lifewithoutanet

Hey, Tom. PM'd w/ Russel yesterday. Working on getting vacation for this week. It's off... It's on... No one in my office knows WTF is up, yet, so it'll be a few days until I can confirm, but all plans are to make it. -C.

Wow. Thank you for such a beautiful post. You showed me how far I have to go and how long it's going to take. -C.

Congrats, dude. Have often wondered when and under what circumstances my first solo might occur. -C.

5...4...3...2...1... -C.

You're not the only lovely lady saying that to me. Get my drift? -C.

I was just shedding a little bit of pessimism. Turns out I can't jump this weekend, so you should be blessed with amazing conditions. Enjoy. Wish I could be there. -C.

Wait five mins, 'Chelle. -C.

Somebody must think she's mighty clever right now. Damn you, 'Chelle! -C.

Who? 'Peter'? He's already going to be there. -C.

Got a roof-rack and a horse trailer. Horse trailer seems good for you. -C.

Planning some time off 9th-18th or so, could swing by Twin on the way to my other destinations. What are you up to? -C.

Well, I was just theorizing on the origin of the fear Steve mentioned. I've got no problem with rears; skydiving, ground launching or BASE. They're fun to fly, land, and they can save your life and limbs. Personally, my only fear is when B-teamers are on the load. Gotta watch out for those fockers. -C.

I haven't heard much in the way of BASE jumpers being reluctant to fly their rear risers, but there is a definite phobia among many skydivers. I think it stems from higher stall speeds and more subtle inputs having more drastic results. When I was on a quest to prove how different I was from everyone else's learning curves--far too early in my skydiving life--I was swooping and transitioning to rears on final, following my carve. So, there I was, screaming in for a high speed landing, trying to fly my rears to get a little more distance out of my canopy. I was heavily criticized at the time and rightly so. With my little experience on top of transitioning from front to rears at high speed, prior to flaring...I was an accident waiting to happen (which eventually did, but I think my rears--if by mistake--saved me). So, what I'm getting at is that I think the stigma in skydiving is flying your rears close to the ground, at high speed, rather than just plain flying your rears up high. Even the canopy coaches say that flying your rears is one of the last things to add when you're learning to swoop. For what it's worth, I had to land my rears this weekend, too. Floater exit, slider up with a bit of a snivel... Opened, turned about 135, cleared the shore and landed the rears. Never touched my brakes. Nothing spectacular, but landing rears because you have to is a far cry from a 270 carve to rears. That, I think is the fear of which you speak. Follow me? -C.

Fat chance of that. They know their place. -C.

My copy was waiting for me when I got home from Twin yesterday. Brilliant, guys. Brilliant. -C.

Because I have a personal interest in this (my father and a couple of friends and former colleagues work on this)... US Army's Humanitarian Demining Effort Just presenting the link...I'm not getting into any Speaker's Corner debates... -C.

Y A Y . Hot damn, 'Chelle. Cya soon, (?) -C.

Awesome, Linds'. Wish I'd been there to see it. Your dad's a pretty cool guy. Been trying to talk my dad into it for quite a while. Maybe he'll go once I've got my tandem rating, in which case I'll make sure he talks to none of you beforehand, lest you talk some sense into him. Did make my first jump with my mom, though. We did AFF1 together as my graduation present from high school. She loved it, but once was enough. Then I went on to be a poor college student for a while and before I knew it, a decade had passed--inexcusably--until I got back in the air a year ago. When I called them to tell them what I'd been doing the few previous weekends and that I'd graduated, she FLIPPED THE FCUK OUT. I couldn't understand it. Figured she'd be happy for me. Then she calmed down and I realized she was only teasing. She was 'pissed' that I now had more jumps than she did. She was happier when we were tied 1:1. -C.

Condolences to you and all involved, Dennis. I was saddened to hear the news and while not there in person, I was there for ya in spirit. Cya soon. Blue Skies, Michelle. -C.

Nah... You could flame us for not checking your new setup out. Oh wait...we were too busy jumping. Seriously though, Steve, a popped toggle could happen on a hard opening even if you'd stowed it properly. Shit happened and it's your canopy experience that you had to rely on. Rear risers to a stand-up landing on the beach. Bravo, man. Another great weekend. -C.

1999 Land Rover Discovery II... 16k since purchased late November, 5,600 of which were put over three consecutive, fun-filled weekends at the end of Jan/early Feb. She's a good, good girl. -C.

I've got two stuffed in a stashbag and I'm headed for the airport. I'll tell you on the other side. -C.

What a sight that must have been. Any notable reactions from passengers? I posted a while back about an experience on the way to Bridge Day. I'd flown the first leg of the trip with my rig in my stash bag. On the second leg, I was told I had too many carry-ons and I'd have to check one of them. Travelling with my laptop, camera and rig, I wasn't giving any up. I threw my camera and laptop bags into my stashbag, rig over my shoulder and boarded. Before takeoff, the flight attendant asked me if I'd boarded with a parachute. The requisite DB Cooper jokes were made and that was that...I thought. Upon landing at DIA, I was greeted by a Federal Air Marshall. I'd been under watch the entire flight. The 'slight delay' before we took off was likely due to all the phonecalls being made between the agent and FAMS, the pilot and the airline. Guess it doesn't help that my rig sports "Bombproof" down the back. After a short-enough talk with that agent and another, I was free to go. In fact, they repeatedly told me that I was free to go at anytime and was NOT being detained. They were professional and courteous the whole time. It was a minor inconvenience, but that doesn't bug me. According to the agent, this was a "first" for the FAMS and they weren't sure what to do. It's this kind of inconsistency among agencies that's troubling. Also the attention brought to me the last time I flew back from TF when I went through security. Not only did the TSA inspectors shout "Got a parachute here!" when I discreetly notified them what I was handing them--freaking a few other passengers out--but when I was asked to remove it from the stashbag (I'd field-stashed after my last jump and wasn't packed), I suggested we walk around the corner behind a short wall so people wouldn't see a parachute strung out on the table. They preferred it remain "on display". Ah well. -C.

Here's where I respectfully disagree. From the article: So there's no safety fence in place, or there is a fence, but it's of very short lenght. Still, we have to assume there is something to prevent someone from "just falling off". Have you ever seen a parking garage without a short wall around the perimeter? I mean, c'mon...there's something this kid had to climb up on or over to make the leap. So, this was intentional. He didn't "just fall". Any fence in place would only have protected this kid from himself. The "deadly risk" is the faulty material between this kids ears. Does sound like fun, though. -C. Edit: Check the poll results halfway down the article. Given the number of frivilous lawsuits in our society, though what I'd hoped for, this is not what I expected to see.

Business casual for client meetings (khakis/dress slacks, dress shirt/polo). Same thing during normal in-office days, but only if I'm trying to impress someone. Recently I haven't given much of a shit and I've been doing the California-casual thing: nice shoes, jeans, shirt. No one's said anything...so far. And then there's days like today...sitting on my couch in shorts and a t-shirt, working between trips to the dog park.