NWFlyer

If it were in my home, they'd be asked to go outside, just like any other smoker. (I know my building has a general no-smoking rule and I don't know if it also applies to e-cigs. But I personally have a zero tolerance policy!). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Not as early as you (but then again, I don't have the foundation and business taxes to worry about), but as soon as I have all of my forms, I'll do my return. If it's even or I have a refund, I'll file right away. If I owe Uncle Sam some money, I'll file on or just before April 15. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Or worse, kill / injure someone else because of said hubris. This is a team sport, and pushing too far, too fast can not only impact your own health/survival, it can impact mine. Sure, I accept that risk as part of the sport, but it doesn't mean I'm just going to sit around and watch someone blindly get way ahead of their skill set and put me and my friends at higher risk than needed because they don't know how not ready they are. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Your profile says you have 20 jumps and are currently jumping a 230 square foot canopy loaded at 1.02 lbs/sf, which means you have an exit weight of approximately 235 lbs. Assuming all of that data is accurate, I would personally (as a grumpy old skydiver) recommend that neither canopy in that size is a good choice. A wingloading of 1.38 as a new jumper is outside of the generally-accepted wingloading recommendations. The good news is that both of those canopies come in several larger sizes and are good choices at an appropriate wingloading. These recommendations should also apply to the reserve canopy that you choose. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3470220; http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3470220; "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I travel around quite a bit and forgetting people happens a lot. I don't sweat it too much, usually I just say something like "I'm Krisanne, I know we've jumped together before but I'm drawing a blank on your name." Or you just fake it till you overhear someone else saying their name. Funny thing is that once you jog my memory I can usually remember tons of details about the person or what we'd talked about when we met, but the names often escape me. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

You can complete them in Feb (to confirm whether you owe or will get a refund) but not file till April if you owe. That's usually how I do it. You may want to rethink closing the credit card accounts altogether, particularly if you've had them for a long time, as it may have a negative impact on your credit rating, which can have implications on a lot of things besides availability of credit. If you're worried about enforcing discipline on yourself you can do something to make it difficult to use the cards (I've heard of people literally freezing the cards in a block of ice). Or, if you feel like you have the discipline, use the cards to your advantage - use them for monthly expenses and pay them off each month. Keeps the cards active but you're not going beyond your means. But I know from experience that can be difficult, so you have to know yourself. I've been completely debt-free for about five years now, after years of paying off student loans and carrying some amount of credit card debt. I used proceeds from the sale of my house, as well as a couple years of company bonuses to get myself to a clean slate. I don't remember the exact strategy I used - I think generally I focused on the highest-rate balances first, but at the same time I remember paying off a couple of smaller, lower-interest balances just because I could and it felt good to "git er done." I still use credit cards all the time, but I never ever carry a balance. If I buy it, I've got to be able to pay it off when the bill comes. Meanwhile I rack up lots of airline and hotel points that I can use to save on travel. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Agreed. As someone who did quite a bit of manufacturer outreach in the past for another fundraising boogie, start with the people you already know. So, that list of people you contacted last year is a great place to start. Also reach out to people who already know you to find out who they know in the industry and who might be willing to make an introduction for you (either in person or virtually). And cold call (or email). Even without any contacts you might be able to get to the right person by finding their "sales@" email address. My other advice would be to keep the initial email short, sweet, and to the point. A brief description of the event /fundraising (with an offer to provide more detail as needed) and the specific request (again, brief), and a specific follow-up action "I'll try calling you [next week / first of the month / pick a time ]if we haven't had a chance to connect by then" (and then do it). This is a small sport, lots of these places are one-person shops, so be patient (but persistent... to a point, then you're just a nuisance). I'd also recommend waiting till the first of the year (you may have already been planning that) as many will be closed for some or all of this week and next week (or even if they're not officially closed, staff may be vacationing and/or repping the boogie circuit). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

While, yes, it's nice if a pilot/ground crew sorts the belts when fuling, that 1 load out of 3 or 4. Be the nice guy: if you board among the 1st in the plane, quickly pull them straight as you walk to your seating spot. And if the benches have been up, before putting the bench back down, do a quick scan of the belts to make sure none are trapped behind / underneath the bench such that you'll have to get everyone on the bench back up in order to free the trapped belt. Really, I feel like most whining about seat belts is just that ... whining. Like many things in skydiving, it's a team sport... get it done and quityer bitchin'! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Oh yes, THIS! If it weren't for John Mitchell's mad canopy-finding skills, my solid black (with red ribs) canopy would probably still be in the woods by Kapowsin 7 years later. (Bright canopies are nice for everyday use, too, in that you're a lot more visible to the other people in the air. Which is why the two I jump now are BRIGHT!). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

To be fair, the OP is a Canuck, so they're pretty much on one big weather hold till spring. A video might be helpful for home practice. But in general, yes, your approach works best... pack at the dropzone, stop and ask for help when you need it, and keep doing it till you've got it. It may mean you miss a load here and there when you're still new and slow... but it also means you won't miss out altogether later on if you're at a DZ where there aren't any packers or they're all busy with students/tandems/teams. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

The same one you were ranting about on Facebook? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

The NCSL has ordered from http://www.jonesawards.com/, but the medals are generic "1st place" rather than having any skydiving theme. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Well, OJ was found not guilty. Not guilty is not the same as innocent, but I think you know that. Our criminal justice system finds people "not guilty" for a reason, because that's really all it can do - make a decision that the evidence presented was not sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Proclaiming innocence would be a much different standard, and I'm pretty sure it's not one our system (or perhaps any system) is up for. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Then even more fucked up that he's using it for his #rapetruck. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Super fucked up. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/11/22/miracle-or-just-plain-science-physicist-explains-why-sf-window-washer-survived-11-story-fall/ This one has an interesting explanation of the factors that likely contributed to his survival ... same basic theories that Gary Connery used to land his wingsuit. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Is this what folks in the US refer to as "teaching the controversy"? Hah, no, I just thought it would be hilarious to watch Prof. Kallend pick apart the arguments. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Please tell me you had someone on as counterpoint who tried to defend the 45 degree rule. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Yeah, other than night jumps, the B doesn't get you much (although you'll sometimes see dropzone- or event-specific restrictions like requiring a B for a specialty aircraft or to land in certain landing areas). Personally, I felt nowhere near ready to do a night jump in that time frame, so not having it was no big thing (even though I was traveling quite a bit at the time). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Good suggestions. I'd also add two recent additions to the "stories from the old days" canon, "Sugar Alpha" by Melissa Nelson and "Above All Else" by Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Took me a half second of googling to find their FB page, which indicates they're open in PA till mid-December. Which means someone will probably answer the phone if you call them. I bet they'd "know more about it." "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I really hope you're just being naive and not disingenuous. This is a small sport. Everyone knows everyone. Asking a question like the question you asked, in the manner in which you asked it, is going to raise hackles, even if it's a hypothetical. Especially since your DZ.com profile lists a dropzone where a PAC is the regular jump airplane and where a boogie is being held this very weekend. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I suppose technically you still don't, though with the new 60-day deadline to turn in the A card to the USPA, it's effectively ensuring that most everyone does get an A number. But I'd venture to guess that skipping B or C is still relatively common (I skipped B because by the time the timing worked out for water training I was already at about 150 jumps and I figured I'd just wait till I met the C requirements). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

You don't in Bonfire. But for the topical forums: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4441986 "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

You and I have very different definitions of flaming.