tkhayes

www.skydiveratings.com

Night loads tonight - (Friday), Hight Altitude load stomorrow (Saturday) morning briefing at 8am SHARP for the high altitude, if you want to pre-manifest, call us, thanks 800-888-JUMP see ya TK (Helicopter is here today as well)

Go Bill Go Bill Go Bill!

I always summed it up pretty simply - We (the human race) believe the universe is pretty infinite. At least as close to infinity that we can grasp. That means pretty much infinite possibilities, and infinite random combinations of atoms, molecules and one of those combinations started life on Earth. I believe there are thousands of other lifeforms out there, they are simply way too far away or way too complex for us to even realize that they are there. we are such a small blip on the timeline that it does not surprise me one bit that we have not, and quite possibly will not ever discover any other forms of life out there. I think religion was invented to explain the unexplainable - it started with thunder. We are smarter than that nowadays. Our science cannot and will not ever explain everything - but no way did some 'God' create it all. TK

I expect I can find scientists that believe the world is flat too. And there are doctors that do not believe that smoking is dangerous, and for that matter, masons that think that one bag of Quikrete is enough to hold a post in the ground. but the majority of scientists BY FAR and the science community AS A WHOLE, do not support intelligent design and do support the very probable likelihood, based on scientific FACTS, that the world was NOT created in an instant (or 7 days), but has been here for billions of years, and life evolved over that time. and far too many people seem to reduce the scientific side of the arguement to pure darminism versus ID, which is bull. Darwin had a theory, yes. Today we have hundreds of thousands of FACTS that support those 'theories'. Rocks are old - we know that (older than 5000 years) Dinosaurs existed, we know that. It appears from lots of study of lifeforms, that many Similarities exist from species to species that represent mutations from one to the other. we see mutations in bacteria every day. Did some higher life form intervene here to create this for us? You must be kidding. That would also mean they are still here creating those new mutations every day. But that is not possible since most Christian religions teach us that God created the Earth and Man, and then left us to do with it as we see fit (Total dominion over all the world) Look at a seedless orange or the Bird Flu and tell me that evolution does not exist as a FACT. To offer 'intelligent design' or any other form of creationism-based thought is complete rubbish, turning an ignorant and blind eye to the reality that exists in front of us. TK

For all we know the process to change it may have taken too long - or for whatever reason, may have already been underway when the 'new school board' was put in place. I do not think the reasons it was in court were invalid at all, even though I doubt I know why it went to court instead of just being reversewd by the school board. The judicial system, as fucked up as all the lawsuits are, is SPECIFICALLY there to rule on cases such as this, since apparently (in this case) if you leave it up to intelligent, elected and appointed officials to decide, they can and do lead the world the wrong way. TK

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/12/20/intelligentdesign-051220.html I have renewed faith in the judicial system..... TK

since you missed it the first time... 1. invading a country (Iraq) with no just cause 2. causing the deaths of civilians and Americans via (1) above (genocide) 3. wiretapping illegally. tk

so sorry to hear that you believe the "King" is untouchable. if you want accountability in government, then you need to also entertain the possibility that that can be prosecuted for wrong-doings. BTW, the planet I am from appears to be one that thinks it is wrong to kill people without just cause. Ours and theirs..... TK

it is simply poor fitting of the harness, but unfortunately, none of us are perfect at fitting everyone. TK

So just when is it OK to bring the President up on federal charges? After he makes up WMD stories and invades a country? After his army kills tens of thousands of people? After he breaks the rules about torture? Or now after he invades the privacy of others with domestic spying. I bet this one has more attention fromt eh American public than ALL the others combined.... He is a crook, and if this was the leader of any other country, we would be asking the UN to prosecute him on charges of Genocide (and many other things) TK

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/12/14/bush_iraq051214.html so can we please go back in time to all those threads that claimed that we were actually RIGHT to go into Iraq? and maybe re-do them all again, with the correct information...... And now after being wrong, we still feel justified to stay there and 'finish' the job. I expect this will do more to promote terrorism against the USA that we ever hoped to get rid of by invading. Of course, I doubt Bush and/or the military actually see anythign wrong with that. Nothing like driving the war machine, the military, oil, all good stuff for him and the cronies. To hell with education, health care, the economy, the deficit......who needs it anyway...... TK

The Essential Skills class is full on Saturday but we still have openings for the Advanced Canopy Skills class on Sunday call us 800-888-JUMP or 813-783-9399 to book, thanks TK Hayes Skydive City/Z-Hills

Winter season is on us (and we know that all you folks are freezing up there), so plan on spending some time around Christmas and New Year’s here at Skydive City. We are almost finished our new building, which will be a hang-out for this winter, some classroom space, a big-screen TV system, game room and internet café. As soon as we get the deck built, we should be inside. On the calendar are several events for the Holidays: - 10-11 weekend, Scott Miller is running his canopy school - Boogie jump prices in effect for the duration of the event, $1 OFF REGULAR JUMP PRICE ($21 for Boogie Tickets December 17 to January 1) - Dec. 16-18- Pink Mafia Boogie and a Swoop comp so lots of skydiving then, Jamie Knoop will help to organize the Swoop Meet, Michelle Kleug and Carrie in charge of the Pink Mafia. - Canadian weekends – Canadians jumpers can jump using $20 Canadian Bills as jump tickets. Both the December 17-18 and the 24-24 weekends, more details on our website! - Christmas Day is Sunday this year, (fly in on Friday and stay through New Year's) -26-27 - Guy Wright's East Coast Challenge, blskyguy@aol.com FMI • Boxman's Invitational Bigways!FMI contact boxorg@aol.com o 28th - 20 Ways o 29th - 30 Ways o 30th - 60 Ways from 17000' o 31st - Pirate Day fun skydives and walking the plank. - 29-30 BirdMan Instructor Course to held by chuck@skymonkeyone.com - 31 (Saturday) - New Year's Eve could not fall on a better day. Party all Saturday Night and into the wee hours of Sunday - fireworks as usual, but this year with a musical show too! Dec 26 - Jan 25 - The Finnish Invasion with Markku and the gang......in 2004/05 they did more than 3200 jumps while at Skydive City. See you at the Hills, and thanks for being our customer. TK

great week folks and thanks to everyone for coming out. We had a lot of not-so-great weather days which slowed things down, but managed 85 loads, Friday and Saturday, high altitudes, night jumps, 10 Way, 8 Way, and 16 Way competitions finished with lots of teams. THanks to everyone that helped out at the DZ, especially the pilots and manifestors, In all some 3600 jumps done, drunken dodge ball last night, great music, seminars and more. whew now I can relax for a few weeks and then..... CHRISTMAS BOOGIE!! thanks everyone TK

I probably came off a little more pointed than I needed to be, but I think we fundamentally disagree on training philosophies, and I have not read all the posts - so I even may be misquoting you specifically. I saw the post about the "yelling at the student, 600-500-400 whatever" - that set me off. So I may be able to clarify. I am more of the side that "it's just a skydive" not the Marines, not NASA, and while it may be life threatening at times, the majority of the time it is not, and i simply disagree with horror stories, yelling at students and the like during training. You can die doign almost anything these days - so training is important, but it is not the be-all-and-end-all for us to train anyhing that way. crossing the street is hazardous sometimes too, but we do not 'train for it' like that. I just finished my private pilot - I think I did pretty well. My instructor never yelled at me once or went into a tyrade on some supposed emergency, depsite the fact the many pilots fuck up royally every year and die, and horrible things happen to them. I already know that, and with a simple flowchart, they can show me what causes people to die while flying airplanes - I needed no such 'recreation' to succeed in my training. You went on to talk about the 'testonterone' student and not taking their trainign seriously. I would not get 'tough' on them. I would get 'thorough' on them. They still need to demonstrate things to me and show they understand - that is all - we may be saying the same things in different ways. Even an ego customer still paid good money for a thrill. Some will get it, some will not - your job is to take them up and make sure they are safe - not 'tough' on them as some sort of punishment because they have an ego - and yes, i have had those students before too, and grounded two of them in my lifetime simply because they dod not meet the minimum standards that I accept as safe. May not a live fire exercise, but again, I think there is only so much we can simulate on the ground. I have seen engines with spinning props on the ground mounted to simulate prop blast, hanging harnesses that came from the Spanish Inquisition, people being violently thrown around in training harnesses while trying to pull handles - and I think all that is baloney and unnecessary. It cannot be 'simulated' so why bother. Teach the procedures.... ie. Look, locate, grab, pull. Then they do not have to deal with the effects of the malfunctions iteself - they simply deal witht eh proper procedures to deal with when it happens. Yes I can, water training is a good example - a COMPLETE waste of time. trainign should have minimum standards and an objective. the objective needs to be 'definable', 'obtainable', and 'measurable' - or it is not really an objective. We teach water in training in case some lands in water and they may drown. SO we throw them in a pool (not a real situation), with some old gear (even less of a real situation) and we get them to get out of the gear. No one has ever failed water training I expect. Therefore it is useless. We should, by the same logic, teach live power line training by hanging people in wires, tree training by hanging people in trees and expect them to perform. It is the silliest thing I have ever heard of. How does one fail water training? By drowning? So again, back to horror stories and 'drills' during first jump training. If you would not place some pass/fail criteria on what you are tecaching them or expecting them to do on the ground in that situation, (whatever it is), then the exercise has very little merit. For most emergencies, what I want and expect from them, is that they LOOK at the handles, REACH for the handles, PULL the handles in the correct order, that is the procedure. It serves no purpose to do that with me yelling at them or throwing them around in a hanging harness while they are doing it. People are like dogs - they respond to good fdbk, not bad fdbk. 'Good Dog', earns far more rewards than 'bad dog' And yes, we have all had students that appreciate that 'tough guy' training, because that is what they like, but probably more accurately, that is all they have ever been exposed to. The military is a perfect example, as well as Special Forces, technical scuba diving, aerobatic pilot training, whatever. But I still fired my instructor for being a drill sergeant, because I do not believe that is the best training philosophy. It works for some people, but I hate to say it, the 'kinder', gentler' approach works for MOST and MORE people. Hope I clarified my position. Take some advanced coach training in ANY sport - the drills are NOT how they work, expect for the exceptions, like the military and similar careers. It is afterall, just a skydive. People pay good money for it, they deserve to be treated well, they shoud walk away with a smile on their face, and they should stay smiling through the training as well, not be scared into submission. TK

Looks like we have a helicopter on Friday - just confirmed..... woohoo! TK

you guys are kidding right? I thought they were CUSTOMERS, paying a LOT of money to get the thrill of their lives - not someone to be abused by cruel and inhumane skydivers testing their egos..... sure we need to cover emergencies - what you are suggesting would be akin to pulling someone's air on a scuba dive just to see how they would react. Not everyone reacts the way you want them to - but that does not mean they do something wrong. would you 'fail' someone on the outcome of your demonstration? If not, then it is probably not worth doing. Just how many scenarios do we need to simulate to make the training effective? We can sit there all day a dream up 'what-ifs'. training should focus on what students really do (statistically), not what you think they 'might do' if you are leaving your students in tears, then I would suggest you are doing a very poor job of instructing. This is not NASA, the Boston Marathon, nor the Marines. We serve customers who spend money - lots of money to go skydive. How about a white pair of shorts, a polo shirt, video training aids, a white classroom, clean restrooms, professional speakers and presentations, a clean demonstration of what they need to do and some rehersals of typical malfunctions, etc. I would hate to be in your class. TK

We have had a few days of wind now – expect that will subside by Wednesday. Thursday morning is the 10 Way Speed event – always a hit and always a lot of fun. Hope to see you there, as we will have organizers for pick-up teams and we already drew the 4 dives. Janine will be serving Thanksgiving dinner of course – as she has been serving dinners all week long. Anyway 3 Twin Otters online, 10 Way, 8 Way and 16 Way events all weekend long, High Altitude loads, and we are still doing Night Jumps Saturday Night along with a live band. We are going to try and do the postponed night jump from last Saturday tomorrow (Wednesday night), so if you are interested, please let us know See you at Z-Hills! TK

rubbish - there are 'recommendations' and then there are recommendations. it depends on who you ask. you can drive a car, fly a plane, go scuba diving, whatever after donating - who says you cannot skydive? I have 260 donations under my belt, never had an issue sure if you are already anemic, then maybe you should not donate in the first place. ALmost all the donors here wait until the end of the day to give - that is a good idea and as far as you need to take it TK

some new updates - we will have a DJ instead of band this Saturday night as the band backed out, but no sweat - still a great party. Potatoe-Head has been paiting all week long, the DZ looks great - $21 jumps for 13500' all through the Boogie, details and dive pools on the 8, 10, and 16 Way comps available this weekend see you there TK

The Thanksgiving Boogie and Turkey Meet is only a few days away and we hope to see you here for some fun and great skydiving. The weather should be excellent for the fall; the vibes will always be, of course, great. There is a full week of stuff going on, 3 Super otters online, seminars, dinners every night, Sunshine Factory events and specials – competitions, all the usual things. I am sending out this schedule as it stands today, this will have changes as more things are added, but you get the idea. The best news is that we decided to help out our customers by dropping our prices for the Boogie to $21 for tickets from our recent increase. We just want to sya thanks and let you know that we do appreciate you and we are trying everything we can to keep the costs down. See you during the Boogie and thanks again Thanksgiving Boogie Schedule: Load Organizing all week long by: Oren Kalb, Alicia Wolfe, Roy Harper Jr., Nigel Turner, Scotty Carbone, Jaime Knoop, John Klueg, Martin Skrzypczak, Michele Klueg, Pip Redvers, Scott Bland, Rob Jones and Mike Wolfe November 18 (Friday) -Roy Harper Jr. Organizing -Dinner at the Hard Dock Cafe November 19 (Saturday) -Canopy School with Sally and Martin -Sunset Formation Skydives -Night Jump Saturday Night, 6:30 brief, 7pm takeoff. Ticket + $5, B License minimum. -Saturday Night Dinner at the Hard Dock Café -Live Band Saturday Night -Martin’s Freefly Seminar, evening -TK’s Accuracy Seminar, “Land where you want” every time November 20-23 (Sun.-Wed.) Sunday—Mike Wolfe, Roy Jr., Nigel and Rob Jones Organizing -High Altitude Load 8:30 briefing, 9am takeoff. 2 jump tickets + B License required. Monday—Roy Jr. Organizing Tuesday—Scotty Carbone Organizing -Ryan Scarlett hosts an evening gear seminar—learn how to take care of your equipment. Wednesday—Nigel Turner Organizing. November 24 (Thursday) -10 Way Speed Competition, 8:30am meet up for teams, 9 am start. 4 rounds, behind the line, anything else goes. 4 tickets plus $25 to enter. Organizers will be available to put teams together. -Guy Wright also available to Organize -Thanksgiving Dinner in the evening November 25 (Friday) -8 Way Competition—4 rounds of 8 Way, $25 plus 4 tickets and organizers will be available for pick-up teams. November 26 (Saturday) -16 Way Competition—4 rounds of “Most Excellent” competition. $20 and 4 tickets gets you in. Pick Up Teams available -BloodNet USA is onsite all day for blood donations. Donate and you get a free jump ticket -TK’s Safety Seminar in the evening, RSL’s, AAD’s and staying alive -John Price Band Saturday Night. -Martin is hosting another Freefly Seminar November 27 (Sunday) -High Altitude Load 8:30 briefing, 9am takeoff. 2 jump ticket + B License required. TK Hayes

i have had 16 or so, for a variety of reasons - a few from packing errors, some thast I made, some that others made - some from shit-ass bad luck and some from sheer abuse of the system TK

Skydive City/Z-Hills has 3 different networks right now, all wireless

so many that i lost count..... TK