BikerBabe

Well, what does it really mean to be a Christian, then? Does it mean believing in God and accepting Jesus into your life and living under His grace? Or does it mean believeing all of that plus all of the other trappings of "faith" that human beings have deemed as necessary? Am I not a Christian if don't believe that the earth is 6000 years old? Am I not a Christian if I believe that the Bible is a moral guidebook, but NOT a history or science textbook? Am I not a Christian if I don't take every single word of the bible as literal and not allegorical? How about we look at it Biblically, then? What would Jesus say? Remember...the Bible as we know it did not exist in Jesus's time...only the Law, Prophets, and Writings. Jesus replied, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and Prophets rest on these two commandments." -- Matthew 22:37-40 I really can't find anywhere that Jesus commands us to learn history from the Bible, or science, either. Science is discovery of the thruths of the world around us...isn't that what the teachings of Jesus are? Discovering the truths of God? It's funny, but the debate over evolution/creation or literal/allegorical interpretation is just an extension of the debates of the early church...such as whether or not Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised, or what foods Gentile Christians could eat. See the discussions of clean vs. unclean in Matthew 15 or in Acts, with Peter's vision. In the end, I believe what is REALLY going to matter is if you loved the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, and if you loved your neighbor as yourself. If science was created by God...how can it be "unclean?" My ultimate authority is Jesus...the Bible is just a way to know Him. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Here's the story: http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Northeast/12/18/wtc.rebuilding/index.html I think I like the 4th one the best (the THINK proposal) Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...they would get a HUGE kick out of that! So true! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

First, one of skygod7777's questions: Evolution doesn't mean that once one genome or species is "used up" it just dies off. Read some of Steven Jay Gould for a good scientific, yet accessible view on human evolution. Basically, we branched like a tree from a common ancestor, something that was primitive ape and human, and evolved from there. Chimpanzees as they they exist now were not around when this happened, they, too, evolved from a common ancestor. In biblical terms, both apes and humans have the same "Eve", if you will. As for Paul...I think they are anything but mutually exclusive. I, too, believe in both... To answer many of your points, and many of the other points on this thread, as a Christian, I believe in God and Jesus. However, I also take the Bible as a guide on how to live my life...NOT a science or history textbook. The authors of the bible never INTENDED it to be taken as a science or history textbook. I believe that evolution is part of God's unfathomable plan for us. The creation story, IMHB, was given to placate a bunch of curious minds...people who were curious about something that they could never comprehend at their current stage of mental or technological development. It's like going back in time and asking an ancient Hebrew person to explain the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Or it's like trying to imagine the concepts of "infinity" or "nothing". Right there in Genesis it says that God gave us free will, and with that a rational, thinking mind. Why the heck would He give us such a powerful ability if He didn't want us to use it? He also didn't tell us all the answers when we asked, like any good teacher or parent. Consequently, I believe science is our way of discovering (and uncovering) more and more about the God who put us here. Quantum physics, molecular biology, cosmology, all of those ARE God. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

my team is all women, and we heard "Climax", "Estrogen", and "The Cunning Stunts" Uh...anyway...now that we have our name I threw away the page long list I had. Maybe if you have a bunch of time on your hands, you could graba thesaurus and start reading. That's what I did. No, seriously. My job was REAAAAALLLLLYY slow that day... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...a parody of the aforementioned protest: http://www.theofficersclub.com/rotkpo Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL, I was thinking the exact same thing! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Well, the DOM is Jan or Feb 1996, but after jumping a Samurai and this, it flies very similar. It was definitely one of his prototypes, and the data plate on it actually lists the model as "Chuck's Special". Whats REALLY cool is that all of the people at Air Time designs signed the plate, so Tony Urgallo, Brian, etc all have their signature on it. I'll ty to post a pic of it when I get home...it's all magenta (OK, OK, I know...) with a purple Chinese (or Japanese) symbol on the bottom skin (means "ascension"). I *heart* this canopy... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

OK, this post is really just to rave about my canopy, or praise how lucky I am, but I got a little scare this weekend... I'd been jumping all weekend, and all weekend, I'd been having nice, on-heading openings. I'm jumping a Jedei "Fat Top" 105 (one of Brian's prototypes, custom made for Chuck Karchers) which I already love. So we go up and do a nice 4-way training jump, I track away and pull, the same way I always do. As soon as I dump, I reach up for my rear risers, and the canopy starts spinning up immediately! I would say there were 5-6 twists in the lines. Here I was, reaching for my handles thinking "dammit dammit dammit!" (Cutaways at this stage of my skydiving life just make me mad) when I realize that the canopy is flying straight and level! So like any good student, I reached up for my risers, and started kicking. The twists came right out, and I landed fine, thinking, "if I didn't love this canopy before, now it's firmly entrenched in my heart." Because if I had been under my Stiletto, that would have been a cutaway for sure. Anyway, I talked to the packer to try to figure out why it had done this, and she told me she had used a different stow band on one of the line bites, which might have made the bag spin up. I'm willing to concede that there is a very small chance it was body position, but I really don't think it was, since I make a point of noticing my heading and staying on it when I pull. Either way, I love my canopy, and I wanted to share... Andi Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...y'all should have seen it Sunday morning at Eloy. Had a sandstorm blow through around 6:15 am with what had to have been 50 mph gusts. Looked like a tornado hit the DZ. All of the extra packing tents were destroyed (Chris and Ray's was all bent, and Packing Cathy's was just gone) and there was crap all over the DZ. I guess it wasn't too funny, because of the white balloon. You Eloy people know what I mean. Turns out it was on a tether descending from 20,000 ft when this windstorm hit...broke the tether, the balloon floated too high and popped. I heard it was worth around $250,000! My husband said, "guess y'all aren't jumping today". I answered, "nah, it'll blow itself out by dawn". And it did! We had great weather all day! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...that's not so weird. I didn't have any video (excluding ground-to-air) until I had about 300 jumps... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Oh, I will. It's a matter of a) scrounging up the money (my income is carefully budgeted to cover training and meets...) and b) finding a time when my rig can be out of commission for a time...I've been jumping my ass off lately! But like I said, I know how to pack it so the velcro doesn't come undone. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I would go with no velcro. I, myself, have an older Vector II, with velcro. But I got a killer deal on it, brand new, off the shelf back in '96, and it fits almost perfectly. The velcro, up to now, is the ONLY thing I would do different. That being said, the velcro riser covers consistently come undone in freefall, unless the risers are packed very tediously and carefully. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...that's pretty good. When I was waiting tables in a Mexican restaurant one time, this couple ordered fajitas, which came out on a sizzling hot cast-iron platter. I set it down, and the woman immediately dumped a half bottle of tabasco on it...saying "I love tabasco!" Have you ever worked with hot peppers then accidentally rubbed your eyes? Well, the entire room became a giant pepper bomb...people were leaving and we couldn't breathe or see. Seriously, I hadn't felt like that since my trip through the tear gas tent during basic training... So there's another neat way to evacuate a restaurant! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

1:23:2 I watched one world-record formation succeed, I got 23 jumps over my extended 4-day weekend. Also did our first ever 4-way training jump out of a Porter (because we had to) and we used our travel trailer for the first time! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Don't be scared...it's totally worth the pain! I just got a chance to look at the article...hilarious, I could totally relate! BTW, though I've never met you (though you might have seen me hanging around Eloy this weekend), congrats on the 300-way, Kate! Andi Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Do you know why that is? Because of the inherent bias the world has against lefties! That's right, power tools, cutting implements, and other things that might generally kill you if you screw up while using them, re all made "right-handed". Tell me...have you ever seen a left-handed power saw? Just try to use a power saw or a weed whacker with your left hand. That 9 years is mostly due to accidents... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...they had the announcer every day...it was Duffy from San Diego. What a hoot! I've decided it takes a rare talent to be able to spew constant BS without missing a beat in a velvet-toned voice. The whuffos were eating it up. Watching it from the ground...we knew. Seemed like all the participants knew when they landed, too. Everyone was yelling and screaming, and they all were talking about the static electricity (literally) they felt. The formation flyby was cool, too. I'll tell you, the vibe around the DZ was absolutely incredible. The party later was fun, too! The grade school class was there for a field trip...they go on one every Thursday, and they kept asking fun jumpers for autographs! I got to sign a few, something I haven't done since my demo days. (note: did anyone here get to go on weekly field trips as a kid? Did you ever go to the DROP ZONE??? What lucky kids!) All in all...an incredible experience, even for those who didn't get to participate. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I just got back this morning from Eloy...I got to see the whole thing from the ground! It was so amazing...and we KNEW they had it. Then when they opened you could hear everyone screaming and yelling under canopy... Then they landed and everyone was hugging and yelling...they KNEW, too! Then the planes all formed up for a formatin flyby...incredible. The vibe around Eloy was amazing...I'm so glad I went. It was especially neat to run into old friends that were doing the record who I hadn't seen in a while. WOW! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...it's not dinner time yet! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Could it possibly be this? Before you say it...no WAY it's mine! Seriously now, how would you expect me to swoop with something like this? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

1 word for you: SKIS! Sorry, I love my skis. Actually, I recently tried those short skis, and they are a blast! Plus, I still get to go to Taos...the best snow south of the Colorado border! I love Taos. always good snow and killer terrain. Just another argument for skis... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I was 18, my first jump was a 10 second freefall, alone. I did AFF after 5 of those. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

In the words of the great Otto Lilienthal (look it up): "Sacrifices must be made." Stuff yourself in there! Seems there are several beds available once you get there...so just get there! Heck, you could always stow away in the landing-gear well of a plane like that Cuban refugee...he survived, so can you! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

What size is it? hypothetically, how much would one pay for a Sabre 120 with 75 jumps on it? DOM 1996. Just wondering. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!