peregrinerose

Therin lies the problem. A person can be childish and start judging or disrespecting other belief sytems, or they can act with integrity and refuse to perpetuate a problem. It's much easier to dish the nastiness back, but much more productive to take the high road. In my experience, respect is as much perception as action. Some people have a chip on their shoulder and see others as being disrepectful toward them when there actually is no animosity there. I've been treated like crap before, and I personally refuse to make another person feel the way I have in some situations. I'm sure I screw up on that philosophy sometimes, I am human, but I at least try to make my little bubble of the world a bit more peaceful. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! I'm from Latrobe, home of Steelers training camp. Where the young are culled at birth should their blood not run black and gold Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Isn't that a little narrowminded too? I am quite familiar with both Catholics and the Catholic faith. I have absolutely no respect for the Catholic church for a host of reasons. But lack of respect for an actual group does not mean lack of respect for individual members of a group. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Good catch, and keep paying attention like that. We all need to look out for each other. Honestly, if something was wrong, I don't care if you grab my chest strap or smack me upside the head to get my attention Like you, I do a gear check before putting anything on, before getting in the plane, and about 2K from altitude. I also try to keep an eye on everyone else. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

My brother is Catholic and I am not. He won't let me near his son because I'm apparently a bad influence due strictly to my belief system. I was asked not to attend the baptism, although I do support and respect my brother's faith. My mother is Catholic and beat and molested me for a decade, before I left home. I was expelled from my extended family (very strict Polish Catholics) because I divorced my husband... didn't matter that he beat on me. But that is one family out of a much larger number of Catholics. Some Catholics took me in when I had no other place to stay. Some are friends, many are patients of mine and although religion does come up in the conversations, they have always given me the same respect as I have them. It is always the bad that stands out in any person's mind when considering a group of people, never the good. Unfortunately, those bad seeds give the whole a bad name, and this is true of any group.. Catholics, Muslims, rednecks, maybe even skydivers. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Ideally, sex before, skydive, sex after... the best of all worlds. We are packers, so if we tried sex after jumping/packing all day we'd probably stick together from the sweat and grime which really doesn't add to the mood. Exhaustion plus beer equals sleep. So, definitely pre jumping sex then. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Funny follow up to this story... saw the doc today, who said splint for at elast 3 weeks full time. We asked when no name jumper can jump again. Doc looks a little puzzled, but the decides that it would be okay for him to jump, he didn't think the splint would get in the way. Ummm okay, he can't pull, can't cutaway, and can only make left turns, why the hell not jump? At least he wasn't one of those 'why the hell would you do that to begin with' docs NoName Jumper loved the posts by the way. He does concur that the wall was far too aggressive for his skill level. A 1 punch wonder should not be attempting such a maneuver under any circumstances. A punch control course could have improved his maneuverability in the situation and the hard landing of fist on wall would have been avoided completely. Perhaps a PLF would have also decreased the severity of the wound. This just goes to show that any incident is a chain reaction of mistakes that can lead to injury. Other jumpers would do well to learn from this tragedy and at least have a USPA (United Stationary-object Punching Association) A license prior to avoid over reaching skill levels. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Same here... worked my way through undergrad. Student loaned over $100K for grad school (I did 2 full time degree programs at the same time, so only had enough time to work for living expenses, not tuition). I knew what I was getting into when I started, I pay far more than I need to every month, never deferred, work 7 days a week to keep the payments up. If you have an even basic understanding of how interest works, it's pretty stupid to do what that guy did with all the payment issues. I started at $126 K, have $54K left after 5 years of payment, probably 2ish left. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Once you've packed it a few times, it really isn't all that bad. I've been a packer for a year and have a brand new Spectre. When I started packing, it would take an hour and a half to get that f-er in the bag sometimes I can now pack my main (and most other new ZP canopies) in 10 minutes or so. Take your time, get all the air out as best you can. Find the balance between too much and not enough pressure with your knee when putting it in the bag. Try not to get frustrated when it takes you a few tries at first. Be patient with yourself. Anyone who has seen me pack knows that the last two sentences above are what I preach, not what I always practice Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

But isn't this one way to learn interior design? Hang the pictures where the holes are?? Percussive persuasion is a good thing. As long as no one gets hurt

A totally un-named skydiving friend of mine, who shall remain nameless but somehow has the same mailing address that I do, decided to attack an unassuming and harmless wall. As far as I could tell, the wall didn't attack him first, but I may have missed that first wall-initiated punch. The aformentioned person suffered a broken hand. The wall didn't appear to suffer at all. At least it hasn't complained nearly as much as the person did. In exchange for royal stupidity, he will be on the ground for 2 months-ish. Not safe to jump if you can't cut away. Or pull, for that matter. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Not necessarily true in a family of all adopted kids... if they were adopted older, the 15 year old could have just found herself as oldest, for example. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Who cares what this guy says/does? He's not shoving the protein shake or whatever crap he eats during the day down your throat or blowing his second hand smoke directly into your lungs. I used to be in Dunkin' Donuts behind the fattest cows in the world porking down the donuts and want to smack them upside the head and ask if they really needed that. Until it dawned on me that I was at one time 90 lbs heavier than now and my plan was be good all week and eat what I wanted to on Sundays. My Sunday treat to self was 2 chocolate cream filled donuts for my Sunday brunch meal. Everyone has different thought processes and motivations. Many fat people are in denial... I sure was for many years. The excuses that went through my head are unbelievable and looking back at old pictures I wonder why I didn't shape up sooner. Oh, I work out (cardio) 5 days a week for an hour, plus weights for 1/2 hr 3-4 days a week. I never smoked and eat very healthily. My resting heart rate is 78. I weigh 135 and am 5'3". I can't imagine that my heart rate alone makes me unhealthy or out of shape. I may not be the fastest or strongest girl in the world, but I can hike all day or pack all day without being either sore or tired. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Well said!! And yes, it is possible, to the original question. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

You have 15 weeks, that is a LOT of time to lose weight, you don't need any crash diet or quickie loss. Is your goal to win a contest or have actual long term results? Anyone can lose weight, most people gain it back. I lost 90 lbs and kept it all off, 80 of it over about 8 months, the rest slowly over a couple of years. It's harder to keep off than lose. If you want details, let me know, but how I did it are permanent changes, not just a short term kind of thing. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Damn, am I good or what? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

You're excused

It's never recommended to sleep in lenses, like wearing the same pair of underwear non stop Different lenses fit different people differently... corneal shapes, tear chem, etc all affect comfort. It really isn't a marketing ploy at all... the new lenses (silicone hydrogels) allow 15+ more times oxygen through the lens as the older version of soft lenses. When you sleep, your cornea gets air from the blood vessels under the eyelid. Put a hunk of plastic there and you block the oxygen from getting to the cornea. The more air that can pass through the lens, the less chance of hypoxia or other corneal issues. So no, there is nothing ploy-ish about it. I won't fit anything except si hydrogels to be slept in, because I'm not a big fan of patching up screwed up corneas due to hypoxia. No one lens works for everyone, just because they didn't work for you doesn't mean they aren't great lenses. Also remember that environment has a lot to do with it as well, same with contact lens solutions. There are a lot of variables to address with contact lens fitting, it isn't so simple as plopping a lens on an eye. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

It is still far too short a period of time to know anything. Meds may work for a while then your body adapts to it, therapeutic levels may need to be adjusted or new meds started. Whether 1 seizure a year or 100 a week, 3 weeks is too short a time to truly know much of anything definitively and know whether or not another seizure will occur. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Stress/lack of sleep can increase the odds of a seizure in someone who already has a seizure disorder, so I would really recommend seeing a seizure disorder specialist (not just a neurologist, but someone who specifically works with seizures alone!) An EEG needs to be done at the very least. As everyone else mentioned, he should be seizure free for at least six months, preferrably a year, and be controlled with meds (not just winging it and hoping for the best as he seems to be right now). I have a seizure disorder, controlled with meds, have been seizure free for a very long time, and none of my involved losing any motor ability or consciousness at all even to begin with. I've jumped for almost 2 years this way. But I would not want to share the skies with your twin, I would not feel safe at this point in that situation. As others mentioned, he may not care about himself, but you can hurt/maim/kill someone else in this sport with problems or mistakes. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Hi Eule, You may want to reconsider contacts. There are several now that are approved to be slept in and let almost as much oxygen to your cornea as no lens at all. The best of these is Purevision, followed closely by Focus Night and Day, but there are a few others as well. There's also a new one coming out in the next few months, but I haven't tried it myself or on anyone else yet, so can't let you know how that rates. Honestly, that's the type that I wear since I'm lazy By the time you are 90, you probably had cataract surgery, which does exactly the same thing as refractive surgery (very little to no distance prescription left), so you probably won't get that kind of information ever Try contacts, see how you like them and go from there. All eye docs use trial lenses so you can give them a whirl and find the lens that is best for you from a vision, comfort, and health stance before you are allowed to order any lenses. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I sure hope so. We had a hell of a great class. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I wish I knew who was doing the shirts. Ben, any ideas? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Rags was a hell of a teacher, I loved his demo and help with the patch! I have no problem picking up the phone... or getting in the car, I live 1 mile from Dave

Congrats! Weren't you one of the ones lurking around during our senior rigger practicals last week? Jen (newly senior riggerfied) Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda