BikerBabe

You know, I was on a PC team. And I agree with you. I even lobbied to go open that year. I was outvoted. On the other hand, I didn't care about a medal that year. We finished 10th with an 11 average. How is that inappropriate for the Advanced class? We trained with a PC all year. For nationals we jumped with another world-class skydiver. We still weren't even close to medal contention. I can see both sides now, having been on both sides. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

No need to explain. check out the link here. It's pretty self-explanatory when you look at the scores. http://www.omniskore.com/comp/2002/nats/2002_nats.htm Like I said...why not challenge yourself? Go advanced. Who cares if you finish dead last? At least you were there, you met a challenge, and you learned a heck of a lot =) Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Do I know of teams who have done that? yeah. ask anyone who was at the 2002 nationals in chicago. I couldn't answer your poll. You didn't have the answer on there I was looking for. "As soon as you have a team willing to train regularly for a full season". That's right. I'm all about challenge. My first team did Advanced right out the door. Averaged a 9. We had 1 tunnel camp as a team. But you know what? We learned the entire dive pool BEFORE anyone could pollute our minds with what was supposedly "hard" or "easy". EVERYTHING was equally difficult! We had a heck of a lot of fun. To be honest, you aren't going to look stupid to the top teams. They're just happy that people are competing in 4-way. So you don't get a medal that first time. At least you challenged yourself and learned something.

Thanks for the post. So why not believe information from someone who lived and worked near the affected area? Not so black and white now, is it? I am sad that this was approved. I am sad that more people don't consider our environment (global as well as local) an important concern. It is shortsighted and naive to say "our energy needs now are more important." If our grandchildren aren't around to enjoy the effect of our so-called prosperity, then did we really benefit in the end? Short-sightedness has always been the way of this administration, though, so I'm really not surprised. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Wow, I can't believe I never posted in this thread. So let me share with you all the story of "Swamp Girl". I had about 200 jumps when a summer internship program sent me to Norfolk, VA for 6 weeks. I had just bought my first civilian rig (200 jumps on a PD 235 for the Air Force Academy) and I brought it along. I had heard about a great little DZ called Skydive Suffolk, so on Saturday morning I packed up my rental truck and headed that way. Mind you, I knew no one here... The folks at Suffolk were a welcoming lot. Very kind, willing to include me, etc. The first jump as I recall, was some RW thing, small, and very fun. It was shaping up to be a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky, moderate to high humidity, but not entirely unpleasant. Next jump. Another small-way, but this time the spot was a bit longer...My mistake was not learning the lay of the land before I jumped, but I was a newb. Looking around, I saw a road with wires, and what looked like two fields with some random, widely-spaced dead trees in them on either side. Now let me add a disclaimer here...my depth perception has never been the best. Well, I didn't want to land on the road...power lines = bad. I made a decision that I could probably avoid the little trees in the "field" and headed that way. At about 50 feet I realized that this was no field. Oh no. This was a swamp. A bayou. A bog. Just perfect. Well, I was committed now, and I landed without incident in ankle-deep swamp water. It was OK, I thought, I knew which direction the road was. I gathered up my gear and started slogging that way. Unfortunately, about 50 ft into my slog, the "underbrush" for lack of a better term, began to get thicker. And thicker. To the point to where continuing would have required a machete. I was stuck. It was hot. The sun began to beat down. Yes, I had on a BLACK jumpsuit, but I wasn't about to take it off and become the buffet for the SVAM's (Southern Virginia Association of Mosquitoes) annual convention. So there I was, stuck in the swamp. Frantically looking for leeches and wracking my brain for some semblance of an idea about what to do next, I cock my head as a sweet, sweet sound reached my ears. The sound of a low-flying aircraft! Could it be? It was! The DZ's Cessna, obviously out searching for me! I would be saved! Except that he didn't see me. The Cessna passed, no where near my location. Now was the time to call upon my elite survival skills taught to me at the Air Force Academy. I needed a way to signal my rescuers. As I had no radio to vector them in, I looked to my current inventory of items. Unfortunately, stainless steel hardware on rigs was not yet in fashion, and try as I might, I could not turn my harness fasteners into suitable light reflectors to flash at the passing Cessna. Fortunately, my new Sabre had two neon pink cells! That was the ticket! Neon Pink is the most unnatural color on earth! So as the plane passed by once more, I began to spread out my canopy, laying it over some of the highest bushes I could reach. The additional benefit of this was that it made a nice shelter from the now extremely hot sun. Eventually, the scouters in the Cessna saw my canopy. 20 minutes later, I hear a voice calling my name through the swamp. I stand up, gather my gear, and look to my left, to see a local and a DZ representative coming to lead me to freedom. LOL, wouldn't you know it, there was a farmhouse about 500 meters to my left the entire time. heh. So to all the folks that were at Skydive Suffolk that day back in 1996, I salute you. Especially Larry Pennington, who was nice enough to pull his cessna out and fly it around looking for my stupid ass while I was chillin' in the swamp. I bet they remember me, too =) Andi Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

or 11/5. Go to Tunnel League! Fun and excitement and maybe some bloodshed all rolled into one! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

lol, Jon and Mike are everywhere doing Red Bull demos. I go off to things like the Laguna Seca MotoGP race and SF's Fleet week (and Red Bull Air Races) and who jumps in? yeah, these guys. JP is right...it's busy being a rock star. =) They have an incredibly sweet deal as part of the Red Bull skydiving team. Good for them! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I live in Westchester, about 2 miles from LAX. Both DZs take a similar amount of driving time. I take 60/10 to 215 if I'm going to Perris. I take 91 if I'm going to Elsinore. 91 tends to have a bit more traffic, though, since it's really the only freeway from OC out to Riverside county. It all depends on when you go. Early saturday mornings are clear, usually. Sunday nights headed back into LA are bad with the Palm Springs and Vegas weekend traffic returning to the city. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

As a front-line witness to the Altoids incident, I can confirm that the duct tape was provided by D-plane's front-front float person, Jim McCormick. Don't ask me where it came from. I don't want to know... What a fun weekend! Much beer was bought by me, since this was my first 100+ completion. yay! Much beer was consumed by me, as well. Sorry about the drunk dial, Mar...well, not really sorry. Where the hell were you, anyway??? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Actually, please reread my post. I said that I can see some valid complaints about evangelism at the academy. My post related a personal experience I had with said evangelism. Did I report it? No. Would others? Perhaps. I have a feeling that more people would report it today than they would have when I was there. Many more people are a lot quicker to yell "Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!" nowadays. In a lot of cases, they're right. In a lot of cases, I think they may be a bit premature. Did I personally feel "oppressed" or "offended" in any way by my professor's actions? Not really. I am not the type to get offended. I am the type, rather, to take your opinion, think it over, then tell you why you are wrong in the most logical and reasonable fashion possible. See the difference? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Exactly. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Sigh. First, let me state my qualifications for responding to this post: I am a female graduate of the US Air Force Academy, who at the time I was there, considered myself to be agnostic. I think this makes me a good source of info on the environment related to both of the issues brought up in this thread. I can only relate personal experiences. I was at the academy in the mid to late 90s. I will say that I am NOT easily offended, and I am not your typical "girl". What many see as harrassment I do not get offended by. Perhaps I should, but that is a different discussion. The AFA gave me a very thick skin and to most of the complainers I have a strong desire to say "suck it up and drive on". Now, to address some of these issues. 1. Religion. Looking at it from an agnostic/non-Christian point of view, I agree that the complaints brought forth in the lawsuit (and the previous studies) are somewhat valid. In basic training, there was nightly chapel. If you did not go, you were dubbed "heathen flight" and often forced to do extra marching drills or other such mundane basic training-style activities like reciting required knowledge, dropping for push-ups, etc. This has of course all gone away since the trainers at the AFA are no longer allowed to drop people for push-ups, the basic cadets are no longer required to memorize knowledge, no longer required to run in combat boots, etc. I'm not sure what they are required to do anymore except complain about being harrassed. Anyway, I'll relate an experience I had during my 3-degree (spophomore) year in Military history class. My instructor was a major in the AF and a very intelligent person when it came to this subject. He was also very intimidating, as most officers are to young cadets, but he had a dominant personality. One day in class we were talking about Alexander the Great's victories, and my instructor mentioned that ol' Alex had been "in the zone". I asked what he meant by that. He answered "favored by God." Well, at this point in my cadet life, I had not yet learned to appreciate the fine art of holding my tongue, so I asked him how he knew that. His answer was that all great military leaders were blessed by God to win their keystone battles/campaigns. I of course argued this ridiculous point, letting him know that I did not believe that to be the case, etc. He told me (and the rest of the class, by the way) that I needed to rethink my beliefs before it was too late. (A not-so-veiled attempt at telling me I was going to hell...) Anyway, the class went on from there, but now that I had a bone, I, like a dog, didn't give up. For the rest of the semester, anytime he mentioned something asinine like this, I called him on it. He didn't like me. Not in the least bit. I had decided my grade was probably in the toilet anyway, so why not argue? No, I never reported him. Reporting your peers or superiors was not something that was done. You would get loads of shit for "pimping" your classmates/peers, and the horrors one would go through for reporting an officer I can only begin to imagine (court marshal, anyone?) Want to know the outcome of my history class experience? I got an A+. Highest in the class. He may not have agreed with me or liked me, but at least he respected my willingness to stand up for myself. Yeah, it happened. I used to be an indignant martyr for those types of arguments. Now I say suck it up and drive on. Find a community of AF Academy grads, and the tone of discussion will be VERY different than the righteous indignation you see here. The tone would more be "suck it up and drive on", and stop pimping your classmates. The complainant in this case would be the subject of ridicule, rather than the Academy or it's culture. He would be considered disloyal to the "long blue line", as it were. As for me...Because they have destroyed everything that was the AFA and made it unique and turned into just another college, I feel almost no loyalty anymore. What I went through was physically, mentally, empotionally, and spiritually demanding. Now, all I see is whining come out of that place. Whining that it's too hard physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I am truly scared for the Air Force as this new breed of overly sensitive feel-good officer comes into leadership positions. It makes me sad. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

sigh. Excuse me for being a geek, but volts does not measure CURRENT. Volts is the unit for energy. The article keeps saying he had 40000 volts of current. meh. Amperes (amps) is the units for current. He had 40000 volts of electric POTENTIAL built up. If he had 40,000 amps (or even milliamps) of current moving through him, he'd be dead. as would everyone around him probably. It's current that kills you. Still, it would be cool to walk around with a trail of fire. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

OMG. OMG. Ben&Jerrys is to Graeter's as Big Lots is to Tiffanys. Ben&Jerry's is a chain. Mass produced. Graeter's is made in the store by a different method... www.graeters.com It's absolutely incredible. Ask anyone in or from Cincy...they'll tell you. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

yep, north side. Luckily, there's a Graeter's ice cream shop in Springdale! http://www.graeters.com/viewCity.cfm?locID=14. It's close to the Tri-County Mall. There's bound to be a Skyline around there, too. Montgomery Inn is in two places, one in Montgomery (err, duh) and one down on the river called the mongomery Inn boathouse. thouhg maybe you shouldn't try these things, because you may find yourself making excuses to go to Cincy just to buy ice cream... Have fun! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Things to do in Cincinnati: 1. If you have to beg, borrow, steal or weasel your way...you absolutely MUST try some Graeter's Ice Cream (pronounced "greaters"). I don't care where you are or what you're doing, your life will never be the same once you've had this incredible frozen concoction that was obviously invented by the angels to eat in heaven. Ask anyone from Cincy. 2. Eat Chili. Specifically, you need to try Skyline chili. It's NOT Texas Chili. Go to Skyline. Order a "3-way". Enjoy. =) Glod Star is a cheap knockoff. Skyline is the only true "Cincinnati chili" there is. 3. Go to the Montgomery Inn for ribs. Kansas city ain't got nothin' on these. You will NOT be disappointed. 4. Try to head to Bogart's one night. Still the best live music in Cincy, since before I was in high school. Wed. the 28th is a Social Distortion show...nice! www.bogarts.com 5. Go across to the Covington/Newport waterfront. There's some fun places over there. Where are you staying? Downtown or in a suburb? Have fun! Cincy is really a great little city. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I was working in the office that developed and acquired the Predator for the AF when they modded it to take the hellfires. This was a DoDo acquisition program that took 1 month from inception to completion. Yeah, you read that right. 1 month. in a community where a fast development cycle is usually 2 years, 1 month is unprecedented. It was a very cool time. Oh, and the Predator and Global Hawk have entirely different missions and flight profiles. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. Now comparing the Global Hawk to the U-2 would be more apt. And the U-2 still owns all... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

So that's your choice. why get on Bill for his choice? I happen to agree with Bill here. you always have a choice. yeah, changing your lifestyle is tough. You would have to bite the bullet. But it's still ultimately your CHOICE. Don't get on someone else for the choices they have made. Especially in a situation like this where his choices seem like they may be the better ones in the end. You can get a cheap motorcycle and learn to ride it. I bet that would pay for itself in gas prices by the end of the year if prices stay high... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Nationals, baby! Yeah, definitely one of the most fun "boogies" out there...all friends, all there for the same reason, many of them people you haven't seen in a year... Awesome! More of you dz.commers need to start competing! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

The cadets on the West Point and USAFA teams are not required to have a USPA PRO rating to jump into what would normally be considered a PRO-rating-required demo. I was on the USAFA demo team as a cadet, and I had approximately 200 jumps and was jumping into airshows and stadiums. I'm not sure if it's changed, but most cadets on the Wings of Blue don't have 500 jumps when they graduate due to various reasons. That being said, the military follows MUCH stricter rules when performing demos into any venue. You will always see a WDI drop, always see several ground crew members, and often see a cancellation due to weather conditions, especially for the younger cadet teams. -A Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

We are really excited to be jumping with Todd. Me, especially, for the reasons Betsy stated above. Todd will be filling in the inside center position on Storm. See you all in a few days in Perris! -A Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Don't count out the Knights in 4-way. As for 8-way, Airspeed, yeah. In Intermediate 8-way, it will be the Perris Devi8s! Of course! (heh, that's my 8-way team) The others? Whatever, I'll be jumping and having fun... It's going to ba a great year. I can't wait! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

methinks the Fastrax ladies might have a little bit of competition come nationals for that coveted world meet slot... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

well, I had one person call who thinks they saw Leo running around, but when I went over to that area, I couldn't find him. I just hope he doesn't get hit by a car, since where the reported sighting was is not very close to my house and across one of the busiest streets in LA. But it does give me hope that he's out there! I almost hope he gets picked up by animal control, since I know he'll be safe in the pound instead of out running around. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

How about those 36-ways held together by leg locks, eh? pretty damned cool. What a fun weekend! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!