Jessica

Yep, but for many people, only meds can bring them to a place where they are even able to function normally, let alone able to shape one's thought patterns. Only recently, after several months of drug therapy, am I able to balance my checkbook on a regular basis. That's a lot of years of hell I've lived through. I'm extremely sensitive to the "most people don't need meds" assertion. No one knows who "needs" meds besides the depressed person and his or her doctor. Skydiving is for cool people only

Cite a reference for that statistic, and we can discuss it. Skydiving is for cool people only

Yes, all of IRC is shut down in deference to the fact that I can't participate tonight. Skydiving is for cool people only

I don't believe that for a hot second. Skydiving is for cool people only

Wow, that stuff is really nice! Must...purchase...jewelry.... Skydiving is for cool people only

I've gotten several PMs from women in response to my unsolicited advice thread. Seems to me a lot of women are treated like crap in this sport. I even got one PM from an AWESOME skychick who's had enough, and is selling her gear. So tell a skydiver chick she rocks! Try assuming she knows what she's doing as much as, or more than you, and treat her with due respect. So, Bytch, Sunny, Skymama, Betsy, Michele, Mouth, Pammi, Wendy, Skycat, PLFXpert, Freaksis, Dove, Moody, Stacy, Skygal3, Misskriss, Hooked, Jumperpaula, Airann, Val, TG, FallinWoman, Freebird, Ladyskydiver, Suz, dzdiva, blondeflyer7, mujie96, skyrose7, ltdiver, bluefingers, lew, JumpNFly, DivaSkyChick, Tee, Lindsey, Kelly, BikerBabe, Divadiver, Tigra, Emma, Emmie, NtheSeaOrSky, katiebear, Jasmin, jumpergirl, jessed, craichead, jlmiracle, katzeye, lizzieb, skykitten, BirdWoman, JKA, HeatherB, Rachel, Peppermint, missmae and all the rest of y'all: [RED]YOU ARE SUPER AWESOME. Skydiving is for cool people only

I got my tryout!!!!! Three days in mid-May. Now all I have to do is be a better editor than the other major candidate, a 40ish former magazine editor woman from New Mexico. I hate her. Some of her stuff went through me and she can't spell or type. So nervous...and I have two weeks to get more worked up. Skydiving is for cool people only

How much speed do you gain with a downsize? I'm just trying to wrap my mind around this. I jump a Hornet 150. When I bought it, I meant to be loading it at 1:1, but I gained enough weight to load it at almost 1.2:1. This isn't a dangerous loading for me, but how much of an actual difference is there between my intended loading and my actual one? Someone with 50ish jumps should probably look at a 1:1 loaded canopy, most people agree. But if he buys a 1.3:1 loaded canopy, the canopy nazis feign heart attacks. Is there any way to represent the difference in speed with a percentage, or some kind of number? I guess it's hard for people to really understand why 1.3 is so much more dangerous than 1.0, and why 1.8 is so different from 1.5. If we had a better way to quantify it, maybe it would be easier to explain. Skydiving is for cool people only

Can't figure out where to put this.... From SSM Management: Great News!!!!!! Fuels prices are on the way down! Therefore jump ticket prices are being REDUCED!! Effective immediately: TBO jump tickets $16. King Air jump tickets $17. (This is down from $19!!) Skydiving is for cool people only

I have to work tonight so no pub for me. Therefore, no one should go. Skydiving is for cool people only

Damn it Wingi, does that mean you DON'T have something besides Scooby Snacks for me to snack on in your RV???? Skydiving is for cool people only

What kind of crack-smoking freak would have been your girlfriend?! Skydiving is for cool people only

Anyone want to discuss when unsolicited advice crosses the line into rudeness? And when a response to unwanted advice crosses the same line? Helping people out is an essential part of this sport, obviously. There's very much an "elder" system in effect, where the best way to learn is from a mentor relationship. If someone announces he wants to start BASE jumping, and asks if he can just jump his skydiving reserve, he deserves to have his ass jumped all over. But there are times when it's not appropriate, and even condescending. For example: I'm pretty well educated about my gear. Yet, people I don't know will approach me all the time and inform me that my Reflex is a death rig. Or that my Hornet is a PISA shit (ha ha!). Or tell me the rubber bands that I'm using are wrong. Or...well, the list goes on and on. I don't appreciate this "advice." It's not helpful to me, and I find it insulting. Yet, there's a rigger apprentice at my dropzone who knows his shit (still hate you though, floormonkey), and likes sharing the things he learns. I'm always happy when he gives me a tip, and I think our rigger likes it too. And this certainly isn't advice I've explicitly asked for. At what point is it OK to to tell someone you don't know (or do know, for that matter), what you think they should do? Maybe a lot of it depends on the person giving the advice. Billvon could tell me to roll around in the dirt before a skydive to help fine-tune my fallrate, and I'd do it, but if a stranger told me to do something, I might give him the finger (and find out later he was Jack Jeffries). Should we just set our egos aside and absorb all input in an open-minded spirit? That would be hard for me. I've got a thick veneer of defensiveness, developed from being treated like I'm stupid for a lot of my life. Thoughts? Skydiving is for cool people only

I know something Phree does sometimes is firewire the video onto his own camera, then can make dubs for his friends or whatever at his leisure. Skydiving is for cool people only

Agreed. I probably wouldn't be a "customer," but I'd think your presence there was pretty cool. Skydiving is for cool people only

Bill, wouldn't smacking into a tree trunk in full flight -- downwind, even -- hurt you pretty bad? We had a fatality at my old home DZ where a first jump student hit the hanger, and managed to strike a support beam. Skydiving is for cool people only

I've had video on lots of my jumps, and I've never paid for it. Usually it's a camera flyer wandering over and saying, "Hey, what are you guys doing? Can I tag along and film?" It's not because they're not busy; it's because they like flying camera, and watching other skydivers enjoy and benefit from their video gives them pleasure. It's a lot of fun to gather around after a jump and laugh and shout over what went wrong and right. For competitions and students, of course they get paid. But not every jump must be a mercenary one. We do a lot of SCRs out here, and every jumper pays his or her own slot, including the camera guy. We love doing SCRs. My dropzone turns a lot of students, and has a tight group of fun jumpers. I guess Perris is a different world. Skydiving is for cool people only

Cotton-candy pink helmet, with "Valinator" on the side in green, with a shamrock dotting the i. And you have to get matching pink leathers. Skydiving is for cool people only

Hmm! Your coherency must have tricked me into thinking you were sober! Skydiving is for cool people only

No, ME!!! I've never gotten a drunken PM! I'm pining for one! Skydiving is for cool people only

Oh, Wingi... *hug* Skydiving is for cool people only

My friend thinks I need a new job. He envisions me as an online interviewer for cnn.com. I would go by my nickname: Jessicakes, or 'Cakes. Skydiving is for cool people only

Cosmo and Glamour Chatting on IM at work Dr Pepper The male persuasion Sushi Getting wasted Bad fiction Reading the comics before the rest of the paper Indulging in melancholy Buying new pens when I don't need them Parrots Frozen German chocolate cakes Staying in bed really late Pandering to the lowest common denominator Skydiving is for cool people only

"I'm about to use my x-ray vision right now." Skydiving is for cool people only

$120 is nothing. I'm going to have to pay $220+ more than a ticket to Chicago if I want to fly into Champaign. $120 is 6.5 jumps fewer. Fly into Champaign, fool! Skydiving is for cool people only