SivaGanesha

Is … or should? … the inverse be true? Should a good man who cares about his children’s future consider the earning power of a potential spouse/partner in choosing a partner? Yes, absolutely! However in my experience it is far more common for the women to ask the probing questions of the men than the other way around. The women seem to get to questions about my financial situation--eg whether I'm owning or renting the condo I live in--very early in a prospective dating situation--questions that I would not even think to ask so early. But yes it should be symmetric between the sexes. Again, if either partner is so well off that they know they can carry the financial burden of the entire family on their own--then they don't need to worry about the partner's status. Such a situation is increasingly rare in the modern world but I presume occasionally it still happens. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

My experience has been that women do their best to find out all they can about a guy's potential for a relationship--including finance and stability--very early on. Ie on the first date. Women don't like to leave these things to chance. I'm NOT saying that money is the only thing that women look at. But I AM saying that women make it their business to learn everything they can about a guy early on in the dating process, and all other things being equal, definitely it helps to be well established financially. Yes there ARE some men who are so strong personality-wise--you might say they are "naturals" in the dating game--that they attract women on the strength of their personality alone. Some such men seem to be able to do so even when not very attractive physically. But such men are IMHO in the minority. Most of us have to work at it and have to work at developing aspects of ourselves outside of just our "personality" to attract women. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

True. But people do in fact work, get hired, and get fired at a real DZ. And I've certainly heard banter--often including the paid staff--of a sexual nature at the DZ that would be grossly inappropriate at most other workplaces--but is taken with a sense of humor at a DZ. The question to me is why other places besides the DZ take themselves so seriously and can't seem to laugh about things. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

It's the stability that is very important. As I noted in another post, a doctor, a lawyer, and a bus driver may ALL offer more stability than an engineer. A stable home environment is good for children. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

The bus driver probably : (a) is still working at the same job as a bus driver all these years later (b) stayed in Finland rather than emigrating to America (c) worked sane hours that allowed him to give the ladies the attention they deserve Financial stability is very important--the bus driver probably wasn't making a six figure income but probably offered some stability that could be built upon. Money isn't the only thing but financial stability can offer an opportunity to work on the other things in life that are important--some who is continually either worried about losing their job or having to consistently work 14-16 hour days to keep the job they have isn't going to have the time or energy to give ladies the attention they need. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

In my view, a good girl is someone who cares about her children's future. Money is definitely a factor in determining how good a future a couple can offer their children. Unless the girl is making enough money to be the sole breadwinner and provide a comfortable future for her children, even while bearing children, the guy's income is going to be a factor. Not the only factor. But certainly a factor. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

The economy will improve in a year or two but the success of male engineers with the ladies is not likely to improve so quickly. Engineers always do well economically during the boom times but they are vulnerable during the bust years in a way that doctors and lawyers are not. The military engineers are probably less vulnerable since they work for a more stable employer (one hopes

Or, to tell it more specifically like it was, many engineers were left unemployed and driving taxis, etc, when the funding for the space program dried up. A similar thing happened in 2000-2001 when the excitement surrounding the dot-coms/Y2K came crashing down (not helped by 9/11). And it's happening again now. I think that's the real reason engineers sometimes have trouble with the ladies. For the last generation or two, it hasn't provided a stable income even for highly educated engineers--an engineer can easily be highly paid one day and unemployed the next. Doctors and lawyers have tended to enjoy much more job security. If I were a lady and wanted the financial security (important for raising children) involved in marrying a professional man, I'd probably consider a doctor or lawyer a much more attractive choice than an engineer. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

It sounds like in your initial message you thanked him overly profusely for something that was, in fact, a small thing from a professional point of view. I'm sure there was some confusion as to your intent on his side as well. I think your followup should have cleared the air that nothing beyond a professional thank-you was implied or intended.

It seems to me that since (a) he's your friend and (b) you set up the date it would have been better to give him the benefit of the doubt and wait until you hear all the facts before trashing him in a public forum, even anonymously. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

As an aside to the general readership, I should mention that that's the Group record. The Individual Canadian record is still 36,916 feet by Bill Cole (Chuteless), set in 1973. The CSPA finally allowed it to be on the books this year, after Bill's history of pissing people off and getting two lifetime suspensions.

Maybe in skydiving you need to be an instructor. I can't help but notice that many of the instructors--or non-instructors with similar levels of experience--on my DZ seem to have a lot of success with the ladies with low jump numbers

Not really--but I AM someone who likes to understand situations. Snowboarding and skydiving would--at first blush--appear to be similar kinds of activities, so it caught my attention to see someone--on a skydiving board--describe an ideal date as involving snowboarding. I felt it worth exploring in a bit more depth what might be involved there.

So skydiving is something you do because you love it whereas skiing/snowboarding is something you do just to get the ladies?

But then the fact that ski/snowboarding resorts are more likely than DZ's to have hot tubs would be a consideration, right? "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

How you doin'??? Seriously ... you just described what I'd consider to be a perfect date

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Thanks all for their thoughts...the above in particular makes sense to me because I can feel my legs when they are extended and pushing down but definitely am losing stability and getting 'floppy' when I bring my arms back too much. I'll run this by my coaches next time I jump...I appreciate the advice but, obviously as noted, I'll let my coaches have the final word! "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Sounds great! Dinner for me yesterday was a sub at Subway and then pizza. I've already had enough to eat today but may see what they are serving today at Sunset at Skydance for din-din

Hi all, I finished AFF awhile back and am hoping to complete my 'A' soon. I did one solo earlier today but for $$$ reasons will probably not jump again for 2 weeks. However at that time I expect to be able to do 6 or 7 coach jumps. What seems to be a bit of a challenge for me right now is tracking. In my last coach jumps, I got all the Cat F tracking stuff signed off--which doesn't require a specific distance--but I'm having trouble getting much horizontal distance when I track, so my coaches were reluctant to sign my Cat G or Cat H tracking stuff off. In practising tracking today, I found that I recognized--as my coaches have advised me--that my legs are not always fully extended and pushing down. However, although I can feel my legs, I am finding it difficult to fully extend my legs (and arms) without veering off on a different heading. It is as though the 'focus' of the track is lost as soon as I fully extend my legs. Obviously my primary source of advice will be my coach(es) when I return to do a bunch of coach jumps in 2 weeks. But does anyone have any thoughts on this? Also, I will be joining a fitness center soon (I've already joined but it is a new place that won't open its doors until Sept 1). What specific muscle groups are used for tracking and what type of a workout should best be used to improve tracking ability? Thanks to all for advice they might have! ps--my jump total on here is accurate. however most of my jumps were many years ago in Canada. i qualified for an 'a' at the time but never finished the paperwork. at the time tracking was NOT a requirement for an 'a' so tracking is a completely new skill for me--sg "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Maybe the 100th guy knows the difference between a tandem rig and an ordinary rig, knows that tandem masters usually get paid for their work, and is suspicious when they glance in your car and see your tandem rig? "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

lost_n_confuzd offered you good advice that definitely DOES apply even for Canadians. As you know, Canadians now require (as of June 1) passports to enter the USA. In effect, the Canadian citizenship serves as a multiple entry visa, but in the USA, Canadians are subject to the same laws as any other foreigners. 99 times out of 100 a Canadian will simply be waved through at the border, and as a result Canadians are sometimes surprised when, on the 100th time, the officer enforces the law and the Canadian ends up in a very difficult situation. With the requirement for a passport (very easily scanned by border officials) it is now very easy for CBP to track the comings and goings of Canadian citizens. Someone entering for five weeks at a time on a frequent basis WILL eventually attract more intense questioning. This is especially true given that a Canadian coming and going frequently across the southern border is another unusual situation that may raise questions. At that point, having the kind of documentation that lost_n_confuzd advised you to get could very well mean the difference between getting through after 10 minutes of questioning versus being barred for five years to life. If you are barred it means not only are barred from returning to a US drop zone, but you will also have to find a way of travelling between Mexico and Canada that doesn't involve even a brief transit of the USA even as a tourist. lost_n_confuzd offered you very good advice and my only advice is to listen to it. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

Many of these are first steps whose necessity (or at least probability) was already fairly clear by the time of the general election (although not necessarily during the primary season). Obama should not be judged harshly because Bush left him a huge array of problems--but Obama can legitimately be criticized if a different new president might have been able to solve the Bush legacy problems better. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

That English guy who wrote MacBeth (as in the play MacBeth, not the DZ.commer) was certainly aware of the potential for a play on words there--and he was writing a couple centuries before the Constitution. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

When you are talking about life and death situations 2/100ths of a percent IS a non-trivial percentage. America seemed to think that on Sept 11, 2001 3000 deaths out of *300* million people was a pretty significant loss. "It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014