CanuckInUSA

I cleaned the pics up a little, but I don't know if it's worth updating them here on DZ.COM? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You've been PMed with Hook's phone #. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There is an action shot of a jump myself and one of my friends did. Awh heck, here it is again. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Finally here's some pics from the swoop pond. If any of you can identify the jumpers in my pics, please do. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yet even more pics ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Here's some more ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Attached is the first in series of action pictures I've included from my WFFC Rantoul '03 trip. I captured these pictures as stills from my video camcorder, so in some cases, the quality of the picture isn't as sharp as one would like it to be. But what can you do? Anyways, I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed capturing them. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Looks like I missed you, but yes I was in Rantoul all of last week. I was staying in a friends trailer and thus spent some time in the RV park instead of tent city. But it was all good. At night it was easy to find me. I was usually hanging around the free beer trailer. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

My best birthday wishes go out to Amber. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What you were just in Illinois and you didn't pay us a visit in Rantoul? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Isn't the Chicks Rock boogie held in late October in CA? Actually I just looked it up. October 3rd-5th in Elsinore. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hey you left after the first weekend. But to your credit, you did return later in the week. It was pretty much one big drunkfest with some skydiving thrown in to boot for yours truly over here. PS: Best of luck with your up and coming move to CA. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I did not get to meet Pops, but based on Rhino's comments (and others), he obviously was a good guy to have around the DZ and will be missed. BSBD for Pops ... To all of those who I got to meet at Rantoul, take care and I hope to meet you again at the next boogie (maybe Couch Freaks, for sure I'll be in Eloy for the Holiday Boogie). I feel a little empty for not jumping with any DZ.COMers this time around, but I'll have to rectify that in the future. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I had to vote no as I've yet (knock on wood) to actually physically see someone die in this sport. But I do know a friend (our beloved FreeFlyHol) who's passed on. I just got back from Rantoul with mixed feelings. I enjoyed my time there, but at the same time I saw too much dangerous (jumping and post jumping) shit happening with people getting hurt and of course the fellow from Michigan dying. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

My DZ raised it's jump ticket prices from $20 to $21 several months ago under the promise of adding an Otter to our existing fleet of a King Air and a 206. But thanks to the DZO dying in an aerobatic plane crash back in April, we still have no Otter and we have $21 jumps. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That was actually kind of funny. Here we were (I can't remember what night it was), at 3:00 am about to call it a night in the RV park and there's Sunshine wandering lost looking for her tent far away from where it actually was. A couple of nights later Chuck (SkymonkeyOne) and a few other pretty high profile skydivers managed to roll their golf cart right next to my friend's RV trailer. But I am happy to report that Chuck and the others didn't suffer any serious drunken skydiver injuries. Man there was some wierd stuff (both good and bad) happening at Rantoul this year. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

He ... he ... he ... I seem to remember sticking my tongue in Moody's mouth as well as the Bytch's mouth on Thursday evening while the Jello shots were flowing freely (god I can't remember what it's even called where I take the shot in my mouth and the pass it on through a kiss to another drunk skydiver). But it was all fun. The first morning I met Moody at the DZ.COM tent, she was pretty quiet (tired and/or hung over?), but it was all fun as she (and others) seemed to be having fun with the Jello shots. I ran into Mary (Skyrose) one night and that was the only time I saw her the entire convention. Besides the injuries to all those who got hurt, my only real regret from Rantoul was that I didn't jump with any DZ.COMers. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

BSBD to Pops ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Well it's hard to explain how I feel about my WFFC '03 convention experience this year. There was a ton of positive experiences, but there were a few negative experiences where people (friends) got hurt and it really makes you sit up and notice the dangers of such a large event. First my positive experiences: It was great to meet a bunch of DZ.COMers who I had yet to meet in person as well as being able to say hello to those who I met at Eloy last x-mas. I'm sad to say that I didn't do any jumps with any of these DZ.COMers (I guess I was busy jumping with the people I was staying with and when I was looking for a DZ.COMer to jump with, they were either hung over or the weather was crappy). But I did manage to pop my head into the DZ.COM tent at least once a day and at night it was easy to find myself standing near the free beer stand at the entertainment tent. Also, for those of you who were in the entertainment tent the night of the wet t-shirt contests, my friend Peter Konrad (the slurry bomber guy here on DZ.COM) submitted an amateur freefly video entry and thousands of skydivers were forced to watch our skydives and yours truly made several appearances in this video. The not so negative experiences: I'm happy to report that I survived Rantoul '03 with no injuries. But I didn't exactly jump that much (29 jumps in total during my vacation) thanks to the crappy weather at times, getting late starts due to alcohol poisoning. But what bums me out is the people (friends) who got injured either skydiving or during the post jumping drunk skydiver celebrations (one example is of a friend who drove a golf cart head on into a fire hydrant at 20 mph and suffered some rib injuries). And I was sad to hear about Lewmonst's injuries. Anyway, I need to do some work here (to pay for my Rantoul vacation). I hope to see as many of you DZ.COMers at Eloy this x-mas. PS: I'll be looking to post some of my WFFC still pictures captured from my video camera later tonight. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

>> I just got home from Rantoul an hour ago and found out about her. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

High - Surviving Rantoul '03 and having a blast. Low - Knowing friends got hurt. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

K2 without a doubt is a much more technical climb than the traditional southern route up Everest. Everest has the Kumbu Icefield (most Everest deaths have occurred here) and other than that, the only technical climbing on the south route of Everest is the Hillary Step (only about 30-40 feet in length). Of course both mountains have their death zones (above 26k MSL) where the body starts to die no matter how acclimated the climber is to the altitude. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

As long as your inner ear problems aren't a problem for you in the air, then the sooner you get back on the horse the better you'll be. But you know your body better than the rest of us. For what it's worth, I have been known to skydive with minor injuries. But I've yet to have (knock on wood) ear problems like yours. Good luck ... and I'd say keep us posted (as I'm sure you will) except that in a few hours I'm dropping out of sight and heading to Rantoul where the last thing I will think about is computers. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I've only been in the sport a little over one year. But I made 330 jumps that first year and am well on my way to a 200-300 jump 2nd year. But how long will my $$$ hold up at this pace? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hi Melanie You posted this question in the wrong forum. It either belongs in the "Swooping and Canopy Control" forum, or it belongs in the "Safety and Training" forum. But maybe one of our monitors will relocate it for you. As far as your flare technique is concerned, this is something that I doubt we can really help you with here mainly because we can't see what you may or may not be doing right. If your profile is up to date. You've only got six jumps under your belt and practice will only allow you to get better. It's also possible that you're using an old F-111 style student canopy which has a poor flare to begin with. So don't beat yourself up too much. Get your instructors to help you with your landings and if possible, see if anyone can video tape you. But here's a couple of things to remember as well: 1) A good landing is planned well ahead of time. What I mean by this is, adjust your landing pattern depending upon potential traffic conflicts and weather conditions (usually the winds). If you've stayed ahead of your canopy (a common aviation term ... you know stay ahead of the airplane) chances are that you'll be ready when you're on final and you won't be surprised by anything. 2) Don't fixate on the ground just before flare time. You sort of need to watch the horizon or at least watch the ground ahead of you. 3) Be subtle with your toggle inputs. Try not to stab your landings. You can get away with stabbing a landing when using a student canopy, but this technique can get you into trouble when you start flying faster canopies. 4) When in doubt, be ready to PLF. Once again, don't beat yourself up too much right now. Just get out there, do some jumps, be safe and have some fun. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over