Unstable

Hmm, Can't say that I have, seeing how the Stingray Population in Kansas is currently, Um, a little low... =========Shaun ==========

By a 450 Foot Radio/Microwave antanae. Here is the story - Last night, the City of Topeka Kansas was hit pretty hard by a Thunderstorm. There were winds in excess of 80 miles per hour, and three tornadoes spotted in the surrounding rural areas. I was at our Dropzones anual boogie when it happened, I didn't know about it until this morning. There is (was) a 450 foot radio and Microwave antanae owned by the Kansas Department of Transportation and Highway patrol right next to her apartment complex. Build in the 1940's, it had not been updated to meet modern engineering requirements in the state of Kansas. It buckled about 75 feet above the ground, smashing right into two apartments, completly destroying several cars, and trapping a man in his bathroom for several hours.. My sister and her husband were unhurt, and luckily nobody was hurt this time. However, she's lost most of her posessions, has moved all that was salvageable into an empty apartment, and is now living at home with me for the time being. We're all pretty upset about this... What was amazing though was the support she got from all the people in our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Sunday morning the calls went out to all the men and young men, and within 15 minutes we had over 40 guys out ready to help and several children running around offering water and lemonade to the workers. Due to structural damage, only one person was allowed in at a time, and we only had ONE HOUR to get all we could out before we all had to clear out. I wish you all could have seen the teamwork, we formed a big bucket brigade and emptied three apartments COMPLEATLY in about an hour and a half. Everybody stayed and worked until the fire marshall told us we were done. It was the greatest act of love I've seen from a group of people I can remember... There were people out there working away in the hot humid Kansas weather we had never even seen before.

I jump a Racer 2K3 and I am luckey enough to have a rigger who not only is very current and Knowledgeable on Racers, But Jumps one himself. I asked him basically the same thing that you are asking here, and he assured me that with experience, Racers are Not harder, but actually EASIER to pack than most sport rigs. He does not charge Extra to pack Racers, and he believes that you can judge a rigger based on their ability to pack a racer... You've got to be careful here on these forums with this subject - Too many times this exact topic has caused a couple of Locked forums due to the, Um, Emotion of this subject. =========Shaun ==========

Great!! I'll be looking for you, and I'll have to take you up on that offer of a few jumps together!!!

this weekend was 0:7:0 Lets see, I did 7 jumps, out of which two were from 2,000 feet, and I went low on diving to an 8-way from the chase plane... =========Shaun ==========

Sounds good to me - a Nice low stress dive that involves lots of points.... Ya can't miss me either, How many Blue Racers do you see theses days..... =========Shaun ==========

This thread has had a cleansing effect on my mind and my attitudes - - THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY!!!!

This Weekend, our dropzone had it's annual Memorial Boogie, our "Wide Body Bash" as it's been called. Nothing like your own home dropzone's boogies... Well, I decided that this weekend, I was going to get some serious work done on my Relative Work skills, and I spent the day working with different people on some intermediate 4-way skills. I made six relative work jumps, and finished off the day with an eight-way with two cessnas... I ended my day feeling empty hearted, and it seemed as if I had spent my entire day working on some unfulfilling job... I've talked to several people, and all of them told me that I was taking everything way too seriously... For example, we launched a meeker Exit from the 182, and I spent about 45 minutes afterwards upset, trying to figure out why we did a 360 Degree turn off the hill. On a simple 2-way dive to play with fall rates, I spent the rest of the afternoon stressing about the last point we turned. On the 8-way today, I had the hardest slot to fill, and after I went low, I spent the rest of the evening distraught and terribly disappointed in myself that I had overshot such a simple swoop... Things need to change. If I am going to keep in this sport for the next 50 years, then I need to seriously change my attitudes and learn to Relax and not take things so seriously. I do this sport because it's fun - I need to simplify everything to get back to that most basic idea... This next weekend, I am going to spend 4 days at the Hillbilly CASA boogie at Freefall Express Skydiving, in MO. I hope to make at least 20 jumps - and I start working on changing then.. I'm going to have FUN. I am not going to care if my Freeflying is going to take time away from being a better Relative Worker, and I'm not going to beat myself up if I under perform on a low-stress fun jumps. Hell, I might just get out to feel myself fall!!!!

I'm a skydiver....

Yes dave, we Expect the full report on this forum by O-800 hours.... =========Shaun ==========

Ahhhhh, Yes!! A perfect Excuse to post some pictures of my baby on DZ.com - Feast your eyes on my Racer 2K3 - I love it with all that I am..... I've had my Racer 2K3 for just under 5 months now, I've put a good number of Jumps on it - You can't go wrong with this rig dude, it's top of the line - Check out my review for the whole scoop! =========Shaun ==========

I only hear the best about the folks at Mirage Systems - Nodays so much of this industry is propelled by customer service, Mirage really has made itself stand out above the rest.... Glad to hear it man, keep us all informed on your your doing... =========Shaun ==========

I knew that was coming about 20 seconds after I posted..... =========Shaun ==========

That's very big of you to lead by example....

*** Let's all leave the bastard a message [\quote] Lets do it, who all is with me?!?!??!

"Maybe the River is so polluted that you have to wear a condom to take a whizz in the water..." That was my initial thought, and I had to think for a second to figure out why that wasn't a very good hypothesis.... =========Shaun ==========

I no Likey when Girls throw Rocks at me =========Shaun ==========

Fascinating, I've spent the last hour at that website just reading and learning - Thanks Tonto!!

If all girls threw rocks like you do, I'd be dead by now.... =========Shaun ==========

Poor Tinkerbelle, Hasn't this happened several times before with your posts being taken te wrong way and too far?? A few come to mind..... =========Shaun ==========

Oh, another thing.... I'm terrorfied of oversleeping. Even with 4 alarm clocks - If i have something very important early in the morning, often times I will lie awake afraid to go to sleep...... =========Shaun ==========

One would hope she would have told you that AFTER the ordeal was over... =========Shaun ==========

I believe it was Albert Einstein that said "Aim for the stars. You may not get there, but you'll get pretty high trying anyways." With the right attitude, these can be words to live by. With the wrong attitude, these words can make one's life a living hell. Attitude is 99% of everything, and I think it's important to remember that as this thread goes further...

Please Excuse me, I'm having a hard time putting my feelings into words. I fear letting those I love down - Whether or not that fear comes from the cost of the lessons that come with not succeeding or whether it comes from something else, I'm honestly not sure. I'm grateful that you are able to look at my unorganized thoughts and understand what I am trying to say. Expressing myself has always been a challenge.. =========Shaun ==========

Having to measure up to your own expectations is the scariest of all..... =========Shaun ==========