aero04

Man Dave, a question I've pondered for awhile. Next time I'm at the DZ we'll have to talk about it. My opinion, as said in the movie "Contact", Space is a big place, and if we are alone, it would be an awful waste of space. I'm not, umm, "convinced" on the biblical explanation of origins of life, so I believe if life developed here, a rather insignificant ball of rock, and this life has thrived, this universe could be absolutely filled with life of all kinds. Have they visited? I must differ with ya Dave. Here's why. Switch places with the aliens. If your traveling along in space and see a civilization (us) and you see they are in their technological infancy, wouldn't you be interested to see what will happen? Will they smarten up and live through this infancy? Destroy themselves? More than likely, their civilization lived through this same infancy and lived, so would you want to watch another civilization and see what happens there? Here on this planet we study different forms of life to learn about them. They are obviously not as technologically advanced as we are, but we are still interested in them. I imagine aliens would have the same interest is us. So yep, I believe they exist and they've been here.

Grace Liles Not a good name for a male porn star. Sounds like a bad female name.

Yep. However I did wonder right after I got mine if it was supposed to be one way or the other. Anyway, right for me.

Yep, I hope I can be there. But I'll probably be out of town that weekend. Plans for that weekend were given to me a few months back. Trying to find the good in this situation, just having a hard time....

Wow, looks like everyone had a blast. You have no idea how much I wish I could have been there. Absolutely sucks that this summer my financial situation decided to take a nose dive into the shitter. Horrible timing. I'll be seeing ya at SDA soon. Lynn

See if you can get them to the DZ one weekend. Let them see what goes on a normal weekend. Teach them a little bit about our sport. Let them see a rig up close and explain the safty features, RSL, Cypress, ect. Let them see the smiles on the faces of everyone, especially your partner.

Oh man, information overload bud. I bet that mental image will be there for the night.

So sorry about the plane. Just glad your ok. That's the important part. Planes can be replaced.

I don't know about the truth about it, but I can give a little explanation. It is called tinnitus. It develops from nerve damage in your inner ear caused by continued exposure to loud noises. For me, I developed it about 6 years ago from loud music. For some, it is just a nuisance, others it is debilitating. There is no cure and you just have to learn to live with this ringing sound always in your head. There are tons of sites on the internet about it.

Absolutely. An accident is at the end of the chain. Break one of those links and you stop the accident before it starts.

Not too picky. However, I'm careful in quartering the slider and rolling the nose. If I'm sloppy with those two things, the canopy lets me know it on opening. I'm somewhat careful in the line stows. I don't worry if they aren't perfect, but I make sure they look as they should. Other than those three points, run em up, flake it, cocoon it, stuff it, stow em, jump it. Oh yea, have fun!

Don't have one, don't plan on it. My left hand works just fine. I did put some thought into getting one when I got my rig, but ultimately I decided against it. Side note: How the hell would an RSL work on a Racer? One on each riser????

I wore earplugs from jump #2 up to around 60. Never had any problems hearing the jumpmasters, just had to listen more carefully to hear what your JM's are saying. I don't use plugs now because I bought a Mindwarp helmet. My helmet muffles the engine and freefall noise very nicely.

Yep, thats what happens when you in too much of a damn hurry to get on board. You make a stupid mistake. I misrouted the chest strap the same way and fortunately it was caught on the ground from another jumper. I will never make that mistake again and I won't be rushed in my gear up to make a load.

Hey, don't sweat it. Just jump in the pool with an old container on they throw a parachute over your head. Just get out of the gear and swim out from under the canopy. The point of this is to let you know what it feels like if you ever have to make a water landing and to save your life.

7/10

Yes, how cool was that?? Seeing the look on your dads face must have made every mile of that trip worth it. Happy for ya.

I've got one year left for my undergrad degree and I've been thinking seriously about grad school too. As my dad told me, knowledge gained is never wasted. Makes good sense to me.

Pardon the language, but that is just fucking awesome!!!! That is the right attitude for beating that bastard you speak of. Don't ever quit, and remember your not beaten until you refuse to get up. Way to Go!!!

YOU control your future. Don't let your fear control you.

Cool Dave!! Wish I could have been there to watch. Yea, you should have said this is my first time doing a tandem to the first student. And they would have thought you were kidding.

I was in that same place a few years ago. For me, the thought of not waking up was preferable to living the way I was everyday. I really think the only way one can understand why someone would attempt this is to have lived through it themselves. I do hope your friend gets the help they need. Just be around to provide and listening ear and a shoulder.

Heheeheh, no kidding. Jump 38 was my first pack job, and my A license check dive. Jeez, what a stressful dive

Good Job!! Just wait for that first solo. It is an incredible feeling just falling by yourself, feeling the feelings of freefall, looking down on clouds, words simply can't describe it. Yep, skydiving has a way of doing that. Pretty cool, huh!?!

Exactly! Why don't you just get a job at the DZ? Seems silly to take a job you'd just hate, when you could get a job working at a place you'd rather be anyway. Think about it.... DZ staff = free jumps! Yep, I looked into it, DZ needed a couple of packers, but a couple of folks beat me to it. Oh well.