BikerBabe

Hi all... I broke my rightr femur on a low turn this past weekend. I had surgery on Monday, was up on crutches on Tuesday, and I flew home last night. Thanks for all your kind words. What happened was I was an idiot. LOL! I was doing a 90 degree front riser carve to land. As I was setting up, there was a little bit of crosswind, so I was taking that into account. Unfortunately, that died and I didn't notice until I was lying on the ground. Also, I was doing the canopy school there at Perris, and I won't lie: I definitely had a little performance anxiety going on. I wasn't into showing off, per se, just I really really wanted to do it right, and I was definitely overthinking the landing. If I had done landed the same way I always do, I would have been fine, but I was definitely in the "gotta do it right" mode. I consistently turn too high, so in this case, I overcompensated. A little lower, and it would have been a lot worse. As for nationals...I'll defintely still be there! Plane tix are bought and paid for, and by that time I should be walking around pretty well. When they let me out of the hospital, they said I should be able to put 100% of my weight on the leg already, since the rod bears the weight. Now I just have to get past the mental block that is telling me there's no way they could be serious! I'm going to go lie down now...the vicodin makes me a little nauseated... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Hey Lew, you're looking at the newest member of the femur club! Gawd, I am an idiot. Yeah, it hurts. I think I'm going to make one or two posts, then go elevate it again. they put a rod in it, told me I can put all my weight on it already...which seems weird to me. I'm still getting over the surgery...not fun. I guess we'll see how it goes. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

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

currently on my 2nd margarita. Patron Añejo, Grand Marnier, and lime juice. Evanescence in the CD drive. I'm doin' well! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Um, I love this band! their CD is awesome! Ok, I'm posting after two (strong) margaritas and a beer. They rock! * friends don't let friends post drunk! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL, that's totally OK...seriously, the fourth chick turned out to be a complete mental case. The sad part was everyone knew it but we tried to ignore it. It became an issue. LOL, if you know who I am, then you know who I'm talking about. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Because they've had an incredibly large influx of orders this summer, and all of a sudden it's popular to have an Infinity. Realize that they hand make every one in a shop of 4 people, in a loft about the size of a small hangar. It's still less time than a Jav or Mirage. I dunno, I guess I'm willing to give them all the time in the world to make something that is ging to save my life on average of 400 times a year. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Don't think there are any all-chick teams from Eloy this year. we were, but one of our spazzed and quit, so we filled her slot with a much more stable male. There are two teams from eloy, however, that have 3 chicks and one guy. It must be something in the water! See you at Nationals! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

You forgot the: "I send in for them when I remember/have time/am not lazy" option! For example, I could have gotten all the RW ones a long ways back, but I always forget that they exist... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Hey...if you need to stop to rest in New Mexico, give me a shout! on a different note...I'll be at Perris this weekend...wahoo! Willyou be around? I'd love to meet you finally. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I am thoroughly enjoying the picture that accompanies the fiorst page of the article...as if the article can't mention enough stereotypse, he has to show a picture of a woman (pregnant?) holding a jar of pickles! BWAHAHAHAHA! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

It's very interesting reading the quotes from "citizens in Phoenix" about how they never thought gas being as precious as gold, etc. I hope this serves as a wake up call to at least a few people in Phoenix that we need to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. Maybe, just maybe, we can hope that few people will change their lifestyles as a result of this. Maybe. I love my little car, and our deisel full-size van gets better mileage than most SUVs. I'm interested to see the aftermath of this. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

We had a very similar experience jumping at the Ranch in July. We took the porter up for the first load of the day, so the jump run/spot wasn't set yet. Got out (they told us to trust the pilot), did a nice 4-way, opened looked around, and found the airport...across the river, a couple of miles away! So three of us landed together in a little field amongst the millions of trees, and started walking. All in all it was a rather humorous experience, especially with the Porter (now full of the Golden Knights 4-way team) flying above us making sure we were OK. I'm sure those guys were all laughing their asses off at us. When we got back, they thanked us for being the wind dummies...it sure saved them a lot of time. Though I think anyone who successfully lands out at the Ranch deserves a medal! As for what we should have done: probably looked a little more, but since we were a) new to the DZ and b)a little over-amped at jumping out of the porter (the devil's airplane), we decided to trust the pilot. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

urgh....I hate when I hear people say this like it's a bad thing. You bet your arse, to General Sanchez the life of the soldiers under him are more important than the lives of Iraqis. I'd guarantee it! Sorry honey, that's what war is about. Saddam thought his life was more important than most Iraqi citizens', and we thought every US soldier's life is more important than Saddam's. Would you defend yourself against an attacker? If so, oops! you just made a decision that your life is more valuable than his. Shame on you. No? What about your kid, or your spouse (if you have one)? Are they more valuable to you than an attacker's life? Tell me they aren't, but I'd bet you'd be lying. You make the same decision every day. Which is why the "philosophy" of moral relativism is flawed to the core. If we asked questions first then shot, a lot more US soldiers would be dead. Sorry if this offends you, but I think that's the greater of two evils. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Well, I have one, and I love the legstraps. I could understand why some might say that, though, since they do put some pressure there, but only when I'm walking around with my legstraps fully tightened, which I personally don't do that often, as I tighten mine fully as I prepare to exit. I also don't mind it, since every other rig I've jumped does that, too. One thing that's REALLY nice about the leg straps/harness design is that when you open, you aren't hanging in the harness with all the pressure there between your legs, you're more sitting in it, like you would in a rock-climbing harness. At that point, there is no pressure anywhere there shouldn't be! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Well, I just ordered and received my new Infinity, and I love it. It also has the interior riser protection, and the rig looks and feels great. My delivery time was a little under 10 weeks from order to arrival, and I added some things on a few weeks after I ordered it. The customer service is awesome. Every time I called them they knew exactly which order was mine just by my name, and were very helpful. And I culdn't beat the price anywhere. I love my Infinity. :) Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

So every week we get the lame base newspaper. It seems this week's theme is motorcycle safety, a topic near and dear to my heart. I should have known. There are maybe 5 big articles in there, and EVERY SINGLE ONE can be boiled down to the following: "The AF has lost XX people in motorcycle accidents this year. Helmets are good. Motorcyclists are bad and stupid. One of those was a guy doing 120 and lost control. Another was a guy passing on the right. Motorcyclists are BAD, crazy, risky, and stupid! Be safe. Wear a helmet." ARRRRGGHHHHH! Not ONE single mention of all the idiot drivers out there who run over bikes or left turn you or cut you off because the bitch in the land tank on her cell phone "just didn't see him". Not one mention. I HATE that. OK, rant over. Share the road, folks. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

No...I'm sure it would be funny if it were in English... Just give us the bottom line...what did all that messing with the network DO??? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Dude, ask any philosophy professor...you cannot logically or rationally prove or disprove the existence of something that is based entirely on faith. I believe that apples are purple. I take it on faith that apples are purple. You telling me "But, apples are red, they are NOT purple" is not proof to me. It is an irrational belief, but is it wrong? Well, in the case of apples, we have evidence that apples aren't purple. But until you show me every apple on the face of the planet, I'm still going to believe apples are purple. Because it's faith. In the case of God, we have no evidence either way, so I take it on faith that He exists. You take it on faith that He does not. I cannot logically prove to you that he does. You cannot logically prove to me that he doesn't. Believing in God is not Logical. NOT believing in God is not Logical, either. Please don't take the above out of context, I'm using the capital-L version of the word "Logic", meaning the classical school of thought that led to such things as geometry and modern debate. Unfortunately, the words "illogical" and "irrational" have come to carry far more negative connotations than they should. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Well, duh! Sorry, but Faith and Logic (in the classical sense, fallacies, proofs, etc) are not compatible. You cannot rationally prove either the existance NOR the nonexistance of something that relies on Faith. That's why it's called faith, not fact. Logically, using sound proofs, prove to me that there is no God. Go ahead. It's a challenge. I freely admit that I cannot logically prove to you the existance of God. But I BELIEVE it. Therein lies the rub. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Good choice. hey have a permanent NOTAM filed for beach landings, so they put loads out over the beach several times a day depending on who wants to go and the conditions. Do it. It rocks. Have fun! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL! I've never had one of those guys (or gal) try to push me to do anything, except maybe to have another Go Fast and Vodka! Seriously, though, they are all excellent coaches, and like Quade said, they will assess your ability level and teach you what you need to know. That's why they keep the Tunnel Camps small, so you can get individual attention with the same coach the entire time. That person will definitely get to know you and your flying ability well enough to know what to tell you to help you improve. Have fun, take tons of Advil with you, and take in as much information as you can absorb...it will be the best time and money you've spent on skydiving so far. Oh, and get some extra time at night. As much as you can. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL, I think it's funny that people often choose Job as a way to challenge faith in the Christian God. To me, Job is one of the most inspirational books in the Bible. It is the answer to ANY question about God. You may not like the answer, but it's an answer. "Were you there when I made the heavens?" Nope. There's no way my decidedly HUMAN brain could comprehend God or his motives. I shouldn't try. See, that's the crux of FAITH. Faith is not logical or rational (I'm not saying that using the disparaging connotations of those words, rather the dictionary definition of pertaining to logic). You cannot make a logical arguement either for or against the existence of God because in either case you will have to take some sort of statement on faith. Generally you'll find that people who try to debate it end up making circular arguments or setting up strawmen, classic logical fallacies...they can't avoid it. So I choose to believe. So you don't. I'll respect that. I don't agree, but I respect that. Having been a scientist all my life, and an atheist for most of it, I've discovered that my personal beliefs and interpretations of theological issues are usually very different from most "Christians'"...so what. Actually, many Christians don't ever bother to explore their faith, which bothers me. The scariest people are the ones who NEVER question. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

That's because most of them don't read or study the Old Testament. Absolutely, 100% correct that there is a relationship...what do you want to know? Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice to end all sacrifices...he was the scapegoat for the entire world. The concept of a scapegoat is a biblical one, not many people know that. Check out Leviticus 16. He was the ultimate guilt offering. Usually done on the day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the concept of Jesus offering himself during Passover (when God spared the Jews) is significant, as well. I'd love to answer your questions...or did you just want to find a Christian that admitted it? I actually think it's unfortunate that most Christians only study the New testament, since so much of what is in there makes a hell of a lot more sense when you understand the old testament. Andi Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Oh my good lord...I feel old now. Look at the number one choice! Ack! someone shoot me before I get so old and decrepit that I can't make it over to my stereo to change out the Squeeze CD and put in XTC. Or maybe I'll listen to Duran Duran instead. Then again, my Pet Shop Boys CD seems to be calling me. All you kids who were BORN after 1980 can go, I dunno, jump out of a plane or something! arrrrrr. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!