Eiley

The people that came back after the 25 year break - were they using the same gear? Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

I haven't been out with a whuffo in 14 years! nothing to see here

Snopes is your friend.

You're kidding, right? nothing to see here

LOL. Stats I have heard (also without backup) are that the most dangerous sports judged by deaths per participant hours are: #1 Rock Fishing #2 BASE Jumping #3 Cave Diving How they actually estimate the participant hours, I have no idea. Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

ME TOO! ME TOO! And I want all the gossip! I know Bunny will eventually put some up on the CSC site, but I want to see pix from everybody! Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

I can confirm this! I remember we Manifest Chicks got out your waiver and checked your age last year - we were astounded at your age because of your physique! As for me, four weeks exactly. I've given up before and always fallen off the wagon, but this time it feels different. I went Cold Turkey instead of patches etc and simply think of myself as a non-smoker. I also replaced my smoking with a healthy lifestyle, because in the past the weight gain has been an excuse to start smoking again (also, don't believe what anybody says, simply giving up smoking and doing nothing else does not make you feel dramatically healthier). Now I drink 4 litres of water a day and take my dog for hour-long power walks every day and, if I say so myself, I haven't looked or felt better in many years. I agree with the person who said to go up to somebody at work who has just been out for a ciggie - it's so easy to tell who in the lift has just popped out for one and it's mind-blowing to think I used to smell like that! Finally, another tip is to tell absolutely everybody you have given up. You'll want to prove wrong those who laugh at you, try to tempt you and insist you can't do it, and you won't want to disappoint the loved ones who are so proud of you. Good luck to ALL of us! Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

Totally agree with Darkwing. If you want to read about a true Pioneer - who just happened to be female - check out the stuff available on Tiny. Email the USPA and see if you can get a copy of the 'Parachutist' magazine that profiled her last year. nothing to see here

Now its my turn for a rant (and this is not aimed at you Sean, it was just convenient to reply to your post). As Manifest Bitch, what pissed me off royally was when, during Night Jumps, you impress over and over again to the jumpers that it is vital that they check back in after their load. The vast majority of jumpers do so - not hard - "Hi Eiley, I'm back!". But there was always one or two who forgot. So, after a reasonable time, you start paging them to Manifest. No reply. Keep paging them. No reply. Start to worry, ask everyone else if they saw them etc. People think they did but not sure. Finally, someone tells you they are over at the bar. They dumped their gear to pack tomorrow and forgot to check in. This is just damn rude. Especially when, being Night Jumps, I may well have been in the box from 7am until 11 pm without a break. Anyway, rant over. I'm sure all the lovely people reading DZ.com have never done this. Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

This simply is not feasible at a very large, busy DZ when you are putting up 2 or 3 planes at a time, dealing with up to 100 tandem passengers and twice that many fun jumpers in a single day. Of course, every DZ I've ever been to keeps an eye on students and very low-time jumpers, but this responsibility usually lies with the instructor or gear checker. That said, it would be rare that someone didn't notice a jumper landing way off target, and when that happens I've never known the wayward jumper not to be picked up by a good samaritan. It would be very uncool for said wayward jumper not to buy beer for their saviour at the end of the day though. Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

This happened a few years back in Australia. Visiting jumper, never jumped at that DZ before decided he would commit suicide (note found in his gear later). He didn't know a single person on the DZ and did a solo. His body was found 7 days later by a farmer who pretty much tripped over him. I don't blame the DZ for this - as others have said, I've never known any of the DZs I've jumped at to do a head count unless it is for night jumps or some other special jump (big-way etc). Having been Manifest Bitch at a very busy DZ, I know it would not be possible for Manifest to be responsible for keeping track of all jumpers. The 'sleeve' idea sounds pretty good though - kudos to whoever thought that one up. Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

Met Keith at Sebastian Double-25-way Diamonds (where he hurt his ankle landing in somebody's backyard - helped him out with some 'special' Aussie painkillers ) and again at Lake Wales last November. He was always the only CRW Dawg younger than my SO, Paul (who was 26)! Again, Congrats CRW Dawgs! Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

You need to visit us down at Tooradin! Crimson Mist are often there, but there's also a bunch of CRW 'Pups' who like to go up and stomp all over each other's canopies. It's awesome to sit at the bar at the end of the day and watch the CRW. To the CRW Dogs on the Record - HUGE congratulations!

I wasn't sure who to advise (and didn't want to bug HH with PMs), but in the 'Dropzones' section, there is a listing for 'Pakenham'. Pakenham DZ no longer exists, but the Club that was there (Commando Skydivers) still does and has moved down the road to Tooradin. If the Powers that Be would care to remove the Pakenham listing, I'd be happy to add a new listing for Tooradin. Cheers, Eiley ETA: It's in Australia, by the way nothing to see here

Don't know about airfares, etc, but I certainly know that free accommodation can be arranged!

You're welcome.

Chicagoland (CSC/Hinckley) has a Skydiving for MS Boogie every year. The proceeds of tandems done that day go to MS and they have a huge auction of stuff donated from various sources. The big prize each year is 100 jumps, there's also altimeters, protracks, gift certificates from numerous companies and lots of non-skydiving related prizes. This year's boogie raised $8000. Some details can be found here: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/ILD/event/event_detail.asp?e=456 Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

Heh. At our going-away party, our friends decided to prepare the three of us for our enforced 'togetherness' for the next year travelling in the US by tying our left wrists together. We had to spend the entire night doing everything together in this little circle. When that lost its entertainment value, they started setting us 'tasks'. One was to pack a rig (all tied together by our left wrists and several beers in each) that we would be prepared to jump the next day. It was the longest, dodgiest packjob I've ever done, having to pass the canopy or lines over/under arms, squabbling about how best it should be done and taking frequent beer breaks. Yep.

Sit down, determined to get X amount of work done today. Start reading... notice that the dishes need doing. Damn, I know I won't be able to study with that mess there. Dishes done, sit down again, but figure I better check email first. Then I remember that there are some messages in there a few days old... better reply or my friends might think I'm snubbing them. Okay, that's done. Now I can really get to work. Start a bit of google research. Hey, look, somehow an interesting link that has nothing to do with Tax Law has popped up. I'll have a quick read. Lunch time. Gotta eat or won't be able to study properly. Okay, full now. Better grab the legislation and really get stuck into it. Somehow I got a little behind. Oh, the dog's looking at me with those sad eyes... I didn't walk him yesterday because of the rain. I really should take him to the park. Anyway, a walk after lunch aids digestion and clears the head. Okay, now I'm really ready. Plug in the headphones to listen to one of the lectures I'd missed online. Realplayer starts... taking a couple of minutes to get going. Hey, I wonder whether anyone's posted in that thread I've been following on DZ.com? I'll check while I'm waiting. Wow, 602 new posts. Oops, the lecture's been going 45 minutes and I haven't taken any of it in because of all the interesting posts. Ah well, I've done everything now. Time to really get stuck into it. I study much better in the afternoons anyway. Does that little cloud mean it might rain soon? Better bring the washing in, just in case... Hey, it's 8:30! Damn, Survivor's on tonight. Oh well, I didn't really need to get as much done as I'd planned this morning. Tomorrow I'll really get stuck into it! How I made it to the point where I'll be graduating in a couple of weeks is beyond me! Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

Saddest thing about that guy was he had been persecuted by the Taleban all his life (for one thing, he had a TV - BIG no-no).. and then he gets persecuted for suspected of being Taleban! This is NOT about being bleeding heart lefties who want to give all terrorists a fair go. It's about giving the innocent people a fair go. Long beards and funny hats do not necessarily a terrorist make. nothing to see here

Congratualations Andy and Piriya! Yay for you guys! May your life be one of blue skies, light winds and soft landings.

I have the picture of the Polka-Porter as my wallpaper on my home PC.

Oooohhh... pick me! pick me! I wanna hang with the Hinckley Hotties! And I want some of them jello shots! You all suckl Oh well.. see ya at Rantoul 2004! Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here

Hey, you! Where's the other half of my email???????????? nothing to see here

I'm pretty sure everyone at Rantoul, including spectators, had to sign a waiver and receive a colour-coded wristband (orange for skydivers, purple for students, red for staff, green for spectators etc). Security at the gates was diligent in making you flash your wristband before entering - nobody was allowed in without one. We even offered one of the volunteers at the gate a beer and he said he couldn't whilst on duty! Unfortunately 'common sense' seems to have fallen by the wayside in this day and age. Especially when there's a potential for a payout. God forbid we actually take responsibility for our own actions I, too, hope that Rod is completely exonerated of all liability. Cheers, Eiley nothing to see here