Dougiefresh

Now I'm hungry for my homemade potato-rosemary pizza. Enough carbs to stun a moose, with the delicate flavor and intricate aroma of well-proportioned spices. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Let's start here. The rest will not happen for some time. There are so many issues involved with what you want to do, that it would not make any sense to try to figure it all out now. I would start by filling out your profile so we can see what part of the world you're in. Then people can advise you on a good local dropzone where you can get the training of your choice. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

That won't last long. http://dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1332054;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Try it without the knife for a real challenge. Hell, try it without the loincloth. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Three guys are riding horses in Texas, a guy from Wisconsin, a guy from Illinois, and a Texan. The Texan, wanting to show off a bit, pulls a bottle of whiskey out of his bag, takes a swig, throws the bottle in the air and shoots it. The other two guys say, "WTF did you do that for? You wasted all that whiskey!" The Texan says, "Well, in Texas, glass is cheap and there's plenty of whiskey." So the Illinois guy, not wanting to be outdone, pulls a bottle of champagne out of his bag, takes a swig, throws it up in the air, and shoots it. The other two guys say, "WTF did you do that for? You wasted all that good champagne!" The Illinois guy says, "Well, in Illinois, glass is cheap and there's plenty of champagne." So they ride on a while. The Wisconsin guy is deep in thought. Finally, he pulls a big bottle of good beer (New Glarus) out of his bag, drinks the whole thing, belches contentedly, puts the bottle back in his bag, then calmly shoots the guy from Illinois. The Texan goes ape, he cannot believe what he just saw. "WTF did you do that for?! You killed him!" "Well, in Wisconsin, the beer is good, we recycle, and there are plenty of people from Illinois." Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

That's fucking insane. No, just very very hard. Kinda the point, I gather. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Nice choice of words. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

I take personal offense at that. You've talked to me a grand total of once and have not had an opportunity to evaluate me in the cold, harsh light of day. (or night, for that matter.) That said, I don't qualify. Ask Sunny about what a jerk I am. So what defines quality anyway? Throw us poor skyboys a bone. Just saying we're not quality isn't fair without letting us know what is up to your standards. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

What's this? A sensible and mature approach to personal relationships on the DZ? hmmm.. she must be new around here... Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Is that true? I thought it was a little guillotine that cut your reserve closing loop. If there were an explosive charge you wouldn't be able to take it on a commercial flight. The reserve is spring loaded, is that what you meant? Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Grad school in materials science. Want to get out and get something that pays me more than a pittance for 12 hour days. Woman on top is best. Hold me down and have your way with me. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Better stay in school then. Bills have a way of continually coming. Of course, grad school is no great shakes either. Lots of work, no money, and no guarantee that the years spent will actually earn you any more money when you finally crawl out, dazed and sick from years of frozen pizza and 99 cent burritos. Unless you were talking about the other kind of bondage, in which case I'm sure you'll get lots of responses. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Hey, worked for the Bush clan. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/03/naked.traveller.reut/index.html Dude, you need oxygen above 14K! Duh! Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Well, he's on permanent mental vacation, may as well let his body join in the fun. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

This is weak. Better to stay and fight the radicals than run with your tail between your legs. Stand up for what you believe in. So the country is swinging far to the right, get out on the street and demand representation from your government. We're not ALL right wing nutjobs, really. Just most of us. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

This is a good issue to discuss, thanks for bringing it up, Brian. As far as skydiving fear goes, whenever I find myself ramped up and having negative thoughts about the skydive, I close my eyes, shut myself off from all the stimulus to remind me that I'm about to do something dangerous, and concentrate on a positive, safe image. For me, it's the feel of my dog's ears, and the way they flop up and down when she runs. Silly, yes, but it allows me to not think myself into the corner -- "I suck at this, this is so dangerous, I'm gonna tense up and die, etc." In my limited skydiving experience it has worked well. After a few minutes I have distracted myself enough to re-enter the real world and approach it with a calm mindset and see the situation as it truly exists ("I'm trained well, my gear is in good shape, I'm jumping with people I know and trust, and I believe I can deal with any problems"). As far as fear in the rest of my life, I'm still dealing with that one. Fear of the future, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of the unknown, fear of Bush presidency all cause me stress that I do not deal with well. My main response is escape, be it into a good book, video game, or TV. Not healthy or productive, I know. One technique I've stumbled on recently is to channel my thinking in two ways. First, if I am having negative thoughts ("I'm not good enough") I make a concious effort to change it ("Yes you are stop that it gets you nowhere"). Secondly, the emotional response that I identify as "fear" can be accepted and reinterpreted as "excitement". Thus a negative and limiting emotion can be re-established as one that allows positive lines of thought ("This is gonna be interesting, let's see how it goes!") Some of these ideas are expressed better in "Mental Training for Skydiving and Life" by John Derosalia. I imagine you've read it, and I encourage everyone, skydiver or not, to at least look at it. None of the ideas expressed in the book are easy to implement, but I think if done successfully they can be quite beneficial. Sorry for the essay, but this has been much on my mind of late. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

No wonder you people are a bunch of flag-waving, gun-toting, bible-thumping rednecks. Not enough cheese. Oh, wait a minute. Those people are all over WI too. Never mind... Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

That's it, Stu! You don't get to kiss guys at DZ parties anymore either! I'm not posting my score, I'm embarrased. Such low numbers have never been seen. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Sorry, Amy, we can't have anyone with over a 60% on our team. You're going to have to de-sluttify. No more kissing guys at DZ parties. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

No. Just fun for the passenger. Are you jealous someone was holding hands with your B/F? Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Yeah, it's normal. Stretch before you jump and between jumps if you have some downtime. That'll help you fly also as you are looser and more relaxed. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Showing video of people burning in is totally unnecessary. May as well show vid of a no pull, or of a 2 out wrap, or any one of the other ways shit can go kaflooie in the air and kill you. Better to show video of people doing it RIGHT, so that's what the student has going through his/her head at landing time. You need POSITIVE stimulus, or the student can get into a "oh my god i'm gonna do this wrong and turn low and die" mentality, and then actually do it because that's all they're thinking about. They eventually will see the real thing, hopefully not in first person mode. The learning will happen, but you can't force it. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

It's worse to not be able to feel pain, becuase you can seriously damage yourself and not know. There's a reason we feel pain, it's to keep us out of dangerous situations. Without this important feedback mechanism, you're kinda screwed. I'd rather be able to take calculated risks knowing I might feel pain than just plunge in without any knowledge of what pain is. It's such a fundamental part of life I can't imagine living without it. Besides, there are other kinds of pain than physical. Let's see what happens the first time this kid gets dumped by a S.O. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

Chalk it up as a learning experience. Never let anyone keep you from what you love again. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams