skybytch

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Everything posted by skybytch

  1. skybytch
    I'm 10 years out from having L4-S1 fused due to disc issues. No hardware. After a year of letting it heal, I got back in the air and have done 400 or so more jumps since. My surgeon had no issues with me jumping post-recovery; he just wanted to be sure the fusion had taken well and there was new bone growth first. Is there an increased risk of injury for someone with a fusion compared to someone without? Probably. Only you can decide if the rewards of jumping are worth the risks you are taking. I know many others who have had spinal fusions (lower back and neck), most with hardware, and have either gotten back into the air or starting jumping post-surgery, so it's not unusual.
  2. skybytch
    The harbor in Crescent City, Ca, was destroyed, along with 35 boats. Several boats were "set free" in Santa Cruz.
  3. skybytch
    Areas on the central coast of California are being evacuated now.
  4. skybytch
    Have you started packing the car yet? You'll have an easier time getting out of there if you are ready to roll when/if they give the order. Oh and be sure to put anything important that won't fit in the car up on the highest shelf you have (voice of experience...). Saw on fb that Shin Ito (Japanese wingsuit record holder from Tokyo) is okay.
  5. skybytch
    Far better to work toward every jumper maintaining both horizontal and vertical separation. By working to maintain both horizontal and vertical separation throughout the canopy flight, you can be pretty sure that no one will be on downwind, base or final (or at the initiation point or mid-swoop) at the same time you are, thus reducing the risk of being in a canopy collision in the pattern. Likewise, the possibility of a canopy collision prior to entering the pattern is also reduced - not only because you've succeeded in creating or maintaining separation, but also because doing so forces you to keep your head on a swivel.
  6. skybytch
    I live in Davis. Don't need a roommate but might be able to help you find something. What's your budget? Might be a good idea to make a trip or two out to Skydance and get to know some of the local jumpers; never know who might be needing a roommate. A couple websites that you might find useful - Davis Wiki - Loads of info about Davis. What to do, where to go, where to eat, where to shop... It also includes reviews of every apartment complex. craigslist for Sacramento area - There seems to always be Davis students looking for roomies there.
  7. skybytch
    Skydiving.
  8. skybytch
    Trust not to the dz any amount of money you can't afford to lose. If the dz tanks, your money is gone. If a creative bookkeeper decides that you haven't been to the dz recently, your money can magically disappear. Same thing with tickets. If the dz is sold, your stack of tickets may be instantly worthless. All of the above situations have happened more than once.
  9. skybytch
    No more than one student per pass/load. Extreme, yes, but it would eliminate the issue.
  10. skybytch
    If there is one, the gear store at the dropzone you jump at it.
  11. skybytch
    Getting their clothes off.
  12. skybytch
    I can understand wanting a lighter rig, but weight has nothing to do with appearance. Less bulky only matters if the rig is so large for your body size that it hangs down over your ass or sticks out on either side of you - I will agree that looks like shit, but that's not the rig's fault. Instead of telling jumpers with big canopies that their rigs look like shit and they need to downsize if they want to look cool, perhaps we should just STFU and let them happily jump the gear that is safer for them and everyone in the air with them. It's because experienced jumpers loudly denigrate larger rigs that newbies have any clue at all that jumping one isn't considered "cool."
  13. skybytch
    What exactly is it about large containers (or large canopies, for that matter) that make them so not cool that even people who think that novices shouldn't be jumping small stuff insist on perpetuating the myth that bigger rigs don't look as good as smaller ones? If we don't want novices flying 1.4 wingloadings, perhaps we should stop telling them that rigs designed to hold bigger canopies look like shit.
  14. skybytch
    That statement shows that you bought into the appearance bullshit just like the cool kids you are talking about.
  15. skybytch
    I know several AFF instructors who only check it once a day. Personally I don't think that's setting the best example for their students, but they disagree with me on that point.
  16. skybytch
    He asked.
  17. skybytch
    Some rephrasing is in order. "Will jump again on Monday and have an awesome time doing it. My arousal level will be lower than it has been, too." It doesn't matter if you "pass" or not. Nobody thinks any less of you because you didn't "get it" right away. So you don't need to "try" on Monday. What you get to do on Monday is have a fun skydive and land safely. Everything else is a bonus. Ever done yoga? Meditation? If you have, use those breathing techniques to help control your arousal level in the airplane. If you haven't, do some internet research on breathing techniques. Use your mind to prepare for the skydive long before you get to the dropzone. See yourself in your head doing a perfect skydive, where you are relaxed and smiling from climbout to landing. Watch that perfect skydive over and over. It sounds silly, but it's been known to help (and it certainly can't hurt).
  18. skybytch
    Sigh. If only he wasn't in Stockton. I can't work in Stockton. Too far to commute for one thing, and someone that I don't ever want to run in to lives there.
  19. skybytch
    Do it. If the dzo doesn't believe you don't want to be full time, let the ratings expire. Even if you let the instructional ratings expire, it won't be difficult to get back into teaching if/when you decide you want to. What sort of fun jumping do you want to do? Now is the perfect time to learn something new; that just might make you less apathetic about going to the dz...
  20. skybytch
    Get in fucking line. Behind me.
  21. skybytch

    aint dead yet

    skybytch replied to pds's topic in The Bonfire

    Son?! Congrats!
  22. skybytch
    This one's easy. Don't get or do anything. She may get all pissy and hurt and never speak to you again. Don't be upset. This is a VERY good sign that life with her would be a horrible trial in which everything you have ever worked for is going to end up in her hands. Be happy you have avoided this by acting early. Of course, there is a slim possibility that she will think that you not getting her anything is awesome, cuz it means she doesn't have to get anything for you. In this case, immediately attempt to shift from dry humping to wet and start making serious moves to lock this one down. She's a keeper.
  23. skybytch
    Better not jump a Sabre 2 then. I know two people who were injured by hard openings on those. Better not jump a Spectre,either. I've had two really hard openings on those. For that matter, better not jump anything, because ANY canopy can open hard enough to hurt you.
  24. skybytch
    Might want to replace those, Spence. Regardless of who made them, they are a wear item. Seems kinda silly to spend all that money on an ADD and not spend $30 making sure your main is going to stay attached to you.
  25. skybytch
    You shouldn't need to change size on the links, but it is a good idea to replace links when replacing lines. They are wear items. You don't need new risers; your current ones will work fine.