mattyblast

I had a labral tear in my right rotator cuff that was successfully repaired through arthroscopic surgery. The cool thing is that they fixed it with a special kind of pin/tack that absorbed into the bone over time. That's a lot better than dealing with a piece of metal hardware of some kind. Good luck and be patient. It'll all work out! "DOOR!!!"

So...you let off of the accelerator and went back home, eh? I'd be surprised if a lot of people didn't do that. AFF Level I has got to be one of the scariest things the human body, mind & spirit can go through. My AFF Level I course took pretty much the whole day, and my skin just got progressively whiter and whiter as the day went on. But oh, what a rush! Definitely life-changing for me. Advice that I often see given by hot-shots to newbies who are dealing with fear issues is to go to the DZ and just hang out. Watch other people land, mingle around, hit on women (heheh, j/k), ask questions...if your DZ is anything like mine is, then everyone will be glad to explain or teach anything to you. Then you have no reason to let up on the accelerator.

Well, let's see. Propilot: 1. Stayed informed about current events and saw that falling out of the harness has become a current issue of note. 2. Decided to take the initiative to try and slip out of her own harness to determine how much of a risk to her this particular issue was. 3. Found out that it was shockingly easy to slip out of the harness. 4. Made the decision not to skydive until she could resolve the issue somehow. 5. Came on to DZ.com to get some input as to how to fix the situation. Thanks to Gravitygirl and the other helpful folks in this thread, she now has some practical steps she can take to eliminate this risk for her and make her feel more comfortable about the situation. And now you're telling her she should take up ice-skating because she didn't recognize a maintenance issue? Yes, I'm a newbie, but IMHO it doesn't take thousands of jumps to see that what Propilot did should be commended, and the skydivers who don't do #1-5 above should perhaps be the ones to sharpen up the ice skates. "DOOR!!!"

A gem from my mom (bless her heart): "Can they re-use those parachutes after they come to the ground?" "DOOR!!!"

The difference, as I understand it (which doesn't say a heckuva lot--look at my profile ), is: Psycho pack is similar to the pro-pack up until the point where you place the fan-shaped blob on the floor. With the psycho pack, you flip the canopy over at that point so that the side that's normally against the floor is facing upward. Then, instead of bunching or folding the "wings" of the "fan" underneath the canopy (like with the pro-pack), you criss-cross the ends of the fan and make them overlap each other to reduce the size of the "fan." Then fold the ends inward so that the canopy is the width of the d-bag. Then roll it up like a sleeping bag (with the bridle sticking out the side of it) and stuff into the d-bag, making sure the grommets face up rather than down. Then flip the stuffed bag back over again, making sure you flip/rotate it the opposite way you did when putting the canopy on the floor in the first place. Then continue as usual. But a picture's worth a thousand words. Here's a link on Precison Aerodynamics' website that shows a video of somebody doing this in about 60 seconds: http://www.precision.aero/packing/mvc-002v.mpg "DOOR!!!"

In no particular order... Derek - This guy has a real gift for coaching. Every time I present a question to him or am in need of some advice to overcome a challenge, he has a great mind trick or practical way of doing it. He has helped my skills grow leaps and bounds for everything from flaring to packing to riding the canopy. If I had to pick one nominee for "Coach of the Year" at my DZ, he'd get it from me. Lisa - Lisa once gave me 5 coach jumps in the same day, and since I wasn't proficient at packing yet, she packed both our rigs before each jump (it was a slow weekday with only a few jumpers). And she's always willing to take a lot of time to give thorough responses to my questions. She doesn't have to, but she does. And her cute little doggies always brighten my day. Suzie - Suzie's warm & sparkly personality have put me in good spirits and made me feel welcome every time I have walked in the door. And when folks are out at the DZ jumping on a clear weekday, she hops on the phone and persuades everyone to play hooky from work and join them. She's a doll, and I hope she knows how much her work is appreciated! Ravin - This guy is amazing. I think he's in the teens-of-thousands of jumps, and he will never tire of the sport. He never tires of teaching, either-- often times got out of bed and came to the DZ on a cold winter Saturday just to help me through another AFF level. Ryan - Another great coach who loves to feed enthusiasm and encouragement. Hoochie - Probably puts in more jumps in a year than I will in a decade...and an excellent videographer. And he likes to plop down next to me once in awhile and chat about how things are going. Tom B. - A great tandem instructor who remembers the things that are going on in my life and asks about them. Pretty impressive, since I stink at just remembering names! Kermit - Good at coaching, great sense of humor, great passion for the sport. Jeff - Another guy who loves to teach, and will always teach me anything I ask him about. People who take the time and patience to teach newbies, simply because they like to mentor and teach...they rock. And Jeff's a fun guy who likes to do things a little...differently once in a awhile. ...and everyone on the Dodgeball team. Yeah, most of the time we got our @$$e$ kicked, but it was a helluvalotta fun! As far as heroes? The 400+ lucky folks who set the record for the big-way. "DOOR!!!"

The tandem video that is shown at our DZ makes this reality very clear. The inventor of the tandem rig (shame on me for not knowing his name offhand--but I'm a noob) states something like, "You are trading the thrill of this skydive with the risk that you will be seriously injured or killed." Your post is well-put. Even if everything (including your brain) functions perfectly, fate and fate only can be the thing that kills you in this sport. And as one of my coaches once told me, fate doesn't care who you are, how many kids you have, how much money you have, or how important in society you are. "DOOR!!!"

Of course! That was a great one. For those who don't know what this show is, Penn (Gilette) & Teller are a pair of magicians who have a television show on Showtime called "Bullshit." In every episode, they take some subject or idea or philosophy/practice and spend a half-hour proving that it's completely ridiculous. The show is a combination of interviews with people who prove their point, and interviews with morons who spout drivel to support the point they're discrediting. If you find yourself channel-surfing and happen across Penn & Teller Bullshit, check it out for a few minutes. The recent episode about manners & etiquette had me howling! "DOOR!!!"

Anyone? I don't always agree with the opinions they have, but damn if this isn't the funniest show ever. "DOOR!!!"

What type of vision did you have prior to the surgery? Were you nearsighted? "DOOR!!!"

It works on some computers, but not others. *shrug* "DOOR!!!"

Hit Ctrl+Alt+down on all the computers. It will make the screen's image go upside-down, and chances are nobody will know how to fix it (Ctrl+Alt+up). Totally harmless. "DOOR!!!"

BeerTrack software. A companion to JumpTrack software, this important program will keep track of how much beer you owe your DZ. Simply input the date of each purchase you make or milestone you reach, and the software will remind you how much beer you owe. It also keeps track of which beers are preferred at your DZ, and penalizes you if you bring in a set of 18 bottles, thinking that that constitutes a "case" (when it's 24, of course!). When the (unsuspecting) purchaser registers their software, a worm attaches to his e-mail program, sending out alerts to all fellow skydivers in his address book whenever he or she owes beer. "DOOR!!!"

Looks terrific! "DOOR!!!"

This is very interesting. I called Sunpath and spoke to one of their rig repair specialists and asked them which reserves the J4 was designed for. The list of canopies is the same for the J4, J4K, and Odyssey J4: PD176 Raven II Tempo 210 (now the Smart 210) Raven dash-M (now the Rmax 218) I asked him why a 218 of one brand would work, but only a 176 of another, and he said that the sizes are actually very similar. Now I knew that Icarus had a different methodology at one time of measuring their canopies, but I thought that that was the only such inconsistency that ever existed. Nor did I know that the variance was this huge! So I asked him which figure is the most accurate to use in order to calculate wingloading. He said I would need to contact the manufacturers of the canopies to do that. So stay tuned. I'm still leaning 99% toward getting a new container & reserve, but this has me very curious. "DOOR!!!"

I'm swapping out the container and the reserve. Thanks for the help, folks. (I guess a new Wings would have been the better route after all.) "DOOR!!!"

I have forum-searched and googled like crazy to find an answer to this question and have had no luck, so if I missed a thread or website that deals with this subject, please forgive me & pass the info along. What is the largest brand/size of reserve canopy that one can safely fit into a Javelin Odyssey J4 container? I'm sure certain brands are made of fabric that packs smaller than others. I'd like to get as much fabric over my head as possible in a reserve ride situation, but without decreasing the likelihood that it will open safely. Your help is appreciated. "DOOR!!!"

*burp* "DOOR!!!"

Looks spiffy, dude. Have fun, and don't forget the beer! "DOOR!!!"

Hmm. That changes things, doesn't it? I read your original post too fast and assumed it was meant to honor somebody who died. So this school, on a daily basis, has a moment of silence for absolutely no reason? Yeah, that doesn't sit too well with me. For one thing, it is most definitely possible that this is the school's way of trying to nudge students toward a habit of daily morning prayer. More importantly, though, it cheapens the value of the moment-of-silence ritual that we traditionally use to honor a significant figure who has passed on. Just my humble opinions. "DOOR!!!"

I don't think it's a disguised prayer. A moment of slience is simply a way our culture shows respect & honor in a public group setting. "DOOR!!!"

"Eat your heart out, Budweiser frogs!" (*is laughing to the point of tears*) "DOOR!!!"

...you're still going at it even after the hot water in the shower runs out. "DOOR!!!"

*dip finger in glass of water, touch your own shirt* *dip finger in water again, touch her shirt* "What do you say we get out of these wet clothes?" "DOOR!!!"

That totally majorly STINKS. I'll send some super mega-vibes down there...maybe enough sunshine will poke through the clouds to give you the dreamy ceremony you've been envisioning. Just remember: -Dirtdive the ceremony -Plan the marriage, then stay married to the plan "DOOR!!!"