skydiver30960

Wow... so they DO shit in the woods! Elvisio "who needs mythbusters" Rodriguez

anybody have a site where I can download the video of the ceremony? I've hunted around a bit, can find lotsa pics but no video... Elvisio "thanks" rodriguez

Great! Congrats! Now get your ass up front and fire up the Otter! Daylight's wasting! Elvisio "it's friday, dammit" Rodriguez

My latest kick is digging through iTunes for remakes of my favorite 80's and 90's songs. Here's the playlist so far: Crazy – Mushroomhead Smooth Criminal – Alien Ant Farm Metro – Alkaline Trio I Will Survive – Cake Personal Jesus – Marilyn Manson Shout 2000 – Disturbed Hotel California – Gipsy Kings Relax – Laughing Us Tainted Love – Marilyn Manson Turn the Page – Metallica Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting – Nickelback Sweet Dreams are Made of This – Marilyn Manson In the Air Tonight – Nonpoint Blue Monday – Orgy Green Eyed Lady – Winterkill Boys of Summer – Codeseven Love is a Battlefield – This Fires Embrace Sunglasses at Night – Francis Soto Band 99 Red Balloons – Goldfinger Send Me an Angel – Thrice AND Deadstar Assembly Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Hawk Nelson Major Tom - RPM Actually, some of these were already in my CD collection, but most are from iTunes. Anyone out there have any more suggestions? I'm not much a fan of the "dance club" remakes of every song on the face of the earth, but a few of those are OK. I'm more up for the hard rock/punk/alternative remakes. Later; Elvisio "ears ringing" Rodriguez

...that couple seconds when you're crouched in the door, when everybody on the jump is in position but the count hasn't started yet. The wind is in your face, the sun warms your skin, and you know that your're just about to begin the one thing that truly makes your heart sing. The skydive may go to total crap, or it may be awesome, but it doesn't matter because that moment is perfect. Elvisio "even with a tandem" Rodriguez

Excellent video. But... don't we do that on every jump? Like you said, on a wing with a much poorer glide ratio? I know I know... don't flame... I know. Elvisio "related to five military jet jockeys, lucky me" Rodriguez

Worked for a company that almost ended up in this situation once. The company just flat ran out of money. Word was, we just weren't going to get a check that payday, and that was that. The plant manager mortgaged his house to pay his people (i.e. the whole plant), expecting to get paid back. HIS boss, the CEO, left him twisting in the wind. It all went belly-up a little later. Elvisio "too bad, hard workin' folks" Rodriguez

Hell no. And too bad, too. Might do us some good. I'm a trauma ICU RN. The overwhelming majority of the people who end up in my care are involved in MVC's. I'm a skydiver. I'm a volunteer firefighter. I'm a rescue squad volunteer. I play ice hockey. I SCUBA dive. My wife is a salesperson who spends eight hours a day driving. I keep telling her that it's more likely that I'm going to get the dreaded telephone call from the ER (as opposed to her getting it about me), but she never seems to believe me. There isn't a doubt in my mind it's true. It's not that she's a bad driver, she just spends her whole day in the line of fire. Elvisio "buckle up, buccos" Rodriguez

Somebody might want to show this to Jeb... Elvisio "too far?" Rodriguez

Had one for several years until he died. Smart as hell, fun to have as a pet, but DAMN did he stink. Yeah, sure, it's a MUSK, but it still stinks. Even though he'd supposedly had his "glands removed" he was still a ripe bastard. I didn't notice it as much as anyone else who walked into my room did. Bathing helped but it was a catch-22: too much bathing is bad for their skin. ... and my room smelled like him for YEARS after he was gone. Would love to get another one, but just can't bring myself to living with "eau de ferret" again. I'm surprised the ferret is #3. What about fish? Rabbits? Reptiles? Elvisio "tore the shit out of my cheesy speakers" Rodriguez

Is it just me, or maybe its just the pricing in my relatively rural part of the world, but weren't most of the subs on Subways "5 dollar" menu actually LESS than five dollars before the special? McDonald's pulled the same stunt a few years ago, jacking prices while at the same time touting how much cheaper a McDonald's cheeseburger is than a "restaurant" burger. Bastages. Elvisio "sorry ladies, not a footlong" Rodriguez

They bother me in the same way that smokers bother me; the same way that reckless drivers bother me; the same way that some skydivers who (despite our efforts to teach them otherwise) do bonehead stuff bother me. People who by action or omission of action destroy themselves and make excuses for their actions bother me. Obesity is epidemic. The sequelae of obesity are destroying our bodies. Diabetes (specifically type II)is rampant. Heart disease is rampant. People (and worse, their KIDS) are getting fatter every day. The overwhelming majority of people who are overweight do not have an excuse. A FEW of the people you know may have "predispositions" but there is always something they could do. Maybe they won't be strutting down the runway with supermodels, but they can always improve their condition, SOMEHOW. Even a single pound lost is a benefit. People look in the mirror and see they're fat, look around the family reunion and see that their whole family is fat, and decide that "it's genetic". This is a cultural issue, not a genetic one. I'm an ICU RN and see how obesity tears a body apart, and see how a baseline of obesity complicates recovery from even simple illnesses and procedures. It's a huge factor, and one that needs to be dealt with by everyone on a personal level. Elvisio "aha, there's my soapbox" Rodriguez

Man, that would've been PERFECT for sneaking booze into football games back in college. Of course, then I would've needed a date for each game. Hell, I coulda just tried wearing it myself. "I have a troublesome hormone imbalance officer, thank you very much for making me feel self-conscious." Elvisio "double tap" Rodriguez

I worked for a few years in a bike shop that sold Giants, they're a good brand. At least, they were when I was riding heavy in the late 90's. One thing to consider, your previous discussions mentioned you'd be climbing some big hills. Consider getting a "men's" frame rather than a "women's" model. Anymore, unless you're riding your bike to the gym in a hoop skirt, the low bar is useless. What it DOES do, however, is mess up the frame's geometry, which means it'll flex under you and waste the energy you're trying to move to the pedals. Chances are you may not notice the difference, but it'll be there. Also, the stiffer frame will be better for you when you get bitten by the riding bug and want to start offroading. Plus, I imagine a standard frame would be easier to sell used at a later date when you're ready to upgrade. Elvisio "just a thought" Rodriguez

Well done, you know what that means? You get to drink... FROM THE FIREHOSE! Elvisio "elvisio's playhouse" Rodriguez

A hearty "well done" to whoever can name the movie: I tried like hell to find it on youtube but the only thing I found was some guy lipsynching to the soundbite while wearing a paper mask. A far cry from the original. Elvisio "glad to be able to contribute to the discussion in a meaninful fashion" Rodriguez

How much time to you spend in front of the computer per day? How much time have you spent in front of the computer during the episode when this stuff started? My first guess would be some kind of eye fatigue. Where's peregrinerose? Elvisio "come out come out wherever you are" Rodriguez

Senseless repost too.... Elvisio "been guilty a time or two myself" Rodriguez

W.W.W.D.? Elvisio 'gives me the willies' Rodriguez

The respect I had for the Knights... is now gone. Elvisio "worse than hasslehoff" Rodriguez

Classic. Abso-fucking-lutely classic. Best post of the day. Thanks. Elvisio "again: classic" Rodriguez

Nice pics. Yup, nice lineover. It's pretty deep, the TI did good to clear it. Or did you mean that they landed with the lineover still in place? In that case, DAMN! I had a really small one clear on it's own for me a while back. After deployment I'm "checking the corners" and see an itty-bitty lineover. As I'm reaching up to see if I can clear it, I hear a little zzzzzzip-pop! and it cleared on it's own. Take a deep breath, release the brakes, do the control check, and continue the skydive as normal. Elvisio "spoke to the packer" Rodriguez

While not listed by name, the class of medication I was taking is listed as not approved by the FAA. Elvisio "thanks for the source" Rodriguez

Unfortunately, the AOPA website was wrong on this one. When all this started, I consulted a buddy of mine who was an AOPA member and checked the list and showed that the medication I was interested in was an "approved medication". So, I joined AOPA to get access to the info myself, printed out the list, and called up the FAA ready to lay it to them. But, when I talked to them, i.e. Eric, he checked and said: 1.) According to the records HE had, the medication was NOT approved, and would not be approved under appeal; 2.) It was the FAA lists that decided what was approved and what was not approved, not the AOPA lists (he said it nicely, but that's what he said); 3.) He didn't know why the AOPA list would be wrong, but that didn't change anything anyhow (again, said nicely). So... that didn't work out so well. I spent my money to join AOPA, so I'm going to get in touch with them to see if they have any suggestions or other possibilties for appeal they may suggest, but in the end to get by the FAA I had to quit taking the medication. Elvisio "oh well" Rodriguez

They way I've always looked at it: Tandem skydives are, for instructors, a way to pay the bills or at least help offset the cost of skydiving (in addition to being fun). They are, for sport jumpers, a way to keep the planes flying and the dropzones open. But they are, for the people coming to make their first (and probably only) jump, a really expensive proposition. I work at a DZ that charges a premium for its services: of the three DZs I've worked at, this one is charging more for just about everything than anywhere I've ever worked. Now, I also think what they charge is worth it to the customer since we also have the best of everything compared to my past DZs: best plane, best equipment, best packers, best instructors (hey, that's me!) But regardless, it's expensive. I love the fact that the person came out to spend the day with me and make a skydive. Here's this poor guy who just shelled out for his first tandem and video (God forbid if he had to pay for his girlfriend too!) and now he sees that well-known sign that says "your instructors are paid for their services, but gratuities are always appreciated" which is a thinly-veiled way of saying "give us MORE of your money!". Financially, I always felt like it was kicking someone when they're down. To make a short story long: the times I receive a tip, I accept it gracefully and make sure to give the tip-giver a strong handshake and even stronger thank-you. But whenever the discussion of putting up signs or pushing for tips has come up, I've always fought it with everything I had. Elvisio "I don't mind cheap beer" Rodriguez