raggdoll

See on the screen where it says "provided by," and then has the user's name? Under that, where it says more, all of the names are provided. I haven't seen nearly enough films to know all the actresses.

Here you go

Try www.scholar.google.com or http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=skydiving&hl=en&lr=. I read an excellent academic paper by Lipscombe yesterday, but as it's a .pdf file and on the school's database, I can't retrieve it at the moment. If you google the name, though, you'll find some more interesting topics.

I learned the hard way to put that into my syllabus--when a student answered his cell and had a conversation in the middle of my class (my first semester teaching, when I thought of students as adults). I now threaten to talk to the student's cell phone partner before kicking them out and assure them that is not a conversation they want me to have with their friends. As an aside, I've kicked seven people out of my classes in the last two days (not all cell phone related). This is getting friggin' ridiculous.

The guy with the blue helmet/jumpsuit in the raft pic looks like Ryan, but I'm not positive. I can give you a last name if you think it is.

The poll is skewed. Who were the people interviewed? Do they have children (knowledge of Harry Potter would be applicable here--perhaps these were working parents trying to instill the importance of books by reading to their children at bedtime after working a 10 - 12 hour day). Were the respondents educated and if so, how educated? I know a 68 year old man who is currently learning to read because when he was young, he had to drop out of school in order to work to support his mother and siblings. Watching television may be the only source of entertainment he's able to enjoy because he's not literate--yet. Reading a newspaper is out of the question for him currently, though it is an eventual goal. Perhaps the respondents don't have televisions, or cannot afford televisions. Perhaps some don't have cars with working radios or must rely on public transportation or don't listen to the BBC because they don't understand what the news discussions are. Perhaps they are too embarrassed by their lack of knowledge to ask someone who Tony Blair is, for fear of being thought and subsequently treated as an idiot, or worse. Some may have to work 16+ hour days, as my parents both did, and after coming home and taking care of the children, find that they are simply too tired by having to work and support families to actually care about what is occurring outside of their own existence. These people are merely trying to survive. The results are sad, yes. But sometimes, the reasonings behind the results are sadder and might require more explanation and thought than blaming education, teachers, lifestyles, televisions, etc. Just another view.

Another reason: My SO is military and has been deployed or TDY for 13 months of the two years we've been together. While significantly better able to handle an emergecy than my parents, it's not feasible to list him as a contact if he's out of the country.

Congratulations and welcome back to the air! The view had to be fantastic. I've been that way before, but never skydiving. What brought you back to the sport? Blue skies!

Interesting article. Any thoughts? http://www.wired.com/news/culture/reviews/0,71324-0.html?tw=rss.technology Skydiving? Easy. Skysurfing? A breeze. For true airborne daredevils, nothing beats skyflying -- zipping horizontally through the air with the help of a birdlike wing suit. Never mind that serving in Iraq would be less risky. Writer Michael Abrams tracks the ups and many downs of avian wannabes in his new book, Birdmen, Batmen and Skyflyers. Little known to the general public, batwing jumpers have been flying high since planes first appeared. The goal today is the same as it was in the 20th century's heyday of aviation tomfoolery: to jump out of a plane and glide horizontally through the air, at least for a few seconds, before opening a parachute and landing. Skyflying is quite dangerous, probably much more hazardous than BASE jumping. It has always been that way: as Abrams recounts at length, dozens of skyflyers died in centuries past after leaping off towers, castles and cliffs, sometimes wearing little more than feathers and whalebone. If they survived, the early jumpers had to look forward to "beatings, executions and mockery in verse." Why have so many ignored the lessons of the unfortunate Icarus, history's most infamous winged skyflyer? "Both before and after the appearance of mechanized flight, men have yearned and struggled to fly like birds," Abrams writes. As a skydiver told him, "if piloting an airplane is flying, then rowing a canoe is swimming." After hearing about the 10th or 12th biographical sketch of a doomed birdman who gets tangled in his parachute or misjudges the distance to the ground, readers will get a bit weary. Luckily, Abrams is a witty writer with a delicious sense of humor. His style is reminiscent of best-selling author Mary Roach, author of Stiff, and her deliciously deadpan approach to death. (She writes the back-cover blurb.) Abrams also sprinkles Birdmen with neat details, like the first words a female spectator said to her future husband after his skydiving stunt scared a crowd ("You're a real asshole!"). Clive Barker even makes an appearance, watching at the age of four as famous skyflyer Leo Valentin fell to his death during a stunt in Liverpool. Abrams could have paid more attention to the aerodynamics of flight itself. It's never quite clear why birds can fly and humans, even with a little bit of help, have a difficult time stopping a plunge toward earth. Regardless of the obstacles, skyflyers -- who tend to be French or from Michigan -- are getting better and better. Most recently, $800 BirdMan wingsuits have appeared, allowing skyflyers to double the time they're in the air before they have to open their parachutes. The suits are safe (to a point), but they're still not the end-all. Now, skyflyers are experimenting with engines to keep them in the air, and some hope to get rid of the pesky parachutes entirely and simply float to the ground. Icarus, schmicarus.

Jumping with you is a blast, Ryan, and I'm glad you found another home away from home at Raeford. Pffffft and Luckies Guy in Raeford were lucky to have a talented and genuinely nice person as the "other" member to our teams. When you find out an address, send it so we can keep you stocked while you're over at the sandbox.

Team Pffffft certertainly gives this approval. Granted, we're not the authority, but still...it lies not within our hands. Best of luck to all competing teams. It's all about having fun, learning, and not getting me killed, right??

What a great game! Way to go, indeed.

But it was a fun zoo dive and great being in the plane and in the air with so many cool people.

yeah that slacker......there were MUCH better video then his....he didnt deserve it pffffft. you done good, monkey. And you've got skills. We're proud of you. We're proud and happy for all of those who competed at the Chester meet. It was a great time, especially for one person who had never jumped at a different dropzone at all. Good job by all.

I'll definitely try AND I'll try to bring friends. They're into stuff like that. Might be a little late, though. I always get lost driving in that area.