tmccann

That you had a spanish-speaking tandem student?

Winner.

"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

Does UPT still make the leg pads w/o spacer foam? I re-sized the legs on the used V3 M-series I bought, and I was told by Mike that they only had the ones with foam. I could have misunderstood, and perhaps they only had those in stock, in that size? As to the back, I don't have the foam. My rig has a standard-fitting reserve, and it isn't the softest thing ever against my back. Versus buddies with the same size, same reserve, yeah, I'd have paid for the foam. T

Wow, must be a whole lot of clairvoyant MDs up in here. I went to an orthopod and got it checked out when I hurt my shoulder. Well, actually, I dithered around a bunch and did who-knows-what that didn't do much help for far too long, and then I went to the orthopod. At that point, the doc actually examined my shoulder, took x-rays and an MRI, and we discussed treatment options. But, hell, I didn't hurt my shoulder skydiving, and I'm a low-timer, so wtf do I know...

Bears?

Another alternative - put all the cats in a bedroom, so the maintenance guy doesn't see any more than you're allowed to have. They aren't going to be looking for an extra cat unless you've recently pissed in the property manager's Corn Flakes. If they were, they'd claim water leak / emergency repair and come on in with the minimum notice required...

A good primer: http://www.chutingstar.com/expertadvice_en/buying-gear/34-gear-buying-tips.html

When you jump with Excel, I'd ask the coaches (no worries, back-in-the-day folks, Excel is free) to take a look at your landings. They may not be canopy coaches, but an outside perspective with some experience behind it isn't likely to hurt. Otherwise, chill out and heal up, the sky will still be there when you're perfectly healthy. T

Awesome. Very important to work with someone you trust, and that sounds like a promising start. Best of luck.

Dude, See a professional. I'd recommend a traditional western medical professional trained in mental issues. I can see that you don't trust them, but your bad experience in the past seems to be more from going off meds yourself - if you don't give the docs your trust, and do what they recommend, it's worse than not seeing them. Have a problem with what they recommend? Tell them, and work with them to find an alternate solution. If you are going to take the meds, you need to take them consistently, and if you don't like how you feel on them, go back to the doc and let the professional adjust your dosage or mixture. Whatever you do, don't just stop taking meds without talking to the person who prescribed them. Going off them cold-turkey is bad news. Very Bad. As in: Dont' Do That, Bad Shit Will Ensue. I've seen it several times with friends, and it scared the shit out of me each time. It can be hard as hell to accept that mental issues can have physical causes, but it's just chemistry, like how my body doesn't produce insulin properly, so I'm labeled a "Diabetic". You may (or may not, I have no idea) have a chemical tolerance/deficiency, same as me, but with completely different effects. If so, then modern "shrinks" or "pill-pushers" can sometimes help. If you refuse to see one of those, then maybe an eastern medicine specialist can help, but you run the risk of them being quacks talking about past lives, etc... Free advice, worth what you paid for it. Best of luck.

Perhaps an ad periodically on both sites? Do both use the same ad service?

^ This. +2 +3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ktv2QqWYGY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlGqN3AKOsA&feature=youtube_gdata_player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVmmYMwFj1I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0wzyhg6vlc Welcome to my 'hood. [edit: clicky]

if they autotuned it, it could chart.

Wait a sec... you wear a military watch only when you won't bump into anything? I should have heard this before I broke my Marathon GSAR playing on the bouncy waterslide at Boneanza last year. I am clutzy enough to be hard on watches. As much as I admire the engineering and workmanship of real classy watches like JLC, IWC, Audemars Piguet, Lange & Sohne, etc, and would like to own/wear one, I know myself too well - I'd kill it. I do work in the "boys' club" world of finance, though, and "need" to have a reasonably nice one for work reasons (dumb, but sadly true), so I have a Kobold that meets the approval of the "boys" without breaking (or breaking the bank - just before they raised their prices...)

I refuse to answer on grounds of there not being a "boobies" option. I also generally refuse to wear polo shirts, as I never got into sports where your horse is doing most of the work. (Nope, has nothing to do with not being crazy rich...)

I meant to respond to this earlier, but since the day came and went, how did it go? Bottom line is always this: consult your doctor (preferably an endocrinologist) who is familiar with you, your treatment regimen, and your symptoms. Inform them about the sport, because they aren't likely to have other skydiving patients, and heed the advice they give you. With the understanding that my diabetes is assuredly different than yours, and the caveat that I am both a novice skydiver and not a doctor: Do I understand correctly that you asked your doc about this and he was only worried about abrasions healing? If that was the feedback I received from my doc, I personally would be comfortable jumping, but it's about your comfort level and safety. I spoke to my endocrinologist after it became clear that I would be continuing to jump after my AFF level one. I've been diabetic for over 25 years, and am very comfortable with my management (I'm type 1.5, managed with diet, exercise, and medication), but I still checked with the doc. She isn't thrilled, but that's just her matronly disapproval; my highs and lows are very moderate, and don't result in symptoms that would be dangerous in the middle of a skydive, such as dizziness, blurred vision, or loss of consciousness... My advice: 1. consult your doc(s). listen to what they tell you. 2. if (and only if) doc gives you the green light, be sure to drink water, eat appropriately, and check your blood sugar throughout the day of jumping. 3. wear gloves and a jumpsuit with long pants. 4. if you feel an ear-ache, ground yourself. We as diabetics are also prone to infections - I've had a couple ear infections since I started skydiving. 5. Enjoy, and welcome to the sport! Tim

Wow, you sure earned that Masters in Bullshit and Ass-kissing! Hate to tell you, dude, with a look like that, you're going to have to stick to a fashion house in the Jerz. Seriously, though, Congrats! Use it well and wisely...

Yup. I'll be the first to admit it - I'm a newbie. I keep a student mentality - there is a lot of advice out there, especially on the internet. If I tried to take all the advice I was given, I would be paralyzed by indecision. And then die. Instead, I try to keep an open mind when reading books and internet discussions (without ever trying anything I read about), and when I go to the DZ, I ask advice of experienced jumpers/coaches who I know and trust, and ask them why people who are very experienced seem to vary so much in their opinions. It's usually because there's a whole lot I don't know, and it helps keep me aware of that. Nope; if you read my profile, then you know where I jump, and you obviously know that it's been a very rough time in that general vicinity for casualties in the time I've been in the sport. That's why I read these threads, even when there doesn't seem to be anything new being said. I've read variations of exactly the same discussion going on here in several others. Mari, I know you are very well-intentioned, but you just sound like the codger yelling at the kids, and it gets a little old without any new ideas thrown into the mix. How are we as a sport going to get to that the new, as-yet-unknown path that DSE alluded to without new ideas from the experienced jumpers who know all those things I don't? Tim

Mari, That statement tells me something -- you are very bad at statistics. Also, the article you linked to is six year old. What, without a recent incident to use as an excuse to bump your regular thread, did you have to go digging for tenuous links to tell people something they already know? While your concern is admirable, your methods are tiresome. Why don't you spend that time working on a viable solution? Tim

Did they yell at one another to do a speed star about two minutes in and then have a low-pull contest? I was hiring, and got a resume that mentioned skydiving as a hobby. Turns out he did a tandem once...

Wow. Dude is thinking this through a lot more than I did. Kinda makes me wonder whether he enjoyed it at all, and why he'd want to do it again... OP: Be very wary of newbies like me giving advice. With that caveat, I went through this not long ago. I had a fear of heights as a kid, that I (mostly) got over riding amusement park rides. I still get nervous on the ride to altitude, and I'm certain my AFFIs thought I was going to be a wreck in the sky (the smiles I gave them must have looked quite scary), but in the door and in the air, I calmed down. It looks more like a map than a planet, and I get too busy doing my thing to be nervous. Now, on the ride up, I a) meditate and b) picture the dive flow in my mind a few times, all the way through pull and EPs. Also, gear checks, but go with whatever your instructors tell you on those. Helps me a lot. YMMV.

I lived there for a few years back in the early 80's. Beautiful. I was kinda young, and it was a long time ago, so I can't provide much in the way of specific suggestions, but the Museo de Oro was amazing and had a big impact on me. If you have some time before/after the conference, there were some great places a bit out of the city, too - Villa de Layva, San Gil, etc. I had a great time as a kid shooting roman candles at the other kids at Christmas in San Gil. Good times...

No love for The Producers? or for the delightful Gilbert & Sullivan light operas? Damn, now I'm going to have "I am the very model pf a modern Major-General" stuck in my head all day.

Not quite Hollywood, but Elf is such a good vegan restaurant that PETA moved in across the street. I don't know that vegan food is worth a drive, but if you like that sort of thing: http://elfcafe.com/ if you can't get a res, Mohawk Bend next store marks anything that isn't vegan (NV) on their menu...