druvaughn

13 Concussions... 12 Years of Football, Lacrosse, and Skiing 7 were minor, 6 major 2 Skiing 3 Lacrosse 8 Football - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

With very few jumps, and all in a pro-tec, I had often wondered the same thing. The cool factor is the downside of our culture, ask anyone whose had a real good concussion and most will likely ask for a safer helmet. Having had 13 concussions, the look matters little to the safety of my brain, I thought about wearing a football helmet (extremely safe) but would most likely add more problems then solve (fairly heavy, not sleak, and lots of points on the face mask to get tanlged in lines). I don't own any, and they would probably be more expensive than skydiving helmets, but would motorcycle helmets work? Happy Holidays. . - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

Charlie Brown's Christmas Hands Down or the Original Animated Grinch a very close 2nd - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

My father convinced me to read the FairTax Book from Neil Boortz (whom my father is an avid listener of). I have gotten a bit more than half way through it and wonder what other peoples' thoughts were. Have you read it? Do you think it could/would work? Interested to hear. Happy Turkey Day - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

I seem to be one of the only restaurant people in house. I am working today through Saturday night. Best Wishes to all of You for a safe and happy holiday. - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

If I added my thoughts (rookie jumper but seasoned vet of the service industry). Tipping in any venue is a strange thing...Based on a fortune of factors lifetimes in the making. Playboy, Johnnie Walker, Esquire, Maxim, and the Lapostolle family, among many others have all offered writings on the subject. Descriptions of typical tips for bartenders, servers, coat checkers, valet parkers... Tipping, in my opinion (jaded restaurant employee) should reflect the level of service that you got (this is and can be related to the bill, but shouldn't be). I come across people everyday who tip anywhere from 10% to 30%. Remember, in a restaurant, you can leave a $100 on the table and only have tipped 10%. In northern Fairfield County, CT, it is standard practice to leave 16% give or take. 20% is the highest most of the time, it truly takes a great service effort from the staff followed up with people who recognize that and put a high value on it. Having said that -- doing your job with a smile should be standard and I rate you just above scum bag if you offer nothing more -- get out of the service business. Similarly, get out if you expect tips. They are an added bonus and nothing more. I think people should certianly tip the TM, they are providing a service (IMO), but they are getting paid to offer the service and getting safely to the ground is their JOB. My first tandem (2 years ago) I gave the TM $40 (20%) of the bill and I think worth every penny. He made me feel at ease, he made sure not to talk my ear off on the plane ride or the canopy ride. This past summer, he spent two mornings with me doing 3 jumps each morning. I dragged him out of bed early to make sure we jumped before the weather turned. Again, he took "extra" care of me and the guests were well taken care of on the ground. I tipped him $100 for the two days as well as giving the PACKER money for his efforts as well as the video guy. They all put in some extra effort to get me some air time. While I was at the DZ I saw my TM give the same consideration to his other students as he did me, which would certainly make you think it wasn't "Extra". In this case, I am happy to tip to encourage his efforts across the board and reward them. To those who say you are tipping at a restaurant because that is part of their pay I offer this: Don't tip a server because it is part of their wage, it creates a sense of entitlment. Tip because they took good care of you, this way those who don't will find something else to do. Apply this universally and the level of service in this country will increase dramatically. - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

I wasn't really a believer until I started working in my current restaurant. It is definitely haunted (I'm told by two children, one a boy and the other a girl) and while I have experienced happenings I have never directly seen them, just shapes. Some events: 1) With only our executive chef and one server in the building, I sat a family of 4 (a boy, mom & dad, and grandma). While the server approached the table, the boy got up a started running around the dining room saying "little boy come here, little boy lets play." Mom grabbed the kid and asked what was going on, to which the boy replied, "I was chasing a little boy and wanted him to come play with me". 2) We had a woman who claimed to be a psychic in for dinner one night (she was the one who told me it was a little boy and a little girl). She said she could sense their presence around the table from time to time and we could tell because she would get goose bumps and her hair would stand on end. She did order food but once she started feeling them, she didn't eat a thing. She was very freaked out and said that she had never felt anything so strong. 3) We have four hutches in the DR. The doors at the bottom overlap so that one is held closed by the other. The hutch in question is broken and the door's hinges no longer function so the door is either closed or laid out flat on the floor. A lady (whose child was in a stroller back at the table) walked past this hutch and the door swung open; she stopped just in time to avoid being tripped. I closed the doors tightly and went on about my night. It happened again to the father of the baby at the same table when he went to the bathroom (it is disconcerting that about 100 other people all walked passed the door without it opening). The trick here is (don't forget that the hinges haven't worked in 8 months), the door that swung open both times was the one held closed by the other (the one that opened twice was held closed by the other door). There are other smaller things that happen unexplainably, but listing them would take the afternoon. Its nice that they are never malicous (sp?). I have tried doing a little research but there is no information on the building that we are in. It has been several restaurants as well as a B&B over the last 60-70 years. Any number of employees of those previous establishments have returned with stories of their own, some believable and some not. Happy Hunting... - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

I went to one, and he fixed a nagging, muscular related, back problem. He didn't however, do anything that far out of the ordinary, nor did he do anything I don't repeat on a regular basis to help keep the pain away. 1) Stretching 2) Cracked specific vertebrae (sp?) 3) Electro-Stim -- which is just about one of the greatest things to happen to bad backs. 4) Massage (note that he used a massager that I later saw for sale at Brookstone). The things he did helped, and having continued to work on them myself, they also help keep the pain at bay. So it did work and conintues to. My father, on the other hand, has joint and disc problems that the chiro (as well as traditional doctors) have been working on for 15 years. He goes to get adjusted 4-6 times a week and can't go more than a few days without. He says it is working, and modern medicine offers nothing at this point so he keeps going. It does to me seem like a bandaid for a larger problem. - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

Miner Chard -- Always had a more fond affinity for their cab then their whites (chrd or SB) As a white burg lover, though, the new american oak of many of cali's chards are too much. A nice puligny montrachet or criots batard montrachet - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

From Personal Experience: 1) In CT, refusing to take the breathylizer is a "statement of guilt" and carries a worse punishment than failing the breathylizer. 2) Field breathylizers are generally not admissible in court because of the different variables (temp, humidity, etc.). It does constitute as failing a field test, and they can arrest you and take you in for an official breathylizer. 3) My boss had his thrown out of court because the breathylizer hadn't been cleaned or tested in 2 years ( he also had the money to hire a lawyer for over hours of work ). 4) In CT, when you apply for a license, you are agreeing to submit to the breathylizer when told to do so. If you refuse, you aren't issued the drivers license. In CT, for your first offense: both the court and the DMV can suspend your license. The court may or may not depending on your sentence. The DMV automatically does for either 120 or 90 days depending on BAC regardless ( you can appeal, rarely works ). If you are granted, you take an alcohol education class and a victim impact panel and, provided you don't get another offense in a year, your DUI charge is dropped. If you refuse to take the breathylizer you are automatically charged with DUI and it does go on your record. You are, in CT, better off blowing a .211 then refusing. As for not drinking and driving -- in a perfect world that would be great. Now over a month sober, I hope to never do it aain, but when plastered, rational thinking doesn't prevail. My sincerest apologies for the wrongs I have committed and am glad that I got a DUI and didn't hurt or kill someone. - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

I love quotes, I think they are great -- "For every winner, there are dozens of losers. Chances are you are one of them." "If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style." "Quiters never win, and winners never quit. But those who never win and never quit are idiots." These all come from a website that I frequent when I need a laugh. You can get these on postcards and desk top stuff... I think it is despair.com . - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

I heard someone in these forums offer this, and have been using it regularly since... "The grass is always greener on the other side becuase it is fertilized with bullshit." . - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

"They've surrounded us again; the poor bastards..." - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

"Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win. Every time a football player goes to play his trade he's got to play from the ground up-from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second. Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization, an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win. To beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is. It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there. To compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules-but to win. And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat. I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious." Vince Lombardi - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

I share the same thoughts as Popj. I have to stretch just to get out of bed in the morning and struggle to get to the shower otherwise (years of football and lacrosse). Stretching is great for your body whether or not you are going to jump, but when jumping ( or anything physical) yuor body will perform better with warmup and stretching than it will without. To echo other thoughts: I plug into headphones when I stretch because it helps to clear my mind and focus on whatever is next ( yes I will do this during the course of a stressful day as an aside to life -- a break physically and mentally ). Stretching is good/ - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

Congratulations... Seems like a real long way off. 36 days and counting... - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

Religion and Abortion (politics) are two things that you never discuss in a bar... It is very interesting to watch the discussion boards on this type of topic...People make a grand effort to state their views as impartial, all the while accusing others (finger pointing) of being wrong. There is no right/wrong in religion with ONE exception: Impressing your views on other people is very wrong. Killing people, in my opinion, is wrong, as is sleeping with your neighbors wife (little boys). I am not religious and I don't believe in God, but I do believe in a god. Those things are wrong because thats how I was raised, not because I learned it in church (temple). Are they wrong because my parents' parents were deeply religious and taught the family tree those values, perhaps. As mentioned above, though, that doesn't mean that religion should be governing or denouncing who I am sleeping with or what my sister or girlfriend does with her unborn fetus. I haven't studied religion; none of them and I don't plan to anytime soon. It would interest me to know how other religions viewed some of Christianity's "hot button issues": abortion, homosexuality. It might shed some light. It is important for me to note ( having stood behind many a bar ) the religious and political debates get ugliest when one person tells another their "views" are wrong and/or tries to convince/sell that one is better than another ( in my experience, these would be the Christians, not always, but most of the time ). I spent my life in football lockers, all were filled with prayers on game day, its what we did ( read today's New York Times ). It was nondenominational and voluntary -- everyone stayed in the room; some prayed with the chaplain, others just bowed their heads and asked for the safety of their brothers. I would join this group again if given the choice, but in that huddle we weren't talking to God, we were talking to each other wishing each other the best of luck. I am surprised that, with all of the quoting going on, no one mentioned ::: Karl Marx: "Religion is the opiate for the masses." - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

Ave Maria Angel by Sarah McLaughlin - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

A whole bunch of reasons -- 1) The US has some of the cheapest gas in the world. 2) It is a commodity with finite supply ( think of how rare and expensive diamonds are -- this is a stretch, but both are commodities that will run out ). 3) Supply and Demand -- if we all stopped driving cars until the price came down to $1.00 a gallon, it would eventually. How are you getting to work? 4) We chose capitolism; the oil companies have finally stopped setting low prices and jumped on board with BEBE who sold my GF jeans for $200. The stock market ( as in all market economies ) will reward the oil companies for better performance, which is incentive for them to see how much they can get us to pay. 4a) This is a double-edged sword, note that we are buying far fewer SUVs and there is a wait list for hybrids. I will take a moment to ask you all to do your homework. I read somewhere (wish I could remember) that said you need to drive 60,000 miles per year over 4 years to realize the added up front cost of the hybrid over gas in driving mileage saved. Just some thoughts. - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

The biggest thing for me is water -- gallons of it. I find that if I keep myself constantly hydrated ( urine should be almost perfectly clear ) all day, I eat a lot less, but several times daily -- just what you need to get by. This also helps when you sit down to eat, because you are bloated, you eat less ( you already feel full, which is when most people stop eating -- feeling full means you ate too much by nutrionist standards ) Best of Luck to you. - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

To add a couple of thoughts -- and hope I'm not repeating ones I missed. 1) In a legal sense, sexual harassment can be as minute as eye contact, light touching or brushing up against and even verbal. Does verbal communication or glances count as sex, no. However, it can certainly be sexual conduct or sexual in nature. 2) An exgirlfriend and I ( both had some security issues with each other ) had a week long discussion about cheating. Although we weren't trying to define sex, she thought of cheating as "anything I wouldn't have wanted her to know about" ( the list is long and distinguished, just like Goose's Johnson ). I thought cheating started at making out ( kissing a firend on the lips was fine, but throw the tongue and you're cheating ). I think we all agree (sans swingers) that if our significant others started handing out Hummers, the relationships would be doomed. Food for thought... - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

I'm on the road to recovery, nothing but water for me... Although, if I had my druthers... a 1990 Reserve Amarone from Quintarelli Guiseppe - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

wait just a damn minute here -- I read the comics...really funny... well done - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

Bill -- would it negate everything I have said to offer that only liberals read the news because conservatives can't read (earlier I discussed the cartoon vision in my head of the hick with the gun rack and all...). I couldn't agree more that the men and women who give their lives in the service of this country should be honored to the fullest extent. My two points however, the burial services should be private if so deemed by the family, as well as the coffins returning home ( there is no name associated with this, thus no real honor in showing this ). And most news (especially over internet: Yahoo news and CNN, my to daily stops) doesn't publish the soldier's names, it only says that another died and the total dead is now_____. This isn't honor, this is the news media focusing on the total as a way to shift public opinion. If you feel that a report that says "two soldiers died after a roadside bomb in Iraq" honors those two soldiers, then we disagree, I think it does little to honor them. Please let me stress, again, they do deserve to be honored. I would think a more proper way : "John Smith was killed in action today while serving his country." This certainly is more dignified than is usually conveyed. On the second point -- we chose to watch negative news (I would however at least glance, honestly, at Britney's new rack) instaed of happy news. We determine the ratings ..... In doing so, the news negatively focuses on the conservative base in power "helping" them look bad, this favors the liberals. - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

Great find on the info -- indeed some of it is fairly disturbing, but I would think expected. How many reporters are going to want to say they are biased, got something wrong, or find fault with their chosen career. The general public would be hard pressed to look into this same mirror with differing results. As for my feelings on FOX -- it is more of a personal feeling from watching the group of them. I helped a friend write a senior thesis on the "casino style news production" of FOX and got a fairly indepth look at their show. With regards to the media and the current state of our country though -- BAD/NEGATIVE news is much more often reported than GOOD/POSITIVE news. Take the death toll in Iraq: do we need day to day updates of the deaths of soldies or access to their funerals? Pick up a newspaper ( I haven't yet today ) or watch the first 5 minutes of almost any news program, the headlines are of "fault finding" or "wrong doing". In this vein, the sitting congress and president get a lot more negative press than positive press. Along similar lines, what sells specific news shows to viewers : "The united way reached its fundraising goals in 57 markets this quarter" or "truck bomb explodes in kirkut"? We are Americans, we rubberneck other people's misfortunes. The news is always going to be negatively biased -- in this case, in favor of liberals because they hold no power and little decision making ability -- thus little blame. - - "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."