ryan_d_sucks

It certainly could have some type of bacteria that would cause illness.. But I've never heard first hand of it happening. The standards for shashimi grade fish are pretty high. From what I understand the fish have to be bled (blood drained while alive) onboard the ship, and immediatley put on ice. I would imagine the meat is also inspected before it meets the requirements for shashimi grade.

I actually had a friend who hated the people who lived across the street from him. Whenever we would drink more than a couple beers he would go on about how much they sucked. These conversations ALWAYS ended with him taking a shit on their driveway. It was like clockwork. I saw it happen atleast 6 or 7 times. It was excellent.

Cool thanks.. Although, after posting I read on here that the Pigeon Forge tunnel is a poor simulation of freefall compared to the other tunnels. Some people said it was more of a touristy fun attraction than a real learning tool. Is there anyone here who has flown the tunnel in Pigeon Forge, TN, and if so do you think I could learn anything about freefall body control from it? Thanks a lot!

Point well-taken. I think I'll just stick to the pill and a nice tall glass of... water.

Yeah, that was/is my concern. The double depressent and decrease in respiration/HR. My question is weather in the amounts I stated if the effects would be that pronounced...

Dude, your balls are fucked up. Nut does NOT smell like bleach. It smells like.... salt water mixed with something terrible.

I have a quick question, I figured there would be someone who knew/had experience here (bunch of low lifes) I got my wisdom teeth out, and I have 1 painkiller left. My mouth is kind of bugging me still, so I'm thinking about taking the painkiller (Demerol). I also was planning on drinking a 40. It says not to mix booze with the pills, but will only 1 pill and 3 beers (40 oz) be bad, or is it more a safety warning for people to not go out and get hammered while on pills? I'm not trying to get _fucked_, I just want to drink a beer and this tooth is kind of bothering me. Ideas/Opinions?

Hey, I should be starting Static Line training in a couple of weeks when I go back to school. My biggest fear/concern with SL is funelling the exits and never getting stable, particularly the low altitude ones like the first couple of 5 second delay jumps. Since I might just be in Knoxville, TN for New Year's I was thinking about shooting over to Pigeon Forge and buying some time in the wind tunnel there. I don't have much money, and it would be a 1 day thing. I could maybe afford 5-10 minutes. Is buying that little amount of time even worth it? Will I gain any knowledge/ability to control myself that will help when I get the freefall portion of the SL progression? Should I just say fuck it and save my money for the actual jumps? I appreciate any feedback. Ryan

I got a righteous iPod, which I wasn't expecting. My sister also made me a funny t-shirt. The second tandem I did, my TM was flamboyantly gay. No problem to me, I don't really care, but my friends and family found it humerous that I was strapped onto a gay dude. So my sister made me a t-shirt with a funny ass rainbow background that says "I love skydiving!!" in girly cursive lettering. I thought it was pretty funny, and I will definatley wear the hell out of it. Although I didn't get any skydiving stuff, I did get some cash to put towards my A. I'm more than satisfied. Now I just have to figure out what to get my girlfriend. She's overseas visiing her father, so I have some extra time/post-christmas sales to find her gift.

Holy Shit. I got my wisdom teeth out on the 21st, and the past 2 nights I have woken up at about 4 or 5 am with excruciating pain in my jaw. I assume I have dry sockets. I thought people were babies about getting their wisdom teeth out, but this is fucking miserable. All I can do is keep popping the Demerol, but I will run out soon for sure. Of course its Christmas, so there's no way I'll get in touch with my oral surgeon until tomorrow at the earliest. Anyone here ever had dry sockets? Any suggestions? I can finally feel the pain slowly drifting away from the 2 pills I took about 40 minutes ago. I was feeling fine for the first 2 days after surgery, but now this shit is unbearable. Anyone else experienced this???

So, Christmas is rolling around, and I've moved back home for the semester's break. I've asked for some skydive related things for Christmas, because they're pretty hard to afford while in college. However, when I make these requests it generally starts my mother off on these rants about : "You're my only son, and the thought of you jumping out of airplanes just makes nasueas... I can't imagine what I would do if something happened to you" "No, I will not support this (monetarily/emotionally/etc). Obviously there is no malice in this statement, this is just her way of protecting her son, but its a major pain in the ass. I was hoping to get FJC and S/L jump #1 for Christmas, and finance the rest my self. but that doesn't look like it will happen. Apart from the primal dislike of her son throwing himself out of a plane, I feel like her ill-feelings toward skydiving as a whole come somewhat from a deficit in knowledge about skydiving. Meaning she doesn't know much about: training, safety, FAA regulations, USPA standards, USPA ratings, statistical analysis, and other things, but rather *hears about* all the of bounces, plane crashes, and almost-malfunctions from MAX X type shows. Educating her on those things seems an impossible task, as she works in a healthcadre field where she sees trauma that doesn't 'make it' , and also holds very steadfast opinions on things. Life lectures from her 20 year-old son can often be dismissed as juvenile or naive. Do many of you have parents, girlfriends, boyfriends, brother, sisters, friends, etc that act this way? These types of people almost make me feel bad for jumping when I do, and wanting to when I am not. What are some strategies for dealing with this type of situation, whilst maintaning relationships? (Sorry for any flight of ideas, mis-spellings, or hard-to-follow points, I just got my wisdom teeth out and am on a bunch of Demerol) Ryan

I know how you feel-- It really sucks when that huge porn file that has been downloading for 2 days finishes, and you can't even play it! Forget the codec, just find your mom/sister/wife's Victoria's Secret catalog, it always works for me. And if you can't find one of those, just cruise around sites like myspace, and be a real creep.

It happened to me this morning, I drank less than 12 beers (probably around 10) last night. I probably drink comparable amounts 2-3x a week. Usually just Friday and Saturday nights.

Alright, so this has been happening to me recently early in the morning after I drink the night before... I will wake up around 7:30 am, and my heart will be beating much faster than normal. So much so that I notice it immediatly after I wake up. I've talked to some of my friends and they say that this happens to them as well. This is a somewhat recent development, it maybe started 8 months ago.. Before then I just had normal hangovers like everyone else. Does anyone else experience this strange side effect from boozing? Before you ask: I am 19 years old and in good health. I run 5-7 times a week, and my resting heartrate is fairly low. I do not have any heart conditions, and I drink like a college student... Let your imagination elaborate. Anyone have any insight? Ryan

Yeah, it is Adrenaline Rush: Science of Risk.. We are talking about the same movie. Awesome that you've seen it and say its good, I've got the tivo thing set to record it. Adventurechick: its 11:00 am on Sunday, Central time. IF you have direct TV and can do the search feature, search for the keyword SKYDIVING and it will come up, a few other things come up for PARACHUTING.

I was just looking at the television, and I saw that there is a show comming on this sunday at 11:00 am called The Science of Risk: Skydiving. I don't know anything about it, because that was the only description, but it seemed like it might be worth watching. It comes on Discovery HD (direct TV chanel 76). Even if the premise sucks hopefully it will have some good skydiving footage.

I dont have any advice to add, just my apologies.. Did your gear get lifted as well? That shit is terrible.. Who the fuck steals other people's gear? Did it get stolen from the DZ (as in by another skydiver) or just by some shmuck out in the real world?

Thanks for the copy and paste, I guess its either my browser or just the fact that nothing works with macintosh. It seems like if a new skydiver progressed quickly he or she could spend quite a bit on just the booze. How drunk do the people at DZ usually get? I hope its not 2 beer, "responsible" celebration (of course I mean after the last jumps of the day).

Hey, I wanted to read the Beer Rules link you posted, but its just a picture of a well-stocked mini-fridge with no text about rules (unless its just because I'm on a mac). Is there any other comprehensive list?

Well... I suppose the one post... the one that almost makes those safety conscious posters quesay, is completeley illigitimate... I'm still interested to hear what any of you have to say as to the price/progression/safety/overall learning pro's and con's of SL vs. AFF progression are... I appreciate all the posts so far, please keep the info flowing. I guess at the moment I am leaning more towards SL, just because of the price factor, and the flexibility that I have seen listed in the Indiana Dropzones websites that I have seen. Please keep the advice comming,I really appreciate it.. Ryan

Before I start: I know this has been talked about before, and I already have searched and read. I couldn't find much that gave me much information applicable to my situation.. That being said: I am a college student with little money. I have done 2 tandem jumps, and am hoping to work towards my license this spring. I had my mind set on doing AFF, just because it *seems* to be the most commonly used method of training for the recreational skydiver. Through various conversations on these forums a few people have PMed me asking if I have thought about taking a SL course to get licensed, as it is much cheaper. The truth is no, I hadn't, but now I am. So now the question has become, 'should I do Static line or aff?' Money certainly is an issue for me... I am not someone who could do AFF all in 1 week, or even 1 month. It would take me about 3 or 4 weeks to save up the money for each AFF jump (atleast the first few), leaving me barely enough time to stay current and complete the next level of AFF. I know it varies by Dropzone, but how much do the first Static Line courses and jumps generally cost? Also one aspect of Static Line that I do not understand is the progression. Earlier this fall I called a dropzone near me to ask about Static Line progresion. I asked him "How many jumps does it take to get licensed via static line?" the person working at this DZ told me that I couldn't get licensed through static line progression (?) I didn't quite understand this, because I thought that getting an A license was the entire point of starting a SL program. So, how does one get an A license through Static Line? I think it is 25 jumps (assuming you don't mess any up), but what exactly is the progression (as in jumps 1-5 are static line, 5-10 are X second delay, etc. etc.) of a typical static line program? Finally, are there any draw backs to either particular program? Safety-wise are they similar? It seems as if AFF could be safer, because the inexperienced student has an instructor with them, although they probably wouldn't be of any help in a malfunction. Also exiting so low for inexperienced jumpers (who might not recognize/deal with a mal quickly) seems an added element not present with AFF. I appreciate any insight..

Certainly it could be taken that way.. But I feel like those strict guidelines for comming up with the cash are somewhat unrealistic when other people are depending on your income, especially those who don't jump, or furthermore don't understand it. I'm interested to see how others afford jumping while balancing the needs of those dependant upon them. Thanks for your answer though, it definatley is legitmate and makes sense. I mean, if I didn't have to pay for anyone but me, I would tough it out, eat hot-sauce hamburger buns, save up and jump every weekend.

So, I've been thinking recently. Just reflecting on my own situation, as a broke college student waiting/saving for spring to start AFF, how do people afford this expensive sport? No question the first year is quite expensive, with completing AFF/whatever training you choose, purchasing (or renting) gear, and buying jumps.. But even after these initial costs subside it seems as if the typical skydiver will encounter many more expenses such as travelling for tunnel time, travelling for warmer and better weather, taking time off work/traveling for boogies (I just read the Kenya Boogie article, which topped-off this question that has been on my mind), affording jump tickets, replacing gear, etc. So my question is this... How does one _realistically_ afford this type of hobby? I know that one can afford most anything if they *really* try to... that is save up money, work extra hours, dont splurge on other things, and keep one monetary goal in mind, but how do those of you who are NOT doctors, lawyers, politicians, and inheritance-bound millionaires afford this sport? Of course answers will be different for those who are single (my income, my choice) versus those with families (must balance income with family needs). I am only curious as to how you all set aside the money to jump and also balance other commitments. Perhaps my broke-student ass has become dissillusioned as to the opportunities and freedom that having a steady income (regardless of large or average amount) affords. I'm interested to hear some strategies for balancing money for personal expenditure (jumping and all it entails) and money for other commitments (such as family or other things), ESPECIALLY when those others are non-jumpers. Dont think TOO hard on it, just looking for insight and experience. -Ryan

Why and how are you so sure that this will be a one-time thing? If you are really as intrigued as you said you are, what makes you think a one-time fix will relieve that desire? I would venture to say lots of folks on here made their first trip to the DZ as a 'one time, just to experience it' type of thing. Keep your mind open to the possibilties of the future. Why look at it as a one-time thing... unless you're pretty certain you will bounce .

Wow, thats a cool movie.. Any idea what altitude he deployed at? Looked like he was way up there. I assume he had some auxillary O2?