TriGirl

Is that a new stocking trend with the Dallas Cheerleaders: different shades on each leg? Looks like someone mixed & matched their legs. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Woo hoo! New Gear Beer! In reply to your OP -- I don't know what kind of music you and your friends are into, but here's at least one source of concerts in the local area (to include some in Orlando). Check the site in about a month to see who will be playing while you're here. http://www.97xonline.com/s/concerts/ See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Get a what? No idea what that is. I also tried making phone calls from Google Voice, but even with a VPN it kept telling me I need to purchase credit and pay per minute. Who you trying to call? It's free to call US and Canada, cheap elsewhere but I have only used it to call P.R. This is the Obi... http://www.amazon.com/OBi110-Service-Bridge-Telephone-Adapter/dp/B0045RMEPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326200064&sr=8-1 I'm stationed in Turkey. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Get a what? No idea what that is. I also tried making phone calls from Google Voice, but even with a VPN it kept telling me I need to purchase credit and pay per minute. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

holy shit Yeah, I love how (he?) just told the story like, "so, I was driving down the road and missed my turn!" Panda -- If the rest of the canopy ride was actually as calm as your describe it, then GOOD ON YA! Sorry you got hurt, hope you heal up well, and have FUN in Z-Hills! They have a great staff there who will do their best to help you get your requirements finished safely.

Okay, I know I'm bumping a really old thread, but I just got Skype when I moved to Turkey. I also have Gmail, so I can do video chat with that, but only with people who also have it (at least I did get my mother to understanding IM -- hey, gotta start somewhere!) Anyway, I didn't want to do Vonage again since it was such a pain in the butt to hook up last time -- and, I got REALLY tired of getting calls at 2 am! I would say that while the price is MUCH better, they do kind of stick you with additional charges. I go the 12-month "premium" package, which is advertised as including unlimited calls to lan and mobile phones in the US and Canada. However, in order to actually MAKE phone calls I had to purchase ANOTHER package. And, if I wanted people to be able to call ME, I had to pay for my own phone number! Oh, and text capability is yet ANOTHER charge/subscription. Also, their customer service sucks. I'm told if I call them (which I need MORE credit for, since they're not in the US or Canada), I can get a resolution -- but they certainly don't reply to an email question. So, there ya go! Good for some things, but you need to know where all the hidden fees are. Ultimately, I'm still spending less per month than I did for Vonage, and I turn it off when I want. But, if I just want to have a weekend where anyone can call me, I have to stay logged in all the time. Hopefully, I'll get the hang of this much better! Then again, if you all feel like drunk dialing me some Friday night, NO PROBLEM! I won't even be mad. (number given out via PM, per request only) See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Nice. Oh, and no matter what, I would say to have your new parents NOT adopt your wife. In that case, she would be your sister! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Don't get mad, get a ride and come party. I can't afford another trip home from Turkey so soon after the last one. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Woo hoo!

I just love it when a rig comes together! Congratulations, Nigel. Now GO HAVE SOME FUN! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

A friend of mine was dating a tandem instructor, who took her for tandems a couple of dozen times over the course of a few years. She was just never ready to solo until recently -- now she jumps her ass off!

The Toys for Tots drive usually kicks off around the same time as the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in November. Several locations will ensure a bin or two at the entrance to the venue, and advertise that fact in the weeks before the ball. My first year I donated an anniversary edition Lego set (it came in a plastic box also shaped as a large lego, so it was pretty obvious). I saw one rather senior officer's face light up, as he turned to his wife and said (in his best 7-yr-old boy voice), "she has Legos!" See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Well... according to the letter of the book, pre-A licensed jumpers can do up to a max of a 4 way so long as there is a ratio of no more than 1 to 1 (d-lic or coach) if cleared for solo. Yes, I know they're ALLOWED, I just don't know how many variables Oren wants to deal with. One year we had 22 teams. It takes a lot to sort out all those jumpers/jump numbers as close to evenly matched as possible. Add to that the work of ensuring the proper ratio for a non-licensed jumper -- like I said, he should ask Oren. I don't want to make any promises on Oren's behalf!

"I just did a 3-way with your boyfriend." (okay, the REAL quote is, "I just did a 3-way (skydive) with your boyfriend") See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Thank you guys. I learn't more from this thread than I expected to. The thought of a non-collapsible pilot chute had not even crossed my mind. It makes sense to remove a potential mode of malfunction if it is not giving you a reasonable benefit. I honestly would have thought that a 170 would be affected by the pilot chute more than this reference says. I still have people asking me, "you don't use a collapsable pilot chute?" when doing my pin checks, especially since I bought almost all new gear a couple years back. I feel exactly the same way -- it made sense for me (esp as a low-number jumper) to take away that one extra risk when it did not provide any reasonable benefit for me. When I'm ready to adjust, a new PC is an easy upgrade. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Find out where the Qatari team practices when they're not in Florida. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Awesome pics (as usual)! Thanks.

Sorry, Nigel! Yeah, I was really busy today hosting a brunch. Hope you have a more entertaining night! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

I'm so bummed. I haven't missed a Z-Hills New Year's Eve party since I started skydiving! But, I had to choose between that and the Turkey Boogie/50th anniversary party. (awesome time, BTW!) Hope you all are having a great time! See you in the summer.

So sad I have to miss it this year. Just can't afford to fly home so often to skydive! Maybe next year. HAVE FUN, EVERYONE! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Z-Hillz does an EXCELLET scramble over Memorial Day weekend. One year we had 22 teams -- this year I think we had 12 or 13? (Oren -- help me out here). If you can get leave/TDY to Tampa during that time, I HIGHLY recommend that one. Contact Oren Kalb (info on the Skydive City web page) for more details. Not sure if they take sub-A-license jumpers, but you can ask. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

What an awesome gift!

I'm going to disagree with you here on one point: the repeal of DADT was not done before the rest of society (and even federal government institutions) accepted same-sex couples. The military was actually the last (or one of the last -- can't think of another off the top of my head) institution where this discrimination was so openly practiced. Even the State department gives same-sex partners of its foreign service officers the same benefits of hetero spouses -- posted together, housing, travel, health care, etc. Military still does not do this, and falls back on federal law (DOMA) to deny these benefits. I do agree with you that perhaps the next obstacle (e.g. non-recognition of a same-sex marriage in all US states & territories) may be weakened with the implementation of this repeal. However, if acceptance of same-sex marriages and subsequent extension of benefits in other federal agencies has not yet made an impact, then that weakening may only be slight. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Raising one for Debbie. Can't believe it's been 3 years. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump!

Me too! This diplomat life is pretty cool. I got wine from Australia, Turkey, Israel and Greece. I also got Chinese tea, with instructions to make it "properly."