NWFlyer

Might try the teams themselves. Airspeed actually lists a 2007 DVD on their site: http://airspeed.org/sales.html Fury's site doesn't look as recently updated, but there's contact info on there. http://www.perrisfury.net/ "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

Yeah, don't worry. You'll have plenty of familiar faces already (like me and the Monkey) and all the unfamiliar ones will be friends before too long. If nothing else, make sure you meet 'Shell and the rest will take care of itself. "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 way more than a lot of people do - some people are scrounging around for $50 at repack time even though they (usually) know it's coming. It'll also put you in a good position if you decide to replace equipment, because you may be able to buy a new-to-you piece of equipment without having to sell your old one to get the cash out of it first. That gives you the flexibility to hold out for a fair price on what you're selling and jump on a good deal for what you're buying. "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

Did you have a discussion about how you handled the problem? That, to me, is the more important learning from a malfunction situation - not so much "what went wrong?" but "what did you do then?" What did your instructors have to say? "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

100 and more have been done a number of times, usually as a fund-raiser and/or a record attempt. The current record is 640, held by Jay Stokes. These events typically require a significant effort not only by the jumper, but also by a big support crew to pack, feed, hydrate, and fly the jumper, as well as documenting the whole thing. It's not something that you'd just wake up one Saturday and say "I think I'll do 100 today." http://www.mostjumps2006.com/ "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=3964242 Check post #42 and beyond (discussion of the same incident with some discussion of prevention). "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

Or, if you prefer: donkra, zebonkey, zebrinny, zebrula, zebrass or zedonk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8618302/Rare-zonkey-born-in-China.html "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://performancedesigns.com/docs/W-L_Interpretations.pdf I think that's as close as it gets. "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 only care about the "five Fridays" part since I get paid every two weeks and if the first Friday of the month is also a paycheck week, then it turns into a three-paycheck month. Since I can live well within my means on the two paychecks a month, the two three-paycheck months are like getting a bonus twice a year. Of course, I suspect that a good portion of this July's "bonus" will go into fuel to take the RV to Lost Prairie. "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 worth asking. The items that I had stolen (shoes) weren't insured either, but I was able to get a replacement item sent from the online store that I bought them from. "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 sucks, but you should be able to file a claim on that one. You typically have to go back to the person/company that originally shipped it to you then they'll file the claim with the shipper (DHL). I've had stuff stolen from in front of my apartment (inside the locked building) before and the claim process worked (at least with UPS) and the replacement product was sent once the claim process was worked out. (And UPS then marked our building as "do not leave," at least until the known building thief was finally evicted and all the building locks were changed). "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 was a brand-new jumper, more than a couple of weeks without jumping made me nervous. I have never been technically uncurrent, but there have been times that I felt less current than I wanted to be. I hurt myself last October at just under 800 jumps. I'd already done nearly 200 jumps last year. When I came back in early April (just under the 6 month mark where I would have become officially uncurrent) I was a hair nervous, but mostly because my most recent jump had ended in an injury, not because I hadn't jumped in 5+ months. I'd done a couple tunnel sessions during the time I was out, which helped. I found that my skills hadn't atrophied in that time off. Of course, I didn't get any better, but I had enough jumps when I got hurt that what skills I do have are pretty well ingrained. Still, I made a point of doing a couple weekends of smaller jumps before I showed up at our local boogie last weekend to do bigger-way jumps and deal with the increased traffic of the boogie atmosphere. I'm glad I did - it allowed me to be relaxed and ready to handle the extra challenges of big jumps and boogie chaos. When I look at the periods of my skydiving career in which my skills improved the most, there's a couple themes - one of which is currency. The time periods when I've been jumping consistently are the periods in which my skills have improved the most. So while you can jump once a month as a newer student, if you can jump more frequently, I'd recommend it. Depending on where you're traveling, can you jump when you're on a trip? Or do tunnel time if you're visiting somewhere with at tunnel? I find tunnel easier to squeeze in on a business trip because I can do it on weeknights and all I have to bring with me is my jumpsuit and helmet (and if push comes to shove I can leave my helmet at home and borrow a tunnel pro-tec to save space in my suitcase). "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 awesome. I agree with you that there are a lot of people who can look at opportunities to go car-free, and the math will pencil out if they really look at it. For example you might hear "well, it's too expensive for me to live in the center of town where I can walk everywhere" but if you really do the math, the extra money you pay for housing may be more than offset by what you'll save in car ownership/operational expenses. The rise of car share services can also take away a lot of the objections people have to going car-free. I've stopped following it as much but when I lived in Seattle I really enjoyed reading this blog - she and her husband have lived car-free lives for quite a while, even now that they have two kids. She does a great job of extolling the virtues of that lifestyle. http://www.buschick.com/ "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

Unfortunately, she lives in one of those areas where it's a much bigger challenge to go car-free. I live somewhere where it's relatively easy, and I've planned my life so I need to do a minimum of driving and I've even thought about going car-free. My car is paid off but still has low mileage (just over 80,000) even though it's over 10 years old. So from a maintenance perspective, it's still in that sweet spot where I don't have to put a huge amount of money into it to keep it running well. But, I figure it still costs me about $2,000/year before I even drive a mile, between garage space, registration, and insurance. I could give up the garage space, but my neighborhood has very limited parking and a lot of the property crime is car theft/break-ins. There's not a lot of personal crime, but there's some and I feel safer being able to come into my building through a secure garage at night than I do walking from a parking spot a few blocks away. I live within close walking distance (

Anyone know what canopies they were jumping? Big-ass traditional demo canopies or high-performance canopies? "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. "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 an interesting concept, but there's some additional variables to be considered. Like a brand-new car, a brand-new piece of gear has instant depreciation the moment the owner "drives it off the lot." However, if you buy relatively recent used gear at a fair price, you can often get out of it almost what you put into it. And just as a rising tide lifts all boats, an increase in the price of new gear can increase the prices people are willing to pay for used gear. To use two examples from the only gear I've bought and since sold: Spectre 230 bought in 2005 with 450 jumps and a new lineset for $850. Sold in 2007 with 650 jumps for $800. Cost/jump $0.25. Pilot 210 bought in 2007 with 200 jumps for $900. Put a new lineset on it for $300 and sold in 2009 with 500 jumps (and only a few on the new lineset) for $1100. Cost/jump $0.33. Now, when/if I ever sell my Pulse (which I bought brand-new) I expect my cost/jump to be higher because I took the "new gear" hit. I probably won't bother to sell the Raven II reserve I have because it's an older reserve that I probably won't get much out of and I'd rather keep it around for a backup or to loan some newbie who needs a reserve for a while as they're getting started. I don't maintain a fund, per se - my regular income covers the routine stuff, and I have an adequate amount in my savings that I can dip into it for a large purchase if I need to without worrying about hurting my emergency fund. Often, I'll think about buying new stuff when I get my bonus each year (or in one of those three-paycheck months I get twice a year). This year, PD's price increase coincided with the receipt of my annual bonus, which is why I have a shiny new Optimum in my closet purchased just before the prices went up. "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 about babies after the wife has her tubes tied? My dad's youngest brother is 6 years younger than his next oldest sibling (there's 6 kids, each around 2 years apart, then a 6 year gap... then my uncle). He found out as an adult that my grandmother had her tubes tied after #6. He likes to joke "You can look at any family photo and know that I was a 'mistake.' I just didn't know how big of a mistake! Bet that damn doctor couldn't tie his own shoes!" "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

Uh, I think you're definitely supposed to notice. That's kind of the point. "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

Yup. No, that's exactly the point. I think they need input from someone more knowledgable than me (21 years, ~2900 jumps, AFF/I, former S&TA) who doesn't have a personal stake in the discussion. They're not listening to me anyway. I'm thinking Bryan Burke, or the S&TAs of Perris, Elsinore and similar. I was just listening to the latest Skydive Radio #150 and Burke gives his thoughts there. Worth a listen. "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

Why would it be unethical? Could be just as likely to get bad reviews as good reviews. "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

Awwww lookit' the wittle baby bears ... who will rip your face off. I take it you're filming that from behind a closed door? "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

Awesome list! These next three would work for sons and daughters (heck, most of your list would, too) 12. Don't fall for someone who you think will be perfect if you only change a few things. Fall for someone that you love despite (or even because of) those imperfections. Corollary - If someone you're dating wants to change who you are/how you look, move on. There's someone out there who will love you for you. 13. Debt sucks. Don't live beyond your means. If you must get into debt, be very very smart about it (bare minimum needed and only for investments like education, and even then, don't go overboard - find the best value you can). 14. Your parents will always be here if the shit really hits the fan, but we're raising you to stand on your own two feet and be prepared for tough times, not to come running to us to bail you out regularly. (That's one I got from my parents, and it's served me well). "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

So those learning to do high-performance landings are expected to go straight to a 270? Can't do a 90 and can't do a 180 ... or am I misreading 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

Me neither. I found that with the FreeZR2, the visor messed up my (already not-so-great) depth perception just enough that it had a negative impact on my landings. Maybe I would have gotten used to it, but I figured it was better just to raise the visor. Don't know if the G2's visor would have the same impact because I've always raised it and kept it up. Plus, I can hear a little more and get fresh air 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