MWGemini

I'll probably at least show up, but jumping in weather that cold- I don't know. I still need to get my rig fixed anyways. Mike

Final tally for me was 2 and a half hours to drive 12 miles (clocked it today). Sarah took 6 and a half to drive about 30 from Duke to home. Some people I talked to had even longer commutes. Karen- that sucks that your kid's had to sleep at school. Why is that- were the buses just stuck, or was it because you weren't able to go pick them up? Did that happen to a lot of kids? I think that there needs to be some changes in the way the city does things, because yesterday was just ridiculous. Do any of you agree? Mike

WTF was up with traffic today? It took me almost 3 hours to drive the 25 or so miles home from school today, and Sarah has been on the road for 5 hours now and is still not home (from Durham to Raleigh). Does anyone have any idea what caused the massive delays? Mike

With another tunnel only 45 minutes away? There's been a lot of talk on these boards about saturating the market, and if this isn't saturation, I don't know what is. Do they really expect that much business to be able to support two tunnels, or is DeLand hoping to take the brunt of it and leave SkyVenture with the leftovers? Mike

Nice pictures, Eric! looks like you've (sorta) got a new toy to play with. By the way- any word from Todd yet? Mike

I have an old dytter with a plug in flashing LED that mounts to the helmet. Only jumped the LED once, and I've stopped using the old dytter since i got a pro-track. Mike

And I just bought a pro-track and regular analog alti. Ah well, I'm broke right now anyways. I couldn't find any prices on any of these new toys. Could anyone else? Mike

A lot of people are complaining about the cost involved here. Firstly, this SB could save your life. If you ever need the improved performance this SB supposedly offers, you'll gladly pay any price. Secondly, it really isn't that much of an added cost. My normal repack fee is $45. For me to have Mirage do it, it's $60. That's only $15 extra, plus shipping, so say $40 tops. That's two jump tickets. Big deal. It's less of a concern for me since I was planning on sending my rig down to Mirage at my next repack time to get some custom embroidering done anyways. I just had my reserve repacked a few weeks ago, and I'm not going to rush out and have the mod done immediately, because I feel the rig is still perfectly safe as it is. I have read the SB, and although I am far from being a rigger, it seems like the design of the mod may cause new problems if I understand it correctly (cutter being on the flap instead of inside). I'll take their word on it though, since they know far more than I ever will about the system. So the only possible complaint is the aesthetic change. While it sucks that the rig won't look as nice, as long as it does it's job when it needs to, does anything else really matter? Mike Edit: My wife agrees with me and thinks this attachment is applicable to some of the posters here.

I don't even know what MathCAD or the CRC handbook are. Also, I can't really afford to forget any of what I learn in this class because I have to take at least 3 other courses that are built on what I'll learn here. I've found out that there is companion book for my textbook that has all the odd number problems worked out and explained, and I'll be buying that this week. I'm pretty sure that seeing them worked out will kick start the nether regions of my brain that have long since forgotten things that used to be second nature. If not, I'm probably screwed ... Mike

I've done game development as a hobby since I was writing code on an old Commodore 64. I've pretty much decided that pursuing that as a career is both unrealistic and stupid. The game industry is way too unpredictable to make a good living, and the working conditions are not all that great. I've got several friends working in the industry, and they have all been laid off at least once or twice due to cancelled projects or feature cuts. The strange thing is, that with all the code I've written for games, I can do some pretty advanced math instinctively (like 3 dimensional vector math, rotators, quaternions, etc), and yet some of the simpler stuff just eludes me. Mike

I've received several PMs from people offering to help, and I really appreciate it. I'm also going by B&N today to look for some books that might help. In response to WingNut- I prefer math. Firstly, I'm pretty set on being a software engineer (computer programmer), which pretty much requires a computer science degree. Besides, the arts are hard and way too ambiguous. At least with math there is always an answer. I may be too stupid to find it, but it's there, somewhere.... Thanks, Mike

Two weeks ago I quit my job and went back to school full time. I haven't taken a math class since 98, but I tested into pre-calculus trig and came close to testing directly into calc itself. Problem is: I've forgotten some of the fundamentals (and some I was never that good at to begin with). So: I need help with certain aspects of pre-calc (namely that I just don't seem to understand the concept of factoring or solving certain equations). I've looked around at several sites on the 'net, but have not found any really good ones yet. My teacher is far too busy and unwilling to help me re-learn these things, and the tutors at school are swamped right now, so I can't get any help there. Also, it seems that of the 15 or so students in my particular class, I'm probably in the top 3-5 in terms of understanding the material, so I'm not learning much from my classmates either. Short version: does anyone here know of a good site/book that I can read to learn this, or might even be willing to personally help me? Thanks, Mike

And as a former soldier stationed at Ft. Bragg, and friends with a lot of operators such as yourself, Lou, I know some of what you guys do and go through, and I highly respect you for it. I don't think most people realize what it means to have that kind of commitment and dedication. Mike

Thanks, I'll try that out. Do you use a particular brand, or just any generic type? I don't really MIND that I can't hear it, because I go up every time with the expectation that I WON'T hear it. It's still my responsibility to maintain altitude awareness. I just have the pro-track to monitor my speed and freefall time. If the audible saves me one day, great, but I never rely on it and hope I never get into the habit of relying on it. Thanks, Mike

I generally try to do the chest strap first, but there are times that I am rushing or distracted and do the leg straps first. I always do a full check at least twice before getting on the plane, however, and I never get on the plane unless I am ready to get out that instant. All straps are tight when I get on and they stay tight until I land. For a while I would not even remove my helmet during flight, but I no longer do that. Mike

I have a Pro-Track and more often than not, I don't hear it, even on the loud setting. I'm not sure if the fact that it is in an old Factory Diver has anything to do with it, but I'm pretty sure the hearing loss I have from being in the military does. Mike

I've used military models that had the vibration sensors sewn into an elastic type band that you put around the neck and velcro in the back. Those systems also had ear bud like devices that actually transmitted the vibration into your bone, but did not emit any sound. In the civilian market I think they sell for several thousand dollars, but they worked pretty well, and would probably work for skydiving. The ones I've seen on e-bay (FireFox I think) might be modifiable with the throat mic sensors, but the ear bud thing would probably be very expensive and/or difficult. I made a thread on this topic a few months back that may contain more information, but I don't have the time to search for it right now. Mike

It is kinda dissapointing that the old thread didn't break 1000 posts, but I can certainly understand Sangiro's perspective. Bandwidth is expensive and the server load for that thread (and how often we accessed it) was probably starting to hurt the site as a whole. On that note, I vote for letting Microsoft foot the bill . On a more skydiving related note- I'm not sure if you've read the thread about the person wanting to donate the canopy simulator. I spoke with Nancy today and she is all for it, so if everything works out, we may have a new toy/tool to play with soon. Also- Eric, what's the status of the wedding video? I'll try to be out there this weekend so we can talk about it if I don't hear from you before then. Thanks, Mike

There is a difference, however, between someone who routinely does S-turns because they always misjudge their approach and someone who does it once or twice because they misjudged and maintaining a straight in approach would put them in a hazardous landing area. Anyone who is in that situation had better make damn sure they are not impeding traffic behind them, however. Mike

Congrats on getting back in the air, Paige! When I shared the tunnel with you back in November, you looked to be flying really well, and I know you've gotten a lot better since. Good luck and blue skies! Mike

Nah, more like Point Break, except we would need cooler masks. I've still got a bullet proof vest and various other military acoutrements...... I mean- hey! that's illegal. We shouldn't even be considering doing that! Yeah, that's what I meant. Yup. Mike

Wow. There are just waaaay too many variables there for that to be done, I think. Analyzing data is one thing, but predicting what 30 jumpers will do during freefall and under canopy is quite another. Besides, we already have systems in place that work very well. Why spend hundreds of hours writing a software program that will never be used? Mike

Not much of a choice- I can't afford to buy it right now anyways, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for used ones now that I know they exist. Thanks, Mike

I really don't know jack about trailers, but that little guy trailer would be great for my wife and I. I drive a Focus ZX3, and normally when I drive to other DZs/boogies/whatever, I just fold the seats down and sleep in the trunk/back seat area. That thing actually looks pretty comfortable. Throw in the side mount propane grill, and it's a great small boogie vehicle that probably won't hurt my gas mileage much. Five to six grand does seem like a lot for something that small, however. Especially since I am broke and unemployed. Still cool though. Mike

Any word on the new Bonehead full face? Last I heard it was nearing the production stage, but I haven't been able to find anything new on it since. Thanks, Mike