Zennie

Not if you're trying to assassinate yourself. Trying to stay one step ahead of the assassin gets sort of tricky... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Dude, I'm really, really sorry. Next I see ya I'll give you a hug and buy you a beer. Everything you're feeling is 100% normal. And yes, initially, time sometimes makes things worse because of all the reminders thrown at you. And also because it takes a little bit for the reality of the whole thing to sink in. Just remember you have lots of people who care about you very much and will always be there for you when you need it. Peace bro. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'd plot my own assassination.... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Mine's pretty simple really... Make more than one skydive per reserve packjob. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Two Words: Death Metal - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Absolutely. To a degree that's true, though it would be preferable to have a non-relative with 4400 jumps who is familiar with her (and BASE) to make an assessment as well. This is a very dangerous, and false, statement. BASE ain't that simple. Again, there's a lot more to the sport than just flying a parachute. Absolutely agree there.

We might want to modify the language slightly to say lowest "intentional" pull at terminal. I know of at least one terminal pull that was well below 200 (not me) and definitely NOT intentional. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I have a Pro-Tec snowboarding helmet. It's fairly lightweight but offers a LOT better impact protection than the standard Pro-Tec. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Gee... who might the second response be from? Let's make a jump this week and smoke it down together. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Aside from the "is she hot?" comments from the Peanut Gallery (is she hot, BTW? )... the fact that she has only 70 skydives and has expressed an interest in BASE really doesn't surprise me that much. I think we've all seen plenty of skydivers both here on the forums and at the DZ with as many or fewer jumps that have expressed an interest in BASE. The primary issues, in my mind, are experience and maturity. If she had, say, 250-300 skydives and has dealt with a number of high-stress situations with a cool head, then I'd say she has the necessary experience. The next question then, which is much more dicey, is whether she has the maturity to BASE jump. Granted, I've seen 16 year-olds who show remarkable intelligence, insight & judgment. I've also seen 30+ year-olds who exercise the maturity of a 12 year-old. If I came across a 16 year-old who studied parachute rigging & flight, participated intelligently in technical discussions, ground crewed and demonstrated an ability to thoroughly analyze conditionds and make "go or no" decisions (most importantly, being able to say "no"), then I might... MIGHT... consider them qualified to BASE jump. Nothing at all against your daughter, but I have yet to come across a 16 year-old who I think would be capable of demonstrating all of that to me... and I really think you need AT LEAST that in order to consider them ready for BASE (just like anyone else). And by "maturity" I'm not trying to imply that she may be immature in the traditional sense. She could be very mature by most definitions. The kind I'm referring to is very different & subtle, an outlook on life, actions & consequences & and just generally your place in the world, that I think only time can provide. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

That's the way I understand it. There are two "suits", as it were: the tracking "suit" (i.e. pants & jacket) and the wingsuit (i.e. the Vampire V-1). - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

We're on the same wavelength. Once he's broken of the short-delay habit, the next step will be getting him to pull higher than 300 feet at terminal. Make sure to have a backhoe handy to dig him out of the impact crater. Or at least one that's not made out of mesh.... "GAAAHHH!!! SAIL SLIDER!!!" Last time I skydived, no joke, I stood over my rig for about 15 minutes trying to remember how to pack the damn thing... "Help! I'm lost without my clamps! And what do you do with this bag thing again?" - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Heh, I don't think that will be an issue. The problem will be getting him to freefall for longer than 4 seconds before pulling. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I never rule anything out, but on the Phoenix-Fly website they specifically said that limit options and colors as a measure to keep costs low. Since they don't have gray (to match my BASE rigs) should I go black & red or black & white? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I think most folks are in agreement that, all other things being equal, canopies with secondary inlets pressurize faster than those without. (One question I have... is there any data on whether canopies with secondary inlets pressurize more evenly than those without?) That being the case, the primary justification for having secondary inlets is if you need to have your canopy open and flying faster... i.e. on very low jumps. Other justifications include improved heading performance due to the quicker opening, and maintenence of pressurization in the event of a wall strike. What kind of jumps do you do (or think you'll be doing) the majority of the time? If you think you'll be doing very short delay, or no delay, jumps then a canopy with secondary inlets might be a good idea. If you're doing more terminal jumps, then you really don't need them. (OK question #2 from me... have people seen an appreciable difference in heading performance when using inletted canopies on medium-delay slider up jumps... if so I can see these being beneficial on certain walls in Europe as well) Leave it to me to answer your question with more questions. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I was up there as well. The ice was not thick and was not uniform. This is still Houston after all. Just very small 1-2" patches here and there. Plus, if they had tried to climb an ice covered railing I would have bonked them all on the head and tossed them back into the elevator. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

INTP I've taken this test several times over the past several years and I've almost always been scored INTP. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Should be still good... we have permission from the workers now. Though it could also be that they didn't understand a word of what Brit & Doug were asking and just sort of nodded. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Nice meeting ya leroy! Sorry I wasn't up to see you leave, but I was just a wee bit drunk. As always, mi casa es su casa. If you're in town tonight and the winds cooperate we might be able to huck the B. That's my main workday object. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Ya know, she is coming by tonight to have me dub some of her... ahem... video. Boy I sure would hate for somebody to hack into my computer and post all of that onto the Internet somewhere.... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Yeah but it would have a certain "Xena: Warrior Chick" appeal. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

*cough* *cough* - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I don't even know where to begin with this. I presume those 5 were off TF? With all of 3 skydives do you think you're prepared to effectively track away if I hucked you off of one of our 2000-footers? Do you have the body awareness to get yourself turned around and stable quickly if you flailed an exit? We have a person takes students out to one tower. They only jump that tower. And they only jump it terminal. In my opinion, he's not teaching these people how to BASE jump. He's teaching how to BASE jump from one particular tower. Big difference. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Being intimately familiar with this myself in Texas criminal trespass is a Class C misdemeanor. Generally a fine. However in Harris County (Houston area) it's a Class B misdemeanor, which means you get to visit your friendly neighborhood lockup and beg friends to come bail you out at 7:00 in the morning (thanks again 460). I pled guilty and all told I had a $400 fine (plus $500 for the attorney). I don't think most people are going to give a rip about something as trivial as misdemeanor trespass. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Most of my jumps with that canopy have been off of terminal towers in moderate wind conditions. So that wingloading is good for having a bit of extra forward drive. At the time that I purchased it, I weighed just a *tad* less, so I've since outgrown it a touch. In fact, the thing I've had to get used to is the dramatic difference in drive between the 220 and the 266... especially since the Rock Dragon has been designed to have even less forward drive than comparable canopies. I like them both and I think they are both fine in their respective environments (the 220 for moderate/high wind terminal As, the 266 for short delays). - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon