Deuce

Best wishes and good luck. The thing with the boy-toy will fail. They always do. Beware the rebound, and hide your valuable stuff. She sounds nasty and mean, so protect your assets. She already broke your heart, fight like hell to keep her from wrecking you financially. Cancel all the credit cards. All of them. Open new accounts for yourself and transfer old balances. Close the bank accounts. Really bad credit card stuff can happen to you right now, so get aggressive in sealing yourself off from her financially. I'm sorry to be talking materialistic when your so emotionally bruised, but I've seen that financial stuff go so far South many times. Good luck, blue skies!

I'm with Bytch. Spectre 170, Blue red black, this DZ, heaven. Oh, free would be good too.

I talked to my video concession owner and he's training me to shoot tandem video. I lurked him while he shot a tandem, and then I went out and attempted to video a tandem jumper who had not purchased video. We were out of an unfamiliar turbo 206 with a cargo door, so chasing the tandem down was what was suggested. I would rather have rear floated or hung from the gear, but I'm grateful to be able get any training, so I took the suggestion. On both jumps I was able to dive down and stop at the correct altitude. Until that drogue comes out, that TM/student combination really hauls. While I was lurking the first tandem, I was where I wanted to be, kept it in frame, felt pretty good about it. Clay, the videographer, tells me OK, but move in closer. The next jump I'm solo with the TM/Student, chase them down OK and hit the brakes at the right level, and then drop below to get the "looking up" shot of them. And I start backsliding like a bat outta hell. Too far away, definitely not saleable. Clay suggested to get up and get close right away and then drop down. I need to figure out how to hang from my wings with my neck cranked back, legs out. I think I can get it right in a couple more attempts. It can only be easier leaving from the outside of the plane instead of chasing. From 10 K with a chase there's just not enough time for a rookie like me to get in and adjust. I'm curious; on top of your slot, what is the fee collected for shooting a tandem video? If you want to PM me I'll post the range without saying who made what, or if you know what the range is already can you let me know? I suspect it's in the $20-$25 range, am I even close? Oh, yeah, I've got drogue phobia. It's one thing to crash on top of a team member, but something else entirely to tangle yourself up in a drogue, emperiling the TM who is strapped to a screaming, thrashing, paid customer. I hadn't been in proximity to a tandem before yesterday and I find that drogue chute spooky. I felt better after the second jump, and I know I'll get over it, but Lordy! Those TM's seem vulnerable! But my goal's in site. My next session with the 4 way team is on their jump tickets, and in a month or so I should be shooting tandems! It's in no small part to the feedback I've gotten here, so thanks all. JP

Wow. I originally felt a little awkward about derailing this into a health insurance discussion. I take the morning off to go skydive, I get back and BLAM! You people are buying sex toys in a supermarket. Is this place near Byron? Why would I want it enlargered?

You absolutely rock, Lisa! Next photo must be of a new world record female way. 300 jumpers would be like, what, 600 boobies?! Best of luck with the world record, and what a great cause. Thanks for representin' for all of us so well. JP

08/06/2002 Check / 0000001647 000000001647 $21.00 With the clearance of the check must come the postage of the pictures. Heck, I'd almost forgot! I can't breathe! I can't breathe!

Three guys are shitfaced in a bar. The big one says to one of the others "hey, want to see something amazing?" one other guy says "yeah". So they tromp up the stairs of the building to the 8th floor. Huffing and puffing they walk to the edge of the building overlooking an alley. It's windy. The big guys says "the updraft in this alley is so strong it will lift you right back up onto this roof" "Bullsh*t" says the other. So the big fella staggers over to the edge and drops off. A moment later he hurtles back up the edge of the building and lands on his ass next to the other guys and he's laughing like mad. "Man! That's fun!" The other guy doesn't want to miss out so he stumbles over to the edge, says "Watch this" and swan dives beautifully off the building. He crashes through the windshield of a car about a second later with a tremendous splattering racket. The remaining guy turns to the big guy and says "You're an assh*le when you're drunk, Superman"

Hang in there! Pretty soon three packs will equal a jump. Think of all the jump money you are saving! Dude! A pack a day for a year is a brand-new-rig! rig! rig! rig!

BILLVON YOU ROCK! That's the kind of sh*t you drop at a bash that makes people think you are a genius. I suspect that you may be. It only works for me when other people are drunk already. Once sober they realize I'm full of crap. ADH was selected for so that persons who occupy my place on the food chain can fool the rest that we fulfill some vague function. Thank you and Cheers!

My favorite amazingly stupid death reward was the guy in Chicago (I'm pretty sure about the location, and I know the story is true) who wandered off the subway tracks and took a leak on the third rail. He grounded all the way back to his kidneys and didn't know what hit him. His family collected against the T.A., they were somehow supposed to protect this idiot from himself. The surviving family members are now wealthy, and presumably are continuing his gene line. Dang, Jasmin, with that kind of edumacation, you should be able to invent some kind of medical science radiation physics treatment to realign the genes in a less stupid configuration. There are sure a whole lot of smart people in skydiving. Jumped last weekend with a physicist from Sandia labs. I just hang out on the wall and pretend I ever understood about electron shells and energy states and stuff. You go!

Duh. I read that in the 1800's the U.S. Supreme Court had bottles of both water and gin on the bench. The water couldn't be trusted so it was "disinfected" or whatever with Gin. You know what else is good for you? Buttered popcorn, Alfredo pasta, and Pizza. I hate food nazis almost as much as I hate PC nazis. Thanks Shark.

Or Spanish, or any language where 3% of your census tract speaks it. Across the U.S. Elections Departments are scrambling to provide ballots and voting materials in second, third, and fourth... languages other than English to non-English speaking citizens to help them participate in our democratic process. What do you think? My great grandparents were French speaking Americans, and this would have helped them. Good thing? Bad thing?

The Bad dog is correct. I make sure both of them are off when I get to the DZ and then activate them both at the same time. They go off at the same time while falling. They may be a second off on climb (they beep at 1000' to let you know they're working)

Ahem.. Make a deal on that Dytter to Lummy. He's got this really cool new green helmet it would look great in. I want to be there the first time he jumps it.... BEER!

Yeah, but you're not being hunted by pissed-off packers. You gotta pay estra for that!

You poor thing, you're hosed. "Don't get me wrong" is an engraved invitation to get you wrong. The biggest drawback to DZ living that I can see is rain. You can't make $500 a day packing parachutes when it's raining. You're also going to have to pay $500 a month or so for your own health insurance. That's not any different than the life of a tradesman, though. I'd be concerned having my kids around the DZ all the time, because there's a lot of recreational drug use when Aip ops are done, and plenty of foul language when I'm not there scowling at my friends to substitute "frick" for "F*ck" when my twins are on site. Please remember this, if you're talking about marriage, the person you marry now is not the person you are going to be married to 20 years from now. They will have a different job, they will look different, their attitude will change, they may even change political parties! Honesty, hard work, the ability to sacrifice for the betterment of the family. If you find those things, you are set for life. Regardless of needing to explain "packing" as a job to condescending friends and relatives. JP P.S. My wife owns a trailer she won from Bob Barker on "The Price is Right" in the early 80's. I've got it all! "There's a pool. And a Pond. Pond would be good for you."

Dontcha see the flames? They burned right off!

What? To give a better view of your "altitude encouragers?" Man, I LOVE the van! I got to jump it a Perris. Heave that big ol' mechanically counterbalenceterated submarine clangy "SECURE THE DOOR AYE!" latchemabob. Then slither on your belly like a reptile to the outside steperator, hang there with your back to the planet waiting for whatever the hell there doing up th..THERE THEY GO! Wheeeeee! Plus, that thing climbs at what, a 45 degree angle? We're supposed to have one for the Byron Boogie in late September, I hope only about 20 people want to jump it so there's more for me! Mememe! It's 4:30! I'm out of here!

Thank you Sangiro. Good luck, electron-pusher!

Thoughtful Creative Romantic BEER! Congratulations!

Oh, yeah! I got a wrist mount too! And a Cypress! Best of all is the Mark 1, Mod 0 eyeball and a wristmount.

Listen to Phree! I just got into video, and he's got the money pegged. I now REALLY need a second rig. I don't know how much I can get for shooting Tandems, but most DZ's want you to have 500 jumps, 100 camera, and a D license (Asbestos suit is on! I know there are exceptions). Shooting my 4 way team means that I had to find guys who were comfortable enough with my RW skills that they would let me fly over them with all that ramming weight on my head. I paid for the first 20 jumps with the team, and now they pay my slot. I have to pay for packing because I need to dub between loads. I should be able to shoot tandems in the next couple of months, but a second rig is really gonna be necessary then, because those guys shoot back-to-back all the time. Camera jumping is fun, but it's not fun-jumping. The money is in packing.

I have two audibles as a safety precaution. Last week the batteries died in my Protrack but I still got beeps out of the ditter. Priority one for me is two audibles, that one of them keeps my logbook is just convenient. I do like to know how fast I'm falling too. I've got like 60 jumps I have to get signed off, though. The Tracker makes me lazy about getting my log signed at the DZ on the day of the jumps.

I've got 'em both too. Get both of them, get the protrack first.

:5:2 Did the freefly camp at Skydance, jumped with Paulie twice and Dr. Mike. Did my first ball jump. Wow! That thing was fast, like 160. It also sucks cause it takes away your alibi. "You were backsliding!" "You were driving!" Nope, the ball doesn't lie. I gotta work on my head-down more. Met Lummy! This young fella looks at me, says "You're JP" I'm like, ? He says "I'm Lummy" I'm still "?" "From dropzone.com" "OH" "Hi, Lummy, let's go play" We launched a nice linked head down exit out of the Caravan and then did some sitfly. Nice time. It's good to meet internet friends.