Andrewwhyte

After a long fight with cancer John left us today.
Loud, opinionated, direct, John was one of the people who added colour to the dropzone. He will be missed.

Edmonton Skydive Centre in Westlock, AB has a lottery for a season pass with 100 jump packs having one lottery ticket included. The guy who one this year quit his job and moved to the DZ.

Actually it was the Sergeant at Arms who neutralized the threat.

A government minister has just tweeted that the reservist standing guard at the national war memorial has died.
Ever since we committed to Afghanistan we knew this day would come. On 9-11 the world changed forever. Canada was caught up in this, but today is the day our society has changed forever.

lawrocket

Where's the State involved? It's a private school run by a church.

Wouldn't the "wall between church and state" be breached if, for example, the state made the Church hire her back?

Walmart is also a private entity. Would it be legal if they fired an employee for a same sex marriage?

skygypsie

Just curious as to feedback on a non USPA tandem rated jumper taking out tandems students, at a USPA dz ?
Would you report it ?

I have nothing more than a manufacturors rating and I managed to stumble through a few thousand tandems without killing anyone. UPT demands that the holder have some sort of instructional/coaching rating as a prerequisite, so this person must have one of those. The real question is whether you are concerned about safety or creating drama. If safety is your main concern I would say relax. If you want to create drama, well then jump right in.

rickjump1

I wish those Canadians would keep their Cirsium arvense (Canada Thistle) at home. Maybe a US environmental tax at the border would help.

Shaddup you or I'll send some geese to shit on your lawn.

Changing the subject slightly, the way you phrased the question implies you consider cutting away to be a given. If that is so you should talk to your instructors/mentors about two out decision making.

Yes, you should buy your own rig. If you buy a used rig with the intention to do one hundred jumps on it and then resell it you should be able to have an effective cost of $5.00/jump or less. Renting is not only frustrating, but poor economics.

I have tried on a few G3s and found the tightness under the chin thing to be a show stopper. At first I presumed it was a newness thing or something that could be adjusted, but have concluded that that is just how they are made. People who own them tend to acknowledge it and brush it off. I can't and am looking for something else. Hopefully you will get used to it.

NorrinRadd

******Must be all the corn fed beef out there in Alberta.

and now you are showing us just how much intolerance you possess. Did I diss Ontario? No ... I simply stated that Harper is governing like a Liberal (which he is) because whoever controls Ontario controls 24 Sussex Drive.
Pretty sure I just complimented Alberta...
Pretty sure you didn't. Alberta beef is grass fed and grain fed.
Calling Ontarians liberals is not much of a stretch if you consider a red Tory to be a liberal with a blue tie. This is the same feeling that led to the formation of the reform party during the Mulroney era. Of course Alberta's premier and Calgary's mayer both fit the Red Tory mold, muc to Canuck's chagrin I am sure.

quade

US internet terms of service

Uh ya, about that,..
Sincerely
The Rest of the World

Student jumps represent the largest risk to a Dz for a fairly low profit. The real revenue for DZs comes from tandem and, especially for Cessna DZs, the student ground school. You represent the type of student I liked dealing with the least when I was in the biz; you are treating student jumps like an end product rather than a means to the end of becoming a solo skydiver. You are not proposing to switch your program to this DZ, you merely want to do one or two jumps there before continuing your student phase at "your" home DZ. You are not alone in this approach but in general this type of jumping is a pain for instructors as they must make sure your knowledge and skill level are where you think they are. Unless they personally know your previous instructors they are unlikely to take their word for much of it. Furthermore this approach tends to be very cost ineffective for you.
Since the owners of the Montreal tunnel do not cater to piecemeal student jumps at all (nor do they sell GFF), I will presume you are at the tunnel in Beiseker AB. My suggestion is you grind Debbie for the sixty dollar discount off your tunnel time, get Jesse to help you with your turn issues, and return to your home DZ when you have enough money to finish your solo certificate. This is probably the safest and most cost efficient path.

Have fun.

NorrinRadd

***

P.S. Can I visit Vancouver next year? They got the best strip clubs....

OMG the Vancouver strip clubs are absolute shyte! You want GOOD strip clubs, go to Montreal. Having lived in both cities, I know this to be true.

In defence of jgoose71's opinion, it may simply be out of date. Twenty to thirty years ago Vancouver had a first rate dancer scene with three agencies competing the vigorously for both talent and venues. The result was good for both the well paid dancers and the patrons. Sadly those days are long past as perhaps ten percent of the venues employ poorly paid and motivated dancers (I use this term very loosely) who are all controlled by a single agency. C'est dommage.

Wow! The Blues have come out almost strong enough to make up for that embarrassing rendition of the national anthem. WTF was that?

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Good post, Bill. Totally accurate.

Spot posted something that made me chuckle: "Workman's compensation" What is this workman's compensation you speak of? I've never worked at a dropzone, full or part-time as anything other than a 1099 contractor. Only salaried full-time employees get that benefit, brother. Thank GOD for my military pension!

Chuck

Not true at all. Depends on the state. Where I am, if the contractor doesn't supply a certificate of insurance, the state makes the dropzone pay for coverage.

Similarly in most if not all provinces in Canada, the responsibility chain goes from the employer (or sub-contractor) to the contractor, to the land-owner, to the welfare system. In other words if the sub-contracted cameraflyer doesn't have coverage, the DZ is responsible. If the DZ goes broke, the land-owner is on the hook. One way or another the province wants to find someone other than the ministry of social services (welfare) to pay. In British Columbia the WCB act states that a non incorporated sub-contractor who provides labour only (including personal tools) is not responsible for coverage. For the purpose of the act they are employees. This is not to be confused with their tax status which is a federal determination.
In the Pitt Meadows crash all the working employees, part and full time, were covered. The part timer who was not working on that jump however, was not. WCB is now acting like every other insurance company out there and suing everyone in sight to try and recoup their losses.

The Canucks will beat the Sharks again, but their second round opponents will be the Kings, Blues or Ducks. All three of these teams are a lot bigger than the Canucks; the sort of team they cannot beat. Too bad because they are the only team in the west that can beat the Blackhawks.

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Bounce Bingo is a long standing tradition. If people don't want to listen to logic, experience, and common sense, then a good old bet on when they die might just do the trick.

Actually we have a different style at ESC. I have Ian's square until the pot is won. Hope I never win brother, but I wouldn't trade my square for anyone; you've been a DGIT since AFF. But I'm not saying anything new here.

Physical fitness
Proper sleep and nutrition
Lack of a hangover
Morning stretch

Actually assholes like you are the true waste of cyberspace. She was asking a legitimate question without pretense or hubris. Some people think that their importance as humans is measured by the thickness of their logbook.

He doesn't look German.

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Ban brussel sprouts!

You're just a hateful old woman. There is nothing wrong with brussel sprouts. You are probably just steaming them too long. You should be forced to eat Brussels sprouts twice a week until you see the light.

I get it that they can't act like Bertuzi wrt Duncan Keith but what was with the gentleman's league style game. When Hendrik Sedin is your top checker you gotta give your head a shake.

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My Canadian credit and bank debit cards work just fine in Europe, Russia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, but to throw a little water on the parade...

At what transaction cost? Last time I used a debit card in US my bank charged me a buck. That's fine for renting a room, not so good for buying gum.

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So the BPA is trying to move from just the "Ban Parachuting Association" to the "Ban Piloting Association" too.

I hope the USPA never goes that way.

This was my first thought as well. Why in hell would they want to cut the CAA's grass on this issue?