livendive

Preposterous! Bush should sue him for trademark infringement. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

At least the smell would be better. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Not only is it entertaining, it's a great way to exercise the dogs when you feel more like having a drink than going for a walk. Long stretch of white fence + laser equals tired puppy dogs (and a schizophrenic cat who's been trying to get through the slider to help with the chase) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Help me out here Mark. You either used to work for Microsoft and got laid-off/fired, used to work for a company that Microsoft ran out of business, or want to work for Microsoft but can't find a way in. Which is it? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

What he said. The minor differences of allegiance between the dominant parties are PR'd into major differences in hopes that such a sleight of hand will prevent us from realizing they're cookie-cutter copies of each other. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

You planning on blo... oh, nevermind. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

No crying allowed! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Overall, a pretty good post. I agree whole-heartedly with parts and totally disagree with other parts. The "instructor camp" idea is a great one in theory, but has a fundamental logic flaw. The people who need it the most wouldn't pay to attend it. As for the full-time/part-time and small DZ/large DZ points, I guess I'm going to disagree. For perspective, I'll admit right up front that I'm a part-time instructor with relatively little experience compared to many here, and I work at small DZ's, so I'm probably somewhat biased on the subject. Here's how I disagree: - For every kudo a full-time instructor gets for their experience and tips/tricks, they get a demerit for having done it so many times that they've become jaded and don't care as much as they should. Such instructors are a great resource for instructors like me to draw from (and I do ask questions and listen with an open mind), but I have to be careful to wear a filter when listening, so I can take just the good parts and absorb none of the bad. Luckily, the one such person I turn to most frequently hasn't let jading cloud his judgement, just his enjoyment of skydiving. - For every demerit a small DZ instructor gets for having a limited body of knowledge to draw from, they get a kudo for getting personally involved with their students instead of teaching via an assembly line. Who would you rather have teaching your loved one, an instructor who's trying to turn the student into a safe skydiver who will eventually fun-jump with them? Or an instructor already eyeing his next student who would really like to finish up earning the rent so he can start working on the credit card bill? Really what it boils down to though is that the proof is in the pudding. And I'll stack the life-saving knowledge of the average small DZ novice up against the average factory DZ student's every day of the week. The sarcast would say it's because they've already needed it, but I'll say it's because their exposure has been focused on the fundamentals rather than being like the "cool kids". Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I've grown accustomed to blustering loudmouth members of the House, but I've, with a couple notable exceptions, always expected our Senators to at least outwardly show some respect for each other and the seats they occupy. With regard to today's closed session called by Reid, Senator Frist said Doesn't that seem a bit childish for the Senate majority leader? Per this article, former majority leader Lott said "Reid's move violated the Senate's tradition of courtesy and consent.", at least acknowledging such a tradition exists. I'm thinking Frist could have found better role models than Feinstein and Kennedy. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

This is important. I could (theoretically) imagine a "do what I say and don't ask questions" type instructor teaching a FJC that doesn't even mention the RSL, on the premise that teaching the cutaway-pull reserve procedure should make it moot. This could set up the student for learning about the RSL at some later point in time, perhaps from someone unqualified to teach its function (e.g. the student's A-licensed buddy). Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Grounding? Yes. As Sparky said, she should be grounded and put through some fairly extensive retraining. I don't know if a TUG speech is called for though, I don't know that those are ever warranted for one isolated incident. I do know this though...my first jump students have a better understanding of the RSL than this jumper demonstrated. Keep pulling handles till your goggles fill with blood. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I don't know if it's that they don't know how to or that they just don't put forth the effort to track well, but I'll see your "many" and raise it to "most". Also, it's not limited to belly-fliers, it's just a camera angle thing like tandems looking like they go "up" when they open. People tracking badly off of a freefly basically cork, whereas people tracking badly off a belly-fly sink out. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

For what other reason would a person downsize? I'd say something more like, "Don't downsize until you've developed sufficient skills for the canopy you'll be downsizing to." Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

That's a question best answered by instructors and other competent, experienced jumpers who've actually seen you jump. I'd almost always advise against such a step at 74 jumps, even if it is somewhat hypocritical (I was loading a Triathlon 175 at about 1.3:1 at 50 some-odd jumps...but got lucky and didn't seriously injury myself.) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

FYI - I have always advised against front-riser flares. Those are for experts only! For the original poster, do you mean no matter how much pressure you put on the front riser it won't turn, or no matter how much you actually pull the riser down it won't turn? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

But your sit is fucking awesome? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Well she's seeing you, so what did you expect?! Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

He was doing the typical skydiver thing of dressing up the truth a little. In reality, she's a law *student* and thus has very little money. This I agree with. Not buying your beer is bad karma. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Buy your beer or bounce...that's just the way it works. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Started at 26, now 36. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Sidemount with a 0.3. Pro - It's a good teaching tool. I don't see a con. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

:6:0 One freefly, one birdman, one tandem, one RW, one CRW, and one tracking dive. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

So is that what I am to you know...a puppet??? "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Definitely: banala kcasllab esuohnrabb edrofneb retnuhhsiftac metuhc asoiDoleiC ecueD evidyksgd nylevE eurg JyduJ kkihcpmuj 30repmuj odncyknom dratsum reylFWN xhpwaltuo 20ekipisp neraK )efiw toh eht dna( retsmeR hctarkS takyttikykS drolykS godt enOkeerGehT roohcsdv gnikiV 154dracdliw retsineZ Likely: ASUnikcunaC aiG repmuj_QG suracI diK evidnevil dihcro Maybe: revidtl esoRnosaj 8841ynnhoj kcamsar 87bubbles Definitely NOT: 97lliencm "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)