Tonto

As all Buddhists know, Life is suffering. Skydiving is mini life. If it sucks, even just a little, you should stop. The risk and the expense is simply not worth it if you are not in love with what you do and who you are when you do it. I've been where you are, but I changed. 1000 dives FS, then onto AFF and Tandem, then 600 competition CF dives, 2000 more AFF and Tandem, and now my former AFF students are coaching me in Freefly and Birdman. Change - or leave. Nothing stays the same. t It's the year of the Pig.

For those of us that live in the rest of the world... are there any other types of ties other than "neckties?" Are there, say, armties? We call it, quite simply, a tie. Like.. "Honey, which tie should I wear?" Good luck in your search. t It's the year of the Pig.

You cannot build a reputation on what you are going to do. - Henry Ford. t It's the year of the Pig.

I had one a couple of months back. Story here. Incidently - the name my parents gave me was Eric. It appears that statistically, Eric's are more likely to have reserve malfunctions - and live. t It's the year of the Pig.

1. Mirage G4 (Due to be born any day now..) 2. Contour (Chute Shop Vortex 1 prototype) 1000 dives, about 6 years old. 3. Vulcan (Chute Shop) 1500 dives, 11 years old. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm a 4000 jump wonder! I wonder every weekend if I will ever know as much about skydiving as I thought I knew when I had 150 jumps. Education is a long, slow process of revealing your own ignorance. t It's the year of the Pig.

Porter. t It's the year of the Pig.

Rules for engaging a single dog, unarmed. 1. Don't run. 2. Aproach the dog. It'll back off. We're supposed to run. 3. If the dog attacks (Which it will do if cornered, ordered or trained)....Engage. Over ride your instincts. Do what you dont want to do. Push your hand INTO the dogs mouth. DEEP. Go for the lungs, at least to mid forearm. You can kill quite simply in this way, and very fast. It also keeps the dog quite quiet. When you're there (The dog will be in serious gag reflex here and VERY uncomfortable) make a fist. That really fucks them. Now, reach for the back leg. Only one. Lift the leg off the ground. Dogs don't like being off the ground, especially not the back legs. Start to turn, allowing centrifugal force to build. Allow the gag reflex to help your arm out of the dog's mouth. You may pick up some damage here, but it won't be structural. The dogs leg may dislocate soon after this point. While spinning, approach something hard. A corner, pole etc. Thwack, thwack, thwack until the dog goes floppy or starts to leak chunks. If there is nothing hard around, switch legs and dislocate the other one. Problem solved. Trust me. This works. As with any fight, do what you need to survive, even if it seems "ugly" at the time. Single dogs are time wasters. They are not killers. Their purpose is to entertain you while the handler closes in. This defence would be impossible with a handler in attendance, at they could neutralise you at almost any point in this endevour. Remember, the dog is someone elses weapon, directed at you. Disasociate morality and guilt. The dog is an extention of the owner. 4. Go get a Rabies shot. Packs are another story all together, but there are methods which work better than others. Pain is information. Fear is the mind killer. t It's the year of the Pig.

Agreed. But you must know that when a Scientologist makes a movie about a book by Ron Hubbard - objectivity gets skewed... t It's the year of the Pig.

Climb a mountain in Patagonia. (Alana knew I would say that) Before then, live your life. August is a very, very long time away. More than a lifetime for some of us, I suspect. t It's the year of the Pig.

DNA is a comparison against exsisting DNA, is it not? When did Saddam give the origional sample? t It's the year of the Pig.

We africans think alike! Carrots would be good... or other veggies with structural integrity. Maybe Brocolli? I hope you did some rice as well to help soak up the good bits! t It's the year of the Pig.

Ditto. t It's the year of the Pig.

That C-130 wasn't Rogers. It was ours. It was flown to the convention in 1986 from South Africa with a load of SA jumpers onboard, and was flown back afterwards. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm 41, started when I was 22 and out of the Military. Been going ever since. Age means nothing. The gear today is real forgiving. Did 16 jumps this past weekend. t It's the year of the Pig.

BWWHAHAHAHA t It's the year of the Pig.

Amen to that! But, we get UBL! I worry about you people. All this war, killing, pain, and you (and multiple others in this thread) can't even get the guy's name right. It's not UBL. It's OBL. Osama. Remember? OSAMA. t It's the year of the Pig.

Would that be "Here come the claws?" Murderer... t It's the year of the Pig.

Yeah, and I had a former AFF student (who had 68 jumps at the time) go 2 months, have full refresher training, a recurency jump, and die as the result of incomplete reserve drills the same day. Its just like riding a bike, except your going 120 MPH t It's the year of the Pig.

And its 17h00 here, I'm going home, and the DZ is open for 4 days! I'll only be back at work on Wednesday - in time to close for Christmas in a week. There's no wind - tempreture is about 90 deg F... Summer time.... Doncha Love it? Have a great weekend! t It's the year of the Pig.

let me guess.. Goes along the lines of "Do you still believe in Genies?" I worry about you guys... not sharp as tacks, are you... mind you, it is early your side of the pond.. t It's the year of the Pig.

Wow. Is this because the RSL failed to work properly, or because the tandem mals were of the type that do not respond to RSL? The RSL failed to work. System was a Vector 2, with a brass snap shackle that just came undone under load. It was replaced with a Stainless Steel snap-shackle that seems to work OK. I only listed cutaways. Not uses of a reserve parachute. There would negate the use of an RSL. t It's the year of the Pig.

Would that be, as defined by Oxford, "aluminium? n lightweight, silvery metal"? Murderer! t It's the year of the Pig.

So... I ordered a G4 a month ago... What am I getting? t It's the year of the Pig.

Put 300 people, all with a lot of self confidence in the same area. Add beer. Figure it out... t It's the year of the Pig.