Howdy! Figured I'd tell everyone who the guy with the funny name was...here goes!
My name is James, and I'm a 36 year old airline pilot and PN investigator, living in North Pole, Ak- with my wife, 3 kids, and dog. (we just lost our other dog, a sweetheart of a Rotty named Griz. B*(
I've been participating in PN investigations for over 20 years...wow, nearly 30 years. It all started with my crazy old Aunt, we used to spend the night in haunted houses in Texas- where I'm from- beginning when I was 8 or 9 years old. Guess I caught the bug, because I've kept my hand in all this time.
I'm an agnostic when it comes to ghosts- I know something is there, but I don't know what it is...memories, residual energy, or sentient spirits? Guess that's why we investigate!
I spent 8 years as a police officer in San antonio, which brought some new skills to my PN work...I realized how sloppy I had been, and- no offense- how sloppy most PN investigators are. It takes training- a great deal of training- to become a police detective, so it just stands to reason that it would take as much- or more- to perform a truly proper PN investigation. There are so many variables in an investigation- things we just don't think of unless we're taught them. So hopefully, my work since leaving the department has improved- it has certainly gotten more labor-intensive! Bear in mind, what I'm talking about is obtaining evidence so inarguable that the most dedicated skeptic would be forced to change his views- not an easy task!
I don't want to insult anyone with this- on the contrary, I believe most serious PN investigators do an outstanding job, especially considering they are self-taught. The investigators I have worked with have all been truly dedicated to obtaining uncorrupted evidence, and attempted to stay unbiased..although this is the most common mistake I see. It's only human nature to WANT to see what you HOPE is true- whether that stems from skepticism or a little too much enthusiasm. Which is why I try very hard to maintain my "agnostic" status. (Not always successfully, I admit shamefully)
Currently, I am trying to find enough interested folks to put together a truly first-rate team here in Fairbanks- the Alaskan PN investigators society is based in Anchorage, and they rarely venture this far north. If you live in the Fairbanks/North Pole area, and would be interested in checking into our local hauntings, please don't hesitate to contact me! We have a suprising number of haunted locales here, just begging to be investigated!
BTW, does anyone know what my screen name refers to? A puzzle for you!

I hope to have a long and interesting relationship with all of you- I am very impressed with this site, and the quality of the posts here- obviously, very intelligent and open minded people gather here...unfortunately, many message boards can't make this boast. I'm very glad to have found you folks!

Carpe Diem...or perhaps, Carpe Noctem!

James (or Jamie)

Hi Jamie...welcome to SK! =) You have come to the right place!

I'm sorry about your dog Griz. B. Looking forward read more about you and your crazy aunt experiencing with haunted houses.

Your nickname has something to do with aerobatic tumble or ultimate hot dog maneuver with your plane. Is that right? If that’s it …you have guts!! =P

Hi James:

Welcome to SpiritKeep. It's nice to have someone with your experience with paranormal investigating with us. Your name refers to an aerobatic tumble. I saw the Blue Angels at Lockheed in an air show several years ago, and that was the first time I had ever heard the term. That takes talent and guts for sure, and a strong stomach. I love to fly, but if you're ever a pilot on a plane I'm on...let's not do the tumbles. Once again, welcome and I'm looking forward to reading your posts.

Hi there WildLomcevak! Well, you wouldnt want me on one of your planes than, I have bad motion sickness!! lol !! Welcome to spiritkeep! I cant wait to here about your experiences! =)

LOL...you guys are too good. Most folks have never heard of a Lomcevak...I'll have to come up with tougher puzzles.
Oh, and don't worry...unfortunately, the airline really frowns on aerobatic manuevers, although there's no rule saying we can't claim it was turbulence! (But we never do that...hehehe)
Thanks for the welcome- I'd like to hear any stories from you folks, too!
By the way, wildlomcevak is a handful, feel free to shorten it to wild, or Lom, or whatever works for you...I just thought it was an intriguing name.

Carpe diem!

[ November 26, 2004, 05:21 PM: Message edited by: KellKell ]

Hello Jamie, welcome to the board =) Glad you like it here and decided to join us.

I'm already enjoying your posts, very thought provoking. AND finally someone who talks more than I do!!

LOL..Hi Cindy...yeah, I've never been the quiet guy in the corner, unfortunately. Then again...what fun is that?

[ November 26, 2004, 05:25 PM: Message edited by: KellKell ]

Hi Jamie, and welcome to SpiritKeep! By the look of it, I think we will share some interests. I love to fly, although I am not a pilot. I have flown in various commercial jets, of course, but also a glider and a hot air balloon... and then came the helicopter! I love to ride in a helicopter, and I flew alot as a power systems engineer fo the telephone company. I've seen a lot of the state of AZ from a helicopter, flying to various microwave radio sites where I was responsible for their AC and DC power facilities. If the radio crew didn't need the helicopter for maintenance or a trouble run someplace, I was next on the list, and the chopper and pilot were at my disposal for the day. Without the helicopter, I would 4-wheel it to most sites. But, I love that too, so I was being paid to do something that I loved.
As a teen, I did the mechanic work on my car, and later, my brother preferred me to work on his motorcycle.

Over the working years, I have worked mostly with diesel engine generator design and supervised installation. Yes, I have engineered some turbine standby generators, too. Just an airplane type jet that we deprived of its wings, and anchored it to the floor so it would stick around and run the generator on the back end! I loved listening to them when they went through the startup phase! Woohooo!! Diesels were also another thing I have a special love for... and I can usually tell you what kind of diesel a truck has under the hood just by its sound. (The fun part is crawling up on top of an automatic start engine gen set to get a part number from the turbocharger, and muttering to yourself the whole time.... "Don't start now, baby! Don't start now!!" It was an old Cummins engine that always sounded like a 55-gallon drum of beer cans rolling down a hill when it fired up. That noise is a surprise, even when you expect it! I envisioned myself plastered to the ceiling if it took off while I was up there on top. Craziest part of all of this, I was the first female engineer in the state of Arizona for the phone company, and no one could understand why I liked the power equipment best. I just did. It was me.

Hot rods have always interested me. I have done one engine overhaul on an old Datsun truck, but all to factory specs... nothing fancy. But, I like mechanical stuff. What can I say? I stopped working on things after I married a mechanic about 40 years ago, though! LMAO

I think it is great that you are working on forming a serious Ghost Group up there in Alaska. I am sure that there must be some very interesting haunts up there! I look forward to talking with you!

Glad to have you aboard!

Mare

Hi Jamie

It's nice to meet you, welcome to Spiritkeep. I've had chance to reply to your idea post but also wanted to say a proper hello and welcome. By what I have read so far in this introduction post I know you will bring many experiences and interesting topics for discussion. I look forward to hearing them.

I have to say I'm with Emerald in that you may not want me on a plane with you as even though I have flown alot I have only recently conquered my fear so that I no longer leave nail marks on the arms of strangers seated next to me. =P

Nice to have you with us, Cat =)

Mare - wow I'm impressed you certainly are a lady with many talents.

LOl...well, thanks Cat, but I'm a guy with many talents- being a lady is a talent quite beyond me. From what I've seen, I wouldn't even want to attempt it! Guess I must write effiminately...maybe it's the keyboard.
No fear flying with me though- I keep the acro where it belongs, it's important to give the paying passengers a smooth ride!

Jamie I do know you are a gentleman and not a lady. I added the little note a lady of many talents, after my welcome to you, for Azspirit (Mare) in response to her reply to you. Sorry if that confused you. But just for the record I do also think you are a man with many talents and am impressed by what both you and Mare are able to do with these machines (and then some). No worries on writing effeminately that is not the case

Hmmm not that I don't trust you do give a smooth ride, I know it is hard sometimes for a pilot to control the acro bug once bitten. My first plane ride ever was on 2 seater (cessna) when I was 17. I was dating a fellow licenced to fly (he also did some crop spraying) and he thought it would be fun to show me how he can stall, tilt, fly under the hydro lines (rural area) and land at his Uncle's farm in the field. Can you say traumatized!

Take care, see you on the board, Cat =)

[ November 25, 2004, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: Cat ]

Hey Jamie!

Welcome to SpiritKeep! Glad to have you with us. =) I, too, look forward to your posts around the board.

I went ahead and split your introduction thread up, because of the afterlife question and enusing discussion that followed. I thought that subject better fit into our Ghosts & Spirits forum and will also be more visible for others. I've made a new thread in the Ghosts & Spirits forum and titled it: Pondering the Afterlife[/URL]. I then proceeded to edit or remove posts from each thread, so they're both on topic again. Hope that's okay!

Again, welcome to the board! I owe you an email reply, and will get to just as soon as I can. =)

Kell

[ November 26, 2004, 05:59 PM: Message edited by: KellKell ]

I'm sorry that I'm posting to this so late!

Glad you could join us Jamie! Welcome to SpiritKeep and enjoy your stay.

Trin =)