2011 Beer & Pancakes

[Russ H]

i come from holland, but its not my nick or anything like that.

my name is Henk Zuidema.

never the less, i will try to get there.

Greetings,

Henk.

Ah, apologies-- with such a unique name, I had thought you were "HenkHolland", a long time poster on these forums.

-Russ H.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Russ H]

I wouldn't make it. Although I have winnowed down the collection -at one time, I had in excess of 200 pairs...

Ah, that's nothing. Get a really big wagon. If each pair weighs one pound, that's only 200 pounds-- easy peasy.

-Russ H.

PS My four year old daughter has close to 30 pairs of shoes. You need to pick up the pace a bit. :smx4:

 

[Icy]

PS My four year old daughter has close to 30 pairs of shoes. You need to pick up the pace a bit. :smx4:

......I'm 20, and I honestly think I've had about that many pairs in my life.... lol

You're going to have a fun time when she's a teen.

 

[Red]

PS My four year old daughter has close to 30 pairs of shoes. You need to pick up the pace a bit.

If I ever get married, I'm going to make sure my future husband sees this quote....

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Russ H]

Yeah, wanna know what her first word was?

Ball.

Her second word?

Shoe.

No lie. She'd point to people's feet and say "SHOE! SHOE!"

We'd say, no honey, "feet!"

But she'd stick to her guns: "SHOE!"

She knew how to say this before she said mama or dada.

And to this day, if I want an easy 2 hours babysitting, I just take her to a shoe store, where she tries on all the high heels.

Yes, I know I'm gonna be in trouble.

I figure we'll have one simple rule: If she earns the money, she can buy as many shoes as she wants.

How's that for entrepreneurial incentive? :smxB:

-Russ H.

 

[minamo]

Not yet a long term poster here Russ,

But feel free to consider me as one cause im not going anywhere ^_~.


Awesome motivation for your daughter, lol.


Henk.

 

[SaraK]

I figure we'll have one simple rule: If she earns the money, she can buy as many shoes as she wants.

How's that for entrepreneurial incentive? :smxB:

-Russ H.

Don't forget though... she'll need a place to store all those shoes! Hope your house is big enough! Or maybe she can get into the storage unit business, LOL!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[bflbob]

Definitely there was a guy from South Africa at the first one... can't remember his name now.

I finally heard from Leon this morning...

Hi Bob,

Awesome to hear from you. I have been a member of Fastlane Forum for a while (alias Sparky). I'll see if I can dig up some of the 2006 RD get together pictures.

I'll post on that thread a bit later when I'm not at work.

Looking forward to catching up.

Leon

 

[Davidla]

Just bought the ticket and made reservations.

I reserved a room at Days Inn for 45$/night through priceline bids, + 28$ taxes and fees = 163$ for the stay.
I got the feeling that bidding a little lower might work aswell if anyone else is going for that place.

I also spoke with Firesky and they told me they have like 3 rooms left at the Fastlane rate...so If anyone is interested they should hurry up!

I"l be making my may from northern Colorado by car - so If anyone wants to share a ride they are welcome!

 

[bflbob]

I"l be making my may from northern Colorado by car - so If anyone wants to share a ride they are welcome!

Drop a PM to Bilgefisher. He might be up to it!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Russ H]

Drop a PM to Bilgefisher. He might be up to it!

Just make sure he doesn't eat any chili w/beans before the road trip! Hee hee!

-Russ H.

 

[bflbob]

Just make sure he doesn't eat any chili w/beans before the road trip! Hee hee!

-Russ H.

Police Officer: Have you been drinking, sir?

David: Of course not! Why would you ask?

PO: You are driving down the interstate in a blinding snowstorm with the top down on your convertible.

Bilge: Pffffffffffffffttt!

PO: Dear, God! You're free to go! And open those windows, too!

 

[biophase]

Just bought the ticket and made reservations.

I reserved a room at Days Inn for 45$/night through priceline bids, + 28$ taxes and fees = 163$ for the stay.
I got the feeling that bidding a little lower might work aswell if anyone else is going for that place.

I also spoke with Firesky and they told me they have like 3 rooms left at the Fastlane rate...so If anyone is interested they should hurry up!

I"l be making my may from northern Colorado by car - so If anyone wants to share a ride they are welcome!

I got your payment!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Davidla]

Police Officer: Have you been drinking, sir?

David: Of course not! Why would you ask?

PO: You are driving down the interstate in a blinding snowstorm with the top down on your convertible.

Bilge: Pffffffffffffffttt!

PO: Dear, God! You're free to go! And open those windows, too!

Thanks for the heads up guys..

If this is the case, I think I'm gonna book a flight..(I'm not sure my health insurace covers voluntary dangerous gaz inhalation)

*Note to self* - make sure Bilge is not on the same flight. it's gonna be a whole lot harder to open the windows on the plane :smx4:

 

[Russ H]

Y'know, I was trying to find a newspaper story about "airplane windows blow out" (to continue this gag), when I came across this story instead.

It's real. And quite amazing.

And it has nothing to do w/B&P or the Bilgemeister, except carry through the theme of doing what you believe in:

The plane was packed when, at 17,000 feet, the windscreen blew and the captain was sucked out. Nigel Ogden, who saved him by hanging on to his legs, tells his story for the first time to Julia Llewellyn Smith.

It was like something from a disaster movie and I still find it hard to believe I was at the centre of it all. An aeroplane full of passengers, out of control at 17,000 feet, with the captain stuck outside the aircraft.

I think about what happened every day. It was Sunday June 10, 1990. It was a beautiful morning and I was up early because I was working on the British Airways 7.30am flight from Birmingham to Malaga in Spain. I was 36, had been an air steward with British Airways for 12 years, and loved my job with a passion.

I expected that day to be especially enjoyable. It was a holiday flight, so the 81 passengers would be relaxed, and the crew - Captain Tim Lancaster, stewards Simon Rogers and John Heward, and stewardess Sue Prince - had worked together, on and off, for years. The only member of the crew new to us was the co-pilot, Alistair Atcheson. The aircraft was a 43-tonne BAC 1-11, which was known as the jeep of the skies, because it was a workhorse - reliable and easy to maintain.
The flight was delayed for an hour, so I wandered up and down the plane, making sure everyone knew what was going on. Tim made an announcement - "You'll be pleased to know the weather is sunny and dry in Malaga and we should be on our way shortly."

It was 13 minutes after take-off and we had just reached 17,300 feet, 5000 feet beneath our assigned altitude. I went onto the flight deck and asked if they'd like tea. I was just stepping out, with my hand on the door handle, when there was an enormous explosion and the door was blown out of my hands. I thought, "My God. It's a bomb." Explosive decompression made the whole cabin mist up like fog for a second - then the plane started to plummet.

I whipped round and saw the front windscreen had disappeared and Tim, the pilot, was going out through it. He had been sucked out of his seatbelt and all I could see were his legs. I jumped over the control column and grabbed him round his waist to avoid him going out completely. His shirt had been pulled off his back and his body was bent upwards, doubled over round the top of the aircraft. His legs were jammed forward, disconnecting the autopilot, and the flight door was resting on the controls, sending the plane hurtling down at nearly 650kmh through some of the most congested skies in the world.

Everything was being sucked out of the aircraft: even an oxygen bottle that had been bolted down went flying and nearly knocked my head off. I was holding on for grim death but I could feel myself being sucked out, too. John rushed in behind me and saw me disappearing, so he grabbed my trouser belt to stop me slipping further, then wrapped the captain's shoulder strap around me. Luckily, Alistair, the co-pilot, was still wearing his safety harness from take-off, otherwise he would have gone, too.
The aircraft was losing height so quickly the pressure soon equalised and the wind started rushing in - at 630kmh and -17C. Paper was blowing round all over the place and it was impossible for Alistair to hear air-traffic control. We were spiralling down at 80 feet per second with no autopilot and no radio.

I was still holding on to Tim but the pressure made him weigh the equivalent of 500 pounds [about 200 kilograms]. It was a good thing I'd had so much training at rugby tackles, but my arms were getting colder and colder and I could feel them being pulled out of their sockets.
Simon came rushing through and, with John unwrapped Tim's legs and the remains of the doors from the controls, and Alistair got the autopilot back on. But he continued to increase speed, to lessen the risk of a mid-air collision and to get us down to an altitude where there was more oxygen. He dived to 11,000 feet in 2 minutes, then got the speed down to 300kmh.

I was still holding Tim, but my arms were getting weaker, and then he slipped. I thought I was going to lose him, but he ended up bent in a U-shape around the windows. His face was banging against the window with blood coming out of his nose and the side of his head, his arms were flailing and seemed about 6 feet [1.8 metres] long. Most terrifyingly, his eyes were wide open. I'll never forget that sight as long as I live.
I couldn't hold on any more, so Simon strapped himself into the third pilot's seat and hooked Tim's feet over the back of the captain's seat and held on to his ankles. One of the others said: "We're going to have to let him go." I said: "I'll never do that." I knew I wouldn't be able to face his family, handing them a matchbox and saying: "This is what is left of your husband." If we'd let go of his body, it might have got jammed in a wing or the engines.

I left Simon hanging on to Tim and staggered back into the main cabin. For a moment, I just sat totally exhausted in a jump seat, my head in my hands, then Sue came up to me, very shaken. In front of all the passengers, I put my arms around her and whispered in her ear: "I think the Captain's dead." But then I said: "Come on, love, we've got a job to do."

By now, Alistair was talking to air traffic control, who were talking him through landing at Southampton Airport. All pilot training is done on the basis of two pilots, one to fly and one doing the emergency drill, but Alistair was alone, with a crew he didn't know and relying on memory, because all the manuals and charts had blown away. He asked for a runway of 2500 metres because he was worried that the plane was so heavy with fuel, a tyre would burst or it would go off the runway, but all they could offer was 1800 metres.

Over the intercom he told the passengers we'd lost the windscreen. Some of them could see Tim out of the window but the cabin was silent as the grave. We walked up and down, preparing the passengers for an emergency landing. People gasped as they saw the blood on my face. The plane was very shuddery, very rocky. I remember one man at the very back, with a little baby on his knee, saying to me: "We're going to die," and I said, "No, we are not," lying through my teeth.

All I could see out of the windows was a line of trees, and I thought we'd either smash into those or into the housing estate beyond. I had a partner, Jean, and a stepson, Jamie, but I was thinking most about my Mum. She'd lost my brother in a car crash the year before, and I couldn't bear to think how she'd take the news. But, in spite of everything, Alistair did the most amazing landing, what we call a greaser - completely smooth and stopping the aircraft only three-quarters of the way down the runway.

There wasn't even any need to use the emergency chutes. We got all the passengers down the steps in an orderly fashion, although I did have to shout at a couple of people who were trying to get their handbags from the lockers. The whole time from the explosion to the landing had been 18 minutes, but it seemed like hours.

I got back on board to check everyone had left. The paramedics had Tim in the cockpit on a stretcher and I went in to see him.

He was lying there, covered in blood, but to my amazement I heard him say: "I want to eat." I just exclaimed: "Typical bloody pilot." Luckily, he'd been in a coma throughout the ordeal, his body had just shut down. I went out onto the front steps, and shouted at the others "He's alive!" and then I cried my eyes out.

-Russ H.

 

[jaykla]

Just finished reading the last 10 pages of this post and signed up! I'm looking forward to meeting you all.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ZDS]

I actually may be able to make it this year, depending on what happens to my schedule! I should know in the next month, hopefully there are still some spots available!

 

[biophase]

Just finished reading the last 10 pages of this post and signed up! I'm looking forward to meeting you all.

Thanks for signing up. We have 16 signed up now.

 

[Bilgefisher]

Might just have to make up some chili for good times.

My wife and I have been evaluating the budget. It cost us around $2k last year for B&P. While I love the event, we have a major renovation on our new house going on. We have chosen to spend our loose dimes there. We have borrowed on a couple major items like windows and want to pay them off before the 6 month interest accrues. That means hunkering down. Plus with a little one on the way, we need to save all the time off we can.

If folks want, I can prepare a video presentation. Real estate of course. Just lemme know. I can also talk to Jen about presenting on potential effects of the new health care bill on your business. She is a benefits manager for one of the largest HR firms in the US and Canada.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[bflbob]

Plus with a little one on the way, we need to save all the time off we can.

Whoa! A little one on the way? I hadn't heard this yet! Congrats!

Even if you are talking about a bungalow, instead of a baby...congrats!

 

[Russ H]

Yeah, Bilge, had no idea you were preggers-- congrats!

Wow, a mini bilge . . . the mind boggles . . .

-Russ H.

 

[LightHouse]

Going to be there this year

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Bilgefisher]

I appreciate it. Yep a little Bilge or Bilgette will be roaming around in June.

 

[Russ H]

I appreciate it. Yep a little Bilge or Bilgette will be roaming around in June.

Doood!

You have our heartiest congratulations.

Best to both of you from all of us! :banana: :banana: :banana:

-Russ H.

 

[Runum]

Scheduled air fights today. Used some FF points and the flights for the both of us are $10.00 total round trip. Cool thing is that it was Jill's B&P presentation 2 years ago that got me thinking about ways to make trips free or low buck.

Thanks Jill.:cheers:

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Sparky]

a guy from South Africa at the first one

Leon was here/there :wave:

I remember that one. RK was still a good guy, Steve showed us how to invest in apartments, Kimberland didn't want her picture taken, me and Jon still have to get in a round of golf, Erin organised a lot of the activity but we didn't see much of her, Russ and Lee had us learn to play Cashflow like never before, Snowbank taught us to the professional at the table (poker), and loads more.

I still read this forum and follow the people (virtually) I met on that trip: ClientK and Live, Learn, Invest for example.

Leon/Sparky

 

[Russ H]

Leon was here/there :wave:

I remember that one. RK was still a good guy, Steve showed us how to invest in apartments, Kimberland didn't want her picture taken, me and Jon still have to get in a round of golf, Erin organised a lot of the activity but we didn't see much of her, Russ and Lee had us learn to play Cashflow like never before, Snowbank taught us to the professional at the table (poker), and loads more.

I still read this forum and follow the people (virtually) I met on that trip: ClientK and Live, Learn, Invest for example.

Leon/Sparky

Good times.

I still have my pic of Kimber. She told me she has a similar one on her driver's license.

-Russ H.

 

[Jonleehacker]

Leon was here/there :wave:

I remember that one. RK was still a good guy, Steve showed us how to invest in apartments, Kimberland didn't want her picture taken, me and Jon still have to get in a round of golf, Erin organised a lot of the activity but we didn't see much of her, Russ and Lee had us learn to play Cashflow like never before, Snowbank taught us to the professional at the table (poker), and loads more.

I still read this forum and follow the people (virtually) I met on that trip: ClientK and Live, Learn, Invest for example.

Leon/Sparky

Hey, Leon/Sparky...

Remember me? We never got out golfing, but I enjoyed meeting you at that event.

Are you coming again in 2011?

Jon

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[GlobalWealth]

What is the format for presentations at B&P? Who presents? Would I present?

 

[bflbob]

What is the format for presentations at B&P? Who presents? Would I present?

Everyone is encouraged to present. This isn't a sales pitch, but a sharing of information or a special technique.

Normally, around 15 minutes is allowed. Powerpoints are pretty common.