karenmeal

Well to be more accurate I obviously didn't pull at 1500 on every jump.. maybe every 10 jumps or so? As for my malfuction... I opened at 4500 and got disentangled from my reserve at 1,000.. I posted about it before. Here is the post if you feel like reading it. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1543337;search_string=pilot%20chute%20;#1543337 -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I used to accidentally pull low (~1500') and not really be shook up about losing altitude awareness, but once I had a malfunction that took 3500' to deal with I gave up that nasty habit. Its a good thing that I survived that 100-200 jump phase! Now I am the person that you can rely on to break off at the correct altitude. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Who hooked up the pilot chute to the main canopy? This doesn't sound at all like gear that wore out quickly, but rather improper assembly. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

The rapide/french link came unscrewed? -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Aww.... LUCKY! If I could have my wisdom teeth out again, I would! It was a blast, not only does the insurance cover whip-its but the anestesia was fun for the whole rest of the day!!! Have fun!!!! -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I would have to say that getting exercise and eating healthy is a big stress reliever for me. But I also voted for drugs and alcohol too. I'm all about balance... -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Not a single injury here. I attribute it to a low testosterone. -karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

You have a lot to learn about birth control. There are probably atleast 10 major options that you're missing. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

huh? "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Wake up! Many Gay couples DO have children. Many people who are gay have had children in a previous hetero-relationship or have decided to adopt. It happens frequently. We can't shut our eyes to that fact and ignore the fact that their families are worthy of the same rights as hetero couples. On your line of thinking, then should only fertile heterosexual couples be afforded all of the rights that are now given to fertile and infertile heterosexual couples? If its all about the natural reproduction of children and benefits for parents, then I don't see why couples that are infertile or who don't want kids, or who've had sterilization surgeries should be able to keep their benefits... And your argument about your roommate is just a red herring. Be fair about this and don't just bring up trivial little issues that aren't related. Thats just completely disrespectful to a much larger issue. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Happy Birthday JP from Jeff and I! We miss you and hope to see you again before too long! Have a good day of debauchery and drunken-ness and what-not! -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

When you see an article like that which only has 3 sources but makes way more than just 3 claims.. you can guess that it is less than scholarly. This is an interesting "fact": Hold on.. I could swear my dog slobbers like crazy.. And this one... But they fail to mention that humans don't have all these extra stomach chambers that the other animals who are better suited to a vegetarian diet have. I don't buy it. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Carmen Electra looks about a half step away from being a drag-queen or a transexual. Just a guess... but I bet all you guys who think she is so hot would be pretty shocked to see what she looks like without being caked with makeup and airbrushed. Now on the other hand.. I told my s.o. that if Mark Wahlberg came around he would be my one exception. Not because of boogie nights.. but because hes such a cute little existentialist in "I Heart Huckabees". -karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Since you love to quote people so much Ron, I thought that I would highlight a few of the gems you have contributed to this forum. [sarcasm] Just like you Ron, I've often wondered why those damn minority populations couldn't just shut up and let the majority tell them what is right and what is wrong, and what rights they are entitled to. Minorities being able to vote and be counted as a whole person (instead of only 60 percent of one), women being able to vote (as if we can take the time away from having babies to concentrate on state affairs), equal rights movements, separate but equal... What silly stuff! Why should any American who is gay think they are deserving of equal treatment when clearly they are not! Go George W GO!!![/sarcasm] However... in response to the people who see no problem with Walmart... go do some more research and try watching the movie "The Corporation." By the way.. when people say that Walmart is the embodiment of "evil" or whatever.. I think that what they are trying to say is that corporations that perpetuate the existence of sweatshops are "evil". And since Walmart is one of the larger and less ethical corporations out there, it's easier to just use the catch-all of name of "walmart" instead of listing the hundreds of other corporations that also share a large part of the blame. In my opinion, any company/corporation that sacrifices the humanity of its employees in order to bring home even more profit to a few select capitalist pigs is "evil". -Karen p.s. I don't shop at Walmart. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Hahah! Hows it going Bob? -Karen A. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Didn't Parachutist have an article on skydiving websites in like.. 2001 or so? I thought that that was where I learned about DZ.com and Enclave.com. Who knows though.. maybe it was skydiving magazine? I dunno. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I start with alcohol and cigarettes, then move to deep breaths.. then exercise and concentrating on other things like school or work.. then back to cigarettes, then more exercise because you feel bad about smoking so much.. then more cigarettes because you've been so good about exercising recently... then repeat as necessary. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I think you missed my point... I was trying to draw a comparison between drinking and driving and the craving to go faster and faster, which is not necesarily a rational thought process. Even when people are sober, they are not necesarily using good judgement. They could be in the pursuit of a bigger rush, and not really using the ability to think ahead and consider all of the possibilities. Its like a kid in a candy store, they may go around and pig out on all sorts of stuff, and come down with a stomach ache later. However, ideally the kid will get some help from their parents who know better, and can tell the kid that they need to stop eating so much candy because they will get a stomach ache. Skydivers without much experience are almost exactly like kids in a candy store. Often times, they don't use their best judgement because they are still learning and don't know any better. Even at several hundred jumps they are definitely still developing good judgement, even at a 1200 jumps I am still developing better judgement! Some lessons take a long time to learn, but friends and mentors can and should take a pro-active role in preventing incidents caused by things like downsizing too quickly. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Well No Shit! Go read a Salmon of a Doubt. Looking forward to that! -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Yup! Thats the guy who figured out how to fly. Hey for you Douglas Adams fans, Try reading "A Salmon of a Doubt." Its on religion and stuff, its a bit more intellectual but equally entertaining. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

So in that sort of sense, if you see a friend of yours who is waaay drunk going to get in their car and drive home, do you just assume that they know better and not interfere with their decision making? Thats kind of how I feel when I hear my friends talking about downsizing too quickly, it seems like they just get caught up in the moment and forget about common sense sometimes. I definitely think that in sketchy situtations where people are downsizing too fast, that the more people who let them know they think that is a bad idea and dangerous, the better. Maybe someone will get through. And then on the other end, if everyone was a responsible seller, then we could hopefully begin to see a downward trend in the number of low-hook turn fatalities each year. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Damn! Did you even ask her how much she weighed? One of the reasons that I take care when selling gear is because its a good idea to treat every skydiver (with a few exceptions) like they are a potential friend. You never know who you will end up meeting and hanging out with down the road. So its nice to kind of mentor people, give them a hand, explain safety to them. Imagine all these people, the possible buyers of your gear, as a bunch of your buddies. Thinking about it from that perspective, how could you possibly, in good conscious, sell someone with 100 jumps a stiletto 107 for example? If you're in this sport just to be a hard core skydiver and don't give a shit about the people, then I don't expect you'll be around for much longer. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

you make that sound like a bad thing I just recognize that I have some very strict ideas about wingloading that many people don't agree with. So I am willing to compromise just a tad which brings me back down into the concensus of the general population. -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Does it have the whale who goes through a major self-actualization before hitting the ground? I'm one of the geeks who has read all five books in the trilogy! -Karen "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I want a puppy tooooo!!!!!!!!! He looks so expressive and adorable!!