skybytch

Yup. I'll happily hold the payment until I know the buyer is happy with the item though. One thing I haven't seen anyone mention - ask the seller for the name and phone number of somebody at their home dz who can verify that they are a real person. Even someone who has quit jumping can probably still be identified by someone at the dz they used to jump at.

I love the shot of your dad! It looks almost vintage.

The senses of the person who cutaway were certainly not null and void when I slapped him, so maybe you're right.

I think the size thing really depends on the size of your hands. The XTi fits my hands perfectly but it's way too small for my s/o's hands.

Thanks! Haven't picked up a book yet, but I've been playing with the manual settings a lot.

If your exit weight exceeds about 190, don't jump that rig. The canopies weren't built to handle (read "fly and land well") wingloadings over about 1.0. Why would you buy a rig on the internet without knowing anything about gear?

Me too. And sometimes, when I look to the east while the sun is setting, I see cool stuff like this. Photo taken with a Rebel XTi at 800 ISO, 5.6 aperture, 1/500 shutter speed. Manual settings are fun.

Don't need to. PD already makes the perfect canopy for me.

Hit a daily mileage record last week - over 8 miles in one day (3 of those miles at a 3.5 mph pace - that's fast for me) and I felt great the next day. Discovered that my pedometer wasn't set up for my stride - it was set for 2100 steps per mile, my stride is 2000 steps per mile (based on a mile being four laps on the track). So over the past month, I've been walking more miles than I thought I was. That's cool. The weather forecast is beautiful, I have no excuses for not walking my ass off this week.

67:1:0 According to the Neptune, it was 67 degrees F on the ground today. Since it exceeded 65 degrees F on the ground, I did a skydive today. I don't owe any beer. I didn't drink any beer either.

This morning a few jumpers did a self-organized balloon jump prior to the dz opening for the day. They'd parked at the dz. One of them had to cutaway. They all landed safely. While they were driving around looking for the canopy, a farmer brought it to the dz. After it was determined who the cutaway canopy belonged to, a call (okay, several calls) was placed to that person's cell phone. No answer. No answer on the cell of the owner of one of the other vehicles in the parking lot either. A posse was being organized when the balloon truck arrived, with the jumpers on board, at about 10 am. Moral of the story? If you don't like the thought of scaring the crap out of your friends, take your cell phone when you do non-dz organized jumps around the dz. Ya never know, it could save you from gettin' bytch slapped.

I dunno. If they're putting money into your training and travel expenses then they do kinda have a right to ask you not to do other activities where you might injure yourself during the season. After all, an ill-timed injury to one member of the team could easily put the chances of the entire team in jeopardy. That's not fair to your teammates. Only you can decide if the chance at a medal is worth the sacrifice they're asking you to make.

The Longest Walk 2 starts very soon. I'll be showing my support by joining the walk for a few miles when it leaves the California state capitol on Tuesday the 12th. I love going to college. I wouldn't have known about this if a teacher hadn't mentioned to the class that she's going (and she's willing to let us out of class early that day so we can make it to the Capitol in time). Plus I get points in a different class for going.

Don't care how many years someone has in the sport. If they aren't current, they have no business on a big skydive. It's not about politics, it's about safety.

It finally didn't rain on walking class days, so I got some miles in on the track this week. The coach wants us doing 4 minute laps by the end of the semester. I'm already doing 4 minute laps. Interesting discoveries this week - when I'm walking around town I like to have but don't really need the Ipod. On the track? It's a necessity! And I'm definitely ADD, I can't keep an accurate count of how many laps I've done cuz my mind is too busy thinking about 95 other things. Still averaging 3.5 miles a day (including "zero" days). I've backed off on increasing my mileage goals beyond getting the average up to 5 a day for the time being; once it starts to get warmer and stay light later I'll be ramping it up.

Aw crap. Jerry was one of the good ones. BSBD, Jerry, and thank you.

Yup.

Now if only I didn't feel a day over 71...

Eighteen years ago today, at about this time, I was sitting in my car in a parking lot having three cigarettes and a Diet Coke for lunch. Shortly after I finished "eating", I got on an airplane. An airplane I didn't land with. I can't imagine what my life would be like today had I not gotten into and then out of that airplane. They'll never read this, but I have to thank Tom, Al, and Gregg (the guy who got me to the dz in the first place, the guy who taught my FJC and the guy who tossed me outta the plane) - it's been one hell of a ride so far, thanks for setting me on the path. Here's to 18 more.

How DARE that guy think he has a right to live in a house!!!

Do NOT hook the RSL up if the ring is on the wrong riser. That may seem like a no-brainer, but I've seen it done...

Nine cells do not "have more forward speed" than 7 cells. They have a flatter glide slope. A good canopy pilot can put any canopy exactly where they want to, regardless of wind conditions. It has nothing to do with how many cells the canopy has. It has everything to do with the skill set of the pilot.

Potatoes. Make a double bunch of mashed potatoes for dinner and then make potato pancakes with leftovers in the morning (just leave the leftovers in the fridge overnight). Bake 'em. Chop 'em up for hash browns. Put them in stews and soups. Cook big hunks of meat, especially ones with bones. Slice the meat as thin as possible. Use the bones to make soup later. One of our current favorite cheap meals is chunks of cooked chicken mixed in with cooked pasta shells in alfredo sauce. Add some canned or frozen cooked veggies to make it go farther, remove the chicken if it's too expensive. Tuna casserole. Meatless lasagne - go light on the cheeses, they'll never notice the difference.

From what I've experienced, yes. I have never heard a magic formula for dressing for success - and the decision to wear weights or not is a part of dressing for success. I was told that dressing for success is an art. The "right" amount of weight (or the "right" jumpsuit) for a particular jump is that which allows you to fly with the formation in the middle of your speed range; if the middle of your range is slower than the average speed of the formation then you probably want to add some weight (or a tighter suit). The art is in figuring that out without having already done that skydive with those people, and unfortunately not many people have the knowledge to tell you what you need to wear to put you at the speed you need to be at. Start with a few (5-6) pounds and see how it goes; then on subsequent jumps adjust as needed or desired. Expect a few non-successes (ie oops that was a few pounds too many as you're dropping below the formation or oops that was a few pounds too few as you're arching your ass off to stay down with the formation) as you learn to figure what you need to wear for a particular skydive.

"Instruments of Darkness (All of Us are One People)" by The Art of Noise - 123 plays "Hurt" by Johnny Cash - 121 plays