jfields

Like you said, probably all of us that couldn't go trying to get some vicarious skydiving excitement.

2 whuffo relatives I got to do tandems : 2 : 1 The beer was for the first time my daugher (3.5 months) was with me at the DZ.

No, I won't be going to the WFFC. Might as well make the best of it by a little attitude adjustment... While those idiots are off wasting their time with useless skydiving, I will just have lots and lots of sex all day and night. So there! Who am I kidding? No I won't....

Isn't he in South Africa chasing hotties or something? [Jealous] Bastard! [/Jealous] Oh, no! THE FORK! Run away, run away!

Wuss! I think Chuck is the only one not at the convention. While that cats are away...

Damn. You have been hanging around your "buddy" Nathan too much.

Lummy, What's up with your picture? Your head is all fuzzy, and you have no neck!

Sorry to hear that Chuck. That blows! You are welcome to join the "Not going to the WFFC" cyber party the rest of non-WFFC slobs will be having. I feel bad for you, because at least I didn't have anything get my hopes up for going. Time to pencil in next year (if you are still in the military then), and line up some unholy whoopass for anything that gets in the way of that one.

Viking, My comments are from Army experience, but they probably hold true to others, in one way or another... If your attitude is right, you would be able to go through the initial training of any of the services. The physical part isn't the issue, assuming you can pass the (low) standards to get in. You don't even need to be in good shape. They take care of that during the training. It is all mental. With anything in the military, the harder you push against the system, the harder it pushes back. The people with bad attitudes in basic training were the ones who (rightfully) got most of the attention of the drill sergeants. You don't want that attention. If you understand that they are doing the job of starting you on the path from civilian to soldier, you blow off the times they yell at you. I don't mean that you don't do what they say, but you don't take it as a personal insult and get hostile back at them. When one idiot screws up and the whole group gets punished, it is part of the plan. Honestly, it is basic Psych 101, but a lot of recruits don't understand that. If you do, you will have an easy time with the "mental molding" portion of training. The physical part just happens. I'm sure some of the career folks could shed more light on this. Although they only went through it once, like me, they have more military perspective on it.

While I am sure you are an exception to that generalization, there is a lot of truth in it if you are a smart, educated enlisted person. You end up working for lots of knucklehead NCOs and officers.

Truer words have never been spoken!

Congrats! Prepare to rejoin the rest of the world. It is fun on the outside. One mistake I made was quitting the exercise in rebellion after I got out. You don't have to get up at oh-dark-thirty any more, but watch yourself or you will blob out. It is easier to stay in shape than to get back into shape.

Viking, Search up old threads on this subject. There are some with lots of advice. My $.02... I was active duty Army for awhile as an enlisted paratrooper at Ft. Bragg. You do gain a lot and build character, but be aware of the sacrifices. There are a whole lot of them, and they vary in degrees of obviousness. For example: The pay totally sucks. You will have no guaranty of being anywhere close to a DZ for your entire military career. You might be stationed where civilization consists of a Burger King and a pawn shop. The food sucks. You can be deployed at any time, to places you may not want to go. You think dating is hard now, try when guys way outnumber women. Be prepared to be reduced to being a slab of meat with a SSN. If you stay in, you can look forward to a lifetime of low pay. I'm not saying that you shouldn't join. Just be very aware of the ramifications. Do your research and go in with your eyes open. Know that recruiters are about like used care salesmen. They have quotas to fill. Once the ink is on the paper, you are done and they have no further use of you. If I had to do a military experience again, honestly, I'd probably join the Air Force or the Coast Guard. Those give you the best standard of living and the most normal lifestyle.

Sounds great, except, if you have a spaceship, why screw around with dropzones? What size door do you have on that thing? What is the time to 23,000 feet? (Since it is a spaceship, it already has the O2.) I assume it can hover, so we can do no-wind exits? How about zero-g exits? Get your spaceship over here and lets jump, damnit!

Nathan/Chromeboy, In case you were wondering:

Got this in my e-mail, and wondered if it was true. If so, any thoughts on the matter?

Oh yeah? Well, I'm... I'm.... I'm damned stuck at work as usual.

There you go... trying to understand women again. Realize the futility of understanding, and just stare at the BOOBIES!

You should have done that IN the class. It would have made it much more fun.

Chris, I agree with Bill on this one. How far a reporter digs in a story is up to them and their editor. The fact that there is a sordid past with a public record is completely "fair game". The writer did not link the death to the past events, except for the common thread that existed in both incidents: Roger. There may be absolutely no direct relation between them. Or there may be. The report didn't say it, because it isn't proven. But it isn't disproven either. The article brings questions to the minds of the reader. That is a good thing, as long as things are factually reported, which it seems that they were. I live almost a thousand miles from Chicago, and don't subscribe to that newspaper, but I want to know what happened. I find many things curious and somewhat suspicious. I bet lots of Chicago folks wonder also. As long as the newspaper sticks to the truth, it is their job to write about topics people want to read about. If there is nothing wrong, there is nothing to fear. If there are no unsafe practices and the events are purely circumstantial, that will be born out in time. If that is not the case, people to have a justifiable reason to read about it in the paper.

There are exceptions. I stopped trying to understand women... and I still don't!

Seems to be true from what I've seen. It is kind of like those crazy Zen things that you can't understand until you stop trying.

You probably aren't his type.

Not after the ether kicks in.... Viking, if you care, then be patient. I'm sure it is difficult. Just keep your sense of what you are looking for and meet lots of women.

Viking, If you don't care about with which woman you have your beer event, then it could be taken care of quickly by a number of means. If you do care, then you'll have to be patient and wait for an appropriate woman that is interested in you. I'm not passing judgement. Just saying that you have to look at yourself and figure out what you really want. If you are just venting, I totally understand.