Jessica

I have this vague, uncomfortable feeling that Armageddon is nigh. Skydiving is for cool people only

And I'll be the neighbor lady with 200 parrots! And you'll call 10 times a day to complain about the noise! Skydiving is for cool people only

Damn it, I knew I should have put this in the women's forum. Skydiving is for cool people only

I need help. I really do need a new job. This place is making my head explode. But no one needs an editor, at least not in this semi-literate town, and I'm not really in a position to move right now. So I need help figuring out what else I can do. Honestly, I've never really had to job-search before. As long as it's not too boring, I don't care what it is. Here are my qualifications: Bachelor of science in journalism, minors in political science and French Four years experience as an editor at major metropolitan newspapers 2 years of experience as reporter/editor at college newspaper Various jobs in college, including shift manager at restaurant, SAT tutor, academic publications editor Any advice? Skydiving is for cool people only

OK, one week later, and I hate them. I'm going back to glasses. Skydiving is for cool people only

Negative, you grandson of a disgruntled pig. Check m-w.com. Skydiving is for cool people only

Hiya! Don't report the content of any of my posts at SSM. I have an image to uphold. Skydiving is for cool people only

With these words, you have triggered within me an almost irrepressible urge to berate, abuse, and physically and psychically injure you. Welcome to the forums! Skydiving is for cool people only

I get pretty pissed when people talk like what they think a deaf person sounds like, complete with waving hands around. I'd think that that was an ignorant, asshole thing to do even if I didn't have a deaf sister who works hard as hell to be intelligible to the hearing population. Jokes about sensitive subjects are only a good idea if you are intimate friends with your target and know what they find offensive. And being an asshole really isn't ever funny. Skydiving is for cool people only

Me! I love birds. Rawk! I have two parrots. Oh man, boxers are the greatest dogs ever. I want a puppy! Skydiving is for cool people only

San Antonio, Texas. Bring that cute friend of yours. It's low 70s today, crystal blue skies, btw. Skydiving is for cool people only

Trying to figure out which movie to go see tonight. Please aid me. Skydiving is for cool people only

Me too. They don't know nothing about dz.com, so I guess I can be slandered with impunity here. When I first got into the sport, a mixture of being a giant moron and some very bad luck combined for two reserve rides in my first 20 jumps. I wrote about it here. After that, there were some perhaps well-meaning, but extremely rude people on the dropzone who said it was just a matter of time before I killed myself and that I needed to get the fuck out of the sport. Most people stuck up for me, though, and today I flatter myself by thinking I'm a relatively heads-up jumper. If you read the stories, note this epilogue: Shortly afterward, my then-dropzone converted all the rigs to BOC, changed all the AADs to Cypres, and added specific instructions on what to do in case of a brake popping on opening to the FJC (I take credit for that one ). Skydiving is for cool people only

The one I'm thinking of was before we had an incidents forum. It happened to our very own Jumperpaula. I'm afraid that misrouted bridles really aren't that uncommon. Again, thanks for the photos. It's a hard malfunction to visualize. Skydiving is for cool people only

I really appreciate those, too. The same malfunction happened to another dz.commer a while back, but there were no pictures. I sat there with a rig for a long time, scratching my head and trying to figure out how it happened. The photos really clarify things. Skydiving is for cool people only

AWESOME. Skydiving is for cool people only

Update (sorry for formatting): PILOTS QUESTION NEW RULES THAT LET FAA REVOKE CERTIFICATES By BRYON OKADA c.2002 Fort Worth Star-Telegram New rules issued by the Transportation Security Administration that can ban pilots, mechanics and dispatchers from working are drawing the ire of aviation-industry experts and pilot groups. In the name of combating terrorism, the rules allow the Federal Aviation Administration to revoke, suspend or refuse the airman certificate of anyone the TSA deems a threat to national security. The certificate is required for pilots, mechanics and dispatchers. The rules were posted Friday without warning on the Federal Register, and they took effect immediately, without the typical industry feedback. Pilot groups say the rules are so vague that there is no way of knowing what criteria will be used or whether someone who is banned can appeal. “It raises a series of questions, and you can't find the answers in the language of the rule,” said Gregg Overman, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, the union for American Airlines pilots. “We have some work to do here.” On Monday, TSA officials in Washington, D.C., referred questions to regional public-affairs offices. Phone calls to the regional office that oversees Dallas/Fort Worth Airport were not returned. Industry experts also say the TSA is widening the use of national-security concerns to circumvent public access to information and to deny jobs to some people. “It's called fascism,” said Mike Boyd, an industry consultant in Colorado who is one of the TSA's harshest critics. “It's the most egregious thing so far. This is an unaccountable agency with no oversight, and they hide everything behind national security. “It could develop into a gestapo. All they have to do is say, ‘You're a threat.' They don't have to prove it, because they give you no due process.” Boyd said other examples of the trend toward secrecy include the TSA's refusal to make public a final report on a security breach Jan. 9 at D/FW Airport and its squelching of whistle-blowers. Officials with the Allied Pilots Association plan to contact the TSA to get a detailed explanation of the rules, Overman said. They will also submit comments to the Department of Transportation and the FAA. The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, an umbrella group of several major pilot unions, is considering filing an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. “With all due regard to national security, we're deeply concerned that the rules appear to permit taking away a pilot's license without an independent review,” said Phil Boyer, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which represents about 60 percent of the nation's 630,000 pilots, including noncommercial pilots. Capt. Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, the nation's largest commercial-pilot union, said the rules cross the line from security-related concerns to “secretive, unaccountable government conduct.” “Pilots and other workers would be unable to invoke the traditional right to access and refute the information that is being used against them,” Woerth said. Skydiving is for cool people only

Indeed. I do think in some instances people tend to play the putting-others-down-to-make-themselves-feel-superior game. Many just really don't think they're capable of fucking up. "I don't need an RSL, because I'm not too stupid to pull my handles." Skydiving is for cool people only

I was talking to my boyfriend a while back about stupid mistakes and jumping. "Baby," I said, "If I go in, don't let everyone call me a dumbass all over the dz and on dropzone.com." He smiled tenderly and said, "If you go in because you were a dumbass, I'm going to call you a dumbass." I would have made him sleep on the couch that night, but it was his apartment. We all recognize the value of learning the details of incidents. Every, and I mean every time I read about one, I take something away. In some miniscule way, each time I read about someone else's mistake or problem I hope I lessen the chance of my having the same one. Do we have a right to incident details? Skydivers are very hungry for them, and want them immediately. I'm not sure what the psychological motivation behind this is. Perhaps it's a sort of talisman against having the same thing happen to one's self. One benefit I see to sharing confirmed information as soon as possible is that it cuts down on the rumors. I've been skydiving for a couple of years, and the pattern always seems the same -- not just online. Someone hurts himself, and a bunch of people (generally strangers) jump on him for being stupid, rightly or wrongly, and the people who know him defend him voraciously, rightly or wrongly. Feelings get hurt, tempers flare, the "whuffo media" is lambasted, etc. etc. What's the right way to report and react to incidents? Do we need to know about every single one? Do we have a "right" to the information? Skydiving is for cool people only

Trying sending a private message to Skreamer here. He did his training in South Africa, and from what I understand it's an economical option for U.K. jumpers. Welcome! Skydiving is for cool people only

I think it's valid to point out that a jumper is ultimately responsible for the gear he or she chooses to jump -- especially the main system. It's not cool to blame the rigger in this case (if only because it gives a sense of diluting one's own responsibility for his own gear), and it brings up a very good point about pre-jump pin checks. Good job on saving your ass, Kevin.

To me, it just seems a courtesy not to bring concealed weapons into a place where the owner has clearly stated his aversion to them. Surely there are other places to shop if you must have your gun on you. I don't want guns in my home, and though they may be "legal," if someone won't respect my wishes in my house, he or she isn't welcome. Skydiving is for cool people only

You've hit the nail on the head! God, I hate my entire gender. We're such whores. Skydiving is for cool people only

3 hours of American Idol watched:0:0 I had never seen that stupid show before, then I went to a friend's place after work and we sat there and watched it all night long. I'm addicted. How wonderfully horrible it is. Skydiving is for cool people only

What? Didn't I read in Skydiving that there's a contract between Rantoul and WFFC? Where did you hear this? Skydiving is for cool people only