peregrinerose

The video is a bunch of short clips with no real context, so tough to tell anything from it, but if you replaced the world "Scientologist" with "Christian" he would sound no different than any Christian Evangelical. I don't know anything about Scientology or how nuts or not nuts it might be, but I didn't see anything damning in that video. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Yeah, I know, it was phrased badly.... I was sleepy when I posted that... but Whoever got USPA into the lawsuit situation (and USPA's actions regarding Skyride were pretty indefensable from an anti-trust stance), really should be accountable for it. About getting involved... I've never been to a board meeting, I HAVE read as much as possible from the lawsuit (what I can find publically, anyway), I love our new RD because he actually jumps in our region and talks to jumpers, so yes, talk with him frequently, and I have voted in every election since I started jumping 4 years ago. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

USPA had no business engaging in a lawsuit that could not possibly be won and really had no basis in law. How much did settling a lawsuit that should never have been brought to begin with cost the USPA? I don't like Skyride either, and their ethics makes my skin crawl, but the situation was handled extremely poorly (and apparently expensively) by USPA. I don't know how much Jan was involved in pushing the lawsuit forward, but if she was the driving force behind it (Big IF... I don't know), then that could be grounds for impeachment. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I wondered if you were going to post on this thread. But I have 14 pairs, with number 15 on the way... and that is not counting non prescription sunglasses... I have 2 of those. I can't believe you called me a post whore wanna be. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I took the written 2 years ago, the questions were all from the bank as far as I remember. From the students I talked to, surprise seemed to be a bigger issue than content of the test. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Is the FAA publishing the new bank of questions? I'd be curious to see it. For as much complaining (sounds like justifiable complaining!) as Dave's students were doing, I hope lots of them write in. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I wholeheartedly agree with not being afraid to educate your doctor. Docs don't know everything, so for crying out loud, teach us what we don't know. I've learned just as much from some of my patients as I did in school. A good doc is one who doesn't have a God complex and is willing to learn more. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Nope... getting more information and coming to the same conclusion as you had before makes it a more valid opinion. I don't care if anyone agrees with me or not... I actually prefer that people don't agree with me because it makes conversations more interesting and I tend to learn more that way. I don't learn crap from people that agree with me all the time. Makes for a boring discussion. Nope, I have not made a decision on it. I said what my hunch would be, but I also haven't talked to an OB/GYN, I've never been pregnant, and will never be pregnant, so it's also not something I've done any research into. I also said I'd never pack a reserve, never pack for another person, never pack a tandem, never do a night jump, never consider CRW and a crapload of other things that I now do. The more I learn about any topic the more likely I am to change or modify my opinions on them. I'd rather admit to being wrong about something than be all stupidly bullheaded and unwilling to examine my own opinions and change them from time to time. I've had too many uneducated opinions that I hotly defended and then found out I was really undereducated on the topic. It's embarrassing when that happens. And sometimes just dumb luck when my opinion happened to be valid from the start. So, faced with pregnancy and after talking with an ob/gyn or two, I might do something completely different than what my initial hunch is. Doesn't really matter since it won't ever happen. I think 'better safe than sorry' can go to all kinds of extremes. There's the obvious... drinking/illegal drugs while pregnant has a pretty high risk of less than desirable consequences. Then on the other end of the spectrum, there are much lower risks, say the odds of getting run over by a bus in a mall parking lot while pregnant. Short of living in a bubble during the entire pregnancy, everything the pregnant chick does from eating dinner to driving a car has some degree of risk to it. I just think it's up to the pregnant chick (and SO if applicable) to weigh the risks/benefits for themselves. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

That might be why she's not married to you Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I phrased badly with the having an opinion thing... More that you can't possibly have a truly educated decision without looking into it, being in the situation where you have to make that choice... like the whuffo who's never even met a skydiver but thinks skydivers are all suicidal maniacs and every other skydive results in a fatality. Sure, it's an opinion, but not a very educated one. More information would probably result in a more valid opinion. My hunch is that if I was pregnant, I'd probably jump until the OB/GYN that jumps at the DZ with me told me not to... after all, he's got the expertise in both fields, so probably a far better person to asses the risks than I am. I am going to be at the Farm in a couple months..... I agree, but this thread was about jumping while pregnant. I don't see to many knocked up dudes falling out of airplanes

Having an opinion either way on this when you can't possibly ever be faced with the actual decision is almost impossible. You just can't put yourself in the mother's shoes if you aren't one, especially when you say 'sitting out 9 months isn't a big deal in comparison to the potential hazard exposure'. Exactly what is the hazard exposure? Does it change based on skydiver experience? Gestational time? Mother's health? Fetal health? Prior pregnancies? I don't know the answers to any of these... if I get knocked up, I have a wicked lot of explaining to do, so never looked into it. But to make a global statement that every jumper mom needs to be on the ground for 9 months during gestation seems a little extreme... every person/pregnancy/skydiver/risk analasys is different. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

No comment Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Glad to hear JR and Kathie are keeping everyone in line with regard to the beer fridge in my absence Have fun, you'll have a great time there. Tell everyone Chad and I said hi! Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I've packed 'em like a Javelin since I got my rigger's ticket because Dave said I could

I was there and can comment on the master rigger's statements... Chad nailed it. Caused quite a stir in this area among more reputable riggers. Below is an email I was forwarded when a different master rigger contacted Altico in regard to this situation.... It is perfectly acceptable to pack the DOLPHIN reserve container using the same closing sequence as the JAVELIN. During the testing of the DOLPHIN we packed the reserve containers with the top and bottom flaps over the pilot chute, and with only the top flap over the pilot chute; and there was no discernible difference in the deployment with either pack method. I hope this information will be helpful; if any further information is needed, we will be happy to provide what we can. Best Regards, Mike Furry, President ALTICO Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

LOL!!!! Yes, I'm the beer marshall.... unanimously elected two consecutive years. We are not looking at housing anywhere near Chambersburg... no way in hell I'd want to raise kids there. Great DZ, not the place I want to live. We're probably buying a home in Newport, PA, which is actually going to make the trip to Cburg (and every other freaking DZ on the planet) much farther.... this is total middle of nowhere Perry County. 1800 sq foot Amish built Log Cabin on 4 acres of wooded land surrounded by forest and farms. Absolutely beautiful. We're negotiating now, but looking at a couple of others this weekend just to be sure we're not falling in love with the first home we look at. But we are in love. It even has a room that is about 12' by 30'..... as soon as I walked in, I knew that was my rigging loft, I'm so excited!!!!! Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

We're looking at houses this weekend, so if we jump anywhere, it'll be Maytown tomorrow. We tend to be Chambersburgers from March to November and Maytownians for the winter due to geography. But if you go, tell everyone we said 'hi' and miss them!!! Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Way to make a great first impression.... drunk dialing a DZO. Pretty soon you'll be stripping naked and packing my rig for me.... oh.... wait..... that's been done already...... Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I have about 500 jumps on a 150 Spectre. I tuck the nose in a little bit and quarter the slider well, but that's it. I don't roll the nose, never have, don't see a reason to since my openings are pretty consistently 700-800 ft as it is. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Isn't posting your cell number publicly on DZ.com a great way to get yourself drunk dialed? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I think a full face on a student is a lousy idea... First, vision restriction to varying degrees depending on helmet type and fit (as others mentioned) Harder to make eye contact. Harder to hear your instructors if we are talking to you prior to leaving the plane. Harder for you to talk to your instructors after you put in on but before you leave the plane... we can't hear you with that thing on. How are you going to get a radio on a full face helmet? Prior to graduating AFF at least, the student helmets are all equipped with the radio mount, plus if you need to do a recurrency jump. Full faces limit communication, and that's so important. I won't jump with a student in a full face. I don't wear one myself because of that as well. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Hehehehehe.... 'may' is an understatement Short term, PRK tends to hurt more and vision be worse (by short term, I mean first 1-2 weeks, depending on the patient's healing rate and initial Rx). Long term, no difference visually and probably safer health wise than LASIK. If it was me, PRK is what I'd get in a heartbeat. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Intralase still cuts through the stroma (middle layer) though more superficially. No studies on a long term comparison between it and LASIK since it hasn't been around as much... but avascular cornea is still avascular no matter where in the stroma you cut it... you will still probably be able to flip that flap in 10 years without re-cutting the cornea. Not a good thing in freefall. If the doc actually told you it was ok to jump in 2 weeks, they don't know shit about skydiving.... they may have only been considering pressure changes (which would be a non-issue at 2 weeks), not all the rest of the issues that can happen with skydiving (120mph wind). Jumping at 2 weeks PO LASIK is insane... you drop that much cash on a surgical procedure and then play russian roulette with un-doing it (plus causing more problems) by jumping before it's even remotely close to healed up. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Did you walk up and say 'Hi, I'm the DZ.com famous Packing Fairy' Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Good Job. Gil!! Just for future reference, last time I was at Eloy and needed a condom, manifest made and announcement for me, 30 seconds later I had a new, unopened condom in my hand... they are helpful like that there