boudy

Great to hear you are doing well there, kiddo. Congrats on moving to the smoke-free side of life. Always pleased to learn a bright & chipper friend has done something good & so obviously intelligent for themselves. There are few things(if anything) more rewarding judged on an effort/benefit analysis that you can do for yourself. Because I was a defensive, misinformed, "hooked" smoker for so long & now know the "addiction" is entirely a matter of subconscious perception, I don't bother bugging my smoker friends - unless they confide that they really want to quit . I can tell you that as fun & comfortable as it was at the DZ with you running manifest, I'm sure people appreciate your company even more now that you are a nonsmoker. Not that I suspect a lot of folks objected to your smoking, but I've noticed gregerious types such as yourself tend to emit a positive magnetic vibe (even a glow) when they get onto something good. The vibe is contagious & makes them even more fun to hang with. I'm sure you're glowin & looking & feeling great. Good for you. BTW, Buddy says hi to you & your dog. He's glowing too but I think he swallowed a christmas light.

"I have some jumper friends who swear by this hypnotist in Illinois. They said they went a couple times and that was it, they never craved a cigarrette again... " I believe it I went to group session (different counselor -Evett Kaye) with about 30 other people (strangers) - 18 years ago. I had smoked for over 17 years (3+ packs/day for 10 of those) and in 17 years had gone only two days w/o smoking due to bronchitis. I thought I lacked the will power to quit. I walked out of that session an informed, enlightened, confirmed NONSMOKER & have never craved a smoke since. I always write too much to post in these threads so I'll be brief(er). If anyone wants greater depth or detail feel free to PM. IF you've made it more than a day smoke-free you are further along than I was before I learned how to relax & accept the suggestion that I could indeed control my behavior & save my health. I chose to live as a NONSMOKER from that point forward and for the first time in years, believed I could follow through on decisions concerning lifestyle & habit changes. Evett provided a good reinforcement audio tape. I knew of the power of self hypnosis/positive self- imaging from karate training - so I faithfully dove into the reinforcement. In less than 2 weeks I quit listening to the tape & gave it to a friend. I started immediately noticing the benefits of living smoke free & used my newly reviving lung capacity to begin a workout regimine. Today I'm in better shape than 90% of guys half my age. It's all good smoke free. You just need to unplug the false & destructive "smoking is cool - I'm a smoker" Mojo, and plug in the "living smoke free is cool, healthy, sexy, powerful, fun, liberating,etc (pick your favorite) - I'm a happy NONSMOKER" Mojo. Your subconsciuos urgings will immediately begin to work in concert with your conscious decisions & deliberate behavior. There needn't be a struggle whatsoever between what you desire & what you allow yourself here. The smokefree lifestyle comes naturally & painfree once you are willing to accept yourself as a NONSMOKER. You can start the process next time you look in the mirror - are you looking at a NONSMOKER or a smoker trying to quit? If you are indeed not smoking & accept the NONSMOKER identity- embrace it - believe it - you'll be amazed how easy & satisfying being the new you gets.

For what it's worth, at least a couple of guys cleaning up seemed pretty conscientious - they brought a pair of glasses left behind to our group at the bar. After conferring with TD, they were told it'd be best to leave them at the hotel desk/lost & found. Didn't hear about anything else being found. It got a bit tipsy out that night, hopefully one of the Chicagoland gang picked it up mistakenly.

"I didn't tell him that my entire family is in construction and I've seen a few saws in my day." I'm waiting to hear about the stereotypical guy who cleans your gutters thinking that a such a cutie must be unaccustomed to and terrified of heights.

Thanks for the link Andrea; been meaning to that for a long time. While the modest donation woefully under represents my appreciation for this wonderful place Sangiro has created for us, it's still rewarding to express one's thanks in a tangible (drinkable ) manner.(especially since I've limited myself for years to experiencing intoxicants vicariously through my buds) Have to do this more often as fortunes permit. Keep them reminders comin

ThâÑk ÿÖÜ for tip. Duh, never grasped the purpose behind the goofy characters popping up - just signalled delete to me.

The story I heard was that they used small cars for bait when catfishing near the intakes.. You all talking about the weather in the heat belt just wait until you hear about those in the frost belt states getting $600 natural gas bills this winter just to heat a double-wide. Might put a miserable bit of heat & humidity in a little different light.

The powerful elegance of a lesson in loving and life spoken straight from a very compassionate heart . I have been touched over time by the pluck, charm & spirit of Jess and her friends at DZ.com. I visit DZ.com often but seldom post so there isn't much to know me by. But as I send my affectionate, supportive embrace to those hurting from this heartbreaking tradegy, especially Jess, I can't help but believe that many other non-posters are doing the same and a multitude of hearts & prayers - perhaps well beyond what you imagined - are with you. Peace to you of such special spirit.

To borrow from the title of a recent book (I'm drawing a blank on the author's name - however most dogs will forgive plagarism if presented with treats, smile & butt scratch) - I just hope to someday become the person my dog thinks I am.

Perhaps that explains the resignation of Rumsfeld advisor, Richard Perle, one of the architects of our new pre-emptive war doctrine and a long time advocate of a US overthrow of the Iraq regime(also known as the "prince of darkness" in the Reagan administration for his staunch opposition to nuclear weapons agreements with soviets). Perle would make great USUN Secretary General. http://www.boston.com/dailynews/086/wash/Former_Pentagon_official_Richa%3A.shtml

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21268-2003Mar24.html From linked article: "Palau (pop 20,000; North Pacific) is one of six unarmed nations in the coalition, along with Costa Rica, Iceland, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and the Solomon Islands. Then there's Afghanistan." Apparently Moroccan primates are not only still favored but may become eligible for some Congressional or Presidential accomodations (unless PETA gets involved): "According to the wire service, Morocco's weekly al Usbu' al-Siyassi claimed that Morocco has offered 2,000 monkeys to help detonate land mines. An official at the Moroccan Embassy could not confirm the presence of monkeys in the coalition of the willing."

Just another dog lover here who has felt your pain and offers a thought. Our wonderful k-9 companions bask in our acceptance and our love. It is truley what they live for. While it seems agonizingly unfair that they stay with us such a brief time, may your grief be sweetened by the thought that your love and affection made Toby's life complete.

How bout some stale beefcake? May provide some amusement until the rest the young bucks post theirs. Shampoo on mirror - typical guy, didn't notice. A gal I used to work with wanted to see how my 15 month 6-pack project was going. Still got that 7-8 lbs to lose. Sent her this pic today. I'd shoot one with my clean mirror but I gotta run to the gym. The girls at DZ said I'd look pretty good with bag over head - guess flash will work.

Well Michele, for some time now our government and other governments have identified him as the top operations guy of al qaeda. I've heard it on Ari Fleisher's news briefing and read in it the news. The president was apparently elated with his capture. News reports last week stated that information from him has led to an intensified search for OBL. And so far as getting info concerning future attacks, he was supposedly THE guy to get. He gave an interview with the Arab news service, Al Jassera(sp) last year wherein he admited he planned Sept 11 - All the above information I received from the Government and the press. I don't have grounds to doubt it. IS there information out there indicating that this is not true?

Protecting intelligence sources has nothing to do with it. I'm talking specifically about getting infromation from the #3 guy in Al qaeda, the mastermind of Sept 11, the head operative planner of the whole frickin gang, who we captured over 1 week ago, not some snitch or CIA informant hanging out in Bagdad. The guy was the brain center of the terrorist organization. He would know what support Iraq provided al qaeda. He doesn't need protecting and neither do any of the terrorists or Iraqi officials he'd implicate. It's unthinkable that the administration would not, at the very least, state that Mohammed had implicated Saddam if he indeed had given them anything to that effect. An al qaeda link would unite the country for war even if they just told us he had confessed - details later. But they apparently didn't get anything out of him.

What possible reason would there be for not telling the World that we had proof - proof mind you, not speculation, not inference but proof by way of an admission from the top operative scumbag in Al Qaeda that Saddam supported them? Right now nothing is more important than homefront support for this war to the adminstration. I'm sure there are tons we are not and should not be "privy" too but proof of an Al Qaeda / Saddam link is no one's right to keep secret. No I'm sure we nothing - unfortunately.

Maybe I've missed it in the thread, but there seems to be one extremely good piece of evidence that Saddam is not linked to OBL and al qaeda. With 300,000 troops massed in the area, $100s of billions of dollars allocated, thousands of lives to be lost, essential alliances in jeopardy, the prestige & integrity of the president & the nation on the line and perhaps even the risk of WW III and the mastermind of Sept 11 in custody, you'd think we'd have beaten the details of any link out of that son of bitch S.K. Mohammed within hours after we captured him. What do we hear about him? That he's probably been giving up info about future attack plans & OBL's whereabouts. We'd all jump on the bandwagon if the Administration produced evidence that he ratted on Saddam. There simply would not be an excuse to avoid an immediate war if there was a firm Sept 11 or even an al qaeda link but they've produced nothing. Seems we'd have heard the BIG FISH singing by now. Not that he isn't found of terrorism. Saddam's public support for Palestian suicide bombers does make a terrorism/saddam connection undeniable. Not to mention all alleged terrorism he personally had a hand in.

For those who are operating under the assumption that opposition to the war originates and is propagated by bed wetting liberals, weak-kneed pacifists etc., the story in this link details a number of prominent conservatives who are against our rush to war. http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/02/1574023.php Here is a taste of it "Buchanan and columnists like Robert Novak, Charley Reese, Paul Craig Roberts and Georgie Anne Geyer regularly skewer Bush on Iraq. So do Right mainstays like Lew Rockwell Jr., Alan Reynolds, Joe Sobran and Justin Raimondo, whose opinions appear on Townhall.com, Worldnetdaily.com, The American Conservative, the Chronicles, Americans Against World Empire, and in publications by the Cato and von Mises institutes. "Saddam Hussein is no Hitler; George Bush is no Winston Churchill. And this war will definitely not be our finest hour," Reese wrote. "Bush," wrote Geyer, "has a religiously inspired grandiosity of character which leads him to believe he has been called to a religious duty in the Middle East to rid the world of Saddam Hussein!" Congress has right-wing doves too. In the House, three GOP conservatives and three centrists voted against giving Bush authorization to use military force against Iraq. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), known for his dislike of the income tax, the Federal Reserve and the United Nations, called the undeclared war unconstitutional, costly and 'morally unjustifiable.' " Personally, I believe that we eventually would need to remove Saddam under any likely scenerio. Although I firmly believe we must support the troops in the coming months of war, I have grave reservations about the inadequately articulated motives, grand vision and religious zeal of those pushing the nation into this exercise of power. It does seem as though Sept 11 has been used as an excuse to implement a 1996 plan backed by Wolfowitz, Perle and others to conquer Iraq and reshape the mid-east into democracies to their liking. The 1996 mid-east plan is described in the following: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,901117,00.html Robert Novak's article http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak061.html

Ditto here on all the Good Vibes and prayers stated above

I'm a right handed Gemini who'd give his left arm to be ambidextrous.

My first static line on a T-10 was 5/30/1980 - went out eyes closed & head down. My back healed enough in 3 weeks to do a second static line. Went perfectly - JM & pilot said I'd be skydiving in no time. Took a $5 demo ride the next week in a really small plane to try to shake the vertigo accompanying the view from 3000 feet - scared me absolutely silly - the thought of jumping from 10,000 ft seemed insane to me - go figure Did other stuff for a while Took a tandem ride when things with GF (who I thought I'd marry) started downhill - June 2001 1st AFF - late August 2001 (upon final break w GF) - was only going to do one AFF jump to get video of me pulling & landing my own chute Bought my first rig 11/2002. God's Speed, Romeo. If your romantic instincts have been lured away from the adrenaline rush of this extreme and risky experience by the charm of your lovely companion - let it be, imho. Why cloud the passion guiding your spirit now with doubts and second guessing about past or passing emotions? I've found Skydiving to be like a fascinating tantalizing mistress who treats disrespect harshly but patiently forgives one's other loves and will reward beyond words the passion you deliver her. She'll be there waiting if and when you need her, but you should not see her unless you are able to devote your undivided attention while with her. Until then, I 'd say don't worry - be

There were a couple of interesting points raised in your contribution. However, I believe the debate concerns handguns, not handfuls. That said, despite the firm tone of the moment, I agree it is important to pause, take a broad view and reflect upon some of life's most profound blessings.

Maybe someone can use this:

You mean like G.W.? If our President doesn't quit that pronunciation, we'll probably end up forced to recognize it as an "official" non-standard word. I guess we'll also have to recognize the "nuculus" of an atom. Maybe George Bush, was not properly ORIENTATED in physical science terminology. And don't you hate being DISORIENTATED? - as can happen (I hear) when falling through industrial haze. Orientated & Disorientated were too often used terms in my early construction days. I guess my butchering the English language providest a certain affinity with GW - irregardless of his politics.

I concur, I very soon decided that it was too much a waste of time to attempt culling a few valuable threads from the ubiquitous negative crap on the Wreck. Part of the lure of Skydiving for me has been: the warm, inclusive and friendly spirit which pervades the fun little DZ to which I belong; the instructive, supportive atmosphere and comradeship I've found exhibited here and elsewhere; the euphoric energy which electrifies the air whenever skydivers gather; and our shared love of adrenaline and the thrill of squeezing a lifetime's worth of exhilaration out of a few moments "real time." (The rest the attraction? - the incredibly hot {and very cool} women in skydiving ) IMO, Wreckdot reflects none of that fun, self actualizing, communal experience in the sport. And forget finding cohesive, instructive threads! Thankfully, there is DZ. Com - for whatever its flaws, it remains a wonderful resource for this low-timer.