Zennie

Man he's getting like an old friend of mine who has an epileptic Black Lab, a three-legged hyperactive Black Lab, and a deaf half-blind cat. I go to their place & I feel like I just stepped into the Land of the Misfit Toys. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Hmmmm..... You may be onto something there. Seriously though, everything has its place. I'm not opposed to coaching conceptually. I'm having a lot of trouble thinking of any sport where paid coaching doesn't exist. Example. I played competetive golf and spent a pretty good chunk of change getting professional coaching. Usually we'd talk a little bit about how things were going, where my problem areas were and then he'd take a look at my swing to try and spot problem areas and give me practice tips. From there I would practice & play and maybe a month later see him again -- earlier if everything went to hell in a handbasket. So coaching by someone who has a really good eye, a proven track record of getting results and a good repertoire of tips is a very valuable thing. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to pay for something like that. But it wasn't a regular thing unless I was really in competition mode. It was sort of a deal where you went for help when everything you tried, and what everyone you knew suggested didn't work. Trust me, when my friends & I would play, we would often trade tips -- a lot of times tips that our coaches gave us -- and nobody, coaches included, thought anything of it. That was just sort of the way it worked. So to extend that to skydiving. I think there is a place for friends offering their help & advice and a place for professional coaches to offer their insights to help you get past a problem or take your skills to another level. They can coexist. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

We're supposed to use a left-hand pattern, with only C & D licensed jumpers allowed to land over by the beer line. The beer line rule has actually done more to improve the traffic problems than the left-hand-pattern rule, who no one seems to follow (though I normally do). I've found that canopies seem to group into little "clusters" at different altitudes. So what I usually do is look down & see what the lowest people are doing and then find a slot between vertical clusters so that I have some time to set up an approach. Since I've been working on riser carves, I find that I normally have one or two people who are setting up about the same time. So I just sort of watch what slot they're taking and then find an open one and take my own. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

I'm always glad to contribute. I'll just have to think of something interesting to write about. Michele is the prose queen here. I think she needs to come up with something to write. And of course freeflier would be good for a humor interlude. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

In my mind this is a biggie. A lot of jumpers do a lot of ordering online. Both because of cost & convenience. But security (real and perceived) is essential so SSL is a must. I would add that a good selection of quality used gear would also be beneficial. If I can buy a canopy with a couple hundred jumps for half the price of a new one I'm gonna look long and hard at it. Of course it all comes down to price. So having an established relationship with vendors to get good prices would be important. Just my $0.02. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Hey Dan check your private messages. I had some questions for you. Thanks!

Yup I'm gonna be there. Hey Kris. I look forward to meeting you, try to bring Pammi & Merrick down with ya while you're at it! "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

I'm there.

Congrats! Mmmmmmmm.... chocolate cream..... I personally got lemon merengue. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Did you wake up the neighbors when you yelled "DOOOOR!!!"? Seriously, glad you're OK. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Where there's a Yin there's a Yang to balance it out. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Heh. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just continue to put out the good vibes Ann, don't pay any mind to those that put out the negative Karma. Karma has a way sorting things out. Put out good Karma, and the good vibes will come back. Put out bad Karma, and, well... Karma's a bitch. Or to borrow a Christian phrase: "As ye sow, so shall ye reap...". "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Do they have a CASA or Super Twin Otter? "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Oh man, that's a hard one because there are so many exotic & interesting places to go in this world: Africa, Australia, Asia. If I had to pick one country, I would probably have to say China. There is so much culture & history there, and being into Eastern culture & philosophy it would be a pilgrimage or sorts for me. A very close second would be Australia. No language barrier. I'd love to explore the outback. Plus there's the Great Barrier Reef to scuba. I'm sure I could squeeze a sydive or three in as well. If I wasn't limited I'd tour China, Japan, Thailand, India, Australia, do an African Safari, & then hit Israel & Egypt. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

No he's for real. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Being married I don't go to nightclubs much, but when I was single I hated them for exactly the reasons you set out. The most fun I've had was in England/Scotland going to a corner pub and just throwing back pints and playing pool/darts with friends. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

I've been jumping Slappie's while he's out of commission. I like it a lot. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Just finished my demo of a Cobalt 135, loaded at around 1.4, and here are my impressions (DISCLAIMER: I only have 170 jumps, so I am not a canopy expert by any stretch)... I made around 10 jumps on the canopy in varying conditions, from fairly windy to no wind. The canopy has fantastic glide, it got me back from a pretty bad spot on one occasion by keeping the canopy in brakes and laying on the rear risers a little. On that particular jump I made it back but was forced to down/cross wind it. I managed to run the landing out, so it seems pretty good with off-nominal landings wind-wise. It also butt slides pretty nice . Cross wind landings were fine, as were upwind. Flare was predictable and very controlled. Seemed fairly Sabre-ish. I was very pleasantly surprised with how well the canopy performed in braked turns. I have a couple of jumps on ramon's Vengeance 135 and a decent braked turn on it is almost impossible... it's very divey. The Cobalt didn't do that. I felt that if I needed to do a slow braked turn with the Cobalt I could without worrying about pounding in. Toggle inputs were responsive but not twitchy, but they became very heavy about 3/4 down. I never could do a full out toggle spin by burying the toggles. Front riser carves were great. However, I noticed that the canopy seemed to buck a lot if I did any significant double-front riser dives. This may be a line trim issue, but it made me somewhat uncomfortable, especially when doing them on approaches. Openings were great, but once I got smacked pretty hard after a trash pack. Not a Sabre back-breaker, but pretty stiff nonetheless. Other than that the openings were very soft. End cell closures were pretty common, so I had to manage direction after opening. I also noticed that it is pretty sensitive to harness weight (no big surprise for an elliptical), as I found myself turning when shifting my weight to grab & collapse the slider. The ZP material was very easy to S-fold & pack. Not the super slickery stuff PD uses. I hope this doesn't come across as too negative, because overall I liked the canopy a lot. It is very forgiving, for an elliptical, but capable of high performance moves if you so desire, which I think is what Atair was striving for. My only "major" complaint was the bucking during double-front riser approaches (wind didn't seem to make a difference). Overall though a great canopy and one I'm strongly considering purchasing. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

OK am I the only one who believes that Shaggy was doing Velma in the back of the Mystery Machine? And just why was Shaggy & Scooby always so hungry? Can you say "Munchies?" "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

I actually packed ramon a slammer on a Cobalt just this past wednesday. I pro packed it, left he nose wide open and quratered the slider just as I had done every other time I packed it, but he said it smacked him on opening. Every opening I've had has been sweet. Surpised the heck out of both of us (he used to jump an Alpha). Anyone else been spanked by a Cobalt? "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

I think Mandrake is about the only distro I haven't played with. I took SuSE for a test spin a while back & really liked it. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Dallas plans fall through? Ooop. My bad, thought you were responding to Richard's post about this weekend. "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

ROFLMAO! "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Yes I've read the book too. Very well written with a lot of good tips. Especially if you haven't done any sort of mental training before. I've done a lot of zazen meditation, so on the ride up I'll usually just calm my mind and use mental imagery to map out the dive. Zen & skydiving seem to go together well. Once out of the plane I try to "just do it". "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."

Ah, Thanksgiving. And on this wonderful day, I am grateful for.... BOOOOOBIES!!!!!!!! "Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control. Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper."