steve1

I can't help but wonder if a B-12 fastener on a chest strap might be a safer way to go. We all hear story after story of people misrouting or not fastening chest straps. I even did this twice when I was starting out with today's gear. (I misrouted my chest strap and some one else caught it) In the olden days everyone used some type of b-12 or quick ejector hardware on their chest straps. I know these things can wear out or come unfastened, but you know, I never heard of this happening in the four years I jumped back in the 70's. I know there is also the possibility of not fastening this hardware, but again I never saw or heard of anyone forgetting this back then. To tell you the truth I wouldn't want to go back to this type of hardware because I've finally gotten used to fastening my chest strap correctly every time and I like the looks and feel of the modern chest strap buckle. But I just wonder if a b-12 fastener wouldn't be safer. I know they are ugly and heavier and most people don't want them. Bill Booth had an interesting article earlier about how skydivers may not be all that concerned about safety in terms of gear. He mentioned the strength of min-rings compared to larger rings. (Most people prefer the mini-rings) He also talked about using reserves that may be too small because they look better when packed up. I just wonder if this might also apply to chest strap hardware. But what do I know I'm just a 400 jump wonder and most of my jumps were way back when. I was just wondering what others with more experience think on this subject. Steve

Grumpy Smurf and jfields, Most people I know endure a lot for the well being of their family. I mean I'd go through hell and back to help my kids. There's no way I'm going to put my own self happiness or self gratification ahead of them. That to me is what having a family is all about. And it's not always easy to jump into another career field just because you are tired of your present job. Sure it can be done, but this often takes a lot of time and planning. If you go back to school your family is going to suffer because you made this change. I put my family first, and that's how I see it. If that means enduring a shit job for a period of time until I can work into something better that's what I'll do. I worked in the woods for ten years falling timber. Many of my friends were killed and crippled for life. In the winter you were often up to your waist in snow. I'll tell you that after a while I hated it. It would have been nice to do something else, but where I lived there weren't many jobs that paid well, if you didn't have an education. But it wasn't all bad. I was able to make enough money to put myself through school, buy some land, and build a log house. And work my way into another career field. It also took a lot of time and planning. I ended up in teaching and I didn't really like this profession much better, but it was a whole lot safer than falling timber. I was finally able to go back to school and get a master's in school counseling. So yes it is possible to change careers but this often takes a lot of time and enduring a lot of bull shit in the process. If you think in idealistic terms though it probably seems easy to change from career to career until you find the one that's just right for you. Things are tougher when you have a family and I always put their welfare first. I would be nice to do it over again. I wouldn't have made many of the choices I made. It would have also be nice to have someone guiding you in the right direction in life. I also didn't have much of that. Steve

Hope you had a happy birthday, Bill. I'm grateful I don't have to cut away with cape-wells anymore. Thanks, Steve

You guys and gals just have to get your minds out of the gutter. I mean how do you expect to get to heaven talking like that? I was thinking maybe I could get everyone's address and give them to some of my Mormon missionary friends. Steve

I know people who are not chronically depressed who take anti-depressants. Why? Because this drug is helping to keep them alive. The danger (for them is not suicide) it is the stress in their lives that is killing them. Sure it would be nice to just quit your job and do something else, but again it is not as simple as that. Many of the people I know have the well being of their family to consider and this includes finances. Some people invest years and years of expensive education only to find they are in a profession where the stress is at times unbearable. What are they to do, go get a job pumping gas somewhere and watch their family go bankrupt because they don't have enough money, or are they going to tough it out. If an anti-depressant helps them, why not? Shouldn't this be a personal decision. Most physicians will readily prescribe them to an over-stressed person. Sure exercise, thinking positively, or even meditation can help, but I seriously doubt if they can compete with the good an anti-depressant can do. The chances of heart-attack and stroke are greatly reduced for people who are on them vs. not. Maybe the gene pool would be stronger if we just let these people go ahead and die off, but I'd just as soon keep my friends around a little longer. They are doing the best they know how, to cope. It isn't that they are just looking for a quick fix for everything. Steve

JFields, I agree that medication is probably being way over prescribed, but I also disagree with your comment that people just need to "Get over It". It's not that simple. There's a lot of people out there that are dragging around a lot of baggage from the past. Many are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress because of the screwed up family they grew up in. It would be wonderful if there was a way that they could just get over it or to forget about all the crap that happened to them earlier in their life. The fact of the matter is that this garbage is going to be with them the rest of their life. They can learn to deal with this through therapy and yes, medication at times. It never just goes away though. I work with kids every day that are extremely screwed up because of the trauma they have suffered growing up. Many are still being abused, and mistreated on a daily basis, yet the courts here are choosing to look the other way. Medication helps them focus on their studies and survive. Some are taking ant-depressants. Others are taking ritulin. I have to admit ritulin is probably being over prescribed, but it also helps a number of kids learn in school rather than being so hyper-active that they can't focus. Is medication being misused and in some cases being used as a quick fix? Probably. But in many cases it is also spelling the difference between life and death for some people. For a person who is severely depressed, anti-depressents may keep them alive. They may also need therapy, but this is often very time consuming, expensive, and non-productive in some cases. As far as stress in our daily life, it does little good to pretend it isn't there. How many times are death certificates written out for heart failure, and other diseases, when the underlying cause is just plain stress in a person's life. I was a classroom teacher for over 18 years in a public shool, and I'll tell you it is a damn stressful, often thankless job. If an anti-depressant helps a type-A person deal with stress, why not! Steve

Milo, You'd be surprised how many people out there are on anti-depressants. I know a couple of teachers who take Zoloft because it helps them with the stress in their classrooms. It may not mean that a person has a serious depression problem. In the high stress world we live in, anti-depressants help a whole shit-load of people. (pardon my French). I work as a counselor in a school and know a lot of people that anti-depressants help greatly. (I know you figured I was probably a sheep herder, turned skydiver.) Steve

We're proud of you Lisa! Sounds like super fun. Everything except that slammer openning. (Hope you're feeling better) Good luck on the World Record attempt. Steve

Austin, I don't have a vast number of jumps on either of these two canopies. My guess would be that the Hornet will probably open harder. I finally got to jump my new hornet this past weekend and 3 of the 4 jumps openned hard. One sniveled for a few seconds and opened soft. I've only got 4 jumps on it so far and love the way it flies. I may need to work on packing it different. I have little experience packing O-P fabric. Steve

Rhino, Another thing that might help a lot is to talk and vent to someone. This Forum might help a lot. It's no fun being at the end of your rope. It's a lonely damn feeling. Also when your out there jumping be careful. Sometimes being angry and fed up, can be a dangerous time. I spent many of my younger years not really giving a rip what happened. Take care of yourself man. Your Son needs you. Steve

Clay, This might be a good time to come to Montana. Bring your gear and new movie camera, and you can waste some film on us. I know there's not much for work here in Montana, but who knows you could always get a job herding sheep. There's some really cute ones over where I live. It would also be fun to hunt all Fall. It may also be a good time to buy Fred's Bar. It may all work out for the best. Steve

Hang in there Rhino. I'll bet someone on here can advise you legally what to do. I know the legal system is bull shit when it comes to men trying to win a custody battle. It's also not fair that it takes so much money to go to court. I wish I knew more about this sort of thing. I know it's got to be tough on you and your son. Steve

I'm just wondering how far I should pull my rear risers down to flare on landing. I know this probably varies from canopy to canopy, and I need practice this up high. As you can tell I don't have a lot of experience using rear risers on a square canopy. I always landed my para-commander this way. I'd reach up as high as could and do a chinup behind my head on landing. I'll bet this is way to much flare on today's canopies. Thanks for the advice. Steve

Thanks for the advice everyone. Hopefully there will be some pictures. Steve

My youngest daughter should be making a tandem jump soon. I'd like to swoop down and be part of the fun. I've only lurked one tandem so far, out of a 206. I'm just wondering about safety issues. Is there anything in particular I should watch for? I know that I need to stay clear of the drogue. Also to be way clear when they open. I'm also wondering about fall rate. The only time I've done this was following two men out. They were falling like a rock, and I had some difficulty getting down to them. I may have given them too much time on exit. I was worried about having the drogue chute suddenly spring up into my face, if I followed them out too closely. Thanks for your ideas. Steve

Scratch. "good one!" A friend of mine was dressed in his uniform back in the 70's at an airport. He was still in training and had never seen combat. He was approached by a group of anti-war protesters. They asked him, "How many babies have you killed?" In all seriousness he replied, "Well we never used to kill any more than we could eat." (I always got a kick out of that one.)

I've only packed about 30 reserves for other folks, back in the olden days. You know when everyone used gutter gear. The only (two) saves that I had, were myself. When I packed others reserves back then I felt the weight of a whole lot of responsibility. I liked being able to pack my own reserve, but sometimes regretted being responsible for anothers life. I mean this is their last shot at life. What if I mess up! And just think of the liability issues. Maybe I would have felt differently if I had been a more experienced rigger. For the money you make rigging I often asked myself if I wanted to continue packing reserves for others. For a chest pack reserve, back in the 70's, we were nocking down five bucks a pack job. But on the other hand you're doing a really great service, and there's more money in it today. I hope to get my back rating soon, but I may only work on my own gear. Steve

Rhino, Thanks for the great post. It reminded me of the time when my daughter was little and she had just discovered that her kitten had been run over. She lay on my chest crying. It's nice to be needed like that. You made the right choice by not going back into the military because of your son. He's lucky to have you. Steve

I'm surprised that Mary was so difficult! She always drank like a fish when I was out with her in Salt Lake. She'd get really drunk and then the next thing you know she'd want me to jump in the sack with her. It broke her heart when I told her I couldn't do it because I was already taken. Maybe it soured her on all men after that. Steve

ChromeBoy, My wife and kids are Mormons and I still like you. Maybe that's because I'm mostly a Heathen myself. Seriously though there is a lot of nice people down there. I remember some really wild bars down town that we used to visit when training at a National Guard Camp south of there. I almost died there once. (Here I go telling stories again)....We were driving to a D.Z. to pick up some army jumpers. I was riding in the back of a deuce and a half. We were making a left turn off the highway when we noticed this pickup-camper approaching at a high rate of speed. This other guy and I threw ourselves down on the bed of the truck just as the other truck slammed into the side of us. I thought I was dead for sure. It tore the entire wheel of the front of out 2 1/2 ton truck. Luckily noone was hurt seriously. The pucker factor was very great though! The End. Steve

Now that is one cute looking sheep and the price is right! (Annonimous)

Weid 14, Wonderful idea. You may have just prevented my ruining a Tony Suit. All it needed was a tuck or two in the toe area. I'm now heading down to do a little sewing. I owe you big! Steve

I just bought another jump suit and am experiencing the same problem. I'm no expert on this, but I believe their should be pressure on your booties when you extend your toes. My problem is that both jumpsuit legs are a too long. I'm going to get my wife's sewing machine out and see if I can't shorten the legs somehow. The grippers are in the way, so this might be easier said than done. Steve

Long Wang, Back when I was making movies they called me............ Long Dong Stevie

I wish I was closer, I'd be there. I may go to Regina Sask. soon. It's within 200 miles of where I live. Has anyone out there ever jumped there, eh??? P.S.... (I know how to speak Canadian).