MakeItHappen

Your comment really bothers me. The thing is that I post links to my material or others within the context of a post or as FMI list. The reason I post like that vs 'copy and paste' is because the material is copyrighted. I've asked Sangiro several times to remove my copyrighted material from others' posts. Now, if you add in some keyword linking scheme, based on the highest bidder, these posts would refer people to pages that may or may not have anything to do with the original post. I think in the long run you'll end up having people write their spiel, post it on their site and then link to it so that no keywords are posted in the DZ.com post. Or maybe a double substitution eg Containers Icon left bracket url "http://www.makeithappen.com/spsj" right bracket Containers Icon left bracket /url right bracket This turns into a double link. Containers goes to the intended destination. Icon goes someplace else. User-friendly? I don't think so. Web based writing removed pronouns from product descriptions. This key word linking will remove content from posts. It will be replaced by links to 'content under my control'. DZ.com would become a big linked list is all. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Icon SomeIcon Iconagain Sorry I didn't realize what you were talking about to begin with..... All I can say is that you can make it happen on anything about Parachute History whenever you want a Dive Maker Ironically and innocently , I mentioned ".... the United Sales People Association was behind this boogie." . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Yeah right, Mike !?! I think you are just disillusioned about you not being a poster boy any more. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Good thing I couldn't open it, as my xray Vision showed that behind that door was an Automatically Activated Dagger (AAD). The dagger had cut the loop clear through. It was obviously faster than me. I admit I reacted slowly and took too much time. I then resorted to my Retro Slingshot Launcher (RSL). The slingshot propelled a space ball into the air at an amazing speed. The ball fell relative to the dragger trajectory. It was like a carving swoop with a plane out at the last second. There was no flare at the end, so that the speed was brisk. The target - only 5 cms - was smashed to bits and shattered 400-ways. I moved to the 400-way formation of miniature Tic-tacs, now lying on the ground, at a walking pace. No sense in rushing. I gently picked-up a grip on one the pieces. I brought it to my eye level for closer inspection. There was a tiny inscription of 'USPA'. That meant the United Sales People Association was behind this boogie. They were all for downsizing the target to 1 cm. with an electronic scoring pad. The Association of Philanthropic Folks (APF) does not want AADs or RSLs mandatory. The controversy started because...... . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Wait a second here.... Based on your B 27588 number and name, your membership expired at the end of Dec 05. You started complaining on March 9, 2006 that you don't have a valid membership for some boogie. Let's see, first notice was probably sent 11/1/05. Second notice 12/1/05 TWO months after your membership EXPIRED, you want to 'renew'. You are technically called an 'expired' member, not a renewing member. HQ has told me that the internet DB file available to GM DZs gets updated everyday. Today, March 11, 2006, the DB has your new expiration date of 03/31/2007. It will probably take a week, maybe two, for your new card to reach you. If you want, I can email the Boogie people directly and give them the details of your now current membership. My email addy is here. The 2-3 weeks stated processing time accounts for the rather slow delivery of the USPS. It does take that long for the cards to reach the more distant states. Thank you for contributing to the Airport Defense Fund. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I must have missed that thread. Got a link? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

This is a copout. If there was a plethora of posts made by BOD members that were attacked, I can see it. The truth is that only a few BOD members post here. You mean something like this? I couldn't even get the BOD to discuss BOD matters in a forum that was open only to BOD members, staff and advisors. The technology is there. The resources are there. USPA doesn't want to do it. I'm not insane, so I won't be banging my head against the wall and expect different results. If there are enough other members that want this and ask for it, it is available. You won't get any sandbags from me. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I currently use the original Dytter with only one setting. I set it at 1800 feet. My altitude to decide if I have a landable canopy. See Wake up Call I used to have a Timeout that had 3 beep altitudes. You could only adjust the highest one. I had that set at 3500. The other two beeps went off at 2500 and some flatline tone at, I think, 1800 ft. The 2500 beeping always scared the crap out of me because I thought something was wrong. I still had 500 feet more to track, so it always bugged me, especially on big ways. The Timeout went crazy on the 300-ways. I think it was the cold that got to it, even with a fresh battery. It kept going off around 4-4.5k. It wasn't set there either. I haven't used it since then. It's always good to have the eyeball altimeter to let you know if an audible or visual altimeter is broken. For most big ways I go sans helmet/dirt alert, unless it's really cold. I can't see buying a new-fangled dirt alert, when the original Dytter works. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I was not there when it happen, but came down from NorCal the next week end. The wreckage was still out there, so I took my dog Pete to view it. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That's part of your problem. They know you want to buy now. They'll try to talk you into whatever they have, thinking that because you're "motivated" you'll accept compromises. If you're not prepared to walk away, then you are less likely to find what you want at the price point that you want. I'll let these folks know I can walk away then. I work from home and don't need a car for work. (That's why my truck had low mileage.) I can use cabs or friends for rides to the dz. Plus I think I have until Weds. at least with my rental truck. I get the paperwork tomorrow. They gave me a Taurus at first, then sold that and swapped me to a F-150 with power locks and power windows . The Taurus also had that, but most rentals do. I want to be able to roll down the windows without the key in the ignition. These power controls people do not understand campers. Besides I can always get a motorcycle in the meantime. But really, I want to get this done and over with. It took them 2.5 weeks just to total it. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

So I have finally been given an 'ok' to proceed with a truck replacement purchase. I have scoured the internet and found some places with either a used truck or new truck that meets my needs. It seems these sales guys are all liars. How do you get straight answers from these people? I've told them I want a Nissan Frontier with ac, extended cab, crank windows, cc, regular door locks, sliding back window, no bed liner, standard bed (75x60), std trans Some try to sell me automatics. Some try to sell me power windows and locks (I hate those things). Some try to tell me they have the lowest price (which they don't and I quote them prices from other dealers). Saturday I'll be doing some test drives. I want this ordeal done and over with by Monday. The ideal solution would be to replace my 98 Frontier with an identical one with 65k miles. But that is not available. The 1 to 2 year old models sell for about $1000 less than a new truck. So I have a choice between something like 02-03 with 30-50k miles vs a new truck. The price difference is around $3-4k. The deal I'm getting from the other guy's insurance will work out to be equivalent to a retail price for my 'trade in'. A new truck is more than I really want to spend, but the older trucks are a good deal too. Most of the used trucks have more mileage than what I averaged. I usually buy 2 yo trucks, not 4 yo trucks. Any tips on what to say or not to say to the sales reps. I have told these sales reps via email or phone what I want and that I want to get a new truck this weekend. I told them I am motivated because some yahoo totaled my truck by driving on the wrong side of the road. I want this over and done with. The local dealer said he would match anyone else's price on a new Frontier. I did test drive a brand new Frontier there today. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

LM I think you should aware that most people that read this forum have a reading comprehension that is a bit better than yours. There is no place that I say a new jumper should BO 1000 ft before pull time. Perhaps you should reread the thread? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Most rigs do not want the flap grommets to overlap. There used to be (and still can be) pack closure problems if the grommets hang on the other grommet or binding tape. IOW, offset flap grommets are a good thing. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Anyone ever use CarFax.com to run a check on a used vehicle? Are there other alternatives? I have been given the 'opportunity' to replace my truck with something else. I really have no option in this. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Where in the SIM does it say it is excessive? Wouldnt it only be excessive if it was ever a problem for those I have jumped with? SIM does not say anything like that. But didn't you say in your first post: "....So he says its excessive,...." and you were asking people if they agreed or not with this??? "....Id like to know what others think,...." Now you know my opinion. Isn't that what you wanted? You never asked what the SIM said was 'excessive'. Damn I guess since it was okay for her, it should be for me? Yes I am getting quite defensive now. These are MY skydives that I ALWAYS run over dive flows with people who I JUMP with and those on the load. You have no right to state where my progression should have me. If I want to do solo jumps for my first 500 jumps that is MY right, I am the one who will be saving my ass when things go wrong, NOT you, NOT anyone but ME. I think you need some remedial lessons on how to read a thread. People reply to others. They may say something to them that does not apply to the original post. You know like me replying to KelpDiver. IOW, it's not all about you. I do not have a B lisence, nor have I completed the objectives for such, I know you will find reason to insult that as well and that is fine with me. I have had more people agree with me then not and the people who have not agreed with me have never spoken to me before and have no idea what level I am at. One day we are jump wonders the next day we are to slow. I love how ironic this is... it was only a few weeks ago that you were complaining because a new jumper was out of their element and comfort zone. See above. And, to elaborate, KelpDiver does have a B license. I was replying to him, not you. I have never had that problem. If anything I have the opposite problem. Trust me at this point regardless of what you "have done for the sport" or the "USPA" I would not even jump with you if you were paying your own slot. Anyone who feels they have a right to accuse me of being to safe, or tell me I should do things that I personally am not ready for is NOT someone I would trust in this sport. See above. You know the post that you just replied to was not directed at you. The world does not revolve around you. Im glad that for you , you are at a experence level where you can do that. Me on a 20 way is the last thing from my mind. I have spent apprx 60 mins in freefall, if you think anyone can be great when only spending 60 mins doing it, esp a sport like skydiving maybe you should read some more of your own articles. If you think I am experienced enough to BO below what my PERSONAL hard deck is then maybe you should reconsider giving advice to those you do not know. Thank god Im smart enough to not listen to everything on the internet regardless who it is from. Stop comparing me to what you do, and what others at your level do. Were not talking about an experienced jumper, we are talking about one who less then a year in the sport and less then 60 jumps. See above. You know the post that you just replied to was not directed at you. The world does not revolve around you. I feel like I am repeating myself. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Jan, is tossing at 3 really a good idea for someone at 58 jumps? She'll burn past that 2500 decision height on a normal deploy, and if there is a minor canopy issue, she'll have not very long to decide to chop using a 1800 or 2000 one. Even less for a total. I keep running into those who want more than 10k of freefall and don't want to BO until 4.5, and it's a PITA. I want to toss at 3.5, and that points to a 5k breakoff. I think you missed the part of "But if you are not comfortable yet with that then keep doing what you are." A 5500-6500 BO is excessive -even for someone with 50 jumps on a regular jump. If they were jumping a new canopy or new container that would be ok. This reminds me of someone on a WWR event a few years back. She was in the outside wave with an assigned pull altitude of 2200 ft. She said her canopy took 900 ft or so to open. That would put her below her decision altitude. I asked her if she wanted to run through EPs with so-n-so (a local Instructor) or suggested that she might change canopies. I even mentioned that I retired parachutes that took that long to open. I think you will continue to run into PITA jumpers because a BO at 4k is ok for a 4-way (for B license and above). When your comfort level gets to that place, you'll find more jumpers willing to jump with you. As a steady diet, I would not want to do that (unless you were paying for my slot). Heck, we used to BO 20-ways at 3.5k (and still do every once in awhile). It's the canopy openings that are driving the opening altitudes up. Get a canopy that opens faster. I did and I also do things to augment openings when I have a 2k opening altitude. I will know by 1800 ft whether it's going to open or not. Experience and comfort level have a great deal to do with this. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Here's the story off the top of my head. The source was some article in the mag from many years ago. PCA/USPA decided to start granting D licenses and Instructor ratings - sometime in the 60s. The JM and I ratings were at first built into the licenses, A-C. Lew Sanborn and Jacques Istel were first in line to be the 'first'. They tossed a coin to see who would get the first D license and first I number. Lew won the D license #1 and Jacques won the I #1 (or whatever it was called) Later PCA/USPA stopped numbering the JM/I ratings. I forget why. Today, none of the USPA ratings are numbered. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

On solos this is something I do, however when in a jump with others I tend to look less at the ground and do often rely on mine and others altimiters (if they are visable I make a quick look to see if they correspond) That is fine, but you need to develop that 'what the ground looks like at each altitude' - just in case you go low on some dive in the future and your altimeter breaks. the reason I stop at 5 is that it is what I was taught in AFF, and through my coaching while getting my A. Since they are not track dives and since I want to make sure I am not getting in the way, I have always stopped at 5 , check where I am at then wait to pull, I also like to slow down my vertical speed since I have a decent/ strong track and do not want to chance a hard opening. However since reading this I think I will sit down with one of my instructors and recieve some additional training on this matter. For that I appreciate your reply, where as the bowling speeches I have recieved in PMs are not productive to my continued education in this sport, yours and a few others have offered me new insight. I doubt if you were taught that. In fact, the SIM Sec 6-1.C.2.b says "flat track away to the planned deployment altitude" Cat F says to stop and change direction after 10 sec. when you are first learning to track. There is no place in the SIM that says to stop tracking during a BO after 5 seconds. I am one of the current editors of the SIM. I read it continually throughout the year and suggest changes. I also do not know of any organizer anywhere that says you can stop tracking after 5 secs. The rule is track until your assigned pull altitude. A good flat track, that you claim to have, will not increase your descent rate. On video you'll see flat trackers split horizontally, but have the same or even slower descent rate as the group. It's your total speed that increases in a good flat track. Just sit up as you wave off and you'll bleed off the horizontal component. The last time I jumped I lost approx 750 ft during the track which left an additional 750 ft till my pull alti. Just think that if you continue to track for the other 750 ft, you'd be twice as far away from the others. That would be safer, wouldn't it? If I pulled at 3 K I would be pulling 1000 feet lower then most the experienced people at my DZ, What DZ do you jump at? I really don't think your observation is accurate. Actually, I think you are one of those jumpers that asks around until they can find some small sliver of advice that agrees with what they are thinking. The rest of the advice is ignored because it "doesn't fit". Reread what I wrote before because there is a lot that you are missing. To put it in more concrete terms: - Track until your assigned pull altitude - Your track is probably 'average' for someone with 58 jumps (which isn't all that good in an absolute scale) - Altitude awareness needs to continue under canopy or under a mal (total or partial) - You have 58 jumps and are not the great safety guru - no matter what things you do that make you think you are. New jumpers injure or kill themselves at a greater rate than experienced jumpers, mainly because they lack experience. - Jumpers with less than 100 jumps per year also injure or kill themselves at a higher rate than those with +200 jumps per year, no matter how safety conscience they are. Did I scare you enough? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

There is also turbulence generated from a canopy. Did you fly through the wake of another canopy? BTW, many 100 jump wonders say the same thing you do about their canopy and how they fly. Then one day they get a long spot and have to land in a tight area. Then end up doing a low turn into the ground. Or one day someone cuts them off and they do a full toggle turn into the ground. Or one day they get some turbulance or down draft right at flare time. Or they start a turn too low and do not stop it before landing crashing. Or.... . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That is sort of normal at your experience level. But really you should be doing a ground - then altimeter check. The whole point is to learn what the ground looks like at each altitude. If you skip looking at the ground, all you do is develop a dependancy on the altimeter. Altimeters are known to break or stick. Even the lense may come off and flip that needle around. If you jump a digital there are other failure modes too. That lock-on the altimeter thing some schools teach is something I do not particularly care for, athough I know a lot of places use it. It kind of goes against that mantra of 'teach the student what he'll being doing once licensed.' Short COA - "ground- altimeter" is what students should be taught, not to lock on to altimeter. Here's something else that may get you into trouble in the future. Breakoff is NOT 'track for 5 seconds and then stare at altimeter.' Breakoff is track to clear air before you reach your assigned pull altitude. Breakoff is track to until you reach your assigned pull altitude. You'll find out that most experienced jumpers do not even look at their altimeter from BO to pull. They are watching traffic and the ground. Breakoff means to track until your assigned pull altitude. There is no stopping until you are waving off. If you do stop and stare at an altimeter you may end up backsliding. On future dives, a stop tracking procedure may find you colliding with someone that kept tracking. Also what Rob said about altitude checks on the way up is important. It is equally, if not more important, to do that and recognize altitudes on the way down. Say it takes you 5 secs to guess altitude on the way up. On the way down - that is 1000 feet. Most people will lose about a thousand feet in a 5 second flat track. The amount of horizontal separation depends on how well you track. One way to see how well you track is to have a photographer come to the center, level with where the formation was and film you tracking off. The photographer should be experienced enough to get out of your way in case you backslide while watching your altimeter. At your experience level, breakoffs at 5500 to 6500 are excessive. You should be comfortable with a BO of 4500 on a 4-way say and pull at 3k. See SIM 6-1 for the USPA guidelines on BO altitudes. But if you are not comfortable yet with that then keep doing what you are. Just let others know you are pulling high. If you visit busy DZs you may not do be able to do that. See also Altitude Awareness and Newbie Blues on SPSJ I think you might also be convincing yourself that you have great altitude awareness, when you do not realize that most loss of altitude awareness (that leads to death or injury) happens after BO or after a pull on the main. After a main snivel or mal presents itself is when people loose track of altitude. Building in ground altimeter checks then can really save you from an AAD fire or low/no cutaway or pull. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I'll admit to being a long time hold out on NT because I just don't like all the 'new' features on Win 2k and XP. (In fact, can anyone tell me how to prevent Win 2k or xp from 'hiding' my menu items? I can't find that in the help files and it annoys the hell out of me. My dvd burning SW only works under W2k or WXP and I have to resort to those OSs at least part of the time.) I built this system in 2001 to be multiboot. Right now it has dos/win3.1 - NT4 - Win 2k and Win XP. Around 2003 I added a PCI ethernet card for DSL access that was finally available in my area. The problem was that my PCI SB sound card had an IRQ conflict with it. I could never resolve it, even after hours of trying, so I just pulled the sound card out. My computer was deaf, so to speak. It also had a conflict with the ISA modem card. I also pulled that out. So today I was dicking around with my even older system (an early Pentium). I had taken a SB 16 card out of my 386 to try and get a CD rom to work in it. For some reason I can't get any CD rom to work in the old system. (Multi-boot dos/win3 and NT) And back then the CD cables connected to the sound cards. So on a lark, I stuck the ISA SB 16 into my newer system to see if it would work. The MB has one ISA slot for legacy stuff. I did have a SCSI card there. By gawd it does!!! So I'm using a sound card that came from my 386 on my newer multi-boot system and it works under all the OSs. Is that weird or what? I guess I'll try a PCI SCSI so I can have all add-ons added on under all OSs or maybe find a MB with more than one ISA slot and 4 PCI slots. In case anyone wants to know, NT does have drivers for USB. While I'm on the topic, the old system with only ISA slots needs a network card. Anyone have an old one that works under NT or Win 3.1? I also tried looking for ISA usb port cards. They don't exist to my knowledge. In the meantime, I use a cable modem to connect the old and new computers together. Slow, but it works. Each computer has its own little mission in life, so I can't really throw them away. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Call kennels to see if they know anyone that wants a new dog. Also email ALL of your friends and business contacts asking if they can help find a new home. Someone will know someone that knows someone. If this is more of a lost dog, call the vets/pound in town and read the classified ads in the paper. Most towns have a rescue business or two. Check them out too. Window blinds: Sounds like he's an outdoor dog and doesn't know what to do inside, except try and escape. If you have a yard, the electric fences works wonders if he's an escape artist. I can lend you mine because I don't need it with RePete. Never give a dog an 'old' shoe to chew on (not that you did that). They can't tell the difference between an old and new shoe. You'd be training them to chew shoes. Get the rawhide chew things at the pet store. Especially, if this one is a puppy. Be very firm in voice intonation when you say 'Sit', 'Stay', 'No' etc. Do not say 'Sit?', 'Stay?' or 'No?'. Dogs want a pack leader, if you don't do it, they will. Name: When I took in an abandoned dog 2 years ago, I sat on the couch with the dog sitting on the floor looking around at the room. I started running thru the alphabet and consonant blends. She responded to "Cl'. I named her Cleo. If you need to get rid of the dog, go for a no-kill place. They may charge an entry fee. Networking worked for me. I found Cleo a new, one dog home, thru a jumper that was married to a kennel owner, who had a client that just lost a dog and wanted a replacement. Cleo was ok to start with, but she did not like RePete. Cleo did not understand the pecking order. She was long haired anyway an I did not want a long hair. Puppy-proof your house in the meantime: No shoes, clothes, remotes, books, wires etc laying around. The bottom shelf of a bookcase is 'laying around' to a dog. Even if they cost you a bundle in vet bills and torn up stuff, they are worth rescuing. Cleo was a digger. I had to bury chicken wire in a number of places. I'd rather do that then know she died in the desert. If you have to keep him for awhile, start heel training. Their behavior improves everywhere. They want to please you, really they do. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

This must be your first repack ;) No one sits around waiting for a repack, unless it's some special weekend of dives. Then they usually have to pay extra for it too. The way repacks usually go with the rest of us are to drop it off Sunday after your last jump and then pick it up Friday to hookup and pack the main, so you can make the first load on Saturday. Of course, new age jumpers sometimes ask the rigger to pack up the main too. So you'd only have to pick it up Saturday morning. I recommend Ziggy. He's just down the street from the Perris airport. Email me for his phone and email addy. My email is available here. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

There is a somewhat subtle difference here. Any tandem training jumpers must be done by a USPA TI. Other tandem jumps may be done by TIs rated only by the mfg, but they must meet the USPA currency requirements. See the BSRs for exact wording. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

If this is true then I ask everyone: WHY EVEN BOTHER HAVING USPA LICENSES OR RATINGS?! Can anyone, anyone at all, tell me why we even bother having a USPA license system when something like this means you just go to the next "USPA Member" DZ over the hill and start taking tandems again? According to the person that posted the video, that incident happened in 1997. That was approximately the time the USPA Tandem rating came out. This TI may not have had the USPA tandem rating. USPA could have suspended his membership or other ratings. I have no idea if they did that. I don't know what jumper or what year Rob is talking about. But I probably do know the jumper. Rob hasn't been working at Perris for some time. I'm guessing his incident was also before the USPA tandem rating was around. The mfgs usually handled all the disciplinary actions against TIs. After all, they issued the rating and they can take it away. Sometimes, a local TE may say to a TI that if they go thru some more training they can keep their rating and the mfg and USPA will not be told about it. IOW, if the mfg or USPA do not know about an incident like this, there is little they can do. Usually, these incidents come to surface years after they happened. USPA does have a limited amount of time to pursue disciplinary action. (See the Governance Manual). About whether a TE should elevate this type of incident to the mfg/USPA - I think it should be. Not all TEs think like me or you. They may take it upon themselves to 'self-regulate' the jumper in question. If no one else privy to the incident reports it, there is nothing the mfg or USPA can do. DZs are not always forth-coming on things like this because it reflects poorly on them. Photographers are reluctant to report it to because they might lose future work. No amount of whining about USPA can change the fact that they may not have known about this at the time of the incident. Many safety issues are dealt with at the local level. Some issues are elevated to USPA. There are some issues that have been communicated to RDs, but the people that are witnesses are unwilling to state so, on record, to USPA. In those cases, there is nothing USPA can do, except give 'talking-to's to the 'suspects'. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker