tdog

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So someone I know rather well has been fighting cancer for years.... She has lost her breasts to cancer... She was clean... But then another test came back negative. This time ovarian. Her sister and mother both died from cancer. She has health insurance. The policy has a $2500 deductible followed by 20% out of pocket to a max out of pocket of $5,000 per year. She already has sold her home and moved to a two bedroom apartment with three kids. Well, after all the bills in the United States health care system, she finally cannot pay the bills anymore. Instead of declaring bankruptcy - she is going to Mexico for 10 days for the surgery. A friend of the family is a doctor down there, so the deal she worked out for the surgery is $600 - for what would cost $50,000 here - or $5,000 out of her pocket. Now, this is below their market rate as the doctor is doing the surgery for free, she has to just pay the hospital - but still... So for all those of you who complain that immigrants are coming to the US for benefits - now you have proof that it goes both ways, that US Citizens who cannot afford our health care have to leave the country to Mexico for treatment.

Before level 1. Speaking from the perspective of an AFF instructor who has coached people at all stages of AFF... When you are in freefall, you will have less sensory overload if you have already flown your body. In fact, I believe Eloy almost requires it now.

Ive gotta turn into the fun police here. You should not be taking photographs with a hand held camera under canopy. Whilst you are shooting away you are unaware of your surroundings. A recipe for trouble. Lets not steel this thread from where it is going, as it is fun to see different canopy colors... But I have to say, on more than 10 jumps, I have taken photos under canopy... It can be done safe. It should not be done on a typical jump with 20 people in the landing pattern, but instead on a high pull where you are the only one in the sky, or your friends are aware of your plan. Then, you simply make a plan... "Photo 1, Photo 2 - circle of awareness... Photo 3, photo 4 - circle of awareness." I wish I could publish it publicly, but since I was hired, I don't own the rights to it - but the most awesome "photo" I have is a 360 degree view of a DZ from 11,000 that was stitched together from 70 still photos taken over a period of 30 seconds. A professional television special effects artist made it from my raw photos. It looks like an orange peal laid flat after being removed from an orange. At 490 megapixals, the file was large enough that by altering the zoom and distortion, a virtual camera could move anywhere around the virtual skydivers and it would appear the skydivers were moving 120 MPH. I made 4 jumps to practice the technique. I realized that it is pretty easy to stay aware if you do a burst of photos then inspect your surroundings.

Is there somewhere a chart that gives the measurement of the dynamic characteristics (for an example, a % of working elongation) of the different lines (HMA, Dacron, etc)...

So I was seriously looking for games to play in freefall other than Rock Paper Scissors... But - since apparently this is "goofing off" - this got moved to the bonfire - while the post above about "beer rules" stays... So, Bonfire folk - any other games you have played.

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In slow mo - it appears that the reserve side only had one hand on the student - so when the student and mainside were slide siding his way at pull time - no matter how fast he could backslide, he could not get out of the burble... Scary... I learned a few things by watching the video... I kind of wish the person who sold it (I suspect the video guy since he was interviewed and only his name was used) - would have not sold it but instead shared it with the community in a constructive way.

I a heated competition between Rats and Dogs (LordRatner vs Tdog [video]) - it appears Dogs won on Meet One - scoring 8 points over 22 rounds - where Rats scored a close 7. The meet featured two video busts, and a bust by Dog for lack of clearing the Throw during the Primers. It appears the visualization on the plane, and the effective dirt diving paid off. Video available at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWMpgvPcWp8 (Note - the compression on Youtube sucks, I wish skydivingmovies.com allowed uploads now.) (Also note - I am thinking of using this dive as a range of motion coach jump in the future) With this in mind - what are your favorite games to play in freefall when you need a change from "normal" skydives? We were thinking Monopoly next, anyone know how to stick down the little houses so the hurricane does not blow them away? But seriously - post your favorite games. Oh... The rounds: Tdog(Camera) - Rats 1 Scissors - Scissors 2 Video Bust - Video Bust 3 Paper - Rock 4 Rock - Scissors 5 Scissors - Paper 6 Paper - Scissors 7 Rock - Rock 8 Scissors - Paper 9 Paper - Scissors 10 Scissors - Rock 11 Rock - Paper 12 Paper - Paper 13 Rock - Scissors 14 Bust - Scissors 15 Rock - Rock 16 Paper - Paper 17 Paper - Rock 18 Rock - Scissors 19 Video Bust - Video Bust 20 Paper - Scissors 21 Scissors - Rock 22 Paper - Rock

So the website says it has to be trailed 1 fuselage length back... Do they "pay it out" on a line or something - as the photo shows it close.

Sighh....it's a beautiful day out there. I wish I was out there too. I'm going to need a coach for some jumps, are you interested? You come highly recommended.

That must be why the software I use at work is v5.2.1, us users just want more and more and more - so needy!

How do you "slate" or keep track of which customer is which? Do you number the tapes - or write the period of time on the tape???

The nice part is that our internal users come in every once in a while and say, "wouldn't it be cool if?" So - no, when it is done, it is done - until the next revision.

I own the company... Remind me to pay me time and a half on the payroll screen when it is done.

So I am in my office on a Friday night blasting some "Underworld" mp3s - and writing software code for the most clean and tightly designed payroll entry data screen the world has ever seen - and - this is giving me great personal satisfaction - because - the results are some of the best coding work I have ever done - and - the music beat is going and going and going - and - between compiles I surf a thread or two on dz.com thinking about tomorrows jumps...

I would jump with ya even at 1 jump - but I am an AFFI, so I guess that is the point of the rating... I would jump with ya anytime in a two way - with any number of jumps. I would want to see ya perform in the two way before inviting you into anything larger - as a two way can still be fun if it goes other than plan. A three way all of a sudden needs the plan to go well otherwise two people are waiting around for the third. I don't care about jump numbers at all. Tunnel time, natural ability, and previous coaching all matter. Each discipline requires a "reset"... I have been invited onto 48 ways in key slots for RW work. But I don't get invited on many freefly jumps because I just started learning and while I can hold a sit, my range of motion is limited... Wingsuiting I am somewhere between my RW skills and freefly skills... It is not about "Respect" - but designing a dive that will be fun and rewarding for everyone on the jump.

If you have the money - book a 24 jump 4way camp with Airspeed or DanBC. You will get tunnel time plus 24 jumps in 5 days. Do that 4 times and you will be ready for nationals too! Or - do hop-n-pops. You should get 12 jumps in per day, and be a really current canopy pilot....

Ok - I have had a few "Hard Openings"... One - the chest strap pushed the chincup of my helmet over my eyes. Another left black bruises on my legs for 6 weeks where the legstraps were... But I never have been injured to the point that a few days later I still hurt. So, my question.... If you have to be injured to really have a "hard opening" - what would you like us to call an opening that leaves marks or moves your chincup over your eyes?

Don't let him stay there too long - he will look at all the medical stuff and think "that is silly, it could be better" and redesign them and find there is much more money in medicine than there is in our sport... Get better...

I asked the question via e-mail on Skydive Radio to Bill Booth - and he let the cat out of the bag on the show that the system was going to go to market... At the time, I think the transmitters were $300 and the receiver $700 ish... Concept - DZO buys one receiver - and the $300 is well suited for the tandem and student rigs as they 1) Are more expensive to begin with, 2) Are more likely to be chopped due to tandems in nature - and the fact they get jumped so much... Sport jumpers could use it too, if their DZO or friends chip in for the one receiver.

Yes, I am doing 4way with some 490 grads this weekend. One 490 grad went thru civilian AFF... After AFF, on his second "coach jump" I and another AFFI jumped with him. We turned 19 points on a 4 formation/point dive - with the "student" having the outfacing moves on the phalanx. The program is great because they learn how to apply ground work to the actual sky with precision - so when you say, "wait for this key, or cross reference to this person" - they do it in the sky.

According to my friend who is an Airforce rigger, the Airforce does something very similar to our AFF which includes doing there first jump with an instructor. The program at the Academy which many students go thru... Nope, solo! The AM490 Program. A program of 5 jumps. Intense ground school. Like a week long - and the students have to memorize procedures word for word. They have to recite the word for word procedures with accuracy while fellow students yell at them, put leaf blowers in their face, and jump on them in the training harness. Followed by the "hop-n-pops" - which are all done with solo student freefall, with solo student deployment. The deployment is on a ripcord on the front of the rig, and the reserve is operated by a SOS system. The Main has an FXC. The reserve has an AAD. The whole jump is scored from the ground with ground to sky video. If the jump scores an unsatisfactory (unstable, etc) they are eventually kicked out of the program. They have to deploy within a specific window of time. A lot of the cadets go thru the 490 program - but if they are accepted to Wings of Blue then they go thru something more like AFF. The 490 program is not designed to train skydivers, but to train character - so after they are done, they are done unless they make it to the team. I get a lot of 490 students in the FJC I teach - and they, even years after the 490 program, will recite their controllability check "shape, spin, speed, look for other jumpers..." - or how to get out of line twists "Separate risers, bicycle out" - or how to fly the canopy, with precision that is very impressive... Unfortunately they also have great precision on holding on to the ripcord - so we have to break that muscle memory - and teach them a new hand signal which means "let go" because they like to hold onto the pilot chute so they don't get punnished. But the system is proven both statistically and over time. I don't think it is fair to even think of it in this thread.

I have done the same thing with my pullup cord... However I made sure that the rig could not be put on with the pull up cord installed by fouling the chest strap buckle with the pull up cord... (First tie the (easy to remove) knot around the reserve handle and the main lift web, leaving one of the tails real long. Then use the excess tail to tie into the chest strap buckle.) That way I get all the benefits of holding the reserve handle in very securely - but there is no way I can even put on the rig without removing it... Since I travel with a soft duffel I fear my bigger risk is pulling the reserve while pushing the rig in the overhead bin or something...

Lee Wellington Perry, Sr. Nope - with all due respect - this does not count. Why, 1) Because the DZO was put in jail for homicide - proving there were already laws in place - so the existing laws did not save a life, so new laws would not have, and 2) Because the DZO gave equipment that he knew was defective - which is a whole different level of negligence than an "instructor" using an alternate training method that is not formally approved by a trade organization. Close... and a compelling story... but the guy got charged with Homicide - so I don't believe any new laws would have helped - or are needed, since existing laws worked.