MikeJD

Except that you don't have to change the oil every time you get in your car. But yeah, in principle...

No problem at all with people getting pack jobs, and I've definitely had my share. But I think it's a good thing if every skydiver CAN pack his or her own rig. I've seen people having to stop after one jump, and bitching about the lack of packers, because they literally cannot pack to save their lives. If you run away from packing (like I did ) as a student then you're initiating a vicious circle - all your contemporaries will learn to pack faster than you and you'll be forever locked into paying for pack jobs just to keep up. I have joked in the past that I live to pack and jumping is just a fun way to get the canopy out of the bag so I could do it again. But seriously, I found that the more I packed the less I hated doing it. I've got it down to a serious disliking now. Now, if I can just learn to fix my own car, rewire my own house...

Don't let anyone light a match. Could be expensive...

Hi All, Does anyone around here - and I know there are a TON of you wonderful Tecumseh boys and girls - have an aerial photo of the DZ, or even a map of its layout, that they could send me or point me towards? It's for a little project I'm working on.

My jealousy will last all of two days - after that I'll be hitting Michigan and West Virginia. Ok, so Michigan is likely to be a little chilly... Have fun. I hope those winds stay away for you!

If you think you're smarter or less prejudiced than the average citizen, then you owe it to yourself and to the justice system to take part! When I did mine I came across some pretty scary fellow jurors who were ready to convict after the first 5 minutes because they didn't like the look of the defendant. It is quite an eye-opener and a surprisingly emotional experience. I'd say, go for it!

I've always thought a pretty cool Halloween character would be John Doe, Kevin Spacey's serial killer from Se7en. Easy costume to put together too - shaved head, orange prison overalls, bandaged fingertips and a head-sized cardboard box. Bingo! Instant creepiness...

Ooh, yes. Skydiving only - I wouldn't want to be getting my Spinletto 120 out below about 2,500'. I did jump an old Racer last year with a modified Raven 3 canopy, and that was fine. This time I've got a BASE-specific container and a nice, square, 7-cell 250 for the bridge. Thanks for your concern!

Hi Chrissy! Yeah, that's me. I'm bringing my skydiving rig, so fingers crossed for blue skies over MI. Got lucky last year...

Yep, I'll be there - one of several Brits. I fly to Detroit this Sunday, so hope to catch some of you Michigan skydivers at Tecumseh before heading down to WV.

Um... I live (and drive) in the UK, and this thread is confusing the heck out of me...

Keely, I haven't use any of the digital machines - when I started out it was all audio cassette multitrackers and, if you were really serious, open-reel tape machines! I record a variety of stuff, mostly using midi instruments but including bits of my own seriously lousy guitar playing - which is where easy cut-and-paste really helps! - and vocals, mainly by a singer friend of mine. Funny, her 'vocal booth' is the bathroom too! I hang quilts up in there to deaden the reflected sound - I find it better to start with a dry recording and add all the reverb in the mix. If you actually record in the bathroom you might be surprised how 'boxy' and indistinct the sound is because of all the reflections. Of course recording to a computer from a separate room is really a 2-person job, so I can see why a portable machine might work better for you. One other thing about computers is that the standard cooling fans they have fitted are often noisy, so if you're recording vocals and acoustic guitar that can be a problem is you're a one-girl operation and having to play and sing in the same room as your computer. I'm using quite an old version of Cubase since my machine is seriously outdated now - it's only got a 950MHz processor and 512MB of memory, but I get no performance problems at all. If you ended up buying new software you might well need a better spec than that. Mike.

Keely, I looked at getting a hardware digital multitrack recorder a couple of years ago, but then someone asked why I didn't just buy software instead. So I upgraded my version of Cubase VST and installed it on my PC. No regrets at all - it's so cool being able to do everything inside the computer - midi and audio recording, editing, mixing, effects - and of course having the graphical benefit that you're never going to get without a computer screen. Plus, your options for upgrading are much better. As long as you've got a powerful enough PC or Mac, I'd say think about software before shelling out for an expensive box. You don't even have to spend very much - there are lots of amazingly cheap programs out there. Obviously you need some means of getting the audio into your computer, but that sort of hardware is seriously cheap by comparison. I guess there are factors like portability that might be important to you, and if you want to record multiple audio tracks at once then you might find it easier with a hardware recorder - but otherwise I can't think of many good reasons to go down the hardware route. Hope this helps! Mike.

I'm normally hotelling in the centre, so I can make it just about anywhere central. Let's see if there's any more interest over the next few days, and if not take this to PMs...

Why wait until after Christmas? Come out to Eloy for the holiday boogie! Mind you, even Arizona's been kind of chilly the last couple of Christmases...

Tilly, if I'd realised you were going to Spain again you could have borrowed my special Empuria hat to wear while you were over there...

Will, Yeah, why not - so long as I qualify as an honorary Brummie. I expect to be working up here for another week, but beyond that I'm not sure. Next Thursday (30th) would be good - any other midlanders interested? As for venues, dunno really - I normally hide in my hotel room in the evenings - so I'm open to suggestions from the locals.

Love to be there but I'm stuck working in Birmingham during the week. And if it goes on much longer I'll be starting a Birmingham Skydivers thread...

What about Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood? That's a "Don't do it" rather than a "Do it", though - maybe that won't work for you. Do "Don't do it"s do it or don't they?

No movies whose cases feature single-word quotes from reviews - it's a sure sign they've been taken out of context: 'A complete lack of compelling performances ... I've had a more exciting time watching paint dry... makes The Sound of Music look like the ultimate action thriller...'

I guess the most unusual would be an Ikarus microlight (don't remember the model) in UAE. It was a 'puller', so no worries about the prop - but climbing out onto the step without stepping all over the controls was a challenge. Gutsy pilot!

Which part of London are you moving to? Makes a significant geographical difference when it comes to choosing a dropzone.

OK, so we have Miracle Mike... we have Dead Mike... I'm wondering whether I share a lucky or an unlucky name...

Francois, Just had a look on the web and confirmed it's 'Travelling 3' you want. I'm sure there are many places you can still get it, but here are two links I found at random - http://aerostore.com/shopping/Items.asp?OPEN=YES&ACTION=DISPLAY&Category=22&SubCategory=80 and http://www.skydivingvideos.de/index1.htm Good luck! Mike.