johnsw71

For all you lucid dreamers (or those who "wake up" in a dream), try this one. So you realize you're dreaming, that the world around you is not real and that you're actually lying in bed asleep. Ask yourself a few questions (like how old am I, what is the date, what do I do for a living) and repeat the answers in your head a few times so that you'll remember them when you wake up. I've done this multiple times and am always shocked as hell at the answers that I come up with. Even though I'm "awake" in the dream, I still seem to be plugged into a set of memories that are purely fictional. It blows me away that even though we can be fully lucid in a dream, we are not always able to access our real memories from waking life.

I used to get so frustrated trying to "flap" to get higher until I realized that it is all mental. Now I just think it and I go up and gain speed. Yeah, lucid dreams rock. I just don't recommend trying flying as a test to see if you're lucid. (It'll suck if the answer is "No, stupid, this ain't a dream!") I usually use the test of trying to pass my hand through a wall before I dive out any windows. If you're into lucid dreaming, read "The Art of Dreaming" by Castaneda. That'll keep you busy for a few months. Write back if you get past ch. 5 and are able to pull organic beings into your dreams -- that's where I got stuck. Hey, how do you know you're not dreaming right now?

From my old-maid boss (who even at 50 looked like she had probably never had sex) talking about conserving the budget: "You shouldn't blow your wad all at once."

Uh, still not getting the x:y:z format, but five jumps after finally making it out to Byron. Thanks for all the fun, guys and gals. Byron rocks and I'll be back again soon. Sorry for being partially responsible for your two "not-so-successful" RW jumps, Monkey. And who says clear-n-pulls at altitude are only for summer? What a kick-ass sunset over the Pacific that was from up on high and it was even warm enough that my balls were still outside of my abdomen when I landed.

My god! I don't check the bonfire for a few weeks and this is the first thing I click on when I come back? Yikes. I didn't even know turtles can moan like that. (Or was that just the guy filming getting all excited??) And now, the real thing. You make ONE FUCKING PORNO . . . look - I was worried that the swoopers were doing hop and pops and didn't want her to get hurt. I was trying to be gentelmanly - what else do you want?

Thanks, guys. I saw this one in my search, Jeremy, so thanks for the vote of confidence that they are up to snuff. J

Hey all, Can anybody recommend a good website/company for buying a new laptop battery? I'm looking online now and although there are a lot of cheap sites, some of them look a bit dubious, so it would be great to hear if anybody has any recommendations for a vendor that is on the cheaper side but reliable. (If it makes any difference, I need an hp f4809a lithium/ion battery). Sorry my post lacks the entertainment factor of one dealing with strip clubs, masturbation addiction and big boobies. Should I attach a photo of my penis to make it more like an authentic bonfire posting? John

I couldn't agree more. It was greatly due to K-Bob's enthusiasm in my AFF first-jump course that convinced me to come back for the second jump, and I'm not surprised that he was the one to talk me into signing up for the coach rating course next week. And yeah, I think he was more excited than I was when I nailed my A license check dive with him! It's been awesome to have that kind of positive encouragement and inspiration through my learning thus far.

Well you obviously didn't go to the gay DMV, did you! (you'll need to read the other thread on gay America and watch the video if you haven't already. THAT should put you in a better mood!) J QuoteOnce again.... The DMV sucks.

Clearly all the male flight attendants on board were jealous that they weren't the ones getting the tongue action so they picked out the bitchiest stewardess around and put her up to confronting the frisky couple. Obviously AA flight attendants (and pilots) are just not gettin' enough!

Yeah, I can't say I recommend naked motorcycle riding on the way to go naked skydiving. Have a blast in SoCal!!

Well how are future patients in that docs office going to learn about skydiving now that you've gone and torn out the page! It's awesome to see press other than parachutes not opening and skydivers crashing through roofs or on playgrounds scarring children for life. Yes we ARE cool!

It was awesome to see you putting in your hours of mandatory "AFF wait time" this weekend, Paul. Sorry that you ended up doing more slack line practice than skydiving (man, my legs are covered with cuts and bruises now!). Glad that you at least got one jump in. Hang in there -- you'll be done with AFF before you know it! John

Didn't the military send a guy out of a high-altitude balloon from over 100,000 ft. back in the 70s? I think it was called Project Excelsior. The guy broke 700mph in the thin air at the beginning and made a sonic boom with his body. Now THAT'S a claim to fame.

Hey Paul, Welcome to the forums and to Davis. I've started going there more myself recently and really like it. Dean is an awesome dude -- glad he gave you a great tandem experience. I love seeing people sign up for AFF after doing a tandem. Welcome to the sport! I'm planning on spending the weekend at Davis (Sat/Sun), so I'll keep an eye out for ya. Enjoy your next AFF jump! John PS I love your sig line!

QuoteO.K., so yesterday at Skydive Temple I was doing a 2-way and we had Wendy filming us. I heard her ask my jump partner "Are you going to fruit loop her?" Aparently he didn't because we had separation issues.... but I have NO IDEA what that means!!! So you're probably reading these replies thinking, "Thanks, but will somebody tell me what the hell a fruitloop is??!" It's essentially where one jumper grabs another by the upper arms and then drops into a stand, putting him/her into a feet-down dive while spinning the "fruitloopee" like the big wheel on the Price is Right. It also happened to me on my last AFF jump (we had plenty of altitude), but since I recovered without a problem, I got to graduate one jump early. Yes, they can be fun, but I wouldn't go around doing it to people I don't know, and just like anything in this sport, there is a certain amount of risk. It's essentially like dumping a bucket of water on somebody's head. 99 times out of 100 it's all good fun, but as for that one time that you didn't see the person happend to have been using a hairdryer at the moment...

John's way cool, Wendy. I can totally vouch for his meet-up-worthiness (especially now that he's finally dipping his toesies into Bonfire on a regular basis ). Thanks Krisanne!

I was thinking the same thing and you peeps made it look so easy. Only thing i will add, is focus on jumping UP not OUT or leaning too far foward thus propelling yourself out over the pool and not getting max height. But jumping out can be fun when you're doing a 1 1/2 in a small pool so you can be sure to enter in the shallow end.

Hi Wendy, John here. I live just a few blocks from there and can probably see the hotel from my window right now. ;-) Yes, it's about a 20 min walk to Fishermans' Wharf, 15 to Ghiradelli Square, 10 min to all the shops on Union St. and 10 min. to an awesome park right on the bay with great views of the GG bridge. On the other hand, you'd have to walk up one mother of a hill (and then back down) to get anywhere near downtown, or take a bus. It's about 20 min by bus to Union Square, for example BUT if you have a car, you can easily drive where you'll need to go, though parking can be a bit of a pain (though not impossible) depending on what part of town you want to visit. If you need parking, I'd say $120 is a pretty good deal. Pretty much the only hotels/motels that offer parking for free in the city are over here in the Marina. Otherwise you'd pay $25-$40/night for parking at a hotel downtown. You're welcome to PM me if you'd like some more specific advice on what to do and where to go while you're in SF. It's always fun to meet a fellow dropzone.commer, so I'd be happy to at least give you a tour of the neighborhood. Will you be visiting any of the local DZs while you're here? John

Thanks for the clarification, Luke. Great advice. As far as that awesome-looking board at bridge day, I think if I went off that I'd immediately go into diving mode and prepare to enter the water head first, totally forgetting to pull!

I'm all for a naked jump anytime anybody wants to do one (well, maybe not in January...) Sorry I live in NorCal and not SoCal.

You know that since you're famous now EVERYBODY will be expecting you to be naked on every load, right?

Jeez -- try writing a serious reply and look at all the sarcasm that follows. I am getting some serious ideas involving a tailgate plane and a mini-tramp, though. Or, has anybody every tried to rig a trapeze to hang from a plane?? Back to the original question, yes, you want to be as close as possible to the very edge of the board on your final bounce, and if it is a stiff board, Burger King might not be a bad idea. You have a 10m tower? Where are you exactly? Can I come visit? Belguim isn't THAT far from SF is it? Something about insurance liability seems to have closed every last diving board/tower in this country that was open to the public. J

Hi Thijs, Well, there are a number of factors that could be involved. What kind of hurdle are you doing? I assume you are doing a standard diving hurdle with three or five steps, no? First of all, I'd make sure that you are getting nice high lift on your last step into the hurdle (where you then bring your legs together to come down and start your final bounce on the board with both feet together). A strong, powerful hurdle is half of what sets you nice and high when you leave the board. The second factor would be where the fulcrum on the board is set. Are you using a professional board with an adjustable fulcrum? If so, try moving it back a bit (to make it springier) and see what that does. If you are just using a crappy diving board with no adjustable fulcrum in a small pool, that could certainly be the problem. What kind of dives are you doing? Just curious. John in San Francisco