Douva

625/5= 125 a year. 125-92= 33 Are you an old timer? No, but I spent my first two years at an old-time drop zone that flew about fifteen 182 loads a weekend, and then I was held to about 25 jumps/year for about three years, for financial reasons. This guy could have had similar circumstances; my point was that his low jump numbers combined with his unusually high number of friends who died skydiving could indicate he jumped back when skydiving was a different animal than it is now. --Douva PS. I'm updating my profile to show that as of Tuesday, I have been in the sport six years, and as of Sunday, I have 636 jumps. So my average is actually only 106 jumps / year. 325 of my jumps were in the last year, so if you look at the 5 years before that, my average then was REALLY low. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

820 jumps / 9 years =

I found this picture of a soldier wearing the newly redesigned BDU's and carrying the new XM8 assault rifle. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

I'm planning on getting in training jumps with my teammate on Saturday, weather permitting, so I probably won't be sitting in on your whole class, but maybe we'll get a chance to jump together. See you there. Blue skies, Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

I waited in line 27 hours for tickets to Episode I. I was actually shown on the local news demonstrating my plastic light saber and playing Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with the other fans geeks. In my defense, I was 19, and that was my last hoorah in the Star Wars universe. I walked out of that midnight screening pretty much "over it." --Darth Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Does that mean Skydive San Marcos is having a first jump course this Saturday? Do you ever get that feeling like you're always the last person to know everything? Sheesh. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Actually, like the first film, the remake is deliberately lacking in gore. Most of the "gore" exists only in the minds of the audience. Marcus Nipsel, the director of the film, was quoted as saying, “If you count all the gore together from both [the original and the remake], you still have less than you have on a CSI episode. So clearly something psychological was at work. That’s where I wanted to settle.” --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Yes, and Casablanca sucks because it's in black and white. The original may not be timeless, but it was pretty groundbreaking for its time. A low budget horror film more terrifying for what it doesn't show than what it does. The next year, a big budget film helmed by another virtually unknown director would do the same thing--Jaws. As to the nature of the sequel, taste varies. Some people considered Silence of the Lambs too disturbing when it came out. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave all five major Oscars (including Best Picture). Taste varies. --Douva PS. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (either version) is no more true than Silence of the Lambs or Psycho (there really is just one version). All three films were very loosely based on the same series of events in 1950's Wisconsin. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

I love most of the skydiving superstitions, but I don't really believe in them. I like getting my logbook bounceproofed, and I like getting a two figher "five" from the other jumpers in the plane before I exit, but I don't think those things really protect me--They're just fun. The same thing goes for sacrificing a skydiver to the beer/weather goods on a bad weather day. Every sport has a few fun superstitions--They give the sport character. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

"I may not be bright, but at least I'm not boring." --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

The "Covert Ops" and "Urban Ops" adventures look like fun, but not $4000 worth of fun. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Now THAT is impressive. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Dude, everybody is on IMDB. You friggin change planes in L.A., and they put you on IMDB. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Nice one. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

How about this one? 1. I once negotiated a contract with entertainment attorney Jeff Cohen. 2. Jeff Cohen played Chunk in The Goonies (1985) with Josh Brolin. 3. Josh Brolin was in Hollow Man (2000) with Kevin Bacon. Your turn, Moffett. Show us what you got. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

I've managed to lower my score to a 2. 1. I worked on [I]The Rookie[/I] (2002) with publicist Stuart Fink (who I can use despite the fact that he's a crew member and not an actor because I actually worked with him). 2. Stuart Fink was the publicity coordinator on Quicksilver (1986) with Kevin Bacon. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Sunny and Moffet, please take note of the clarification added to my original post. Thank you, Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Duhh...actually I've seen him a couple times myself walking around Philly. Forgot about that. Remember rule number 1--You actually have to have SPOKEN with him, not just seen him, for the encounter to counted toward your final score. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Fine, we all get 1's. Now back to Kevin Bacon. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

This was inspired by the "I know a guy who knows _______" thread. In how few moves can you connect yourself to Kevin Bacon? Here are the rules (which I arbitrarily made up): 1. You can use a chance encounter only if you were personally involved. That means that if you met Kevin Bacon on the subway once, you can give yourself a score of 1, but if your mom met Kevin Bacon on the subway once, you can't give yourself a 2. You actually have to have spoken with Kevin Bacon (i.e., not just SEEN him on the subway) to use the encounter toward your final score. 2. You can use your friends or family if they actually know Kevin Bacon. So, if your best friend cleans Kevin Bacon's pool, you can give yourself a 2. You need not have actually met the relative in question for this rule to apply to a relative. So if your second cousin cleans Kevin Bacon's pool, you can give yourself a 2, even if you've never met the cousin. 3. You can use both movies and narrative TV shows. You can't use news programs, awards shows, or reality TV shows. 4. You can only use credited ACTORS to connect to movies and TV shows. Extras and other crew members (writers, directors, cinematographers, grips, production assistants, etc.) cannot be used unless you are the extra or crew member being used. Here is an example of how your score breakdown might look: [I]1. You met Val Kilmer in a restaurant in Santa Fe. 2. Val Kilmer was in Top Gun (1986) with Tim Robbins 3. Tim Robbins was in Mystic River (2003)with Kevin Bacon[/I] Now, following these rules, let's see who can be the first person to score a 1. The best I can seem to come up with is a 3. Here is the breakdown of my score: 1. I worked on [I]The Rookie[/I] (2002) with Dennis Quaid. 2. Dennis Quaid was in [I]The Day After Tomorrow[/I] (2004) with Jose Ramon Rosario 3. Jose Ramon Rosario was in [I]Mystic River[/I] (2003) with Kevin Bacon EDITED TO ADD: You cannot count your relationship with anybody who has already posted in this thread (hi, Sunny) toward your final score. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

I developed some nasty tendonitis in my left elbow when I was training for the AFF certification course. After a while, it got so that the pain after a couple of jumps was too unbearable to jump anymore. I already had so much time and money invested in the course that I went to a sports medicine specialist hoping for a cortisone shot, but he wouldn't give me one. Instead, he put me on an analgesic cream and some prescription anti-inflammatory pills. The cream and pills, combined with a large but safe amount of Advil and icing the elbow after every jump (followed by a heat pack before the next jump to loosen up those cold muscles and tendons) got me through the course. After that, I took a couple of weeks off from strenuous activity, and the tendonitis cleared up, for the most part. In the last couple of weeks, it's tried to flare up a little, but I'm trying to limit my activity to keep it under control. Be forewarned before starting any treatment that after the AFF course, I had a nasty allergic reaction to the treatment I was taking, and my left arm swelled up to nearly twice its normal size. Another doctor had to put me on Prednisone to get the swelling down. For those of you into semi-gross pictures, I've attached a picture of the swolen arm, taken about a day before it reached its peak. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Dammit, I watched that show forever and never saw that episode. I saw one of the follow-up episodes where she was in a full body cast, but I never saw the actual skydiving episode. I had seen all the other episodes so often that I actually decided they must have decided not to air the skydiving episode in syndication for some reason. Now I guess I've missed it again. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

If your DZ does hop 'n pops without throttling the engine back, you need to take into consideration the aircraft you're jumping out of and whether it has a high or low rear stabilizer. On some aircraft, particularly small, fast aircraft like King Airs, it is possible to hit the rear stabilizer if exiting poised at cruising speed. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

It's not as much of an issue now that most eBay transactions are paid for via PayPal or similar online payment services, but in the early days of eBay, money orders and cashier's checks were the most common method of payment. Most people would ship an item immediately if they received a money order or cashier's check, but they would hold the item until a personal check cleared. What most people didn't realize is that money orders and cashier's checks can be declined by your bank if the purchaser has declared them "lost or stolen" and received a refund. That's how I got hosed on a camera I sold. After that, I always waited for money orders and cashier's checks to clear, just like personal checks. Once I explained why, most customers were pretty understanding. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

So, what if you can hold a stand for 6,000,' then transition into a "tee position," do a six-second flat spin in the "tee position," and then execute a triple back layout, but you only have 100 jumps? Is the 500 jump RW queen who just learned last weekend to hold a stable stand really the more qualified candidate for skysurfing? I'm not really recommending 100 jump wonders take up skysurfing; I'm just trying to point out how arbitrary most jump number requirements are. Everybody seems to think their country's standards or their drop zone's standards or their personal standards should be THE standards, but the truth is, some people are ready to undertake certain disciplines and activities with far fewer jumps than other people. The best standard is a knowledgeable coach or instructor who can make a sound judgment call based on the student's experience and skill level. Blue skies, Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.