peregrinerose

You mean I'm not extra cool because I jump out of airplanes? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

So go home tonight and get some better pics... it's really hard to tell on those! To OP, sorry for the brief hijack

We have a dragon in common as well then... I have a sleeping dragon wrapped around my left ankle

I'll post a picture of mine when it's done, still has about 2 hours of work left to go, but it's a phoenix upper arm sleeve with clouds around it. Nestled in the cloud pattern is the shape of a closing pin, so it's skydiving related, but not blatantly so. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I agree. Getting my riggers' ticket was some of the best money I've spent in skydiving. I learned a LOT, not just about packing reserves, but about the gear in general. Besides, I get to pack my husband's reserve, so he is obligated to be nice to me Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Get a job as a packer, in a very short amount of time, you'll have enough money for a decent used rig. Keep the 401K so you can retire at 59.5 and be a DZ bum in a trailer, living off of your retirement and jumping all you want to

Wow, I wish I could do a repack in 2 hours. Inspection alone usually takes me an hour! I'm usually about 3 hours. But I also don't do a lot of repacks, just myself, my husband, and a few friends. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

The hard part is convincing the people that we pack for to get it done. I'll do it for no charge, I'm pretty sure that the DZ riggers do it at no charge to, but people always find some reason to put it off even when I point out the tab that's sticking out and that I keep shoving back every pack job. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

You seem to assume that I am not intimately familiar with abuse and what it can do to a person long term. I was molested by my mother from age 8ish-14ish, beaten for as long as I can remember until I left home at age 17. I had no where to go, no resources, no help. No one believed me because my abuser was a 'good Christian woman' and they don't do that kind of thing, they turned a blind eye to the blood and bruises. I chose to live my own life, not let one sick person control my life for me. If I knew that she got mental health care to solve her problem and had been 'normal' for the last 20 years, I would welcome her back into my life in a heartbeat. The 9 yo boy and 13 yo girl situation, I know both parties. What happened 20 years ago has no affect on how either the guy or I perceive the girl in the scenario. Nothing has happened in 20 years and she is not a pedophile. She is not the same person now that she was then, why should she be judged for someone she no longer is? Was your judgement at 13 years old exactly what it is now? Is your sense of right/wrong exactly what it is now? Didn't you pull any stupid 13 year old stunts then that you wouldn't dream of doing now? Project 20 years down the road... should you be judged in 20 years for the mistakes that you are probably making right now in your life (we all screw up, this isn't a slam on you personally!)? Will you be the same person in 20 years as now? I blame a drug addict for being a drug addict regardless of what circumstances are in their life (the exception being crack babies who were forced drugs). If someone makes mistakes they should be judged for them and treated accordingly, but at some point everyone deserves a second chance and some degree of forgivness assuming that they truly have modified their ways and have proven that for a substantial period of time (years). Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Heel clicking sounds like you're frantically trying to get back to Kansas Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I think it's funny that you posted this while I was in the process of tacking down a new set of slinks Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Regarding the stats you posted about survivors of child abuse... those kids who have the drug problems, HIV incidence, lack of education, etc CHOSE that path. Their abuser did not force it upon them... they chose it for themselves. We are a society of whiners, where our personal issues, lack of job, jail time, alcoholism, etc is blamed on childhood abuse, bad parents, bad luck, other people, etc instead of taking control of our own lives and accepting responsibility. My problems as an adult are my choice. Sure, a lot of shit happened when I was a kid, but I chose the paths I took after that, for better or worse. The 30 year old made a poor choice at 13... and at 13 he probably truly didn't know any better (how much sex ed did most parents 20 years ago give their kids?) or understand the comprehension. It also didn't give specific details as to exactly what was done to the 9 year old. Did he ask her to strip or did he rape her? Two different scenarios. But for someone who's led a clean life for 20 years to be penalized for a stupid act at age 13 is rediculous. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

For a 30ish year old with no history other than one incident at age 13 to still be penalized for it is freaking insane. Are you still the same person now as at 13? Do you make the same mistakes now as then? Do you have the same judgement as you did then? The same comprehension of sex? I certainly hope not!! Would you be as adamant if it was a 13 year old girl and 9 year old boy and she was the one with the same stigma? Yes, that does happen.... I know someone that was in that situation for a period of several years (age 9-11ish). Is the 9 year old still affected? Maybe. Maybe not. Everyone responds differently. Though in the end it is her choice whether or not to let that incident control the path of the rest of her life... the 13 year old screwed up too, apparently learned from it, and has no choice in the long term ramifications of it. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Damn, don't people know how to check Snopes.com? http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/nogas.asp Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I've jumped with students (coaching jumps) doing that. Damn it's funny to watch people trying to swim in freefall Makes coaching jumps a lot less entertaining when they stop doing that though. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I am probably going to be taking an AFF Instructor course in June (assuming I can get enough practice jumps before then)... if not June, then I'll go to Florida this winter to do it. I can fly well, I'm very good with students, good with ground prep, that end of it doesn't concern me as much. My weakness is that I tend to not fly aggressively, I'm always just a hair farther than I should be from my practice student on the 4 practice dives I've done). Skydiving is all about psychology with me... when I'm a bit insecure or nervous or second guessing myself, I hesitate just a hair. So, when AFF I/E are available I do practice jumps with them (due to me being one of 2 packers, I'm stuck on the ground all the time though, so not getting as many of these in as I'd like... only 4 so far). However, I can jump at a closer cessna DZ Tues and Thurs after work and my husband is willing to be faux student for me. I don't want to do spins/flips with someone who isn't qualified to teach me how to do them properly, so not looking for drills like that. I only want to teach myself to be more aggressive and more confident in my abilities... the flying skills are definitely there, I just don't believe in myself enough.... we are just going to do no-touch dives where I have to chase him around and stay within touching distance, giving hand signals, doing the bottom end as though it was an AFF jump with me slapping his leg instead of actually pulling him. (A local AFF I/E approved of this type of jump for us to do, he knows us both well and knows this would be a good drill and safe to do) So, any suggestions for him on how to fly to give me a challenge or for me or for me to get over this stupid insecurity thing would be great. Thanks! Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I loved the one day I got to jump at Sky's the Limit last year... very nice people there. See www.peltheads.com for pelthead boogie info. There's also a thread in this forum. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

RevEyes is an alpha blocker Drawback is it makes the eyes very red and stings a bit, it's expensive, and once open, only lasts 21 days. Plus it's now no longer being made. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Why? I don't know what drops have been used on you in the past, but I usually use .5% tropicamide with no anesthetic first so the effects are less significant (2-4 hours depending on eye color). You can always request Rev-Eyes (reversal drops) which cut dilation time down to about 1/2 hour, but those drops are no longer available, so get dilated soon if you want to take advantage of that one. What's in our offices now is the last we can get of it. There's nothing pleasant about dilation. However, small retinal tears that turn into vision threatening detachments are even less pleasant. Ocular melanomas that can result in death (though extremely rare... I've seen 2 in the last 7 years) are also only detectable with dilation. It's worth a couple hours of light sensitivity. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I agree to a point... I'd go with 'if it ain't from a rescue, you shouldn't get it.' People who want purebreds can google for rescue groups for almost any breed of any animal and find one. My mother in law rescues schipperkees. My greyhound is a rescue from a breed specific group. The only 'pet store' that I will shop from doesn't sell mammals but does have a branch of the local humane league and various rescue groups in there constantly to adopt animals out. I have 3 cats, 3 dogs, 2 snakes, and 2 rabbits. All of them are rescues. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Chris, you beat me to it, that was what my answer was going to be

Today must have been skydiver day at the eye doc's or something... at one time I had 3 skydivers (not counting myself) in the office... 2 of them dilated. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I am PeltHead #2

The higher the Rx the better you will see with contacts compared to glasses. With glasses, the optical center of the lens is where the best vision is. As you move your eyes around, you are in and out of the optical center of the lens, which distorts vision to some degree (certain lens materials are better than others for this... polycarbonate sucks from a distortion standpoint, hyper high index plastics with Anti-reflective coat are the best). With a contact lens, the optical center of the lens always moves with your eye, so you don't deal with the distortion issue like with glasses. Though if you are corrected to 20/20 WITH your contacts, your eyes are nowhere near 'BAD'. My specialty is low vision rehab... my patients will never see 20/20, or even be legal to drive, no matter what glasses or contacts they have on their heads. THEY have bad eyes. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Don't you love your family without being 'in love' with them? Close friends can be the same way. I love Kyle (Floats18 on here) like a pesky kid brother, but I'd throw up on him if he ever tried to kiss me! I'm definitely not 'in love' with him. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda