Beachbum

ditto for the one I ask in a reply to him As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

No, I don't think I'd be amazed, since I see them around me constantly and have been forced onto the shoulder, almost into the barrier, etc. by them more times than I've counted. Not as directly dangerous to me, but the one that ticked me off most so far was the idiot that couldn't keep his truck on the road in front of me (left lane of 4 in that stretch of road) and had almost his entire truck on the shoulder throwing stuff up before I could back off enough to avoid a nice big ding in my newly replaced windshield. The part that makes it even worse to me is that they all seem to think they are perfectly competent behind the wheel while doing so. At least most of the drunks know they are drunk and driving poorly!!! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

dang!!! ... cheer up Sunshine ... ;) ... I know I'M worthless, but to say that about ALL skydivers???? Remined me sumtime and I'll show you how to use yur spell chequer. what was that ... some sort of intelligence test for the OP??? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

You posted that you'd like to jump, so I'd say that before you get too far into asking others, go jump, and report back your answers to those questions for us ...

What??? You mean you climate change/GW isn't a purely political discussion?? Science and fact are to be involved??? I am shocked!!! Thanks for the link about Jackson. I had no clue her track record was so poor, and I certainly hope it improves now! As for the polar caps, I can't claim to have tracked down all of the data and calculated the totals, but I'm willing to bet that the overall loss far outweighs any gains made. Ice that has been in place for centuries is disappearing. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Nah ... a little bit of wax burn won't hurt long. The body gets used to being abraded in those spots pretty quickly, and it doesn't happen much after that. Also, the wax these days isn't nearly as hard on flesh as the stuff in use when I started out. I don't surf nearly as much as "back in the day", and I don't get it when I do get out there. It's kinda like going barefoot in the spring. You have to rebuild your callouses ... LOL! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

So it can be done by any doctor, and doesn't require a coroner? Is that all of the US, or by state? I ask, because a situation a couple of years ago made me check into it, and I was told it had to be a coroner (Texas). As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I got in on this thread too late it seems ... I would not have recommended a longboard (he IS a teenager!!). Yes, they're great for the VERY beginning of your learning curve, but after that, a youngster is going to want a short board for the ability to do more radical turns, etc. that you just can't do on a big cruiser. That will bring him to another aspect of the sport - selling/buying boards, which happens similarly to people wanting to change canopies. At this point in the year, I wouldn't worry about a wetsuit. If he is still into it late in the fall, then check into finding one suitable for Florida. And yes, Sex wax is still good stuff. Just in case any old surfers are reading, I was digging around in boxes recently and found a couple of old purple square cakes ... Surf Research wax!!! Oh, which brings one other thing to mind - forget that banana hammock - no place to put your wax!!! Get him some decent board shorts. Obviously (see avatar!), I'm a bit partial to tried and true Birdwells. They still make the "old" style that old farts like me still like, but also make stuff suitably fashionable for kids these days. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Doesn't matter what a paramedic said. Official COD has to be determined by a coroner, and the insurance company will have to abide by that ruling unless they want to supply experts to challenge the coroner's determination. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

We drove up there after Lost Prairie one year. Even if you don't go do a glacier jump, the view from the air at the dz itself is pretty spectacular. I'd vote "take the gear"! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I don't know about that ... if someone is barely surviving thanks to assistance from a relief org or such, and that assistance dries up, they go from being way underfed, to starving to death. To me, that is much worse than a rich person being perhaps a little less rich. Heaven forbid they have to make do with napkins that aren't monogrammed, or (gasp) even paper napkins ... for example!! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I think that part of being a politician these days is mastering that ability (however you want to term it ... sidestepping, spin, etc.) ... so it is really hard to tell when it is or is not!! My guess is that in this case, it is redirection. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

The way it's worded in that article ... a resounding NO ... but I'm also with BikerBabe relative to those surviving on bailout $$$ ... I don't have a problem with them setting limits on the use of "our" tax dollars to pay people who've already proved their ability to screw up. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

One year we were at Lost Prairie the grasshoppers were thick in the landing area. We were checking to try to get them all off before packing, but I obviously missed one. Opening on next jump, I'm checking my canopy and see this dude jump off ... no doubt the biggest leap he ever made ... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi soccer fan shot dead a player of the opposing team as he tried to score an equalizing goal in the final minutes of a match, police said on Monday. The shooting on Saturday in Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, during a match between local teams, underscored the country's propensity to lawlessness even as violence by militant groups falls to lows not seen since mid-2003. "As soon as Haider Kadhim (the player) was alone in front of the goalkeeper and close to equalizing, a fan in the crowd fired a pistol at him," a senior police officer in Hilla, who declined to be named, told Reuters. "We arrested this fan immediately but unfortunately the player died." Iraqis love soccer and have often expressed hope the game would help reconcile warring ethnic groups and sects. Iraq's surprise victory in the 2007 Asian Cup brought rare joy and unity to the shattered nation, with Shi'ites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds pouring into the streets to celebrate their team's 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the Jakarta final. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

That pretty much applies to almost all media these days, it seems. Good reason to take anything you read/see from them with a grain (or many) or salt!! Money and agendas are more important than accurate, balanced, factual reporting, right??? ... Edited to remove a misplaced "not"! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

"If you bothered to read the articles, it is explained." I did read the articles ... but just because someone gets it put into print doesn't mean it makes sense. I still don't see how any REAL correlation can be made between guns and suicide rates. Yes, guns make attempts more successful, but contributing to the number of attempts?? I don't buy it! Maybe I'm a bit callous, but the way I see it ... if someone wants to off themself, let 'em. And yes, I've had 2 people I knew do so with guns, and another tried different way out, but was saved by a friend before he could bleed out after turning himself into a permanent soprano. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I've only jumped at 8 different dz's so far, so don't have a lot to go on in that respect, but of those there is one I am not exactly fond of relative to your thread. As for the "rude awakening" ... nope ... have talked with enough different folks over the years I've been in the sport to expect it and be prepared to use my own common sense when visiting new dz's. Some I've been to were very thorough about giving me an orientation, and one gave almost nothing even after I asked ... ... I just talked to some of the locals about outs, etc. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I have to preface my thoughts with this ... I think unions were a very good and necessary idea when they started, and served a purpose .... UNTIL they got out of hand and became a hinderance. ASbout the bill - I don't see it as progress to remove a worker's ability to a private vote about unions. Giving unions more of an iron fist over workers at this point can't be a good thing! And JR ... I agree that unions have had a large impact on the US auto industry, but also at fault is their management's reluctance to abandon their gas guzzler lines in favor of smaller more efficient models. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I'm still trying to figure out what suicide rates have to do with gun ownership and/or gun control laws. Are y'all trying to say that owning a gun makes you more likely to commit suicide?? I can certainly see where a gun can make your attempt more likely to succeed should you elect to try it, but implying that it is more likely to occur is nuts!! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

well .... since december of '09 is still a few months from happening ... I wouldn't worry about it too much just yet ... maybe it won't really happen ... seriously tho ... heal well!! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

First, I guess I wasn't too clear there - sorry! I meant higher as in moving toward being the worst (tied for 5th worst right now), not as in his overall ranking by that group moving up, which would mean he improved in their view. That said, he could easily be seen as worse by a different group of people doing the rankings. Certainly the way he is preceived that many years down the road will be at least a little different from how we see him now. I'm sure the final outcome in Iraq can impact that some in either direction, as can Afghanistan. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I'm sure to his dismay, George is probably doomed to stay on that list ... but I'd sure like to see if he moves higher (ok, I suppose lower IS possible also) on it with hindsight ... say, 50 - 80 years from now. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

well ... what's the scoop? I'm game to drive up if the wind drops back down (last prediction I saw was for 10 - 15). Sure danged gusty out right now though! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I've had 3 pretty long layoffs due to lung collapses and subsequent surgery. I wasn't at the dz every weekend, but still went out fairly regularly, so was around the sport and people to discuss things with, as well as staying abreast of issues in forums on here (especially Safety & Training and Incidents), and read Parachutist articles and incident reports ... anything that helped keep EP's, rw techniques, etc. active in my mind and not relegated to a dusty corner of it. It can't keep you current, but at least helps, I think. You can still do dive flows, EPs and such in your head just as you normally would if you were jumping regularly. I'm not a big video person, but also have heard that watching/analyzing videos can help you actually improve skills more quickly once you return (you are able to see things you want to do/try). As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?