NWFlyer

And, since I just watched it tonight (it just came out on Netflix streaming) I must also recommend Pearl Jam Twenty. I'm a bit of a fangirl, so I was predisposed to love it (plus it combines two of my favorite things - Pearl Jam & Cameron Crowe). "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

And pitch in tromping around fields looking for a small swatch of (hopefully) brightly-colored fabric! In addition to the in-air visibility bright colors provide, chopping a black main into pine trees was what convinced me all my canopies need to contain obnoxious colors that don't occur in nature - at least not anywhere on the ground! Which is why my two canopies are now primarily yellow (with a little orange) and primarily orange (with a little white & navy). "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

One place to look might be old Parachutist safety & training columns. There's not a step-by-step guide, but there are lots of "what not to do" photos embedded in the columns. http://parachutistonline.com/safety_training A fun Safety Day activity is to rig up a couple rigs with several problems that a standard gear check should uncover and see how many Safety Day attendees can find all of the problems. "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

Please describe in more detail. Now you probably wonder why you were focused on getting back to the DZ, eh? If you'd just hung out and watched for your bag it wouldn't be lost, unless of course obstacles were making that prospect nasty. You've obviously got way more time in sport than me, but I'm much more inclined to advise and reward newer jumpers for focusing on safely navigating traffic and landing rather than focusing on where their stuff is. I could see chasing a freebag (and/or main) becoming a distraction over paying attention to other canopies and finding somewhere good to land. Especially if it's the first time under the reserve - better to spend the time doing a few practice flares and turns (if altitude/location permits, of course). JMHO. Gear's nice to have, but I sometimes think we put too much emphasis on following your trash down. "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

Exactly, but even more powerful is to figure out what UPS's twitter handle is (it actually is @UPS) and also do a @ tweet, so it'd be like "Way to go @UPS for dropping my stuff off at a house 5 miles away. #UPS" UPS can then see that if they look at their @ tweets. Then you'll figure out how UPS uses Twitter ... are they a company that monitors the twitter account and responds and helps troubleshoot? Or do they ignore it? You've given an example of a complaint, but it can be a great way to call out positive stuff as well, especially people or businesses that you work with. So you could do something like "Really enjoyed the @AcmeTechnology 2011 user conference. I'm excited to see what we can do with the new AcmeAnvil5!" "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's easier to understand in contrast to the statements on maintenance of the reserve in the previous section: Essentially, the section you quoted is saying that there are no federal regulations that require any particular maintenance on your main. Of course, maintenance is still an excellent idea, but you can jump a ripped up bed sheet and call it a main parachute and the feds aren't going to have anything to say 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

You could always buy one of these and have the best of both worlds. http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=22578330 "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

The key thing is knowing your altitude when you're considering that third (or subsequent) attempt. Are you still at the point where you could make that third attempt and be above your decision altitude. If you're still above it, give it one more try; if not, it's time to stop trying to fight the main and get a canopy (reserve) over your head. "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

Occupation: Pilot I'm thinking he's already got that covered. "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

ZHills. It's pretty close to Tampa airport; I don't think there's public transit but there might be shuttles or you could call the DZ to see if anyone can give you a ride out. There's not a bunkhouse, but there are folks that rent out trailers on the DZ. "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

One time my wife and I were sick and had to cancel our travel plans for Thanksgiving, and not having any food for Thanksgiving dinner, we ended up driving around looking for a place that was open. Ended up at Cracker Barrel. Hey, it's better than McDonalds! In 1998 I was living in Los Angeles, and my brother was stationed at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, so we decided to get together at his place instead of flying back east to be with our parents. Neither of us was particularly motivated to cook, so we hit one of the casino buffets. In 2000 I was on a trip to Thailand - we were transitioning between cities on Thanksgiving Day, but both hotels (the one we checked out of in the morning, and the one we arrived at that night) were offering Thanksgiving dinners for their American guests. The timing didn't work out, but that would have been interesting to see. (The hotels we stayed at did a pretty good job with Western-style breakfast, so maybe it wouldn't have been all bad). "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

Bumping this thread to add Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? Finally watched this one tonight and really enjoyed it. If nothing else, it's a great chance to hear all his great songs (and that voice!) again. Available on Netflix streaming for those who have 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

Are your jumps signed off on your progression card? I suspect you'll find that most schools won't do a formal end of jump quiz, but instead, the instructors will pepper you with questions and test your knowledge in various ways throughout the briefing, jump prep, and debrief. As long as your card is being signed off as you're progressing through jumps and skills, I don't think you've got anything to stress about. And if it's not been signed off, sit down next time you're there and go through the card with an instructor to make sure that things are up to date (but I'd be willing to bet that it's already updated). "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'm roasting a turkey (planning to try this recipe). I'm a little nervous because I decided to shell out the big bucks and buy an all-natural, organic, grass fed heritage turkey this year, and considering how much money I spent on the thing, I'm oddly nervous about ruining it. But I have to remind myself I've successfully roasted many a turkey before, and this one will be just fine (and probably better since it's such good quality meat). Plus, bacon makes everything better! Sides will include a raw beet salad with walnuts & goat cheese, mashed sweet potatoes, and roasted brussels sprouts, with a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Been a few years since I pulled out all the stops for Thanksgiving, but since my parents will be in town, I decided to hit the kitchen again. "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 do you want to do with it? I have both an Android phone (Motorola Droid 2) and a BlackBerry (Bold ... don't recall the exact model number, but it's one of Verizon's more recent models). Each of them does exactly what I want for what I use them for. The Droid 2 is my personal phone - for that, I want a robust set of available apps, the ability to do personal email and social networking, a decent camera, maps/navigation, and of course, good phone service. It works for me. The BlackBerry is my work device. My priorities there are call quality (I work from home a lot and spend a lot of time on that phone), battery life, and easy integration with my company email. I really don't care about the rest of the apps because I don't use the BlackBerry for them (I use my personal phone). My company (a big company that's a little slow to embrace the latest-and-greatest at times) is close to approving iPhones for wide use, and I just recently upgraded to a new BlackBerry after considering waiting for an iPhone. But when I considered what I wanted my work device to do, the BlackBerry won on those three criteria hands down. (BlackBerry wins on call quality and battery life regardless, and it wins on work email integration only because of the way that my company is configuring email to work with the iPhone - natively, the iPhone may link well with corporate email, but the way we've done it, it's klugey and doesn't work as smoothly as the BlackBerry). I'm happy with both devices, and they meet my needs. "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

When I bought my current car (which I've now had for 11 years) the guys at the VW dealership were surprised and impressed that I wanted the 5-speed version. I've also taught two people (who were already experienced drivers) to drive stick - one female, one male; both of 'em did just fine, but I gotta say my female friend was more calm. "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

Manual. I've owned three cars in my life, plus the one family car that was mostly mine as a teenager. All of them have been manual. Why? Because they're more fun to drive! I hated learning to drive on a manual, but I'm so glad I did. It had immediate short-term benefits for me (if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to drive any of the family cars), as well as long-term benefits (I can rent a car in Europe without paying a ginormous amount extra! I get better gas mileage! I have more fun!). "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

Having recently bought/sold a couple of canopies, they were just put into plastic bags (a garbage bag works fine) and then into a sturdy box. As a buyer, I'd say the thing I'd appreciate the most is that you send the canopy on the links and, even better, with the line groups attached to a card (and labeled). It makes it MUCH easier for the buyer to sort things out. "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

Lots of people flat pack ZP canopies. However, the overwhelming majority of those are long-time jumpers who first learned to pack by flat packing, and who find that style of packing most comfortable and familiar to them. There's nothing inherently wrong with it as a packing technique. However, for someone just learning to pack today, the propack (and its variations) is the way to go. There's a number of reasons, not least of which is that when you need help (and it's okay to need help - learning to pack can take a while and the best way to learn is to practice and ask questions as you go) there will be plenty of people around who can advise you on propacking. Not so likely with flat packing. On any given weekend at my dropzone, there will always be people propacking, it's only every so often that there will be flat packers around. Don't consider practice to be "wasting time." Lots of early pack jobs are pure practice - even if you wouldn't jump them. The only way to get beyond the bad pack jobs is to keep practicing (ideally in a situation where you can get feedback as you go) so they turn into good pack jobs. "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 recommend this thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3224190 And then a search on various terms like "travel with gear" or "travel with rig." You'll find lots and lots of threads with lots and lots of advice. Short answer: no, you don't have to check it. I almost always carry mine on, in a roller bag. It is always (by far) the single most important and expensive thing I'm traveling with; I'd rather not let it out of my sight. Print a copy of this: http://www.uspa.org/Portals/0/Downloads/Other_TSAletter.pdf "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

This one's pretty great, too. I read this as someone that still follows college sports (to an extent) and cheers for the old alma mater. But what it is today makes me sad. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1969/12/the-shame-of-college-sports/8643/?single_page=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

I haven't been in that arena as long as you, but I'm going on about 12 years of doing primarily IT work, and I gotta say, "me too." (Funnily enough, any anger I *do* occasionally have with coworkers ain't with the engineers, it's with the so-called leadership). "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

The answer is of course going to be "it depends," but three sizes is a decent rule of thumb, though that will vary by canopy style - for example, in my own experience, I found a Spectre 230 (7 cell) packed about the same as a Pilot 210 (9 cell). Both of these fit into a container that was built for a 190. Another way to expand the range of your container is to consider some of the newer canopies with low-bulk fabric. Mains include the PD Pulse and the Aerodyne Pilot ZPX (not to be confused with the standard Pilot which does not have low-bulk fabric). Reserves include the PD Optimum. Canopies made with these lower-bulk fabrics typically pack one size smaller than another canopy of the same size. So if you decide a 190 is the right starter canopy for you, you could look at a container built for a 170 but comfortably put in a Pulse or Pilot ZPX 190 in there. You could probably squeeze other 190s in there, too, but a lower-bulk one will be a more comfortable pack job. "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

An interesting possibility was raised by another poster in the other thread on this topic, that perhaps he is protected under whistleblower laws? I don't know enough about those (or about the exact circumstances in which they apply) but I suppose that's a possibility of why he's on administrative leave but still employed. "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

None of the above. For many, it's because he flip-flops more than John Effin' Kerry. I don't necessarily have a problem with thoughtful shifts in viewpoint based on new information or changing times, but Romney is pretty blatantly opportunistic. You don't get elected in Massachusetts by appealing to the far right. And you don't get national attention in the Republican party without doing just that. Interesting article in yesterday's WSJ about just that - 2005 - Mitt's year of opportunistic policy shifts. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204505304577004352121240264.html?mod=googlenews_wsj "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