derivative

When I was a kid it was all I could do to keep from jumping off of things (roofs, cliff, etc). I kept getting distracted with other things as I grew up, though. Then, sitting on the couch one fine summer day, the thought struck me, "Hey! I want to go skydiving!" Feeling the need to share the event, I called a good friend and said, "Hey, I'm going skydiving. You want to come?" To my surprise, she thought about for about three seconds and said, "Sure." The next weekend we were at Skydive Kansas City in the static line course. I got my B license and had to layoff because I went back to school. I'm out of school now and living in Denver. I miss jumping and I'm looking forward to getting back in air - my third "place" ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Hey Everyone, I'm moving to Denver next week for a new job. It's been a while (~3yrs) since I last jumped (school, life, what have you), but I'm looking to get back in the air again. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you mile-high jumpers, and others, too! ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Thanks for the info, guys. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Hey all, I'm out here in Tucson at the UofA, and I understand there used to be a university skydiving team. Does anyone know anything about them? What happened to them? I understand that they were still going strong until between 4 and 8 years ago. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Born: 1968 - height of the Chicago Democratic Convetion hoohah Grad HS: 1986 Grad AS: 1990 Grad BS: 2004 Grad MS: 2007 (hopefully) Never married No kids in the past or future Can't remember when I officially moved out - parents divorced while I was in HS and I lived with both for a while. Best year: Hasn't happened yet, but I started jumping in 2002, so that was pretty good. Worst year: 2003 - complete life chageup - still fixing it. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Strong work, my friend! ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Nine hours at U of Arizona: MATH 527: Principles of Analysis MATH 576: Numerical Analysis of PDEs MATH 583: Principles and Methods of Applied Math + 20hrs of GCA There's a reason I ain't jumped in a while. I'll have it easier next semester. If you need a little math help, lemme know. - Blues to all ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Well, I guess you could just put everything into the handy-dandy parachute/storage area, huh? You're right, not very practical for carrying stuff, but it looks like a lot of fun. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

I am an athiest, (If the term a-theist doesn't work for you, try non-theist - it's the same thing) but the last thing I do is go around chuckling about my superiority to others - I don't feel that I am superior to anyone, nor do I go around recruiting others. The vast majority of the discussions that I get into are just like this thread: usually started by a believer who is some brand of Christian who decides to challenge me on my beliefs, or lack thereof. Just look at the first post in this thread. As I've written earlier, I don't care what other people believe - until they try to legislate their beliefs. As far as the science bit goes, why accept supernatural explanations for the way things are when we haven't exhausted natural expanations? I believe in the human capacity for reason to understand the universe as it is, without invoking miracles. We may not understand some things right now, but that doesn't mean that we won't figure them out. I also believe that we as humans have the potential to be better than we act. It makes me sick to see so much of our energy spent in what amounts to be nothing more than tribalism - yes that includes organized religion. I think some religious philosophies have good ideas for how we should treat each other, but the execution of those ideas is severely lacking. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

I remember in 9th grade earth science being introduced to the concept of universe after universe. I said to myself,"Somewhere out there it all has to stop. It can't just go on forever." The concept of neverending universes can blow the mind, so I just accept it as true. I'm not going to spend my life trying to disprove it, just because my finite mind can't grasp an infinite number of universes. I don't think anyone is trying to "disprove" any religious beliefs. It's the believers who make claims of supernatural activity. Some of us aren't so quick to believe supernatural claims, so we ask you for evidence of your claims outside of your own book of philosophy. If you can't produce this evidence, then you're going to have trouble convincing people to join you. A comment was made earlier about scientists needing to keep an open mind. I posit that scientists are more open minded than a true believer because the scientist is willing to accept that he may be wrong. To address the checkboxes comment - if we waited to have all of the answers to life before starting out, we'd never get anywhere. We all start out with questions about the world. How we seek answers to those questions is the difference. If you want to see supernatural explanatios for natural phenomena, fine. I support your freedom to believe what you wish. I stop supporting you when you choose to legislate your beliefs. And in spite of what you want to believe, nothing is black and white - it's all just shades of gray. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Yes, it is an analogy, but as an instructive tool, it is flawed - you've set it up so that you get you get your desired outcome. It assumes that the person giving you the key is well intentioned. You could just as easily turn it the other way, with the lesson being, something like, don't take candy from strangers. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Sure, but if they don't produce those drugs with a viable business model, then it's rather a futile point, though. I agree that the probable aim is to provide releif to suffering, but you can't run business on good intentions. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

But what reason would you have to believe that someone would just walk up to you and hand you the key to a fortune? What if you took the key, went to the bank, and found an empty box? ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Leo all tha way, baby! ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Save yourself some time and hassle and buy another suit. I have a Tony Suit that is perfect*. I also have a Kurupee, but it started falling apart the first time I tried it on - it was also cut way too big. However, they did recut another one for me. But the time spent shipping it back to Paraguay and waiting for another suit wasn't worth the flimsy construction. I have my Kurupee suit, but I haven't jumped it. * I have no affiliation with Tony suits, except that I own one. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

I finally got a direction on my MS thesis. Jeez! that's a load off my mind ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Fair enough. But he didn't get there by himself. I think Dick Cheney and Karl Rove hold much more control over the country than Bush. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

How about facade, or potential scapegoat, or attention magnet? Sure everybody gets all lathered up about Bush, but what about those behind the scenes? Bush is just incompetent, the real damage is done far from the spotlight. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

I didn't think to ask about damaged DNA, but I'm sure that the question might get a response including the phrase, "God's will". I agree with you completely - you can always look deeper and ask more questions. If you conjur supernatural explanations to natural phenomena, then you're done. But, if you keep looking for natural explanations, that's where the fun begins. Of course, this pre-supposes internal consistency of the universe. But I haven't seen any reason to suppose that it is not consistent. And yes, I have read Godel's work - it's about the consistency of logical systems, not necessarily the universe. Anyway, I think everyone has to understand in their own way - the problems start with legislating belief systems. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

I didn't mean to imply that science and religion are exclusive, and I hope that my comments weren't taken that way. In fact I think can be complementary. I know several christians who have PhDs in biology and actively work in the field. I asked one of them about conflicts with their beliefs and their research. The reply to which was, "How can you not look at a strand of DNA and see it as evidence of God's handiwork?" In the majority of my experience, science has a double standard, i.e.: In discussions of evolution, you get arguments like, "carbon dating is not very accurate..." Thus, science is flawed, and "we're right". But in topics such as abortion, we hear arguments like, "medical science tells us..." so science works and "we're right". I understand that these examples are a little broad, but I think they are idicative of a pattern of thought that treats science as really little more than just a political tool. This belies a lack of understanding of science and respect for the scientific method; the attitude of throwing up the hands and not even attempting to understand. Again, just my experience, YMMV. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

You guys have had better experiences with the Christians than I have. I've yet to meet one who hasn't tried to tell me how wrong I am and that I'm going to Hell when I die, blah, blah, blah. Don't even get me started on debates of a scientific nature. But, coming from the midwest, I suppose that's to be expected. The way I see it, everyone has to make sense of the universe in their own way. If some want to believe in supernatural explanations, that's their privilege. I prefer natural explanations. To me, explanations that work within the bounds of the natural realm are much more satisfying than pulling a rabbit out of a hat, so to speak. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

The Alan Parsons CD, "On Air" is all about aviation. There is a song on it called "Fall Free" Lyrics: What's the use of worrying If we'll be here tomorrow All we need to be is here today Don't care if you're rich Or if you have to beg and borrow You can always find a way Dive and breakaway Fall free Freedom's in the air It's calling you Your heart is there Fall free Blaze across the sky The perfect fall The perfect high Mother Earth looks peaceful As we climb towards the ceiling We must be ten thousand feet or more Hear the windrush screaming While we fight to curb our feelings As we stand beside the door Let our spirits soar Fall free Freedom's in the air It's calling you Your heart is there Fall free Blaze across the sky The perfect fall The perfect high - Ian Bairnson, Stuart Elliot, and Alan Parsons Also, while not directly related to skydiving, Steve Morse has a great instrumental that makes me think of skydiving. It's on the "Major Impacts II" CD, and the track is called, "Wooden Music". - Blues ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

I majored in math in college. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Derivative here, I got some goggles from SportRx. They work pretty well for me. The lenses were ground just a little stronger than my glasses at the time, so my depth perception was off a little on landing. But, after a couple of jumps, I got used to it. The only other thing I would add is that they do fog up, and the foam lining around the frame seems kind of flimsy. ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence

Hey, this thread looks like fun! A: My decision to finish my bachelor's degree (Dec. 2004) Best decision I've made to date, and it opened my eyes to some ideas that changed what I want in a career. Q: If you had irrefutable evidence of the existence/non-existence of God, would you publish it and why? ...the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T.E. Lawrence