PrairieDoug

+1 on the logic (but prefer to shake Einstein's hand). Doug

Very cool. After reading Bill Bryson's hilarious book "A Walk in the Woods," I can really see the appeal and the challenge of this undertaking. Some advice I heard recently from a sailor who did a solo Atlantic crossing was "don't fight the elements, go with them." I imagine the same applies here. Good luck! Doug

Yahoo! Looking forward to seeing everyone. Doug

I feel lucky that my family has been generallysupportive of my sky diving, or at worst neutral. For a number of years I was headed down a pretty self-destructive path and I started jumping around the same time that I made some other positive changes in my life. They see sky diving as part of what helped me turn things around, and I think they're right.

Yes, I stand corrected on the calculation. Always glad to learn something new (or be reminded of something I should have remembered). Of course, the point that cumulative probability of death rises with the number of jumps remains valid. I feel silly even bringing that up, but it was disputed when this thread originally started a couple of years ago. Doug

This will be a blast... love jumping the CASA!

Check out Skydive Delmarva in Laurel, Del. I haven't been there in a couple of years, but I'm still on their mailing list and they always seem to have a lot going on. Doug

I saw Body Worlds 2 at the Maryland Science Center recently and thought it was facinating. It made me realize how much I take for granted about the routine yet amazing functions of my own body. Doug

Excellent choice! She's done a lot to help other jumpers improve while continuing to do so herself. When I stopped by Perris for a weekend a couple of years ago, she made sure I got on good loads and hooked me up with some tunnel time. Doug

I had 4 kids under the age of 10 when I started jumping, and with the benefit of hindsight would make the same choice. However, having young kids does increase the consequences if something goes wrong. Candidly, I'm a lot more comfortable with the risks of skydiving now that my children are older. Until you get to that point, make sure your insurance coverage is adequate (as it seems you have) and possibly make more conservative choices re. equipment, etc. like skybytch said. Aside from safety concerns, I think the trickiest part is maintaining a healthy balance between skydiving and family. Failure to do so could cause you to miss out on a lot of good stuff at home and also piss your wife off even more. Best wishes with your family and (possible) return to the sport. Doug

Three of my kids have jumped and the 4th is interested. (Two did tandems and the other completed AFF, but then drifted away from the sport.) I never encouraged them to jump and made sure they knew the risks, but was supportive once they decided to skydive. As a parent, there is never a shortage of stuff to worry about! Doug

I'm glad to see these guidelines being re-affirmed, and think it will help create a more positive and worthwhile online community. Doug

Yes! I'd love to head back to Rantoul this year for another WFFC. Doug

I think it's a great mag... enjoy reading it and learn a lot from it. Apparently I'm in the minority. Doug

Count me in!

Alana - You'll be fine! I had ACL reconstruction 3 years ago, but with a donor graft instead of an autograft. The autograft makes makes the initial recovery a little tougher, but is said by some to give a better long-term result. With PT you'll be able to regain basic functional use fairly quickly, but it can take up to a full year to get all your strength and flexibility back. The good news is that your new ligament will be a lot stronger than the original one! Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Doug

Regardless of who wrote it or sent it to you, I think the piece is still fun to read and on target in a lot of ways. Doug

Excellent... I'm going to pre-register today!

Hi Viviana - I'm considering coming to the boogie. It looks like a lot of fun! Can you confirm that Guy Wright will attending as an RW organizer? If not, what other RW organizing is planned? Thanks a lot... I hope to meet you next month. Doug

Billy - Good one... best joke I've heard in a while.

Hopefully Dr. Jen (peregrinerose) will see your post and give you some guidance... this is right up her alley. Doug

Thanks

I like the way you think!

Thanks for these replies. A restocking fee would be fair. The only stuff missing is some internal packaging... enough that they couldn't just put it back on the shelf as is to re-sell. Doug

OK, so I bought a home theater system from Best Buy about 3 weeks ago (not a present). Now I've decided I want to upgrade and would like to exchange it, but I don't have all the original internal packaging. I have the box and the main styroform pads for the DVD player, but not all the rest. Can I still return it? What would you do? Thanks, Doug