narcimund

A 1989 Montrachet. Mmmmm. First Class Citizen Twice Over

That isn't safe at work alright. Not safe at home either. First Class Citizen Twice Over

That's a pretty clumsy photoshop job. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I don't want anything to do with a plane that fills the landing pattern with 599 potential collisions for me. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Wow Narci! I guess your secret's out now! You wouldn't believe how those brass bells affect my flying. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Richard, my boyfriend (aka SkyDaemon on dropzone.com) would like Guppie #2. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I miss my first jumpsuit, custom made for me by another jumper back in 1985. My current jumpsuit is the same three colors, but I loved those big gaudy 80s diagonal leg and arm stripes. Today's designs are... well... too reserved. Unless you get a freefly suit, in which case they're too ... well... flashy. First Class Citizen Twice Over

This week my boyfriend and I travelled to the bay area for a trade show (Seybold) and a day of jumping at Skydance in Davis. Just thought I'd post how the gear-on-airline process went. Both of us made it through leg #1 without a single raised eyebrow. We put our rigs in soft gearbags and put the gearbags on the xray conveyor belts without calling attention to them. The xray people passed them off without any questions. On the way back my bf went through again without a pause, but I got stopped by the xray chick. She was concerned about a square metal object (obviously the cypress). She passed me on to another security person who spoke little or no English. ("It's a p-a-r-a-c-h-u-t-e" "paarasoot??") Finally I got shuffled off to a supervisor who educated her underlings. "Parachutes are ok!" Then she turned to me and asked, apparently seriously, "You're not planning on using that, are you?" I gave her my best serious airplane-security-is-important face and assured her that not only didn't I intend to use it, I'd be very unhappy if I was forced to exit a 737 at 40,000'. It's worth noting that the return trip was today, Sept. 11. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I stand corrected. I can't imagine reading in a jump plane. I'm too busy staring out the window at the miraculous sights around me. A machine that flies? After hundreds of jumps and hundreds of hours of flight it's no less mesmerizing to me. Maybe someday I'll get bored of it, but I hope not. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Hilarious. Good work with the details too, except for one thing. Who on earth would read a magazine in the airplane? First Class Citizen Twice Over

Are that the ideal you compare against? If so, there's such a huge gulf between us that we may as well be speaking different languages. I didn't discuss this to get in a pissing match. We've identified the other person's position. Until we have something new to show the other, it's best to let it go. First Class Citizen Twice Over

My comment followed an interaction that doesn't count as "disagreement". You'll notice, I hope, that Zach was instructed to keep his disagreements to himself for the purpose of not rocking the boat. One person telling another to suppress their disagreement is an example of intolerance. Ours, up until Sept 10, 2001. First Class Citizen Twice Over

"The power of acute and accurate observation is often called cynicism by those who lack it." -- George Bernard Shaw First Class Citizen Twice Over

In case anyone missed it, observation, analysis, independence, and skepticism are no longer acceptable. You'll be notified what your opinions are by your local television stations. If you're in doubt what is currently acceptable to believe, be very careful not to say the wrong thing. You will be held accountable for any missteps. Welcome to the 21st century. The puppet show has begun. First Class Citizen Twice Over

That's right. Dissent isn't tolerated in this society. You must have been thinking it was still the 20th century. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Me too. I did have a hard landing on my tailbone a few weeks ago. Spent a week hurting and made an appointment with the chiropractor. By the time of the appointment, I've basically healed completely. Chiropractor examines my spine from skull to butt. Says, "Damn, you've got a perfect spine. Are you SURE you work with computers all day long?" Still, he doesn't get paid unless he makes some vertebrae click, so he pushes and clicks something anyway. Damn that feels good! First Class Citizen Twice Over

This is the sort of terrible weekend that the Greeks must have had when they invented Fate. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Don't forget Fandango. Stupid movie with 10 minutes of the funniest first jump course ever. (10 minutes ripped off word-for-word and camera-angle-for-camera-angle from a short called "Proof".) First Class Citizen Twice Over

That sounds grim. That didn't happen on ours, but I did suffer a gear casualty. After falling and rolling for god knows how many thousands of feet, everyone was anxious to get into clean air. In everyone's rush to scram, I got kicked in the face. My poor Oxygn A3 saved me a broken nose, but paid for it with a completely smashed faceshield. Good trade! Yup, I'll tell April you said hi if she doesn't read it here herself first. First Class Citizen Twice Over

1 (new jump I got introduced to):10:0 Never did a tube jump before (thanks, April). 10 jumps total. No beer because I bring watermelons and cookies and donuts and flowers and grilled rack of lamb. I think bringing beer to the DZ is overrated and cliche. Two weekends in a row now that I've tied my single-day record for most jumps: 7. Eugene Skydivers' new manifestor kicks ass. Go Jennifer! First Class Citizen Twice Over

So this might be old news, but I just got introduced to a super cool jump this weekend: the Tube. We did it as a 6-way. Jumpers number 1 and 2 lie on their backs on the floor of the plane (a Caravan in this case) with their lower legs sticking out the door. Jumpers 3 and 4 straddle their legs, facing out. They reach down and grab the lying-down jumpers' legstraps. Lastly, jumpers 5 and 6 straddle the lying-down jumpers' heads. They grab the door-jumpers' legstraps. To complete the setup, the lying-down jumpers grab the legstraps of #5 and 6 and everyone locks adjacent arms with their partner. At this point you have two loops of three people each, held together by interlocked arms. Push out the door. It rolls! (This jump brought to you by April's Funway(tm).) First Class Citizen Twice Over

Well in addition to all the yuppie requirements, you'd have to qualify for the "g" as well. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Here's my tip: Remember to smile. (If you don't smile, you're not having enough fun to graduate to the next level.) First Class Citizen Twice Over

I declare myself Guppie Skydiver #1! First Class Citizen Twice Over

I always knew you Oregonians weren't right in the head. Yeah, I know. Oregonians aren't known for their love of beaurocracy. I've let them down. First Class Citizen Twice Over