freeflail

I sent this thread to the editor at Parachutist and she said it was not a problem, so hopefully we'll see the picture in the magazine.

Don't worry about it - I know it was with good intentions. I sent a link to this thread to Parachutist's editor and asked her to let me know if the pic being posted here will keep them from using it, so I can submit it elsewhere. If they don't want it, I'll try someplace else. I just uploaded the video, but can't find it on skydivingmovies.com . I used the category Dropzone.com and magic carpet ride title. If it doesn't come up soon, I'll try again.

yep, definitely happened.

Thanks for the compliments on the pic! I've submitted this to Parachutist, and am hoping to see it in the Feb. or March issue. Please keep the copy within this group, since they only accept exclusive 1st run pics. (I don't think a scanned copy shared among some friends is gonna create a problem, but I wouldn't want it to end up anywhere that will hurt the chances of the magazine using it or other pics that I send in the future. Thanks. I've been meaning to post the video, but have been really busy this week, I'll try to do it in the next day or 2.

Let's consider a motivation other than physical or mental illness - think of yourself, for whatever reason, being sentenced to a long prison term. Having lived a relatively happy and free life, and knowing the types of horrors that occur within the American prison system, what length of sentence would you consider a neutral balance between the value of your life during and after the incarceration vs. the misery you would experience while incarcerated? Do you feel that life, no matter how miserable, in prison is still worth living for what it is (even in the case of a life sentence,) or do you think that the maladjustment you would experience after your release would even make a 'return to society' a life not worth living. If you can come up with a number for an even balance (a term in which the negative value of the time spent behind bars would be equal to the value of your expected remaining life,) then factor in the effect that your suicide would have on your loved ones (and how much you care about that effect,) and see if you can come up with another number.

Thanks, I'm sure it will work out OK for me, I'm already hundreds of times better off than I was! Talk about bizarre, though!!

Don't feel too bad about the car - I got rear ended a little over a year ago sitting at a red light, and the guy took off. I followed him and called 911 on my cellphone - can't go into detail because the case isn't dead yet, but he wrecked, killing himself and someone in another car, and I was charged w/ 2 counts of vehicular homicide! (18.5 yrs min.) About 1 year of misery, $15,000 in legal fees, and 6 months of a license suspension later (not to mention the arrest and sitting in jail for 1 1/2 days before bailing out,) I got the charges dismissed by the judge, but now I have heard that the State is appealing the decision. Thank God I can let go of an airplane and have all of that s*#t disappear for a little while!

I love the holidays! My home dropzone is Z-hills and thats when everyone comes from all over the world to my home DZ. I get time off of work to jump and only have to come up with some lame excuses to feed to my family as to why I'm not there and listen to a little bit of bitching (the only jumper in the family - they just don't understand 'boogie at my home DZ' If it sucks that bad where you are, take some vacation time and come play with us. It's awesome here!

How about we just jump and donate and fix the credit card thing later? I plan to send most of what I'll donate through the dropzone - I'm sure there will be a fundraiser this weekend, and it doesn't hurt PR to show that the money is coming from the skydiving community

I sent the following message to Mike Bilirakis (my Rep.) Anybody reading this should feel free to copy and edit, if it helps you to get a letter written, or, tell me how I could write a better one next time (as if any of you are shy enough to need a prompt to make corrections!) I am writing to highlight the urgent need for a military presence in New Orleans' Superdome, as well as military escorts for the Red Cross and the evacuation efforts, particularly at University and Charity Hospitals. Racial tensions are rising inside of the superdome, and many inside of the shelter fear race riots. I have heard that the most criminal and violent of the refugees are taking control of the dome, making the need for the presence that much more urgent. Meanwhile, the workers at University and Charity hospitals have been cut off from aid, the Red Cross will not visit these locations because of the looting and violence in the streets. The staff at these Hospitals are working feverishly to try to keep patients alive, while living on what most would consider very insufficient food rations. They have had to move patients to upper floors to protect them from the looters, and have had to stack the bodies of the dead in stairwells to separate them from the living. Evacuation of these hospitals should be a top priority, but cannot be done without an armed escort with a sufficient show of force to deter any assailants. Please aggressively use your influence to assure that the desperately needed assistance is rendered before this incredible tragedy is exacerbated by a failure to send the needed help, and keep me informed of how you will act on this matter. Thank you for your attention John O'Donnell

I also have a pullout couch, a room (full of stuff right now) that could be cleared out, and some floor space and air matresses, if needed, in Oldsmar, Fl. (north end of Tampa Bay, 1 hr from Skydive City)

I tried the pilot 150 at a 1.5 wing loading for about 10 jumps. The openings forgave my pack jobs (not used to packing a new canopy - some were a mess)and were thankfully pretty soft (I was flying camera for most of the jumps.) The canopy was very consistent in all of the controls and turned relatively sharply without much altitude loss. The only thing I didn't like was a recovery arc and corresponding deceleration that was too quick for my taste. Overall, a very nice, reliable, consistent canopy.