peregrinerose

Then 29 years old, married only a few months to a guy I loved but was convinced was suicidal since he jumped. I had one tandem and no plans to do more. Optometrist, living in suburbia with far too many animals. No kids, hoping to adopt someday. Now 33 years old, just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Had our ups and downs, but mostly ups. 650+ jumps, AFF instructor, Rigger. How the fuck did that happen when I had no urge to ever do more than a tandem? Optometrist, selling the house in suburbia after moving to my dream home in the country, still too many animals, and in the process of adopting out of foster care. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

As both a cat owner and former neighbor of someone who let their cat out most of the time, I do feel it's neglectful. My 3 cats are never allowed out, and they are perfectly happy hunting bugs in the house and sunning themselves in the huge windows. My neighbor's cat has killed more birds, rabbits, and fish in my fishpond than I can count. I have rescued everything from mice to rabbits from it, so it's not guesswork that the carnage in my yard is from this thing.... he doesn't eat them, just kill them. So I pellet gun the fucker in the butt. Not enough to hurt it or embed the pellet in the skin, I only pump the gun up enough to sting him a little. Not everyone is as nice as I am... that cat will end up hit by a car or shot with something more powerful than my pellet gun one day. Just because not all your neighbors complain doesn't mean they appreciate your cat in their yard... it's rude to them. A cat doesn't understand traffic, it's neglectful to let it out to play in traffic like that. Cats who are kept in the house are perfectly happy being kept in the house. If you want to let him outside, do it in a fenced yard and supervised.... that's responsible pet ownership. Edited to add I really do hope yours comes back fine and healthy... As much as I bitch about cats, I really would be crushed if anything happened to one of ours. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

The only way a cat should be let outside is if you live in the middle of freaking nowhere and have no neighbors. Anything else is irresponsible pet ownership and being a less than considerate neighbor. Although I don't wish any harm to your cat, you also know that's a risk you take when being neglectful of pets like that... the cat's the one that pays the price. Lecture done

Uh, oh! Does that mean if you swoop at over 88mph, you jump back in time? Of course.. that's why they created the swoop version, silly Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

It's actually a flux capacitor that in them now. Prevents the cypres from getting confused about what time zone it's in. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I laughed my ass off reading the Parachutist BS, the article in Skydiving was infinitely better and probably closer to truth. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

1. Don't just nag a packer, BE a packer. I started as a packer before I had an A license, and did it for 3 seasons. It will teach you a LOT about gear, handling fabric, different types of canopies, containers, packing methods, etc. 2. Watch your own reserve repack, but be considerate of the rigger who's doing it... let him/her know in advance you'd like to watch and ask questions, that way the rigger can work out a time that he's not busy and can truly take the time to work with you. 3. Hook up with your local friendly rigger and ask lots of questions... Riggergreg on here put up with me for almost 2 summers and my incessant questions. I know I frustrated the living shit out of him sometimes (though he's usually too nice to say that so bluntly

I agree, sort of... there should be a way for the profile to be filled out and perhaps be longstanding dz.commers, or maybe require greenie approval before posting, but the actual comment could appear anonymous.... otherwise very few would post negative comments to avoid getting blackballed. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

You can have depth perception with one eye completely removed from your head

As long as you wear the 3D glasses, you won't have any color distortion/double image... it's the same as someone with stereopsis wearing the 3D glasses and closing one eye, no distortion, just doesn't look like the image is popping out of the screen any more. Watching a movie projected in 3D without the glasses on won't work for anyone

Why did you ask your boss for permission to take a p/t job to begin with? That's not something that would ever even cross my mind to do. I'm not sure that it would even be legal (assuming no conflic of interest/compete clause/etc) for them to dicate what you do when you're off the clock. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

For the house I bought, it said it doesn't really exist and assessed the land as $59,000. Considering that the house really does exist (barn built in 1890, renovated into a house in 1977) and appraised at $196,000, I'm skeptical. So I typed in the addy for the house I'm selling.. the picture is recent since it shows the dumpster that has been in the driveway for a couple of weeks. Said it was worth $169,500. I wish!!! Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

No web site can accurately do that. Tax office will also be off (tax office says my old house is worth $126,000, appraisal done 6 months ago was $157,000, new appraisal will probably be higher as a neighboring house that is smaller than mine just sold for $170,000). If you want to know the value, get an appraisal done. They run about $300. For a decent idea, if you go to the Remax web site, you can type in the home address, and it will give you the selling prices of other homes that are close, along with date of sale. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

PM Icemaker (Selena) on here, she has jello shots down to an absolute art form. They are the best ever. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

You say that you are willing to accept the risk, but there are some issues with that. You don't know enough about the sport yet to truly understand what the risks are. And whether you like it or not, this sport is not all about you, or any other individual. Although you'll sign a crapload of waivers about the risk, if you go in because you exceed the weight limit of the gear, do you really think you are the only person that would affect? Watching a fatality will impact every person who sees it... the back yard with kids that see you fall into and make a crater, the jumpers that have to deal with losing a fellow jumper, your family that will miss you and may sue the dropzone for letting you jump gear beyond the weight limit. Regardless of you signing waivers, any lawsuit is expensive to defend, even if the DZ 'wins'... that can very well be enough to make them close their doors. There are a lot of people involved in ensuring that skydiving is as safe as possible... DZ owners, instructors, pilots, etc, and you are asking a lot of people to violate ethics and safety rules so you can make a jump. Think about other people besides yourself when you are frustrated with the rules... it's not an attack on you individually. Hell, I weighed over 225 when I decided to jump. I got down to 145 (and stayed at that weight for 4 years now) to do it safely. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I was prenatal.. wasn't born til July 28 '74 Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Unless you have a work visa, you may have trouble with getting a packing job at a lot of DZs. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

There are lots of reasons to take a little time off. First, no one knows exactly what causes Bell's... stress may be one factor, and skydiving does stress the body to some degree... would that slow resolution of the Bell's? Maybe... I don't know, neither does your doc, so he's probably playing it safe. Next, the eye and lack of being able to blink. You're going to 10,000+ feet where the air is much drier and there's lots of wind. You have no idea what even a short amount of time in those conditions can do to an unprotected cornea. I've managed a LOT of Bell's Palsys since I'm an eye doc, and I'd recommend not skydiving until the blink ability is back... you want to be able to protect that cornea, it's very vulnerable. Full face helmets can break/crack, goggles can come lose or be lost, etc. Why take the chance? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I'll be at Kutztown April 27. It'll be my first time actually jumping there, but definitely won't be my last. Marc and Theresa are the best, I know them both from Dave Dewolf's rigging course, where they are both instructors. I know one of their tandem instructors too (Chuck McElwee), and a couple of their fun jumpers. It seems like a great atmosphere, a nice group of close knit people. I'm really eager to get up there and jump. I was a packer at another DZ for 3 years, one of only 2 packers that entire time, so we felt kind of obligated to be there every single weekend. Now that we retired from the packing business and moved to instructing, we have no problem taking a weekend or two off to go play at other DZs, and Kutztown is first on the list. Where do you live? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Mine was a 4 way from a cessna at 4000 feet

It seems kind of silly to me to pass a law outlawing something that isn't harmful to anyone just because it bugs a few people. I think it's a stupid fashion trend too, but making it illegal isn't right either. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I thought the same thing when I looked at it, but maybe he's making a statement.

A. It's great that you are supporting a friend and a new rigger. I don't know what the going rate is in your area, but $60 doesn't seem all that far off. B. Without unpacking the rig, none of us can vouch for the safety or lack thereof of the actual pack job, we can only see the outside of the rig. C. It doesn't appear that he did anything wrong, but most new riggers are open to feedback and questions, they are still learning and they know it. If your rigger isn't open to feedback, learning, or questioning himself, no matter how good a friend, do you really want to put your life in the hands of someone who's unwilling to learn or question themselves? E. Rigging is like any other customer service field... how can we solve a problem or address a concern if you don't bring it to us? F. Just because you may not like some input doesn't mean it's irrelavent. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Why would you want to get rid of dried on coffee funk? That's just the mark of a well seasoned coffee thermos, adding a richness of taste to all coffee added to it from this point on. At least that's what I keep telling myself watching the inside of my blue coffee vat turning a deeper shade of brown every year Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I would suggest going to www.parachutemanuals.com and look up the Mirage Owners manual (or perhaps you have your own?) Look at the last picture of the owners manual instructions for closing the reserve container. You will note that in the manufacturers own directions, that last picture looks like crap, with accordion looking wrinkles down both side flaps. Going behind your rigger's back like this rather than talking with him directly first is really classless, though, regardless of whether or not he ever finds out. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda