The airlines updated their estimated average weight per passenger since Americans were getting fatter. ------ Michael

This was the story on Sky News last night. There was no mention of any additional fees other than this. ------ Michael

One thing they may do is leave the exit row and aisles to the elites until all the rest are sold out. I do know that unless you're an elite flier, AA will not let you pre-reserv an exit row seat. ------ Michael

When I flew out of Nigeria, the plane was escorted out to the runway by a couple old military jeeps with machine guns mounted on the roll bar. When the plane lined up, the jeeps took off and were making sure the runway was clear of livestock. There was an accident at the airport last year when an Air France jet landed into a heard of cows in the dark. ------ Michael

Don't get me started on the TSA. One flight out of Houston had 10 (yes, I counted) individuals go through the metal detector without anyone screen their bags. Instead of rescreening the bags, everyone was gone by now so they never got rescreened. TSA eyebrow raisers this year? - 7 Flight count year to date - 56. Miles year to date - 50k + ------ Michael

Agree...Guess one of the other advantages of some long term lots is that if you park way out, it's easier to find the vehicle. I've been on the road every week so far this year (day #10 at home this year was Saturday) so I find it convenient to park in the same general row (D1 or DD1) so I don't have to go searching for the vehicle. Depending on how full the lot is, you may or may not be able to do this in close in. ------ Michael

$36 = a few beers or 2 jumps depending on the DZ... If it's going to be expensed, I'd park close in but my travel rules say I can only do longterm. The ride to long term is only a couple minutes though so not really ever a problem. ------ Michael

I use the economy lots weekly (yes, I'm on the road a bit). The cost difference between economy and close in are significant. If you're OK with tossing money away, use close in. If not, economy isn't that bad - just have to be patient with whatever mode of transport they provide to get back to the economy lot. ------ Michael

The sad part about the snow here is that I haven't even been here to enjoy it. Today is day #9 that I've actually been home this year. I'm not counting the 8 hour stint a couple weeks ago in the count. Road warrior I guess i be. ------ Michael

Ummmm...I'm up over 17' last I checked. You don't have snow. ------ Michael

Go the week before memorial day weekend. Here's the theory - Kids are still in school and if the parents are going to pull the kids out early, they're going to wait till the next week. Have done this twice now at DW and the lines were short during the week. Weekend was a different story though. ------ Michael

You can take the El from midway to downtown and walk to the Amtrak station. Amtrak I believe still stops in Rantoul or Champaign. ------ Michael

Do a search for posts made by WFFC. This was my ID when I was involved with the online presence of the WFFC. As far as I know, there is no one actively managing the online presence anymore - there really hasn't been since we parted company last April. There are many good informative posts that can get many of the answers you'll need. The only thing that wouldn't be applicable would be the prices (if any) that you'll see in the posts. ------ Michael

ummmm...it's 5:15 dude...day is done over here. (GMT +1) ------ Michael

Ya know, I never even caught that...now I'm laughing my ass off... ------ Michael

I received the email below and my response. The response is on top, the original email on the bottom. I have removed the phone numbers and her email address. Please pass this along to your vendor contacts. Michael ------ Shayna - It is a very unfortunate incident that you were involved it. From the comments that you have made on TV and having watched video of the incident, I unfortunately will have to turn down your request (or attempt) at obtaining free gear. The things that you have said in the media have damaged the sport more than you can imagine. Your comments alone generated several dozen inquiries to GroundRush.com for comment. I did not make any comment as I did not know the nature of the incident. To put it bluntly, you should not jump again and any organization that donates money or equipment to your cause will, unfortunately, be opening themselves to a liability. You've got your child on the way. You got lucky - you were ultimately able to walk away from this incident. Do yourself a favor and stay on the ground. Do the sport a favor and stay out of the eye of the media. You don't do the sport a favor and your story/knowledge of the sport isn't what it should be to put a positive spin. Regards Michael Webmaster www.GroundRush.com Michael@GroundRush.com The Internet's Foundation of Skydiving Information > Dear Michael, > My name is Shayna Richardson. You may have heard of me, and/or my story > from recent TV stations, magazines, and newspapers. I was involved in a > near fetal skydiving accident on October 9th, 2005. I had a spinning > main that lead me to a spinning reserve. I hit the ground at about 50 > MPH face first into the pavement. The accident shattered every bone in > my face, knocked out the front 5 teeth in my mouth, fractured my pelvis > in 3 places, and fractured my right leg below the knee. When I was in > the emergency room I was also told that I was 2 weeks pregnant! (I am > now 23 weeks along, and my baby appears to be perfect...he is due June > 22, 2006). Once the baby is born I plan to jump again just as soon as > time permits. However, the accident didn't only break much of my body, > but all of my gear as well. When the time comes for me to jump every tv > station, magazine, and newspaper that I have talked to already will be > there ready to hear from me again. If you, and your company would ! > be > interested in assiting me in obtaining the gear I need to perform my > future jumps I would be more then happy to support your company during > any/all future interviews I do. If this is something that we can work out > together please let me know as soon as possible. I am very eager to get > in the air again, but I am now simply looking for help to make it happen! > I hope to hear from you soon! > > Thanks, > Shayna Richardson > address removed > address removed > 417-xxx-xxxx > 417-xxx-xxxx > 417-xxx-xxxx > xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com

No reason why it would have to be set up or maintained by USPA staff. I'm sure there are plenty of web savvy members who would be capable of doing so and willing to volunteer their time. Web savvy and web professional I've found to be in two completely different realms. Web savvy is generally not the right way to go if you're going for the professional image. ------ Michael

That'd be more than a full time job for one person. Possibly an email type link with an option to select your region to email your RD. ------ Michael

It does get cold when the sun goes down, but during the day, especially in the sun, it is quite warm - even though the actual temps don't show it. The air is very dry so you don't have the cold 'bite' like what you'll have in a very moist type of climate. ------ Michael

I've seen a couple 'warning' labels during my week here in Norway that I've never seen in the U.S. Unfortunately I don't have my digital camera so I haven't taken any pictures. I'll be back in a couple weeks though. ------ Michael

What's a little snow? (see attached) ------ Michael

Currently in Fosnavag Norway (Google Earth the place...it's literally in the middle of no where)... time is 10:44 AM CET (GMT +1). Weather is grey and damp. Several fishing vessels have left port. Attire for today - Dockers, polo, loafers - business casual. Not understanding the language much, but there's a coffee shop here opened by a former Houstonian that makes a kick ass cup of joe. ------ Michael

Today - 2006 Toyota Solara Convertible...28 miles when I picked it up. Yesterday - 2006 Kia Sorrento SUV Last week - 2006 Monte Carlo Prior to that, pick a rental and I've probably had it. Somewhere in all of that, I've driving my own 2005 Trailblazer, but I don't remember where I parked it so I'm thinking I'm a little screwed when I get dropped off in the lot on Thursday afternoon. ------ Michael