jceman

After reading through today's and last night's posts I am confused. Verily. Only thing that seems clear to me: "I believe the Christian Skydiving Association was responsible for improper loading of Janet Jackson's teddy, resulting in "Boobies"; proper penguin swatting could have prevented this tragedy." I return you now to your regular programming. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Huh! Dang kids! The entire song was crystal clear to me the very first time I heard it. But I Was So Much Older Then, I'm Younger Than That Now!

...as will your friends here on dropzone.com. Best wishes, Chris. See ya on the other side. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

No pic needed, Dr. K. I carry a nice mental pic of Jessica's ass with me. You rock, Jess, but I've told you that before. When you're ready, enjoy your return. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

BULLSHIT! Here's a hint -- before you post tripe like this, check here. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Tell me about it! I was shift lead in the ER at Nellis in the late 70s when the diamond went in during a training show. No fun at all. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Our best wishes to you. I love the ground pic, that gal just behind looks like she is about to burst into tears -- seems proposals have a way of doing that, even when you're not directly involved. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Well, you know...that's one of my duties as AndyMan's wife. Or was that something else...? _Pm No, that's it exactly. Thanks for the laugh. Hope you two are well. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Did you hear the "whoosh" as my point flew directly over your head? Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Wow busted!! Smooth clean and painless!! Wow! Talk about being hoist upon one's own petard... Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Don't hold your breath any longer, it'll do you no good. Air FX was run by a couple working at Sebastian and while they made good looking stuff, there were a lot of problems with the suits coming apart (though my FF pants have served me well over the past 3 1/2 years); the suits seem to have been emblematic of the marriage and hence, the company. Both people have long since departed for places unknown. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

from what I've seen on various sports sites and pubs, if Pete gets reinstated it won't matter; his book and his unrepentant attitude ("The only thing I did wrong was I got caught") have lost him too much support. I don't think he will get elected to the Hall. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

You wanna shoot me? Nah, Sunshine, he doesn't want to shoot you -- he said he wanted to shoot those who thought the world revolves around them. We know the world revolves around you, so he could not have been talking about you. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

I voted "NO". The words "Safe" (and any and all of its derivatives) should never appear in the same sentence with the word "skydiving" unless it is the following: "Skydiving is a dangerous activity but the risks involved can be mitigated so as to provide an illusion of safety." Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

shameless bump -- gotta get this thing off page 7! Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Stacy, I've read all the replies so far and let me tell you me experience. I had LASIK in 2000; my pre-op vision was off the charts -- we extrapolated it out to about 20/1600. That is not a misptrint or typo; my eyeglass prescription was -13.75 left and -13.50 right, with a -1.50 sphere (for astigmatism). Whenever I got a new pair of glasses, a major observatory had to be shut down! The only contacts I could wear were rigid gas permeables and then for only 8-12 hours at a time. I had of course been interested in surgical treatment and had been told it was not (yet) an option for me. Around 1999, that picture changed and severe myopes like myself were given a tentative okay. I went to one of the Jax surgeons who had done many LASIK procedures, got examined, tested, measured and then was ushered in to see the surgeon himself; he looked a the charts, peered into my eyes, talked with me, looked back at the charts, pulled out his PDA and did some calculations. He looked into my eyes again, reran a test or two, checked the entrails of a few sheep then said he thought he could help me. He told me what caused him to take so much time to make the decision, what the FDA required for cornela size/thinkness pre and post-op and how it was an extremely close call but doable. I talked with another friend who had had the procedure and she practically begged me to go see her surgeon (who advertises like crazy in JAX). My experience there was not good. I was dismissed summarily with no explanation and never even seeing the "great man". At this point I was confused to say the least, so I did even more research and found a third surgeon who was known to not only have taken part in the first FDA study, but who specialized in difficult procedures, not only LASIK, but had a great reputation for treating severe vision problems. My experience in his ofice was like the first one -- I saw the surgeon on the first visit, he took much time in deliberating the advisability of doing surgery on me and told me what he was thinking at all stages. I decided to have him do it. Due to my preop vision, I didn't expect the miracle they talk about on the infomercial, I simply wanted to reduce my dependency on corrective lenses. My post-op experience showed me why the second clinic wanted nothing to do with me -- they were a surgery mill, in/lase/out check back the next day, see ya in a few weeks, etc. My case needed followup. Lots and lots of followup. (if anyone wants more details, do a google search on me and LASIK in rec.skydiving) My vision now? 20/40 left eye, 20/15 right eye, and I've not had a corrective lens of any sort since July 2000. As for starring, well, I wondered about that, and deliberately drove around a bit before surgery so I could make a comparison; I have less starring now then I did with either glasses or contacts! My advice is simple and has not changed one bit since I first had my surgery: research the surgeon, reearch that he has the latest VISX tracking laser equipment and if, when you go for that first free consultation, if a tech does all the tests then leaves the room telling you that he/she will be back with the answer, don't be in that room when they get back -- run away from the surgery mill and find a clinic run by a surgeon who thinks you are worthy of his/her time. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

1960 4-door Corvair. I put two concrete blocks in the front "trunk" to keep the fron end from wandering. After that it handled gret, er, grate, um...it handled. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

It's a simple matter to remove the check mark from the box "Append Signature to post" when you think your sig may not be appropriate or you wish to use another, temporary, one. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Oooh! Are you gonna get it... Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

I know something you don't know! Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

For those of you who do not know, the tent on Drop Zone Row goes for $495. All donations, large or small will be gratefully accepted. Any overages will go towards couches/chairs/power cords/tarps or other necessities. Plans are underway to make the dz.com tent the place to be at Rantoul 2004. Any questions/hints/suggestions? Email or PM me here at dropzone.com. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Former IT geek (mainframe guru), now I own a certain skydiving gear store and hold a certain mod's feet to the fire. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Chris, Well, I've read all the replies to this point and it seems we call all sum it up the same way: if you want to do it, do it. Take your time, make sure you do everything in your power to make sure you stack the deck in your favor, the biggest being getting your head in the right place -- meaning do it because you want to. Only you can make the decision, but be assurred that doubts are not a disqualifying factor. Use the doubts like you use fear, to keep yourself aware of the dangers. I shattered my femur like Tonto did, but did not get back as soon as he did -- a body doesn't heal at 50 like it does at 20, but I did get back in the air long before the medicos expected me to. I prepared myself for my return in what I felt was the best way for me: I got a larger canopy, I discussed it with my S&TA and some instructors I respected, I spent time in the hanging harness to review emergency procedures and returned with a clear and pull in great conditions. I was nervous, of course, but I went back satisfied in my mind that I had done what I needed to stack that deck in my favor. Recently I had to take another 6 weeks off after having the hardware removed from my femur; this time I didn't do all that as I felt much more current and capable of resuming where I'd left off. Now I am facing a total knee replacement sometime in the next couple of years (and more than likely a total hip as well). My ortho surgeon said that I'd have to stop jumping then -- I just laughed. I told him about Pieces Of Eight and that if a lack of limbs didn't stop them, a prosthetic joint or two sure as hell wasn't going to stop me. He just shook his head and muttered something about crazy people, but he had a smile on his face. My bottom line? Like Lisa said, jumping is no longer the all-consuming passion that it was when I broke myself, but it is a large part of who I am. It'll take a lot more than this to make me stop. What you do is up to you, but you can look to us for support as you did in this thread -- we won't get you in the air, but we can help you through the dark places if you want; it's up to you. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

recursion: ri kar zhan n;see recursion Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

Ah! You figured wrong, then, grasshopper. You're not the only refugees here. Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?