PalmettoTiger

Reminds me of a dirty joke: 3 dogs are sitting in the vet's office. The first one asks why the others are here. One responds "Well, I nearly chewed the cat's leg off. They think I'm too aggressive, so they're giving me a Prozac prescription." The first dog says "Yeah, that's what I'm getting too. I bark all night long at the smallest noise. They're sick of it, but the vet says Prozac cures damn near anything!" They both look expectantly at the third dog. He says "I'm so horny all the time, and this time I got into trouble. My owner had just come out of the shower, and as she bent over to get underwear out of her dresser, I couldn't restrain myself. I leaped up and humped her!" The other dogs are shocked into silence. Finally the first one says "So you're getting Prozac, right?" The horny dog replies "Nah, she's just getting my nails clipped." Eeew. Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

TITTIES!!!! Yes Omri, we do.

You're very close Michele. AAD = Automatic Activation Device. The thing about tapping the CYPRES is in reference to the safety debates - if you get low you'd better pull and not wait for the damn thing to fire. It's manmade and not guaranteed, and there have been 2 documented misfirings (though no documented non-firings as far as I know). There is also one documented fatality where a jumper relied on his CYPRES rather than pulling the reserve, but he bailed out below arming altitude. (See this post.) Splat. Or you could take it to mean that if you get that low, you'd better reach back and make sure it's turned on.

J00r \/\/3|c0|\/|3 Z3|\|\|13!!!! Funnily enough, neither Jim Shorter nor I can figure out where we met. The most likely explanation is at POPS Nationals @ X-Keys last year, though neither of us recalls exchanging e-mail addresses (that's how we first discussed it). I think someone may have pointed out to him that I was developing a flock of Ses in need of lots of M, and he got my e-mail addy from the PUSPC page. No matter how it happened, I'm looking forward to lots of S&M action when I go back north. Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

Fun pictures Pammi! I especially like Tyler's caption. Too true!! BTW I see that you've already incorporated the scroll bar customization on the main page. Slick! Gonna move it to the other pages too? Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

I think the beer figure should be cases you owe, so people can see how many firsts you accomplished. I don't think an accounting of how much we consume is necessary - it's a given that we all get sloshed after a day jumping.

"You ever get those dreams where you're falling? You consider them nightmares. I consider them a tease." -- Matt Whitcomb Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

Oh god... not here too... Can we avoid the four weeks of wrangling and just get it over with in 2 or three posts? Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

I'm all in favor! Hook us up!! Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

I used to love flying. I got hooked when I saw Topgun (I think I was 5 at the time), and that was when I switched my "when I grow up" dream from firefighting to flying jet fighters. I was always calmer than most people when I flew commercially - I would often sleep through takeoffs and landings, and turbulence didn't bother me at all. But 2 years ago when I was flying Delta from SC to NJ after Thanksgiving, we must have had a near miss or something else and it scared the hell out of me. I was sitting in the second to last (penultimate?) row, right between the engines. We were at the point in the climbout when the engines throttle back and the plane reduces its climb angle to just a few degrees. But instead of merely throttling back, the engines cut off. The pilot must have taken them all the way back to idle. Simultaneously, the aircraft dived sharply and we felt like the nose was pointed straight down. I absolutely thought I was going to die at that moment; all the other passengers I talked to afterwards felt the same. It lasted for about two seconds, then the pilot brought the engines back up, leveled off, and didn't say anything to us. It was the most terrifying moment I've ever had in flight. Far far worse than the Door-Dread of my first jump. The only thing I can think of is that either another plane was mistakenly flying at our altitude, or our pilot had overshot and was almost at another plane's flight level. I've never been comfortable flying ever since that. The smallest doses of turbulence will make me grip the armrests and look anxiously out the window. I've tried to relax a little more but I haven't made much progress. I actually dislike flying now, even to the point that I prefer to drive or take the train if time permits. Strangely enough I'm very comfortable in the jump plane. I don't think it's because I have a parachute on, either. Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

Grab the boobies, it's the bounce that thrills!! Not to be confused with "I'd respect your mind more if it bounced gently as you walked." Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

Damn, this thread might actually get more posts than the CYPRES thread!! Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

h4w h4w h4w! "You jump out of perfectly good airplanes? Whuffo?" "Because I was wearing another one." Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

You need the DivX codecs. Go to http://www.princeton.edu/~dankorn/DivX, save all of the files there to a folder in your computer, then double-click "Register DivX.exe". It doesn't put your name and e-mail address in some SuperMegaConglom.Com marketing database; it just registers the codecs with your system. Let me know if you still have problems after that. Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

Kev, I'm one weight class above you and NewGuy and just recently finished my search for gear. Ideally I would have bought a nice Mirage and Spectre 230 but there's none on the used market!! You'll realize very quickly (especially with canopies) that most of what's being sold is one generation behind the curve. Which makes sense if you think about it - people are selling that gear because they're buying the latest and greatest. As I'm sure you'll hear dozens of times, be very conservative with your first canopy. Don't get caught up in the "smaller is automatically cooler" mentality - you won't be ready for zippy canopies for a long time. You want a main that is easy to land under the worst conditions (low and windy after Helen Keller spotted your load) as well as the best conditions. That goes double for your reserve, and don't even think about exceeding MSW (Maximum Suspended Weight) on your reserve! Pick a main first, or if you want to buy a complete rig, use the main's size and make as your first criterion. I would recommend getting a reserve one size larger than the main, just to be sure that you have enough canopy when you really need it. If you're going to buy a new container, I would suggest buying one that's freefly compatible (i.e. double riser covers, all tuck tabs and no velcro, upward-pointing main closing flap, and little to zero bridle exposed). If you decide to try freeflying, it will probably happen before you've worn out the container and you don't want to go through the hassle of searching for gear again. You definitely don't want to have gear problems during freefall - that's apparently what caused the main-reserve entanglement at DelMarva. Finally, even if know right now that you don't want to freefly, it will add to the resale value of your container - your buyer may well be looking for a freefly-compatible container! If you buy in pieces and have a main and reserve picked out, don't trust the canopy manufacturer's listed pack volumes. It's not that they're deceitful, it's just that there are lots of ways to judge it and chances are you'll get figures from different sources telling you different things. Call the container manufacturers and ask them if the canopy you're buying will fit into the container you're thinking of - they will probably have tried most of the common combinations already. I think this only applies to new gear, but some people have mentioned that you get a discount if you buy two or more major parts from the same dealer (i.e. container and main). If the rig you want isn't being sold with a Cypres and you want to get one, the best price I found (by $150) was at http://www.skykat.com. They even shipped it to SSK and had it converted from two-pin to single-pin for free. Finally, don't just look on the Internet for used gear. Be sure to check around at your DZ too. I spent four or five weeks scouring the classifieds here and at Enclave.com before I found the rig I wanted - at my DZ. Good hunting, and let us know what you come up with guys!! Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

Good on you, Merrick! She looks like a keeper! Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

I thought you tapped your CYPRES and repeated "there's no place like home..." Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

I know lots of jumpers who are afraid of heights. I think the biggest fear when you're standing in the door at 13,5 isn't "I'm so far up here!" but "What am I going to put my feet on out there?" Go along for a ride in the copilot's seat (assuming your DZ has an aircraft with 2 command seats). It's a good way to get a taste of jumping without paying for a ticket. Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

You may be interested in a little S&M, Zenster. Skydivers & Mentors, that is. Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

God this hurts. I know ~30 a year means ~3 a month, but it's still such a shock to hear about it. My thoughts, my prayers, my feelings, my heart...? I can't find the right words. "If I leave here tomorrow, Would you still remember me? But I must be traveling on now, There's too many places I've got to see. If I stay here with you, Things just couldn't be the same. I'm as free as a bird now, And this bird you cannot change." Blue skies forever Chuck. PTiger

I think Zennie was the first one to mention it, but the comments about my 11th jump story have spurred me to action. I've put a little indicator on my website (located here) that shows just how much fun I had on the weekend. Yes folks, it's the premiere of the DZ.com Hump:Jump:Beer loadings!! For example, this weekend was 0:1:1, meaning I didn't get laid (), I made one jump, and I bought one case of beer. There you have it - the quality of my free time distilled into a three-digit metric! Stay tuned for next weekend's edition (and no snide remarks about the low hump loadings)! Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

That was an AWESOME story!! Thanks for sharing Michele! Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

Nimbus, I was also much more nervous for my second jump than my first jump. I was doing a tandem which probably reduces the fear factor, because if you screw up there's NO WAY you're going to lose track of your instructor.

GREAT to hear that you got back out there Dan! Is Laura hooked, ambivalent, or sure she's never going to jump again? Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*

You're probably too late. Blues, Squares, PTiger *insert sub-100 character sig here*