slotperfect

No matter what form they take (pictures or text) a PA is a PA and is still not allowed in the forums. [/end warning] Arrive Safely John

Standing before 4 1SGs and my Battalion CSM for my E-5 board, I was asked by one of the 1SGs: "Name three factors that positively influence morale." My answer was: "1SG, three factors that positively influence morale are: mail call, training holidays, and the gut truck." The room busted out laughing and I thought I was in trouble. Arrive Safely John

I won't be permanently retired, just moving on to a second career. I am planning on taking a job where everyone loves me: Driving a Roach Coach Arrive Safely John

It's quite thin in there and we need a little help . . . Arrive Safely John

I don't have the tab . . . I chose to be a Nylon Compression Engineer instead. Arrive Safely John

I think: "1 January 2009." Arrive Safely John

yarak and stratostar: no matter how you disguise PAs (MadLib fill-in-the-blank version or abbreviated), they are still PAs, which are not allowed by the Forum Rules. If you guys want to throw rocks at each other please take it to PMs. [/end warning] Arrive Safely John

Believe me, we Mods dole out more "benefit of the doubt" than you realize. In this case, it looks like a duck, etc. I did do my homework first!

Jan - what percentage of the BOD would you say supports such a grandfather clause? Arrive Safely John

Please post it on skydivingmovies.com so we can download it and look at it in slo-mo. I need to see the exit in slo-mo to be sure of what I think happened. I am seeing two things here, and looking at the exit in slo-mo would help me firm it up before I post it here (in reply to your request). Arrive Safely John

Hmmm . . . let's see . . . you've been here a little less than two months and you have the whole phantom favoritism phenomenon all figured out. You say your posts "keep" getting deleted? You have 4 posts and one is missing (and it's not in the Recycle Bin). "Keep getting deleted" would mean that there would have to be more than one. Now . . . since Moderators have the handy little privilege of being able to view IP addresses, I notice that you and another username have shared the same IP. That in itself is not all that uncommon, but when I find that 100% of his posts are either in this thread, the mother Skyride thread, or in the recycle bin having been removed from one of those two threads, I think it may be those threads from the other user (alter-ego?) you may be referring to that "keep" getting deleted. The "protecting regular posters" whine is bullshit. We go out of our way to be fair and objective in all moderation. There are no absolutes here, although some of the rules come pretty close to that. There is a lot left open to the judgment of the Moderators - the site owner designed it that way. You always have the privilege of taking your complaints to the top. The site owner will correct a Moderator that he feels has gone overboard. In this case, I think your best course of action is to choose which of your two online personas you want to use on dropzone.com and stick to that one so you don't get confused. Arrive Safely John

Some people have started and stopped over the years and count the total number of active years instead of the years from their first jump. Example: someone who jumped for four years then took a ten year break and has been back at it for six years would likely list 10 years in the sport rather than 20. Arrive Safely John

It is typically Veterans Day weekend in November. 9-12 November is where the military's 4-day holiday falls this year, I believe. Maybe I will be around to join you this year!?!?! Arrive Safely John

I was told in May that the USPA BOD was also "re-looking" the requirement for AIC to become any sort of USPA Course Director during the July BOD meeting. I plan to call USPA today or tomorrow to inquire about that issue and the Tandem Instructor grandfather question. I'll post what I find out (if it's anything conclusive). Arrive Safely John

Paying customers: it is all about the student. I try and remove as much of my own personality from the photos and video as possible. I just relax and fly a nice and easy platform for the student to ham it up as much as they want (I give them several suggestions on the ground). I will make thumbs up or peace signs with my hands and just smile wide like I'm having fun (which - of course - I am). If it's a birthday or something I might point at the student and mouth "happy birthday" to the camera or something short. I try and personalize the skydive for each student as much as I can. I also wear mirrored goggles. "The eyes are the windows to the soul;" if I take my eyes out of the pictures/video, the viewer can concentrate on the personality and emotions of the student. I still look cool hanging out above, but the student's facial expressions stand out. For family and friends I will get a little more animated . . . moose antlers, etc. Various goofyness. With everybody: unless there is something else going on (concern about a spot, an unruly student body position, special handling required for the student, etc.) I will normally geek the camera after releasing the drogue. The student is rarely looking at the camera at that point, so I can steal a little photo op. One of my early tandem mentors ALWAYS looks incredibly cool in EVERY picture I see of him doing tandems. I asked him why he always looks so cool in all his pictures - he says from the time he gets in the door until the camera is shut off after landing, he just puts a big old smile on his face. I try to do that as well. My landing faces are pretty ugly though. Arrive Safely John

At our dropzone all Instructor credentials are on file in the school. I always have mine with me (along with my logbook) when I am there . . . I have never been asked by a customer/student to produce them, but I would happily do so if asked. I do get asked about my experience and skydiving background . . . some people want some sort of idea of my experience level, at least from their viewpoint. Arrive Safely John

One. Arrive Safely John

Find another way to ambush your buddy that leaves his gear out of the picture. Tampering with someone's rig, no matter how harmless it may seem, is a really bad idea. It is beyond the "practical" line in practical jokes, IMHO. Arrive Safely John

If you added that tagline you probably already knew you posted it in the wrong place. Arrive Safely John

To all: keep this thread on topic, please . . . I removed one blatant (and non-contributing) hijack already. Arrive Safely John

Sharing new products, designs, and technology is highly encouraged in the forums. We have the advantage of having a direct line of communication here with many manufacturers. The OP has not directly offered anything for sale, i.e. "Here's how much it costs and here's how to get it." He refers everyone to his website and his forums. That puts him on par with countless other dropzone.com forum posts from other manufacturers that have carefully posted information about their new products or technology. Ultimately they may just gather valuable feedback from experienced skydivers that will make the product better. The post in its current form will be allowed. Arrive Safely John

From my experience, both here in the classfieds and on eBay, two things are important in selling anything on line: details and pictures. I won't even look at an ad that is as you describe. It's most likely a waste of my time. That includes cars I see carrying a for sale sign . . . no price, no attention from me. Arrive Safely John

Added Gus Marinho (marinho) from Rigging Solutions - Basik Air Concept USA Service Center. Arrive Safely John

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2822577;search_string=deepseed;#2822577 Arrive Safely John

I was 19 Arrive Safely John