Zennie

I'm no PC-fascist by any stretch, but that word (and any other racial epithet, really) has always bothered me. I understand that you're doing a little play on the word here, but still... I mean I understand the concept that the word is trying to articulate. And yeah the people that act that way are pretty lame. I've never understood that whole "I wanna be something I'm not. I wanna look/act like that because it's cool." mentality. Anyway. I'm not gonna ride people's butts about it. You're free to say whatever you want or call it whatever you want, but I wish people would be a little more sensitive to how others might feel. I mean it can be just as fun an humorous without having to resort to quasi-racial epithets. End of sermon... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey ren, nice bio pic. Am I the only one that thinks Eyore should be the poster-mule for Prozac? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Depends a lot on my mood. Lately I've been listening to a lot of Staind (Break The Cycle to be exact). I've listened to Slayer, Offspring, Godsmack, KoRn (really been into "Here To Stay" lately), Floyd, Nirvana & Rage a lot as well. Need to pick up the latest POD CD... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey Scott, good to see you on the boards (it's Ted). Too bad you didn't make Dallas. It was a heckuva lot of fun. Well, except for getting up at 4:00 am to make a balloon jump that never happened. Drop me a private message sometime. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Heh. I'd check them out, but it looks like you've been "Slashdotted". - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey Paula, I'm still trying to sell my Z1. Drop me a line if you're interested. I'll do the kiss pass, but ya gotta let me fly on my back. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Oh God, not again.... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Heh. My home webserver is an iMac running Yellow Dog Linux. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Gnome on dual 19" flat panels. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

See, if you were a freeflier this wouldn't be a problem. I'll turn you to the Dark Side yet. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Yeah... Jumping, boobies & nookie. What else matters? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

And one of this year's fatalities was that very thing. An instructor was going out on a coach dive with a noobie sitflier. Noobie corked while the instructor was in a HD. Noobie's foot hit the instructor's head rendering him unconscious. Instructor's Cypres was turned off. Instructor never wakes up. I forget the link to the whole story, but IIRC, the student tried hard to get down to him but couldn't. Story is at http://www.makeithappen.com/jumps/news/news265.html. Crud, they've changed the url link syntax! - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Where are the Yin Yangs? And what are those funny looking things on the arms and legs? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

The other thing to consider is that not all wingloadings are created equal. If I weigh in at 170 and jump a 170 sq.ft. canopy, I will not experience the same flight characteristics as a 120 lb person flying an identical 120. The person flying the 120 will still experience higher performance, even though the wingloading is identical, because the lines are shorter on the smaller canopy. I downsized to a 120 from a 136. About the same time I lost a ton of weight. So the wingloadings are roghly the same. I'm here to tell you the 120 is definitely higher performance than the 136. Don't ask me the physics behind it. I'll leave that to someone else. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey Michele, congrats!! That's great! Joe Jennings.... man. As far as the other folks go, don't sweat it, they're just jealous it's not them. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I heard about this on the radio this morning. I like what one of the DJs said: "Tell you what. I think I'll just go down to thelocal hardware store, buy a hammer, beat myself over the head with it, and then sue the hammer manufacturer and hardware store for selling it to me." Seriously though, I like the idea of suing these idiots for causing me the mental anguish of having to deal with their stupidity. Or, even more colorable from a legal perspective, for making me pay higher insurance premiums and more money for products because of the costs passed onto me defending their ridiculous lawsuits. I'm really, really tempted.... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Heh. There's a fine line between being aggressive & being reckless. I like to think I know where that line is and don't cross it. Others may disagree of course. Heh, I'll have to add that to my sig. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

OK everybody. Mark this day down. I, of all people, have been called a CN. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

If I were to get one, I'd prolly get some sort of tribal design around the bicep. Yeah, it's cliche, but I always thought it looked kinda cool. My left ear is pierced, but I haven't had an earring in in ages. Plus unless I shaved myself totally bald, I'd look kinda dorky with earrings given my current hairline. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Oh man those words make my skin crawl. Especially when you're at lower jump numbers, the temptation to to a toggle turn, even a light one, is very high. It's really hard to keep your head straight when something is about to go seriously wrong. A very light braked turn, where you turn opposite the direction that the person is flying (i.e. if they are flying toward your right, you turn left) should do the trick. You also may want to practice turning by shifting your weight in your harness. It takes some practice, but once you learn it, it is a much safer way to do minor course corrections without the dangers of using the toggles. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Sure there's some give & take as far as what's considered aggressive & what isn't. And a lot of it depends on the learning curve of the flier. So I agree that you shouldn't just place a hard jump number requirement on a wingloading. There's no formula. Still, an unreasonably agressive wingloading is sort of like pornography... I know it when I see it. Going to 1.85 with only 250 jumps is overly agressive IMHO. There is no possible way a person can learn everything about the flight characteristics of a canopy in 250 jumps (unless you have Jim Slaton's experience). Like others have said... can you land it in optimal conditions? Probably. But what about all the non-optimal situations? Crosswind? Downwind? Landing off in a tight spot? Landing off downwind in a tight spot? Avoiding unforseen obstacles.. like the noobie that cuts you off? What if you miscalculate your setup for a swoop? Take a look at J.C. Coclasure's canopy progression. Do you honestly believe he went so slowly because he didn't have the skills to be a good canopy pilot? Or was it perhaps that he was being patient, methodical and totally mastering a canopy before he downsized? A very, very experienced swooper broke his ankle with an off-landing under a canopy with a > 2 wingloading. Shit happens, and it happens a lot faster under higher wingloadings. The margin for error approaches 0. Would I like to take a VX or a Velocity 90 (which is what I would need to fly to be at 1.83) for a test spin? Yeah. And I could probably land the thing. Would people think I (or anyone else of my size and with my jump numbers) was absolutely nuts to try it? Absolutely. And they would be right. Part of keeping yourself (and others) alive in this sport is knowing your limitations. Because, remember, you're not just a risk to yourself, you're a risk to others in the air, and on the ground, as well. Would I like to go on freefly big ways? Yeah. Do I have the experience to do it? No. And I admit it. Am I working on getting those skills? Yep. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Congrats gang! And thanks again to the Dallas freefliers for creating a very welcoming atmosphere. I felt right at home... even if I wasn't doing the big ways. Maybe next year. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Do you get to have someone really hot 69 you in RW? Didn't think so. And only in freefly can you say "We're gonna go head down. I need you to relax and spread your legs as wide as you can." Plus open face helmets make kiss passes much easier. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

And the Vengeance dives way better than the Jedei.

Congrats guys! I know you've been busting your butts for quite a while now. Let us know what numbers y'all get. They have to still be pretty darn low. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon