livendive

Packing parachutes at a decent DZ will pay a lot more than $14k/year. It's hard work, but easy to learn. Once you've got it down it can pay as much as a dollar a minute, with the only limitation being number of customers. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Your stalking skills must be getting rusty! Hmmm...I'm gonna have to go talk about you in there. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Mine ain't too great now, but it was pretty high the last time we did this thread Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

AAS in environmental restoration at a crappy little community college. BS in environmental quality at a crappy little university. Still considering an MS in critical infrastructre mngmt at a real university, just have to decide if it's worth the cost, plus I'm kinda tired of school (worked a "real" job through my college years thus far) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I had to take what amounted to a break for a couple of years... very little jumping, and those were mostly hop & pops. It was still a fun hobby, but not the consuming thing it had been before. At the time my aspirations had been instructor ratings, and when I got the last one (AFF), I looked at my skydiving and asked myself "What now?" That was a couple years ago. I still fun jump some, I instruct as much as possible, and I strive for improvement, but it's different now without clearly set goals in front of me. I used to think about competition, but I doubt I'll ever follow through. I used to think about bigway world records, but I'm not sure I want to pay all the dues to get to that level. I'm trying to become a better freeflyer, and I have fun learning to fly my wingsuit. Even if I couldn't work with students, those things hold my interest enough to keep me in the sport. Once I've got them down as well as I do my belly skills I'll probably try to find something else to do. If I can't find anything, well, I've already shown myself that occasional jumping (less than the stated 100/year) is better for me than not jumping at all. Of course, your mileage may vary. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I don't remember the first time I jumped my own main packjob, but I very clearly remember the first time I jumped my own reserve packjob. Thinking as I pulled the cutaway "Hope it works!!!" and then yelling "WAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" between cutaway and reserve pull. Opening was perfect...quick but reasonably soft, and on heading.

There were two female dz.commers in addition to me in the picture I sent, but you'd already sketched one of them. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

OK, those of you using gmail accounts know how the advertising on the right is triggered by keywords in the email, right? So I just glanced over to see what was there, and this is what I found: Since when did Target become a gear store?! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I have never had a Muslim knock on my door, send me an email, or collar me in a hallway at work in an effort to make me convert to their belief system. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

You start out by respecting a woman's right to make personal choices for herself. But then at the end, you reverse direction, and suggest that there is something demeaning or improper for a female skydiver to make a personal choice to flash her breasts to a jump pilot. Did you and I read the same paragraph? I didn't get anything "demeaning or improper" out of his words. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Which law is that? As far as I know, market forces are what drove most (but not all) cars to have airbags these days. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Yeah, because "average" is the word that always springs to my mind when I think of you! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

So we can have some peace and quiet out here one day a week? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

What makes you think you can't have such a thing? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

This is true about almost everyone... cause if you have it... there's no point in wanting it anymore... I'm not so pessimistic about it. I think there's wanting to have something you don't, and then wanting to keep what you have. Both can be equally strong desires. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I was trying to stay out of this one, but have to respond. Just a thought that may or may not be agreeable. Everyone doesn't have to touch everyone in a threesome. There are primarily two aspects that make a threesome arousing to men (at least in my mind). One is the ego boost of feeling desired by two women and capable of satisfying both (or at least thinking one is). The other is the taboo and just plain eroticism of two women together. It's possible that she could satisfy the second aspect without hitting her jealousy button. Just lay ground rules, i.e. he and the other girl can touch, kiss, lick, etc. her, but not each other. That's still damned erotic, and might be a decent compromise for everyone involved, as long as they can clear the other hurdles. Of course, while she mentioned her potential jealousy, she didn't mentioned his. Sex with someone else is sex with someone else, regardless of gender. The possibility exists that when push comes to shove, he'll feel threatened by someone else pleasing her sexually, even if it is a hot chick at his request. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

My understanding has always been that the CYPRES code is designed to not fire if parameters outside of its "normal" algorithm confuse it. That makes sense from a liability standpoint. If I were the owner of Airtec, I'd rather there be an accident report that states "the deceased died because he failed to open a parachute at a safe altitude" than "the deceased died because his CYPRES malfunctioned". Assuming that all electronic gadgets will have some failure rate (regardless of how small), I'd also prefer this mode of failure in my own equipment. I'd rather wear an AAD that occasionally doesn't fire when it should than one that occasionally does fire when it shouldn't. I'm not a big "brand name" guy on much of anything, but in my mind Airtec owns the AAD market, and I won't jump anything other than a CYPRES until all those willing to try Vigils get the field-testing out of the way. Of course just to be honest, I have to admit that the only time I jump an AAD right now is on tandems. I do plan on getting an AAD for AFF jumps though, and when I do, it'll be a CYPRES. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I don't understand what the big deal is. Talk to some guys that have been around awhile, who've done similar jumps, and who know you and your skills. Take their advice. JimmyT does have at least one valid point, that being that we don't know you, your experience, or your abilities, so we're not in the best position to offer advice. In my experience though, based on your description, it sounds pretty fucking straight-forward. I don't know that my biggest concern would be my friend's license, but rather his airplane and his life, as well as mine and those of people on the ground. It's good that you want to do it legal, and you'll probably learn a few things in the process. Also, if you listen to the advice of the right people (the ones who will tell you what's up, not just what you want to hear), it's pretty easy and fun to do safely. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Driving through Kalispell, MT this weekend, I saw a business. Its name intrigued me, so I Googled for a webpage, but to no avail. All I got was the owner's names, David L. Astle & William E. Astle. Here's the thing though...the sign out front doesn't list their first names. It just says, "Astle & Astle, Attorneys at Law". Given that the letter "t" is silent in the word "castle", how would you pronounce the name of this business? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Shannon, you slay me. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I am being serious. They committed a *crime* in Yemeni territory. It's up to Yemen to prosecute and punish them for that crime. Being the victim of that crime doesn't give us the "right" to trump the Yemeni government. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Because the crime was committed in Yemeni waters. If a guy kills a couple snowbirds in Florida, should he be extradited to New York (or wherever they were from) to stand trial for it? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Safety & Training Newsletter A Bulletin for the training community Vol. 6, Issue 1 February 1, 2006 Safety Day 2006 March 11 is rapidly approaching! Is your drop zone ready for Safety Day 2006? Each USPA S&TA is tasked with organizing Safety Day activities to help ensure that every drop zone possible participates. Free downloads of presentation materials and handouts are available at http://www.uspa.org/safety/safety_day.htm#forms. New for 2006 is the USPA Fly To Survive DVD, which is currently in production. Each drop zone in the U.S. (with a known address at the USPA) will receive a free DVD, wall-sized posters, and presentation materials that can help each S&TA create a successful event. The 15-minute presentation outlines the “big six” points of canopy education each jumper needs to know to help reduce the number of canopy-related injuries and fatalities. The materials will be mailed the third week of February, arriving in plenty of time for your Safety Day event. USPA lists participating drop zones on its website at http://www.uspa.org/safety/safety_day.htm#sddzs Each S&TA should make sure their drop zone is included on the list by sending an email to groupmbrs@uspa.org with the name of the drop zone, the website address and the date of their event, if other than March 11. Chesley H Judy Award So far, there have been only a handful of requests for the new Chesley H. Judy Safety Award. Surely there are more than a handful of deserving USPA members who should be receiving this prestigious award! Each S&TA or drop zone owner should choose a recipient and send USPA the name of the recipient, the name of the drop zone and a shipping address. USPA will mail it free of charge. All requests should be received by February 15 to allow enough time for the certificate to be packaged and shipped. Attached to this newsletter is an article which provides more information about Ches Judy and how the award was developed. Course Materials Course Directors are reminded that each candidate must possess a SIM and IRM dated within two years of the course, in order for the proficiency card to be accepted at USPA Headquarters. Use of outdated materials will lead to delays and additional headaches for both the rating candidate and the course director. Make sure the paperwork is correct before the course is finished, and everyone will benefit! Accident Reports S&TAs and Instructors are reminded to submit accident reports using the USPA Accident Report form which can be downloaded at http://www.uspa.org/publications/forms.htm#incident. Use of this form ensures that USPA receives the necessary information that may have been a factor with each accident, such as weather conditions or equipment problems. Non-fatal reports can be sent anonymously, however fatal accidents need to include the name and address of the deceased, as well as the investigator’s contact information. Statistical information is stored in a database, but no information regarding the deceased or the investigator is stored electronically or otherwise. That information is removed from the report, and the rest of the paper fatality report is destroyed as soon as the annual fatality summary is published in Parachutist magazine. *** Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Actually the USA is a democratic republic, as are Congo, Brazil, South Korea, and France to name a few. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

With a proper notam filed, it ain't a bandit jump. Assuming the door hinges are on the front, the pilot is competent at slow flight and knows how to file a notam, the guy knows enough about spotting to put himself out over a large plot of land at a reasonable altitude, and the gear is modern (not snag-happy), I don't see much of a problem with the jump. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)