Zennie

Dammit, I need to get 460 in here... not like he has a PhD in Atomic Physics or anything.... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Nacmac, you my bro. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey Trent, just out of curiosity, were you living in Paris? The reason I ask is that I know some French folks and when I asked why they hate Americans so much they responded it's not the French, it's the Parisians, and they hate everyone outside of Paris. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Aside from the rig, my HanWags were the best money I've spent in this sport.... and I've spent a lot. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I regularly read BBC online for the reasons you state. I've found it very unbiased & non-US-centric. The international news is WAY better than anything put out stateside. I also read MSNBC, CNN and (gasp) Drudge. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Well, I'm also voting for Kerry because his daughter has really nice tits. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I find it a little ironic that the people who whined about Al Franken calling Rush Limbaugh a "big fat idiot" freely use that very same epithet with respect to Michael Moore. I've read through the Michael Moore "lies & distortions" websites, and quite frankly most of it is lame nitpicking. Spin here, creative editing there, yes. But none of his substantive points are ever refuted. Moore HAS spoken out in response to his critics. If you care to read it, it is here. And before anybody writes me off as yet another commie-liberal-Democrat, I'm a card carrying Libertarian who voted for Bush in the last election and am throwing away my Libertarian vote this time around in favor of Kerry... not because I like Kerry, but because that's how badly I want Dubya OUT of office. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

When I got my canopy, I did some hop-n-pops and it turned out that the factory settsing were perfect. However, I've put on weight since then so I might need to tweak them a bit. Brit had a really good idea of sort of creating multiple settings by porpoising the brake set line through the steering line. Then you can experiment and find the one that's right for you. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

It induced a slight turn in the direction of the hung-up toggle. So I'd correct with the other toggle and yank hard a few times until it released. It seemed to get more frequent recently, as the gear had more & more jumps put on it. So yes, wear may also be a factor... the lines and the stowing material would be more frayed and less "slick". - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Yeah I've had that happen a fair number of times. The excess was stored behind the rear riser and would occasionally stick. A couple of hard tugs freed it. Since I've moved my toggles up the lines and effectively reduced the excess, that problem seems to have resolved itself. My personal take is that the more excess you have to stash, the more likely it is to bunch up and stick. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Nope, it's from you... to Rick. I'll give you a hint... It was at an "E". - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I have a loaded Remington 1100 and Taurus 9mm right behind my head. Bad idea to bust into my bedroom. Especially since we have a dog to give us advance notice. Most threats are idle, but I subscribe to the "better to have a gun and not need one, than to need a gun and not have one" theory. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Joy, You and Rick don't have to apoligize for anything. By the way. I'm starting to roll through the tapes. Here's a blast from the past... "Have fun! Be careless!" Name that exit (not here obviously). Amen and have fun, be careless in Italy! - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Noooooooooo!!!!!!! A perfectly good antenna ruined!!! Oh... um.... and sorry about the apartment. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Video. Must... see... video. Congrats! - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I know and I'm insanely jealous. I'm sure y'all will have a blast... wish I could be there with ya. Too many jumps, too little vacation time & money. Try to get a leat a LITTLE video so I can put it in my video project. Let's make some jumps when you get back. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

My guess is he's extremely busy trying to get those fries in the Congressional cafeteria renamed. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

It's really kind of amazing how the Houston scene is growing. I started about a year & 1/2 ago and there were MAYBE 3-4 active jumpers. Now I'm having trouble keeping track of everyone... lol. But it's all good, the new folks are forcing me to keep up, and we're jumping a lot of new objects. Houston's on the rise... watch out for Team Hold My Beer! - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Congrats to Jenn on making her first AND second BASE jumps today... from two different objects no less! First was the requisite climb to 900 feet. She was a trooper. Second was a nice elevator ride to 900, where she did a really great job and stuck the exit. Welcome to the fold! - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hmmm... interesting thought. Maybe something akin to swoop cords, but for his legs so he can track. It seems to me that with Russel we need to throw out all notions of what a "standard" BASE harness is all about... because it's designed around landing with your legs. Seems to me maybe something along the lines of what his paragliding harness is like may be do-able in a BASE environment. That is, we need to come up with something that will let him land in more of a sitting, rather than a standing, orientation. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

HanWag's are the bomb! I've had mine pretty much since day 1 and used them on pretty much every jump. Like others said, they're extremely lightweight, have great ankle support, have NO DEATH HOOKS, and are waterproof. Well... one of mine isn't waterproof anymore after it got torn open by some razor wire. Never had a problem tracking with them. We just got a new sewing machine and I'm working with ramon on some tracking pants ideas as well. Since I'm fond of camo, I think my first project will be modifying some army fatigues to be tracking pants. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Had this happen early on. My PC slipped out of the pouch during an A climb, caught wind, popped my bottom pin and next thing I'm just trying to keep my canopy from falling out of my container. Lesson learned... if you have a pin rig, bring along a pullup cord... you never know when you'll need it. Other lesson learned... you don't need to climb down 600 feet juggling yourself and a misbhaving rig... that's what that little stash bag is for. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

My first BASE rig was (is) a pin rig... a Vertigo Warlock. I had a spare for a while which was a very old reactor and I've helped folks with several velcro rigs. For me the big issue I saw as a newbie wasn't so much bridle routing (yes you'd have to be pretty stupid to mis-route it) as closing technique. For a long time I was having pretty chronic heading performance problems. I tried all sorts of things and finally went back to the packing tapes. Turns out, like you note, I was doing what I was familiar with from skydiving... I would route the pullup cord through the closing flap grommets and yank it shut... skydiver-style. Very good way to distort the packjob. Now I work the flaps together around the packjob first, sort of like what a person does with a velcro container. So I guess my point is, I can see how the odds of distorting a packjob may be decreased if one uses a velcro container... since you can't do the pullup cord yank thingy... but that's about it. I'm personally glad I got a pin rig. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Ray, just wanted to say that I think your post is very well balanced and insightful... pointing out issues without engaging in personal attacks. I've been trying to figure out what to say and how to say it, but I think you covered it better than I could have. Peace all. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Note that I didn't say where or when each of those jumps were made. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon