NWFlyer

"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 he said. From all the local scuttlebutt, it seems Groupon's the least of their worries down 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

Mine have a snap on the jumpsuit that mates with the sleeve at the elbow end - that helps to hold them up. (One of my snaps is a little janky and doesn't always "click" in tight, and that sleeve will sometimes slide down, where the side with the good snap will of course always stay put). Just something to consider as an extra help for keeping the sleeves in place. "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 did the couple in question decide when they discussed exclusivity? Seems like that's the "rule" that applies, not some Hillshire Farms-based arbitrary standard. Oh, never mind, that's a rational response. "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

Okay, that's one of the funniest typos I've seen in a while. I realize that the DMV in many states can be a scary experience, but it's probably not as intense as a visit to the DMZ. "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

+1 to what emmiwy said. I have a jewelry box (that I got for like $25 at Fred Meyer, so while it's functional, it's nowhere near as beautiful as what you have created). Other than a nice strand of pearls that my parents gave me when I graduated from high school, and a watch or two, there's not anything in there that cost more than the box itself, and most things cost quite a bit less. For me, jewelry is fun, cheap stuff that I don't really care if I damage or lose. I'm not into bling, I'm not into expensive baubles. So, people who know me know that's not the kind of gift for me. I have no idea if your girlfriend is the type who will appreciate the jewelry box more as a beautiful hand-crafted piece in and of itself, or if she'll appreciate it as somewhere to keep her pricey trinkets. You probably know that about her already, so you I think you need to trust your own gut on whether / what to buy her to put into the box. "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

You forgot several viable options. -Slip out the back, Jack -Make a new plan, Stan -Don't need to be coy, Roy -Hop on the bus, Gus -Drop off the key, Lee "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 pick bright colors because I like people to see me. The extra advantage is that they're easier to find in vegetation (and though for much of the year the landing area and surrounding fields are brown, when they're planted, brightness helps for sure. And we do have a few canopy-eating trees around, too). Three years on a stealth mode black Pilot with red ribs convinced me to buy bright from now on, which is why my canopies now are one that is mostly yellow with a couple orange cells, and one that is mostly orange with one navy and one white. And Shawn, if you want to try a Pulse 210, let me know. I'm not selling either of them, but I'm happy to let you take one for a spin. It'd also fit in your rig as, like the ZPX Pilot, it packs smaller. "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

Anyone but King. He'd be waaaaay too good at 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

Note: I'm a solid mediocre intermediate kind of snowboarder, so take this for what it's worth. When I was learning to snowboard, I'd always heard that in the very beginning, snowboarding has a steeper curve than skiing, but that once you get the basics down, getting truly proficient is easier on a board than on skis. Having never gotten past rank beginner/intermediate in either, I would agree on the first part - that learning to stay upright and go down a not-terribly-steep hill without falling was easier on skis than on a snowboard. As I've never gotten past blues in either sport, I've no idea whether the other part is true. "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 I tell all my friends who board (as do I, though only occasionally and not in a couple of years) ... PLFs work almost as well on a board than they do after a skydive. The fall's just a little less graceful, but you can still essentially tuck and roll. "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

Then go for it. I could have afforded both, too, but chose not to because I have lots of other things I like to spend/save my money on. The other thing to think about is that it's not an either/or proposition. You can buy some components new and some components used. I bought a new AAD with my first rig and the other three components (container, main, reserve) used. "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

No, I decided back then that I'd rather get used gear in good condition so that I have more money to spend on jumping and tunnel time and coaching so I can be a better skydiver. Shiny new gear doesn't do anything to make you a better skydiver. I've been in the sport 7 1/2 years. Last week I just received my first brand-new, custom-built rig. Why? Because when I started, I was patient and found a great deal on a nearly-new used rig that has served me very well for those seven years. It was a 2003 container and reserve that I bought in 2005 with only 10 jumps on it, and only one pack job on that reserve. I spent considerably less than I would have spent on the equivalent new, yet it wasn't anything close to "raggedy old stuff." Into that I put a main that had 450 jumps. After 200 jumps on that one, I put in a main that had 200 jumps on it. After 300 jumps on that one, I actually put in a brand-new main. And the only reason I bought that one new is that it was a model that was new to the market and at the time there weren't any used. Now that I'm putting together a second rig, I bought a second main - used, and a second reserve - used. And two AADs - used (but a newer model than the one I had, so I'll sell the old one and get quite a bit of value out of it). Careful, thoughtful purchasing has given me more financial freedom to buy things custom that have helped me be a better jumper - like jumpsuits. And to jump, to buy tunnel time, to pay for coaching (both in the air and in the tunnel), to pay for team training, to travel to boogies and training events and nationals, etc. "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

Didn't you wind up with the RBF till death do you part? "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

TLA - Three Letter Acronym FLA - Four Letter Acronym BOHICA - Bend Over, Here It Comes Again (that one comes to mind a lot at work ). "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

Six years? But you only came out on facebook a few months ago. I call bullshit. That's true, it's not real till it's Facebook official. "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

Lodi is in Northern California so is subject to the weather concerns I mentioned. And you might want to do a search to decide if it's somewhere you want to jump. Here's one recent thread with an active discussion. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4212512 "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

'Sokay, I'll just stay in my humorless 6 1/2 year relationship. With another skydiver. Who had fewer jumps than me when we started dating. And is shorter than me. (Wow how many of the male skydiver why can't I get a date? "rules" myths did I just bust right 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

My favorite: "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

Then we also need more men in the sport to increase the quantity of viable options for the few of us women skydivers who care about more than just how good a guy looks in his jumpsuit. I'm just sayin'. Look no further! There are plenty of eligible bachelors right here in this thread! I dunno, at least two of them have been very open about being bitter and angry towards women and relationships. That doesn't mean "eligible" IMHO. "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

Long story short, F-111 is old tech and it's flare performance will deteriorate over time. It's not what you want, just stick with Z-po canopies. In terms of openings, the big Sabres are not great. Canopies you might consider would be the Sabre2, Spectre, Pilot, Storm, or Silhouette, none of them are know to open hard in the larger sizes. My Pilot 210 slammed me a couple times in 300 jumps on it, though generally it was a snivelly bitch. I'd add the Pulse to that list. In 300+ jumps on it the only hard opening I had was due to a pilot chute issue. It's taken good care of me. Positive but not hard openings. "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

Do what I do ... I just skip past it; I know I won't miss anything and it works pretty darn well

For an engineer, you're pretty bad at math. Even if I bought the premise that the odds are 2 to 52 (which I don't, but I'll play along just for fun), have we talked about how many of those 52 1) play for my team and 2) are on the dating market? I don't waste my time trying to convince gay guys to go for me, and I don't date people who are otherwise involved in relationships. I know it goes on, but it's not for me. So now we've eliminated a good portion of the available "52." Let's say we're down to 30. Of those 30, my experience is that quite a few of them will be well younger than me, as statistics tell me that men in their 20s are less likely to be married than guys who are older than that. While I enjoy hanging out with people in their 20s, I just don't find that (in general) we're looking for the same things out of a relationship. So (with the possibility of a rare exception) that just eliminated most of the single ones. But really, it's simple math. I'm sure that I'll find one of the remaining handful attractive. If not, it's most certainly because I'm dumber than a box of hammers. Good thing I already grabbed one of the good ones, because all this math has made my head hurt. Was I not supposed to hit it with those hammers? "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

California's pretty big. If location is not specific, I'd say that Southern California is the better bet this time of year. As much as I like Northern California (which is my home), in December & January our weather can be somewhat unreliable (though so far, December's been quite nice). In Southern California you could visit Skydive Elsinore and Skydive Perris within a 20 minute drive of each other. Both have bunkhouses and free camping areas, and good on-DZ amenities. I enjoy visiting and jumping at both dropzones and would highly recommend both and if you're in that area for several weeks you'll have time to visit both. "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

KK ask for me or Annemarie at manifest. Or look for the goofy guy wearing pink earmuffs. We will get you on some jumps appropriate to your skill level. At the risk of ruining Rick's reputation as an Asshole, look him up when you get there. He's good people and will make sure you get on the right jumps. Also, when he's sitting down because of winds, join him. You'll hear some good stories and you can stand on the back porch and watch everyone else pound in. "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