Zennie

Heh. I know all about that. My spouse of 6 years (dating 4 years before that) told me out of the blue she doesn't love me anymore and loves her dance partner (who was supposed to be a friend of mine). Nothing like getting double-backstabbed. So no nookie for me for a while. On the upside, I did 12 jumps this past weekend and 10 jumps the weekend before that. It's weird being able to jump as much as I want and stay at the DZ as long as I want. Kinda nice actually.

292?!?!?!?!? Holy smackerel! Did 250 still take second? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Ah, what the heck, I haven't done this for a while... 0 (and probably will stay that way for quite some time):12:2 Nice thing about being single is the second number. The not-so-nice thing about being single is the first number. Got my pre-second jump on a cross-braced canopy (Ramon's FX). And no, I'm not in any hurry to downsize again... I just wanted to try it. Also clocked my fastest speed dive yet... 231 TAS. Yeah I know, not super-impressive, but it was still fun. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Not to rain on peoples' parade, but a couple of us got to talking about making a pilgrimage to Eloy around the Thanksgiving holiday. If people are 'eh about Vegas, how 'bout Eloy? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Max Cohn jumps a BOC. I think the bigger issue here is bridle protection. I know that RW and Mirage both manufacture BOC systems that have the bridle protection of a PUD. When Max showed us his rig at first I thought it was a PUD. The handle looked like a PUD handle an there was no bridle showing anywhere. It was completely concealed. Sort of a hybrid PUD/BOC, which others here have mentioned and which I think is a good compromise. I'll probably get a system like that for my next rig. My biggest concern is bridle protection. I'm comfortable with a throwout system and most everyone knows how to pack them. I usually pack for myself, but if I'm on a really short call I'll have someone pack for me. I've seen several packers sort of scratch their heads when presented with a PUD system. beyond the possibility of making a mistake, the odds of me getting packed in time are greater if I use a system that practically everyone is familiar with. Plus if I ever fly a birdman suit, I don't need a different rig. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Eric Butts is fsking HUGE and he freeflies with a lot of folks. He's a damn good sitflier and falls at a speed that's comfortable for us skinny head-downers . You just need to adjust style & clothing to fit the body size. In some ways, strength training could be useful. I sure wish I had better leg strength to really push out in X-man so I don't have to daffy or rely on my arms as much. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Unless ossifer-friendly just happens to be around. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'm coming up on 400 jumps and I still don't consider myself a skydiver. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Zen is focused on nothing. Zen is focused on everything. And if anyone ever considers themselves "enlightened", they aren't. Zen is about opening your eyes and really seeing. It's about opening your ears and really hearing. It's about opening your heart and really feeling. Zen is about being, plain & simple. I be here. Work has been crazy & I'm in the middle of a divorce so I'm not exactly the most serene person right now. But that's my Zen right now you know? This is where I am. This is what I'm doing. This is how I feel. It's major league depressing at times, but still it's all good. But enough babbling from me. Never miss a good opportunity to keep your mouth shut. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey man, come on down! I felt bad I didn't get to jump with you during the big-way weekend. I'm sure we can put some fun stuff together. Just don't let me be a hanger on any hybrids and everything will be just fine. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Here I was feeling all sorry for myself. What she has to endure is far, far worse. I can't even fathom what she must be going through. I hope she is getting help, because you can't make it through those sorts of things on your own. I hope he has finally found some peace. And even more so I hope Debbie can overcome the pain and despair she must be feeling. Please send my deepest condolences & best wishes. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

BSBD. My condolences to the jumpers' families & friends. And condolences to all of you Skydive Dallas folks. Does anybody know what kind of an entaglement this was? Was it a main/main entaglement or some type of reserve entaglement? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Congrats Merrick! I know you've been looking for a long time. Glad you found something you like and that has good growth potential. Hey Pammi. I'd volunteer given my new marital status, but unlike a certain someone I know I don't mess around with married women. Still, if you know of any single women out there looking for a house bitch, I'll gladly apply for the job. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Sha-weet! Count me in! - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'm in. Given that I don't have a certain someone telling me where I can & can't go for vacation. I personally like the Mirage, but that's prolly too pricey for most folks. Bally's is on the strip and might be a little more reasonably priced. Tom would probably like the Stratosphere. One extracurricular activity that might be fun is the bungee jumping platform just outside Circus Circus. I've done it before and it's a blast. Getting a bunch of skydivers there would be fun. I also think we need to get a big 'ol herd of us to mosey on down to Mikey Hawkes place with our rigs and tell him we all want to do some fun jumps. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey Trent, you guys plan on organizing some smaller ways for us flailers? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

MMMmmmmmmmm....... CASA...... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey man! Good to hear from you! Congrats on the wee one. He's so cute! We have another freeflier. MWWA-HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

For me this is now a moot point. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey man, I just calls 'em as I sees 'em. Sometimes I see 'em right. Other times I need glasses. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Absolutely. To take a person as a slave is to deny that person's humanity. So to a certain extent, it was ingrained in the slaveholder's minds that African Americans were subhuman. The same thing happened with the Jews in Nazi Germany. So I'm sure the ripple effects of that mode of thinking still exist in our society today. Minorities are somehow less "human" than Caucasians. This leads to discrimination. So yes I definitely understand. But the crux of the problem isn't slavery. It's xenophobia in all forms. Racial injustices have been perpetrated upon African Americans, Latinos, Asians, heck even Caucasians (remember the poor guy who was dragged out of his truck and beaten nearly to death by the angry mob during the LA riots?). I don't think it's constructive to dwell on the past. Sure it explains why things are the way they are, but doing things with an eye toward what happened yesterday doesn't address today's problem. It still remains. What needs to be addressed is what's going on today. Until people learn to view others simply as other people, not a member of some "group" you'll continue to have an "us" and "them" mentality that just perpetuates human suffering. The best reparation is to end "ism" in all forms. Unfortunately you can't legislate that. People resent being told what to do. You can't buy that. Money doesn't buy happiness. Trust me on that one... I stand to get a fair chunk of change from my property division, but do you think that's going to end my suffering? People have to feel this in their hearts and act on it. Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot of faith in human nature these days. You know what the real minority in society is? The person who has strength of conviction. The person who doesn't lie. The person who keeps their promises. The person who is more concerned with the wellbeing of everyone as a collective rather than advancing their own personal agenda. The person who is willing to do the right thing... even if it means doing something which isn't in your best interest. Those people seem to be getting rarer and rarer as time goes on. And no I don't profess myself to be perfect. But I do believe the qualities that I listed are important to making the world a better place. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Oh God peanut's here. There goes the neighborhood. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

No. Thank you!

Well, my gut response was "It's impossible to really please a woman." But if I were to play the game: 1. Read minds. 2. Accept that even if we could read minds, we'd still be wrong. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Just to update... I have a personal checking account. Credit cards are closed (with no sudden spike in balances). I'll be stopping direct deposits on my old account shortly. So I think the financial angle is taken care of. Good call on the CC thing... I hadn't thought of that. Thanks all for your support & encouragement. You have no idea how much it means to me and how much I treasure you all. I so lucky to be part of a group that cares so much for everyone no matter how well or little you know a person. The way we rally around someone who is hurting is a testament to the character of us as a group. If only the rest of the world worked that way. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon