NWFlyer

It can't possibly say that since teh gays choose that hedonistic lifestyle, they're not born that way. I hope that's sarcasm The vast majority of my posts should be tagged with the sarcasm font. I was responding to an obviously facetious post. I used the term "teh gays." Didja really have to ask? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

It can't possibly say that since teh gays choose that hedonistic lifestyle, they're not born that way. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

What an awesome idea ... if I lived in that area I'd be all over it! (psst, it will probably help if you tell people what day your event is) "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3972072 "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

(Hoping we can keep this in Bonfire by focusing on the movie more than the issues it discusses ... we'll see!) Anyone else seen this yet? I know it's just getting into wider release after a very limited opening a couple weeks ago. Just got home from the theater and all I can say about this documentary is "Wow." The director (Davis Guggenheim) took what can seem like a very abstract subject and made it very personal by weaving the story around several children across the country whose neighborhood schools are failing and who were trying to gain admission to alternatives (charter or magnet schools) via lotteries. You get to know and really dig these kids and their families, and as a viewer you become pretty invested in the outcome of their lottery results. Mixed in among these personal stories are the bigger themes; the failures of the system, the failures of government to do much about it, the intractability of unions, the reforms that work and what hasn't worked. The documentary style reminded me of Food Inc. with clever use of graphics/cartoons to make points and bring statistics to life. But really, the heart of the movie is the stories it tells, and it tells them very powerfully. I can't recommend this movie highly enough - it's easily one of the best documentaries I've ever watched. And I say that even though I could see some definite flaws in it. He holds up charter schools as a model for reform, but also points out that only a small percentage of charter schools outperform public schools. I would have liked to see a little more of the "whys" on that question. The film is strongly biased against the teachers' unions, to the point where I wish there'd been a little more balance in the portrayal. http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waiting_for_superman/ "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Nice stuff, Wendy. Even when you were struggling you got props for your canopy control ... no wonder you went into CRW. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Despite the 30,000 foot reference, that's a nice, balanced article. Good luck, Rich! Maybe you can get a few locals who "clean up well" to show up at the city council meeting to support you. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Learn to pack. Learn to pack fast. You'll be the best paid person on the dropzone. Edit to add: let your DZO know about your carpentry skills. He/she may have some work/handyman projects that you could help with. Don't count on it to be a lot of money, but you never know what little work might come up here or there. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Hope you don't have them listed as your emergency contact on the waiver. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

First question - no specifics. You just need to plan and execute group jumps. You plus one (or more) others is a group. Second question - I believe it has to be signed off by an S&TA so the S&TA is generally the one who leads the training. You'll need someone to lead the class, and a body of water (often a pool, sometimes a lake or other natural body of water). Ask at your DZ, ask at neighboring DZs; some DZs schedule it regularly, others schedule it when enough people have expressed an interest. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Skydive City in Zephyrhills. Friendly people, great organizers, lots of winter events, excellent facilities if you want to camp out (or even if you don't). www.skydivecity.com (edit to add if you're flying in - Tampa is closest, Orlando not much farther) "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Sure, but it's their DZ, their rules. There's a couple DZs I've heard of where people have had trouble without logbooks, but most are fairly accommodating of various ways to validate experience/currency (including phone calls to your home DZ to check in on your last jump date, things like that). You'll also find that in some cases, the more experience you have, less gets validated. Skydive Oregon (as one example I know) only checks logbooks if you don't have a D license. Once you've got a D, they just check other stuff (USPA membership & license are in date, reserve repack). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Pepperell is pretty much surrounded by trees, though the landing area is a pretty decent size. One article I read described the jumper as "relatively inexperienced" - that could have been a major contributing factor to his ending up where he didn't want to be. http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20101011skydiver_stuck_in_tree_in_dunstable_unhurt/srvc=home&position=also http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Skydive+Pepperell,+165+Nashua+Rd,+Pepperell,+MA+01463-1457&sll=37.81095,-122.252284&sspn=0.008256,0.01929&ie=UTF8&hq=Skydive+Pepperell,&hnear=165+Nashua+Rd,+Pepperell,+Middlesex,+Massachusetts+01463&t=h&z=16 "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

"Because I can" isn't a really great reason for pulling low. Why do you want to pull low? As for me, although I can suck it lower and have, on most jumps I like to throw out at about 3,000, which has me happily in the saddle by 2500-2700 feet. The occasions where I've taken it lower have been ones where pulling lower was likely to lower my risk (for example, a bigger-way jump where my tracking wave was expected to pull lower, or a mid-size jump where breakoff traffic was such that I wanted to give myself a little more cushion). So what's your reason? (Oh, and if it was the DZO or his/her representative who talked to you after your jump, remember that you jump at their pleasure ... (assuming you're in the US) the USPA BSRs may say one thing; they can apply whatever rules on top of those that they would like. You're free to jump elsewhere if you don't like that). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

If you read all the posts above (including mine) you'd know that you'll need a little bit of self-control since the largest G2 you can buy right now is a Large. You'll need to wait till December (planned availability date) to get an XL or XXL ... Not true. You have to wait for XL or XXL visor. The shells are all done. I'm just repeating what I was told by the Cookie Rep (Nick) at Chicks Rock ... either way, I'd like a visor. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

If you read all the posts above (including mine) you'd know that you'll need a little bit of self-control since the largest G2 you can buy right now is a Large. You'll need to wait till December (planned availability date) to get an XL or XXL ... "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I used it once to cut some loose thread on the sleeve of my jumpsuit so it wouldn't continue unraveling. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

There's a reason the term "truck packing" was invented. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Me too - total Sorkin groupie here - have Sports Night and The West Wing DVD sets and can re-watch any of the episodes and it'll bring a smile to my face. Went to see The Social Network with the SO last night ... we were both yawning pre-show hoping we could stay awake through the movie (yeah, so we're old and lame). As soon as the movie started, I don't think either of us gave another thought to being tired - the movie was far too engaging to nod off. Great stuff. The writing was fantastic, as expected, and I also thought all the acting was fantastic. I suspect Timberlake's going to continue to surprise and impress me with his range of talents - he has that certain something that lights up a screen. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

If *that's* what you got out of that post ... I have a place you should go. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Who's this Iwan guy? I hear he used to post whore Guess he's back here now "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

As others have said, common interest groups. Also, volunteering rocks as a way to meet people (not to mention it's just a good thing to do). When I first moved to Seattle (the first time I'd moved anywhere where I knew almost no one) I volunteered, joined alumni clubs for my college and grad school, and got to know a lot of people that way. I had a rule - for the first year there I wasn't allowed to turn down any social invitations, so even if it meant tagging along to a party where I'd only know one person, or going to an alumni event where I wouldn't know anyone, I'd go because it was a chance to meet people. I also followed up a lot more than I might have otherwise - actually calling people I'd hit it off with to hang out - met some good friends that way, too. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Doesn't happen to me that often since I'm usually one of the first on thanks to traveling a ton. At that point, though, you've eliminated a lot of the risk points - if you gate check, you're past security, and it won't get quite as much "handling" as if you'd checked it at the check-in counter. All the more reason to have it in a decent bag, though - can you imagine being told you'd have to gate-check your rig without the protection of an external bag? Eek. Getting on late is also one of those situations where being super-nice to the flight attendants and explaining what you have and why you'd strongly prefer that it not be checked (expensive, life-saving equipment, prone to damage, etc.) - sometimes they can find secret spots in closets if you're really nice about it. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

That's part of it. Baggage gets mis-handled and lost, and it is always the most expensive thing I'm carrying with me on a trip, by far. I'd rather keep that in my possession. I also carry mine on so that I can be present at the TSA inspection. I've traveled with my rig a lot and the overwhelming majority of the TSA checks fall into a couple categories: 1) Bag sails through like any other bag and I take it off at the other end and I'm on my way. 2) Screener calls for a bag check and the checker opens the bag, swabs the rig, makes a DB Cooper joke, and sends me on my way. (A variation on this is the screener is totally confused, calls a supervisor, and the supervisor calls for the bag check). However, there's a third category that happens rarely, but it does happen, where you get an ill-informed screener or supervisor and they want to start poking and prodding and opening things or otherwise telling you that you can't carry that on the plane. I like being able to be there to politely and patiently explain what's going on. So far (and I bet I've carried my rig with me upwards of 100 times) I have never had a problem carrying the rig on fully intact after these discussions, but I like to keep the rig with me just in case. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

A duffel bag or larger backpack will work, as will many 20- or 22-inch roller bags (I believe 22 is the max allowable carry-on). Depending on the size of your rig and the shape of the bag you may have trouble getting both into a bag that's an allowable carry-on size. But you do get two carry-on bags, so you can always toss the helmet into a smaller bag. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke