bill2

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Everything posted by bill2

  1. bill2

    Magazines!

    Parachutist Rider (general motorcycle mag) Motorcycle consumer news City bike (local motorcycle newspaper published in San Fran) Fortune
  2. I'll be married 2 years this May, and having a great time. my wife doesn't skydive, but doesn't mind my jumping.
  3. Don't do any crazy diets or fasts. It only causes your body's metabolic rate to slow down, thereby burning less fat. I heard from a medical show once that you can fast up to 9 days, and actually be fatter than when you started out, in terms of body fat percentage, because your body goes after your muscle first then fat when it needs to sustain itself. Buy some larger jeans, and relax. you probably look a lot better than what you think you look like. Women always pick their appearance apart and become way to critical.
  4. I'm not that picky. I'll pretty much eat anything, including cottage cheese. I usually eat raw vegetables every night as part of dinner. I don't like lima beans, though.
  5. sounds like a better deal than what I sent through. good luck
  6. What's with the name Sangiro then? Just a nickname he picked up?
  7. Hi Marc, I did some hanglidng back in the 80's. I got my hang level 1 certification. As has been pointed out here, there is no AFF type training. You just train until you get a level 1/2/3/4 (4 being advanced). Sites are regulated by the level it is necessary to have to fly them. It can be expensive, depending on how many lessons it takes to progress. Also, the hang glider, at that time, cost me $2500. I had to pay $30.00/month to store it in the hang glide shop since it was too long to store in my garage. Also, that post about the dragging up and down hills was right, that was a bitch. I find skydiving to be more fun. Also, here in the bay area in CA several sites were closed due to lawsuits, or people being afraid of lawsuits. something else to consider when taking up the sport.
  8. Try bay area skydiving, in Byron - east bay. probably 1 1/2 hours from you. great people and instructors - I did my tandem and AFF there, now working on my A license. 925/634-7575, also www.bayareaskydiving.com
  9. a question for you Bill: you said: Try the following. Stand 10 feet from a wall with something on it. Walk slowly towards it and stare at the wall. At some point, you will notice a dramatic increase in how fast everything is "spreading out" from the center, even though you're not walking any faster. This will be most dramatic on the edges of your vision, and it is this effect, I think, that causes ground rush. (Also the effect that causes students to flare too high, but that's a different discussion.) ____________________________ I always thought ground rush was something you experienced as you were about to flare, as you mentioned. but from these comments in this thread, I get the impression it's something you feel high up. Or is it both? I'm asking because I just bought a Spectre 230, after graduating AFF and always jumping the student rigs at 266 sq feet I believe. with the spectre now I'm coming in faster, and while I've flared and landed correctly with a head wind, in no wind I'm coming in faster and the last couple of times I've flared too high (25 - 30 feet). I felt at the time that I was flaring about 10' off of the ground. Is this because ground rush is accelerated with a different rig?
  10. bill2

    Funnies

    A little proof reading would have helped here: These are announcements from actual church bulletins: Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa will be speaking tonight at Calvary Memorial Church in Racine. Come tonight and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa. Announcement in the church bulletin for a National PRAYER & FASTING conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals." Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King. "Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands." Next Sunday is the family hayride and bonfire at the Fowlers'. Bring your own hot dogs and guns. Friends are welcome! Everyone come for a fun time. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict. The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water" The sermon for tonight: "Searching for Jesus" Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get. Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons. The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy." Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you. Don't let worry kill you - let the Church help. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice. Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones. The senior choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children. The Lutheran men's group will meet at 6 PM. Steak, mashed potatoes, green beans; bread and dessert will be served for a nominal feel. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs. Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person(s) you want remembered. Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch. The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 P.M. Prayer and medication to follow. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon. This evening at 7 P.M. there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door. The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The Congregation is invited to attend this tragedy. Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance. Mrs. Johnson will be entering the hospital this week for testes. The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."
  11. I think that's a dangerous argument, because the logical corrolary is that skydiving should be illegal (or, at least, good health insurance should be mandatory for skydivers) for exactly the same reason. Skydiving's dangerous, and serious injuries are common, even when all the gear works right. ___________________________________________ Good point Bill. this type of reasoning is being used in motorcycles as if motorcycle riders are a burden on society due to the cost of accidents. Start thinking this way and you're on a slippery slope, leading to potentially outlawing skydiving/motorcycling/whatever high risk sport you do because of the cost to society. You might wake up one day to a legal requirement to post a million dollar bond in order to jump. Just as you can make choices to drink heavily or not, and the government can't, and shouldn't step in until you might harm someone else, you should as an adult be able to make the decision to wear a helmet based on factors that don't include financial blackmail.
  12. I can remember as a kid, leaning out of a window high up in a building and wondering what it would be like to jump out and fly. Now I've done it, and I love it. I always wanted to be in some sort of aviation activity for a hobby. I tried hang gliding, like it and got my first level of certification. But I like sky diving a lot more.
  13. 1) I was about five yrs old when I threw some of my father's medical charts out the window of our house. He made me go get them and I threw a temper tantrum over having to do so. I pulled a plant out of the hillside by the roots when I lost my temper. Unfortunately for me, there was a honeybee nest underneath and I was stung over a hundred times. Luckily my father was a doctor and took care of me. I can still remember running up the driveway with bees crawling all over me. 2) I was working on a ranch in Montana for the summer when I was 16. We used to ride bulls every night after dinner, and I broke my L5 vertebrae, so I've had back problems ever since. I get by, but I have gone through some painful moments since then. **** True story, didn't happen to me. My friend was getting the roof on his house inspected, and happened to ask the guy doing it how he got into this business. The guy told him the following story: he was working as a longshoreman, and had hurt his back and had to go into the hospital for an operation. While he was undergoing the operation, the surgeon cut too deeply and nicked his heart. They had to immediately turn him over, cut him open and fix the heart. After the operation, as he was being placed into the a stretcher to be take to a room for recuperation, someone slipped while moving him and he fell partway off but his leg got caught in a side railing and he tore some knee cartiladge. Back into the operating room. When he finally was well enough to leave the hospital, he went back to work just to see his friends there. Walking into the warehouse, he opened a door to an office, and can only remember a bright light and loud noise. When he woke up in the hospital, he was told he had walked into an armed robbery and had been shot in the stomach. God knows why he didn't retire at this point.
  14. bill2

    Guys...

    As to the match.com thing...not so crazy an idea :) I met Merrick thru a classified! Both of us had ads cuz we were bored and frustrated with the 'pickings' in our towns...talked thru emails and on the phone for a long time, then finally met and have been together ever since. _________________________________ smart move Pammi. I met my wife when she posted an ad in the local newspaper. We hit it off immediately 4 years ago, and got married in May 2000.
  15. I like both. The freefall is fast and exhilarating, and the canopy ride is relaxing. I usually pull around 4.5K to give myself plenty of time to handle any problems, but since I just got myself a rig I've been pulling around 6k and playing with the canopy.
  16. 10 months 1 Tandem 21 jumps (including AFF) 0 cutaways (knocking forcefully on the same wood everyone else is)
  17. I jumped at Byron on Sunday. Two more jumps, now I'm up to 21. Still working on forward sumersaults, and I had a near perfect stand up lnaidng on my first jump (with 8 mph winds) and tried to run the second one out with no winds but couldn't quite make it. Still getting used to my spectre 230 after student rigs. All in all a great weekend. and I saw Lord of the rings on Saturday for a second time.
  18. I was in the Army for 9 years and just got out a year ago. One thing that really surprises me is how little the civilian community understands what the military does and how much their families sacrifice. ____________________________________ you're right, the vast majority of the country has no idea what the military is like, how hard they work, the stresses they undergo. most of that is due to how, percentage wise, very few people go into the military these days. with the draft gone, most people don't even personally know someone/related to someone who was or is in the military. in years past, most families had someone who had served or was serving. Congress is now comprised of about 95% non veterans. this doesn't bode well for making astute votes on things that affect the military, and in turn affect us. another comment on the "yes but they're humans too". I agree they are humans, but I do think that in cases like this, just as we were in WWII, we should be absolutely ruthless in going after them and killing them. For all the bombing in Afghanistan, the US has killed very few civilians. And yes, I know that the people who were killed don't care about the accuracy of the bombs. I think Bush's comment about the axis of evil was correct, all three countries do abuse and murder their citizens, and the world would be a better place if all three goverments got taken out. Not the people, but the governments.
  19. Something amusing to make you laugh on Friday before jumping this weekend. I hope the bathroom was nearby. EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A man who brought laxative-laced brownies to work to get back at co-workers who were eating his bagged lunches is being sued by one of the men who ate them. John R. Anthony Sr. is seeking unspecified damages from Raymond Jastrzab for the pain and embarrassment he suffered when he ate the brownies. Jastrzab was fired from OMG Americas in Johnstown following the Jan. 27, 2000, incident and has been denied unemployment compensation after the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg ruled that he was guilty of willful misconduct and "evil design." Jastrzab admitted to baking the brownies because co-workers had been eating his lunches, the company said. Anthony ate the brownies only after they had been left on a table in the plant's dining room, said his attorney, Terry Graffius. It was an unwritten rule of the plant that food left on the table was available to anyone, he said. Jastrzab stood by and watched Anthony eat them, Graffius said. Anthony suffered nausea, diarrhea, cramps and dehydration which required medical attention after eating the brownies. Jastrzab has an unlisted number and could not be reached for comment.
  20. bill2

    Perspective

    With "Native Americans" living on it without exploiting the natural resources... (*throws lid to can of worms down and runs*) pull and flare, lisa _________________________________________ true they didn't exploit the natural resources in the way that they are exploited now, but much of that is due to population growth. If the native american population was as large then as the US population is now, they would have had a huge pollution problem back then. as for the rest of the world in such a bad state, much of it is due to their having a political/cultural system that doesn't allow them to improve their own lives. Hundreds of years ago the Islamic world was at the forefront in technology/medicine/ etc. Now they are far behind the west. If you look at Islamic countries now, the vast majority are not democracies with no educational and job opportunities for their citizens. and in this day and age, with technology moving so quickly, that spells disaster for any country that can't keep up.
  21. bill2

    Military joke

    A group of Generals are standing around talking during a joint training exercise when the Marine General declared, "Gentlemen, there is no braver man on the face of this Earth than a Marine." The other Generals scoffed and started talking shit about each of their own services having the bravest men on this here Earth. Finally, an Admiral broke the deadlock. "Gentlemen, I propose that we devise a way to determine who has the bravest men." He paused, then said, "You will find that the sailor is the bravest individual on this here Earth. Seaman!", he called a young sailor over. "I want you to walk straight into that .50 cal fire." "Yes, sir!", the sailor yelled. The young seaman ran off into the whithering machine gun fire. He yelled out, "Anchors Aweigh!" before being mowed down. The Generals nodded their heads and mumbled words of praise as the Admiral stood there witha self-satisfied look on his face. "Child's Play!", the Army General bellowed. "We eat bullets for breakfast!" He called for a Private that happened to be walking by. "Private!", the General yelled. The Private came running over and snapped to attention. "Private, I want you to charge that machine gun nest, then stand out there on the mortar range until the volley is over!" The Private yelled, "Sir, yes, sir!" The Private ran off and charged the machine gun nest. He deftly managed to avoid getting hit by zig-zagging at times while running and using the natural lay of the land to his advantage. He then ran out into the middle of the mortar range and stood there, arms akimbo. He managed to yell out something unintelligible before being blown to bits by a mortar round. The Generals eyes widened at the display of gallantry and courage under fire displayed by the late Private. As everyone started shaking the Army General's hand, the Marine General barked, "Knock it off! A Marine can charge an entire division with a just a knife and defeat the enemy! Watch this!" The Marine General called for a Lance Corporal. "Marine, I want you to charge that machine-gun nest, stand out there on the mortar range until the volley is over, then take a flying leap off that Jump Tower over there!" The Marine did as he was told. He braved the machine-gun nest, and managed to avoid all the mortar fire. He then climbed up the Jump Tower, walked to the edge and bellowed, "Semper Fi!" before executing a perfect swan dive into the dirt below. As the Coroner removed the remains of the Marine, the other Generals sat there slack-jawed, in complete awe of the brave young Marine's feat. As they were patting the Marine General on the back, the Air Force General piped up. "Gentlemen, we have all seen fine displays of bravery by your men, but I feel that you will find the Airman to be the bravest of all." The other Generals started laughing. An Airman? The Air Force General took it in stride before calling a Senior Airman over to the group. The Airman stood there with one hand in his pocket, and the other one holding a cigarette. His hat was cocked back, and it looked like he had slept in his uniform. "Airman," the General began, "I want you to charge that machine gun nest, stand in that mortar range until the volley is over, then take a flying leap off that Jump Tower!" The Airman laughed in the General's face and said, "Fuck You! Do it your damn self!" He then took a drag off his cigarette, looked at the stunned faces of the other Generals and walked off towards the Enlisted Club.
  22. Thanks for answering my question. Although, personally I would have picked a different name for it.
  23. I was online, as usual, and reading a post by an Englishman, living in the states, and he was talking about his last meal, how he had eaten "spotted dick". Was he joking, is that really the name, and what the hell is it? If it really is something you eat, couldn't someone had come up with a better/more appetizing name? And Sangiro, have you had any spotted dick since you've been in London?