FallingMarc

Hey Anne good luck on that, they upgraded the forecast from "thrunderstors" to "clouydy" so lets hope for the bst! See ya tomororow... Marc ahh shit I just read that I'm too drunk to type... oh well...

Sounds great, dude! I know exactly what you're going through, I had a VERY similar experience in S/L training... I tended to flip over, one one 10 second delay I did a complete barrel roll and came back to my belly in time to pull. Even thought about quitting for a while, I didn't know if I was really cut out for this, so to speak. Then when it all clicked, you get that one perfect skydive where you're stable, you're thinking clearly, you're having fun... that's what it's all about! Here's to many more for ya... Marc

What happens if you end up drowning? Do they make you try again? Sorry I'm in a wierd mood today... it's been too long since I jumped! Marc

YES! I knew there had to be some people out there with taste... Sex Pistols, Talking Heads... any fans of the Pixies out there? Saw Weezer live early this year... WOW, what a show, that's damn good music. I have pretty eclectic tastes though, classic rock is always good, and grunge, early punk and alternative, heavy metal, progressive rock, good stuff like that. Jazz and blues are great. If I'm in the right mood I can really enjoy classical. But I gotta toss my opinion in here... hip hop, dance, techno... bleah. I want to be able to appreciate music. I cannot appreciate dance music, it's all the same--sure, it's perfect if you're at a rave, on shrooms and ex--but that's all it's made for. I cannot appreciate hip hop, there's no musical stimulation in it, at least for me... yeah, again, it's got a beat you can move to. Big whoop. I've tried and can't find anything aesthetic about it... people seem to listen to hip hop as more of a popular image thing than anything else. "I know a thing or two about Goo... she won't mind if I tell you..." Marc

Low wing loadings make them safer in the sense that even when things go wrong, it gives you more time to work with... they won't go into a spin as fast as highly loaded wings will. A great big lightly loaded square has a good chance of opening and flying straight even in line twists. More importantly for students, low wing loadings are more forgiving of mistakes... I watched a student a couple weeks ago almost hook into the ground, at about 10 feet he decided he wanted to be facing the other way to land and yanked a toggle all the way down--the radio guy yelled "FLARE, FLARE!!" and he pulled the other toggle down after starting the turn, just fell over, but wasn't hurt. If he had been on anything faster than a student canopy, he'd have broken both legs or worse... Marc

"So you got your license? What's that mean?" "I can jump with other people, and I don't have to use student gear anymore." "And it took you... 30 jumps to do that?" "Yeah..." "30 jumps? That's a lot. It doesn't seem like it's that hard, just get out and pull your ripcord before you hit. It's not like you have to learn how to fall down." Gahhh...! But I've almost got him convinced to come out and do a SL... he'll learn. Marc

Hey Joe sorry I missed this weekend, I'll probably see ya out this weekend... looking forward to the CASA coming up too! Hackey the student rigs plus a couple of rentals at Archway are ripcord mains. The DZO makes us use ripcords till we have an A license... I don't mind really, it was kinda nice having it flung way out once early on when I deployed on my back... Marc

Baseball's entertaining if you're right there watching it... kinda like most sports. Gotta say, though, best (non-extreme) sport to watch close up is hockey. Nothing better than pounding the glass as several people attempt to kick each other's asses directly on the other side of it! "I went to a fight the other day, and a hockey game broke out!" Marc

Whaaa... where's the sex, beer, and sex? Don't do that to me... Marc "This is not an actual quote"

Hey, so far I've been able to convince two friends to go with me and make a jump... one was a guy, but the other was a pretty hot girl... I'm trying here, I'm trying! Marc

Haha! Two bananas are lying on a river bank when a turd comes floating by. The turd looks over and says, "Hey! Come on in! The water's fine!" One banana turns to the other and says, "Do you believe that shit?

Sweet, I'm not the only one...! Everybody thinks I'm wierd when I stick my head out the window... or practice BOC touches in the elevator... I almost wore my altimeter on the elevator the other day, you know, just to see... Marc

What's the difference between meat and fish? If you beat your fish, it dies. Yaayyy...

Sadly I can't jump this weekend either... no time what with the process of moving in to school early(already mostly done) then helping to move 600 freshmen into my dorm. Damn, WHY did I volunteer to be a guide for move in day... Wait, I remember... I thought it'd be a good way to meet chicks... hah! Now that it comes down to it, I'd rather skydive... Oh well, if you can jump this weekend, then funnel an exit for me, hmm? Marc

Hehehe... headgear malfuction, helmet cutaway? Is that worth beer? Nevermind me, I'm going to bed. Marc

No... but wait, you probably meant you were laughing, but I just... um... nevermind. It's too late here for politics. What say we all just agree to keep skydiving. Marc

I don't know... I've never seen your work. I'm just saying, the majority of the media today blatantly attacks conservatives, and ignores the same faults in liberals they blast conservatives for. Marc

It takes a bit of skepticism, that's all... I'm not saying you should assume vague implications, just look deeper into reports; go to different sources, don't believe the news as fact just because it's "the news". Look at it this way. When AP reports that a skydiver died because his "parachute failed to open," end of story, do you think, "oh, well, that's the way it must have been, then." Why should it be any different for any other types of reporting? Why would news reporters care more about the accuracy of shooting deaths, or business deals, or anything? Marc

Ok... I've tried to stay out... but that's just not true. The VAST majority of media today is very highly liberal. If you don't look past what they report, you will end up with a false picture of reality, a picture the liberals want you to believe. I realize that sounds paranoid, but look a little deeper into the news. It's true. Marc

COUGHpoorcollegestudentwithabrandnewAlicenceneedsarigsohecanaffordtojumpduringtheschoolyearCOUGH... Marc

Ok, I feel a need to step in here and say something before this gets out of hand... CHILL OUT! Ok... some of it's funny, some of it's only there to push people's buttons, some of it's true... it's not worth getting into a flame war... This is directed at the community in general, not anything specific... Marc (Budweiser drinking, golf playing, gun toting member of the greatest country on earth, buddy)

The parts that still give me that little extra burst of adrenaline every time are leaving the plane, and watching my canopy open. I'd agree that every single part of a skydive is unique and fun in its own way... the best part of jumping in general though, has got to be when you plan out a dive, or try to do something that you haven't been able to get quite right, and it all just goes perfectly smooth... what a great feeling! Marc

Going more specifically into the beer... Guinness is pretty damn good, but if it comes down to it, a cold Bud will do. Beyond beer, I've always been a whiskey man... Jack Daniels is my friend! Blue Skies and Good Beers, Marc

Great to hear you're coming back! In the words of good old Uncle Tom... "the waaaaiting is the hardest part..." Blue skies, especially on the 8th, Marc

That's hilarious! Reminds me of the time some of us ended up melting half of an electric mixer on the stove... only thing we had to drink was vodka that night too.... Marc