sunman

That's interesting that there are a few athiest republicans out there. I have one question for you though. Bush is a fundamentalist. He truly believes the following: Evolution does not occur. Homosexuality is a sin, an abomination, and an activity HATED by god. One cell=human life=no cures for scores of diseases. Muslims will go to hell when the die, because they don't believe in Jesus and are therefore enemies of God. Jesus is going to come back and take all the christians off the earth in the rapture of the church, and afterwards, the world will be DESTROYED. My question is this: How can you vote for this man who is so clearly not even remotely in touch with reality?

I agree. I would vote Nader on principle alone, but ousting W is more important to me, so I will vote Kerry.

I didn't switch candidates because of a switch in my religious views, although I think the two are related. Religion requires you to believe something that just isn't true. You have to believe the people that wrote the bible and the early church fathers who maintained the manuscripts. You have to believe your pastor and sunday school teacher. And I did believe, because everybody around me did. This brainwashing that occured from as early as I can remember was the perfect fertile soil for any person in power to be able to fool me as well. It just so happens that the man in power is W, and he claims to be a christian. As a christian, I loved this president, and I believed all his crap about Saddam Hussein and WMD's. I started disliking Bush after the truth about Iraq emerged. His views on gay marriage pissed me off too, even as a christian. I also happened to read some books about christianity that opened my eyes, and the hundreds of nagging doubts were finally answered simply: Correct. As somebody whose only religion is science and whose only god is the universe, John Kerry is much more my man that W. I believe we need to evolve away from the old way of religion, war, hatred, bigotry, and homophobia. Kerry may be a Catholic, but W is a fundamentalist, and believe me, a fundamentalist in the white house is a lot scarier than a catholic in the white house. Although he doesn't support gay marriage, Kerry will probably not have an anti-homosexual agenda like W. He will also allow stem cell research which will be the salvation of millions of people. It sickens me that the religious right thinks a few cells is a human life. That concept isn't even biblical, let alone logical. Yeah, it's a troll, but I'm entitled to one, right?

A friend and I were talking about how it seems like most religious people (your typical churchgoer) will be voting for Bush, whereas all non-religious people that I know will be voting for Kerry. The next day on Larry King Live at the RNC the subject comes up and 5 different guests all say the the dividing line between the parties is a viewpoint that is either religious or secular. I know this is not exactly breaking news, people have been talking about this for years, but it seems to be very true, especially with GWB. I myself used to be a card carrying member of the religious right. I voted for bush in 2000. But over the years I've grown up and realized that religion is bullshit, and now I also think that Bush is full of the same bullshit, and I'm voting for Kerry. I jumped two different ships at the same time, the religious and the republican. But maybe they are the same ship. Are they? Are there any athiests or truly non-religious people out there voting for Bush?

That sucks. I was lucky and it stayed west of Key West. Just extremely windy all day. Good luck to anybody who has to deal with it now, as it is a cat. 4.

I've got an ounce of kind. All set.

I live in the lower keys and I am in Charley's projected path. It's a category 2, could be a cat. 3 by the time it gets here. It is traveling NW and will make a right turn sometime b/t now and tomorrow. When it takes that right turn and how much of a turn it makes will determine how hard it hits here. The eye is expected to pass about 70 miles west of here, but if it makes that right turn early, we're fucked. Life will be a big pain in the ass if it's hits us hard, but oh well. I've never been through a hurricane and I'm kind of looking forward to experiencing it. I love big storms. Plus I live in a sturdy house that survived hurricanes much worse than Charley, so what's the worst that could happen? Yeah, I'll test fate by asking that question.

I will. Why do you think there are so many people out there who absolutely hate this president? Why did these few people talk crudely about him? It's because he's a total fuckwad! These people were just expressing how they feel about a very, very bad president, and a very dim-witted, closed minded person. There is nothing wrong with that. I do believe that anybody in the political game is going to be guilty of a little mud-slinging. Who cares?

Land a round reserve a few times and you'll understand. They SUCK. Who you calling old-timer, kid? Actually, I'm 27 and I never use an RSL for any kind of jump. I like to keep my options open. Some people like them and that is fine also. There are pros and cons. It is best to learn the facts and make your own decision.

I'd say get about 100 jumps or so on your belly first. You should be good enough to do a four point four way fairly consistantly with people of equal or greater skill, you shouldn't be flailing all over the place, and you should be a pretty heads-up skydiver. Then start freeflying. That's just my opinion.

How about an all-naked 100 way hybrid... oh, nevermind.

Yes. It's only a matter of time. What good is a reserve if you never get to use it? It's not there just to make your wallet lighter and your rig heavier. It's there to be used.

You're going to look a lot cooler in the ugly stuff that fits correctly than in the cool stuff that fits like garbage. Besides, if that shit is as ugly as you say it is, you will probably look cool just because you stand out.

My dz manager just handed me $110. "Remember those girls that you videoed and they wanted to buy but didn't have the money? They just called. Here it is." Sweet. Life ain't so bad. And his wife is making us tacos right now.

Just got back from the pawn shop. Got a $50 loan for my guitar. Just have to go back within 30 days and give the man $62.50 and I get my guitar back. Not too bad. Best part is that I turned some of that money into something I really needed, FOOD (and beer of course). Chuck - thanks for the advice. It's only a matter of time.

I'm the only video guy at my dz and I'm on call whenever the sun's up. Can't go anywhere. Maybe someday I'll quit this gig and go live in a trailer on a dz and just follow the money wherever it goes.

The wind blew and blew and blew for days and days and days. Then a faint glimmer of hope when the winds died down for a day, now it's huffing and puffing again and blowing our business away. Son of a bitch. I'm fucking hungry. I think I'm going to go pawn something so I can buy food. When there's steady business and the weather is good, being a full-time skydiver is the coolest thing in the world. When the wind blows, it sucks balls. Oh well. Got to take the good with the bad I guess. Better than being in an office working for a bunch of assholes.

I guess I took it out of context a bit. My bad. But my point is just that pot can be a very effective tool to relieve stress or ease depression, and in my opinion just as viable an option as legally perscribed mood altering drugs. And if somebody has trouble coping enough that they would consider suicide, then maybe for them pot would help bring them away from the brink.

You must be joking. Do you think if somebody smokes a little reefer for stress release or because they are depressed they need counseling? Maybe they should go to a psychiatrist who will prescribe prozac or some other magic happy pill. What's the freaking difference? Oh, that's right, my government told me pot is bad, and everything my government tells me is true. I guess if people smoked more reefer, they would drink less alcohol and purchase less legal drugs, and the governement gets money from those, so in a way, I guess drugs ARE bad... for the government. They should just legalize it and tax the hell out of it. Sure would make my life easier...

I've also heard this story from somebody who used to jump at z-hills. Apparently he went terminal into some trees, and the branches slowed him down enough to save his life. I also have a video camera that survived a freefall from 3000 feet when it came off my head on deployment.

And a fourth. The pain is psychological mostly, you know, seeing your nutsack bleed is like watching somebody you love get hurt.

The bad part about skydiving for a living is that when it's too windy, you not only don't get to jump, you don't get to EAT. I figure I lost about $400-$600 dollars the last four days due to weather. Anybody else having a long and shitty winter?

Ah, shut the hell up.

Let me get this straight. You threw the number away? I don't get it. Would you rather jerk off or have sex with a hot stripper? WTF is wrong with you? You must be really good at jerking off...

If you haven't already done so, look at the employment section of the classifieds on this web site. Right now the only work being offered is seasonal. For right now I would keep the job you have for another year or two while you do as many tandems and videos as you can. Get your AFF rating if you can. Keep your eyes open on the classifieds and pounce on a good one when you see it. Don't expect it to be easy. I probably have the cushiest full-time skydiving job in the world and even I feel broke most of the time. You will not make as much money as you do at the bank. Having said all that, I have to say that skydiving for a living is still the coolest fucking thing in the world, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. One more thing. You will not make as much money as you do at the bank.