lifewithoutanet

Similarly, I agree and disagree with your post above. The men and women that have been deployed and who are fighting not only for the freedom of the Iraqi people and to bring Al Qaeda to justice, are also fighting for their lives and the lives of the soldiers beside them. Yes, they are hereos. But you, too, fit into that mold. You volunteered, knowing what you could face. That takes a certain type of character. That character is what heroes are made of. Don't slight yourself based on where you're stationed. To you and the rest of our volunteer armed forces, "thank you". -C.

"#27 Do you like the smell of Jet-A in the morning?" As for me, 45% pure, or more appropriately: "Back off, lady. I'm NOT afraid to use this." people less pure than you (16%) people like you (1%) people more pure than you (83%) -C.

The other guy's insurance. -C.

You're a sick, twisted enabler. That's what you are. Good on you! -C. PS Now you just have to pony up the dough for AFF and a rig, like any good mom. And if you do, tell me how to talk my mom into buying me anything related to skydiving.

Nothing like some good guerrilla marketing to get that stock to rise. -C.

Oh, man...that kills me. I wonder what the USSS thinks when they look at a jump plane. Probably something along the lines of, "No, sir...here, use one of ours." Not a dig at the pilots, DZOs or mechanics, but we all know those planes are ridden hard and put away wet. -C.

That's a gem. Reminded me of a CNN Money headline about my company. This (see attachment) actually was on money.cnn.com for a few hours before our PR people caught on to why the rest of the company was laughing our asses off and called CNN for the erection...errr...correction. -C.

I agree. It's pretty sad. I can understand a person's right to opt for cosmetic surgery, it's just not my thing. What really bugs me is who the show is targeted at... MTV's audience is young and largely impressionable. What kind of message are they sending? If you don't like how you look, you can tuck, suck, implant, inject... I haven't seen it, nor 'The Swan' but it just strikes me as irresponsible programming, worse even than the overreaction to Janet's breast-baring incident or Howard Stern, profanity or violence on TV. These can be filtered out, but cosmetic surgery masquerading as a 'solution' and worse yet, 'entertainment'? Doesn't sit very well w/ me. Just my $.02. -C. PS Took this week off for no real reason other than to relax (and jump a bit). Hadn't planned on today, but woke up this morning and just decided to go and jump. First time I've really been able to do that without planning ahead and waiting for it, counting the hours. The spontaneity was way cool.

What's surprising to me is that this seems like perfect political fodder for the WMD search...as in "Where could they have gotten these supplies? Syria? How could they have come into Syria?" wink-wink-nod-nod Personally, I'd like to see a little more about these types of victories. It shows that we are having an impact in the war on terror (I can feel the debates brewing, but I'll stick by that statement). -C.

"Sounds like somebody's got a case of The Mondays." -C.

Was wondering if anyone had seen this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3635381.stm Apparently it got brief coverage on CNN and/or Fox this weekend, but I'd expect something of this nature to get a lot more airtime and coverage, given the intended targets. -C.

Brutal occupation? I'm sorry...are you referring to the US' invasion of Iraq? Are we talking about the same war? There are as many opinions as the day is long about whether or not we should have invaded, why we did, etc. I won't debate that with you, but still..."brutal occupation"? We're battling monsters; murderers; cold-blooded killers that are inciting violence and retribution against their own people for their mere cooperation with occupying US, UK and coalition forces. They seek to disrupt peaceful attempts at forming a democratic government by attacking their own people. That is pure terrorism. Plain and simple. I know no better definition. Will terrorism work? It could. At times it seems like it already is. The Iraqi people have known only terror for decades under Saddam and thus, those that would disrupt the attempts at peace with violence against their own people are playing the game as effectively as they know how. Brutal? Yes, but the brutality comes not from the occupying forces, as you seem to say. In this war, this occupation, our forces conduct themselves with defined rules of engagement. They do not fire until fired upon. In their hunt for those responsible for attacks on civilians, they do all in their power to not harm the innocent. A targeted strike--be it a bullet or a hellfire missile--is a far cry different from strapping on a bomb or driving a bomb-laden car into a mass of civilians or relief workers, whether or not soldiers are present. What we could do to them is a thousand times worse than what they are doing to us, but we do not. I support your right to believe that we should not be there, but I respectfully ask that you choose your terms more accurately. -C. Edit: After re-reading the thread, it's more likely that your "brutal occupation" comments were directed at Isreali occupation forces. If this is the case, my point still stands...it's a targeted killing of a known militant, not a cafe or a mall full of civilians.

Great news, man! Congratulations! -C.

My senior year of high school, I harped on my parents about wanting to jump. When I graduated, my mom and I both went through AFF level 1.

I'd make sure you're somewhere in the middle of the exit order after that comment on pilots. Otherwise you're likely to find yourself not so optimally placed on jumprun. -C.

1. Whats your name? Collin 2. How old are you? 29 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? Needed another expensive hobby. 4. Are you single or taken? Married? Single 5. Do you have kids? No 6. What do you drive? 1990 Toyota 4Runner 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? No 8. Where do you live? Huntington Beach, CA / Boulder, CO 9. Do you have any pets? Jake and Cale, adopting them was the best decision I ever made (pic attached) 10. How many jumps do you have? 45 11. What color eyes do you have? Brown 12. What is your nationality? Scotch Irish Dutch 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? Been on a date or two with, yes. "Dated", no. 14. Favorite Movie? Don't really have a favorite. 15. What do you do when you arent skydiving? Work and think about not working. 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? No 17. If not... do you want to? Yes 18. Do you have siblings? 2 younger brothers (way younger, 14 and 16) 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? The Himalayas 20. What's your favorite color? Red 21. Where was the last place you flew to ( not skydiving )? Orange County, on my way back from Seattle -C. (edited to add pic of the knuckleheads)

Congrats to you! -C. PS I prefer Guinness!

A woman is having an affair. Every time her lover comes over, she puts her son in the closet. One day, her husband comes home while her lover is there. Frantic, she hands her lover all of his things and shoves him into the closet. Son: "It's dark in here." Lover: "Yes, it is." Son: "I have a baseball. Do you want to buy it?" Lover: "Ummm...no." Son: "I think you do." Realizing the position he's in, the lover replies: "Okay. How much?" Son: "$50" He knows he's being taken, but he doesn't really have a choice, and ponies up the $50. The following week, he's over again and once more, the husband comes home. Into the closet he goes. Son: "It's dark in here." Lover: "Yes, it is." Son: "I have a baseball glove. Wanna buy it?" Lover: "Sure. How much?" Son: "$100" And he becomes the proud owner of a baseball glove. That weekend, the boy's father says to his son: "Go get your ball and glove. We'll play catch." Son: "Can't dad. I sold them." Thinking his son must have sold or traded them to a friend he casually replies: "Oh really? How much?" Son: "$150" Father: "$150!?!?! Son, you can't take advantage of your friends like that. I'm ashamed of you. We're going to the church right now and you are going to confession for this." They get to the church and the boy steps into the confession booth: "It's dark in here." "Don't you start that shit again." -C.

LOL You killed me with that. And just the use of the term "building a nest" has stripped me of whatever thin thread of masculinity I thought I still had. Hell, I owe you a jump for that, but this being California, I should probably hold on to half of it. After all, it's not "mine" since it's only going to the not-yet-met-ex in the divorce settlement anyway. Good one, Michael. Keep those coming. -C.

Haven't seen it. I have a long-standing boycott of any movie starring any Baldwin not married to Kim Basinger. -C.

In which case I should have about half the balls you have by the end of the year. I put in about 20 jumps in the last month. Maybe I need to start packing faster so I can get on more loads. :-) I'm debt-free now (after years of not-so debt-free living) and all the reason I stick w/ the steady gig is to provide a better life for the not-yet-met wife and the not-yet-born kids. Sometimes I think it's sad that I think "providing" has to mean money, but I guess that's just me. Envious of those who've 'cutaway'. -C.

I'm thinking of walking away, too... From my career and everything I've dreamt about just to jump every day and really live The Life. I just don't have the balls to do it. -C.

Yeah, I've been there. Can't wait for it to happen again. Good on ya, man. -C.

Still a 'noob', but working my way to experience (by good judgment). Just curious what got you all into freefly. Why freefly? Just freefly or any other disciplines? What was your first freefly like? (No, not "Did you cork as much as I do?". More like "What did you think during and afterwards?") -C.

They'll probably not just push you away...they'll probably drop you altogether. Not sure how they can do this, as they're supposed to base their policy terms on actuarial data (and by this, skydiving is not as risky as driving to work). The insurance companies can somehow do this for skydivers, SCUBA divers and, I believe, private pilots. Being two of the three, I just choose not to tell my life insurance company what I do when I'm not decaying in my office. One day I'll be forced to do a little more research on this matter, but until I meet and impregnate my wife, it's just me and the pups to worry about, so the life insurance thing doesn't much factor in. How do those of you with a family (dependents) handle this, or do you handle it at all? -C.