jdfreefly

This is good advice. Barry, why don't you call your local dz and see if you can take their first jump course. This doesn't mean you have to jump, just take the course. If you are in the New York area, I can think of a few places to send you. side note - the photographer portion of the profile is meant to indicate that you are a freefall photographer. At my dz you would have to have quite a few more jumps then zero to be a freefall photographer.....due to our concern for your safety. Methane Freefly - got stink?

On statistics: The first problem I have with your argument, is that statistics could prove which drop zones had the best safety record. They can't. Pure and simple. All the stats will prove is who has had the most deaths and/or accidents. What you need to understand is that often, the accident is not the cause of an unsafe opperation. Often, it is the cause of a person who just made some bad decisions. Usually, in a fatality, it isn't just one bad decision, it is many. Take the recent incident at Sebastian as an example. The jumper was new to the dz. He made a very bad decision about his aproach, and he was seriously injured. Does this prove Sebastian to be unsafe? All this proves is what we allready know. People make mistakes, and stupid hurts. The only thing unsafe at Sebastian is the toilets. If you gather stats on injuries, this is the kind of thing you are going to come across. You can't draw the kind of trends you want from this sort of data. Believe me, I appreciate your concern. None of us wants to keep skydiving dangerous. I have had friends die, and I will probably have more friends die, and I have sworn to myself to do everything I can to prevent that, but I will not destroy the sport to do it. On reporting accidents: I agree with you in principal that accidents should be reported. But the reason they aren't reported is the very thing you want to accomplish. It would be very damaging to the industry for people who just don't understand the sport to be drawing conclusions about the level of safety based purely on statistics. On students and safety: Unfortunately, the truth is, most students do not really care enough about safety. Their first skydive is often done on a whim, and no time is spent on researching the various drop zones in their area. Some do care, and some do research. Those that do, will most likely end up here and will receive enthousiastic help from the members. Giving them accident stats for their area would be miss-leading, especially when you consider that most of the people getting hurt or killed these days, tend be of a high experience level. 57% of the people killed last year held the highest license you can have in the USPA. I know what your answer is going to be, "We can account for that by filtering out the non-student injuries." Well, then your sample size is going to be way too small and allow for absurd statistical anomolies, like a dz that has been open for one year and hasn't had any accidents. On existing stats: You're right, you can't rely on eye-witness accounts from 5 years ago. So don't try. As the sport progresses, we get more and more aggressive about keeping stats on the things we know to be issues. Go to the safety section of this website, and you can see a detailed break down of skydiving deaths in 2004 and the current year. Believe me, we scrutinize this. We argue constantly over what to do about the trends that we can see from this data. And we try our best to educate each other to put an end to the trends. I appreciate your intent, but it is missguided. Methane Freefly - got stink?

hu, hu, hu....he said below you!!! Methane Freefly - got stink?

Disclaimer: I am not an aff instructor, but I am a coach and an uncurrent tandem instructor. If you have a very light floaty person, who, if they want to falt fly with groups, why not have them wear weights? They are going to have to get used to the idea eventually. Why not introduce it earlier? Methane Freefly - got stink?

I don't want to play for real money online. Too many ways to get cheated. 3 guys on IM in the room your bettin your paycheck in, and your done. Methane Freefly - got stink?

but, pokerroom.com is way better. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Going to go jump somewhere far from home? Now, with google's new satelite images added to maps.google.com, just type in the name or address of where you are going, and check out the landing area ahead of time! http://maps.google.com/maps?q=skydive+crosskeys&ll=39.707100,-75.034990&sll=39.708557,-75.030108&spn=0.010278,0.015836&sspn=0.029236,0.058375&t=k&hl=en Methane Freefly - got stink?

any one know? We were watching Closer and then watched the video for the song in the movie. The name of the song is Blower's Daughter and it got us all wondering what the hell is meant by that? Methane Freefly - got stink?

It wasn't that evolution is flawed, or that it was right, creationism was right all along....even Scientific America is willing to admit it was wrong. From now on, I am getting all my science from the Bible. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=000E555C-4387-1237-81CB83414B7FFE9F&colID=2 Methane Freefly - got stink?

uhh....wouldn't it be the other way around? I seem to recall Selwyn being the one hurling up the white stuff. Methane Freefly - got stink?

And you should read Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear, asuming you haven't. Not the best writing, but some interesting ideas on mechanisms driving evolution. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I thought they were already married? Whatever, congrats you two, when are you going to start spittin out babbies like the rest of the dz? Hey will, nice avatar. Methane Freefly - got stink?

In reply to, "?? You can. It's done all the time.", I would have to say I dissagree. Whenever I take a dissenting opinion on this issue, I am invariably met with this kind of a comment, "How can an educated intelligent man like yourself, in this day and age, not believe in evolution?" I often wonder if people asked Galileo how he could not believe that the Sun revolved around the Earth. To be honest, it isn't that I don't believe in evolution, it is that I don't agree with the entire theory as it stands now, and, I really like playing the devil's advocate, especially on this subject. I do not hold as fact that all life on this planet originated from one original source that spontaneously came into existence. I do not hold as fact that apes and us have a common ancestor. I am not saying it isn't possible, I'm just saying I'm holding out for more proof. I agree with you that some of the advances and discoveries of the past 10 to 20 years are very exciting. In fact, what I am really waiting for is how it will shake things up when they find life on Mars. Not evidence of past life, actual living organisms. That is something I think is quite possible, and I may see it in my lifetime. I certainly do not believe that we should be teaching in science class that all life came into existence on this planet over the course of seven days. Methane Freefly - got stink?

You're kidding right? It is presented as an irrefutable fact all the time. Google "evolutionary fact" and you'll see all kinds of stuff. If you think I want to use biblica text as a fact source to disprove evolutionary theory, you have seriously missed my point. My point is, why can't I question evolutionary theory without being in favor of creationism? I challenge you to find me any scientific research out there that is aimed at disproving evolutionary theory that doesn't have the obvious intent of convincing people that creationism is where it's at. I have tried and failed. You want facts? How about enormous gaps in the fossil record? How about a lack of intermediary species? These are facts, or a lack of them rather. I am not saying it isn't true because it's a theory, I am saying it is seriously flawed because it does not adequately explain the vast number of species on this planet nor does it explain how they arrived so quickly. We are missing something, and it's big. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Good one Bill. Would anyone care to venture a guess as to when that actually happened? I'll save you all the trouble of running to google...1897. While I will agree that biblical creationist theory has been proven pretty much impossible, or at the very least to have the dates and timelines all fouled up, the fact remains that evolutionary theory is a THEORY. It is not fact, it just happens to be our current best guess. Yes, when you hold it up against creationism, it looks great, but when you examine it on its own, there are many questions left unanswered. There are some serious holes in that theory, and when you hold it up as fact, you do science a diservice. Unfortunately, in todays climate, I cannot openly question the theory of evolution on a scientific basis without being branded as some neo-religous zealot. I am of the opinion that both sides of the intelligent design discussion have become too fanatical. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I have always said this was the right war for the wrong reasons. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Thanks, I'll be sure to ask Dave if he has any stories next time I see him. Methane Freefly - got stink?

whoops! I would be loading it around .66 Me math do bad fast! Methane Freefly - got stink?

This is quite obviously an atempt to get others to examine uranus Methane Freefly - got stink?

Post one of her bending over and then I'll tell you. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Good God...I am such a nerd. Methane Freefly - got stink?

of course, on Mars, you would weigh 1/3 of what you weigh here..... That means I would be loading my 120 at around 1.5....so maybe it would work. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Yeah, but the air is so thin, the parachute wouldn't work.. Methane Freefly - got stink?

He was a jumper at the Herd. Killed by a drunk driver. His son, Lee is a friend of mine, just wondering if anyone has any stories or pictures. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Are you some kind of troll? Three parachute cutaway rigs have been around for quite a while. Just because you cant conceive of a rig with 2 parachutes in it, doesn't mean you couldn't have one with three. If you are a troll, then I do hear by launch a personal attack on myself for feeding you. I am a real jerk, an absolute knee biter. Methane Freefly - got stink?