Luna

What she said!! Big hugs from me! You should let some of us help you like you've helped us!! We are so here for you! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

In the new AFF ISP, barrel rolls are required on the seventh jump, before doing front and back flips. Don't know how many DZ's have switched over to the new ISP, but we are using it at mine. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Very interesting discussion. How about a first-hand student's point of view? As I've posted in this forum already, I had a spinning mal resulting in a cutaway on my 3rd AFF jump. So here's what happened to me, and why, and what I think about it: At my DZ, most often, the instructor who jumps with you will be the one ultimately who talks you in. However, obviously, they can't be at the radio when you open. Therefore, they use other people to take the radio until they get on the ground. About once so far for me it has been another instructor. Most of the time, it is the person working the school manifest. So, all they basically tell you is to check you canopy, do a controllability check, and then they might give you a few directional instructions before the instructor gets the radio and talks you the rest of the way in. I'm not going to debate whether this is right or wrong, it is just how it is. So, first thing is that they don't immediately know which canopy is you, especially if there are a couple of other AFF's on the load. Second thing is, we aren't just talking 2000 feet away, students remember deploy at 5500 feet. So they really can't see what is going on. Thirdly, they don't have much expertise anyway. I was in a spinning mal, but how do they know that I just wasn't having a fun time with the turns (at least until it started to streamer...). I am pretty sure that I had already cutaway before my instructor was even on the ground. So, they had very valid reasons for NOT giving me instructions on what to do with that canopy. Now, that said in hindsight, what I felt at the time, and what I wanted to hear, was entirely different than how I feel about it now. While my spin was getting faster, he was on the radio telling me to check my canopy. I was thinking "Can't you see that it isn't any good?? Please tell me what to do!!" At one point I even remember yelling out "Help!" for what it was worth. Made me feel better I guess. So yeah, at the time I really would have liked to have had someone telling me what to do. But, when they didn't, and the spin got totally out of control, I realized that I had to save my own ass. So I did what I had to do. That is what the training is for!! Any student who wouldn't save themselves in a situation like that has some serious problems and probably should re-evaluate whether they should be up there! And trust me, they probably will anyway. I know I did, and I did the right thing. The thing is, at some point you stop being on the radio and you have to do it on your own. That is still what the training is about. But there is no training later on that prepares you more for it. So you should be able to do it, on your own, from the very first jump. And more than anything else, doing it on your own can really help to build your confidence at a time when you end up sorely lacking it (referring to a cutaway very early in progression). One of the only things that has gotten me through and gotten me back up is to know that I did it. I saved myself. Where I thought I'd always panic in an emergency, I pulled through. Being able to believe in your own abilities is crucial in skydiving. One other note on this that will help some of you who do radio: After it happened, I really needed someone to acknowledge it had happened and to tell me it was okay, and that I did the right thing. Instead, I had very little radio input at all after it happened. A very terse "Stay in your holding area," followed by landing instructions that didn't start until I was under 1000 and already entering my pattern on my own (Yay me!). The longer they didn't give me what I needed to hear, the more I freaked out. It would have made me feel much better just to hear that. Sorry to ramble on this topic, but I thought that this point of view was pretty relevant to the discussion. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Nope, I've done a few of these myself and there's no way you will get money out of them. The pitch is for a Time Share property, which in itself is somewhat of a scam. It is also very expensive (read $15,000-$30,000), and the pitch is a very hard sell. Very high pressure. Expect to be there every bit of 3 hours. Furthermore, some of these things where you get the free hotel stays (they aren't vacations, just the hotel) require you to attend another sales pitch for every one you use. And, after reading your fine print, I'm guessing this will be the case (the $100 refundable deposit as well as the $50 credit for each "vacation" you take is a giveaway, you won't get your money back or your $50 until after the presentation). While some of these things are worthwhile, this one doesn't sound to be. I'd skip it if I were you. And another bit of advice to everyone, don't ever fill out those sweepstakes entries at the malls or the little boxes you find at Subway's for the free trips, etc. Most of them are for the time shares (everyone "wins"), and if you read the fine print before filling it out you will find that out. But some are worse...I fell for one that, if I had read the fine print I would have known, switched my long distance carrier to one with a huge monthly fee whether I used it or not. I had to hassle with the phone company to get them to waive the charges and get me switched back. It was a pain. So, be sure to read ALL of the fine print on those sweepstakes entries before filling them out. Most are too good to be true! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Huge hockey fan! I still love the Washington Capitals, even though we have moved a few hours south of there. We still drove up to about ten games last season after they acquired Jagr. Locally we have an AHL team, the Norfolk Admirals (used to be the Hampton Roads Admirals in the East Coast Hockey League). I go a couple of times to see them, but I would rather go to the NHL games. I'm SO glad the new season has started! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

My feeling is, if they are pulling me over and want to search my van, they either have a good reason, or it is in some way part of their coordinated effort to find the sniper. So, whether I think in the grand scheme of things that it will really help their investigation to search my van or whether I don't, if they bother to pull me over, in this case, I would trust that they know more about how to catch a serial killer than I do, and I would cooperate. And that being said, I will admit that maybe part of it is a wish to feel like I can help...like why all those people donated blood after 9/11. If they want to search my van, I am doing the only thing that I can to help catch this monster, and that's a good thing. At least then you don't feel quite so totally helpless. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I realize that there are a lot of corrupt cops out there. There are some small towns south of Houston where the cops are on a real power trip and there are some serious abuses that have resulted in numerous lawsuits. My brother was routinely harassed by the cops as a teenager just for being a skateboarder. Nothing as serious as what you describe, but I am aware that corruption does happen all over. That said, EIGHT people are dead and two injured, one a thirteen-year-old boy. This person is killing totally randomly. Personally, if I thought that letting the cops search my van/truck would help them in their search, I wouldn't hesitate for a second. Especially if, as posed in my question, I lived in the area where the attacks were occuring, so that I was putting my life in danger every time I left my house. Frankly, I am only about an hour and a half south of Fredricksburg, where at least two of the shootings have occured, and that is getting a bit too close for comfort to me. I really feel for all of you who are living up there. It just freaks me out that I lived in Bowie for a year, and that was some 4 years ago. I can't imagine what everyone in that area is going through right now. Obviously not everyone agrees, but my personal feeling is that, if I lived up there still, getting back my peace of mind and saving some lives would be worth letting them search my vehicle. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Yet another sniper killing this morning has got me thinking. A while back there was a thread where many people expressed their vehement opposition to letting an officer search their car for any reason. So, my question to those people is this: Say you live in the Northern Virginia/Maryland/DC area and drive a white panel truck or minivan. The cops pull you over today and request permission to search your vehicle. Would you allow it? I mean, obviously they are looking for a rifle, not drugs or anything else, and obviously you don't have a rifle in your truck. We ALL want this guy caught, so cooperation would seem to be in order. Refusing would possibly draw some unnecessary suspicion upon you. So, I'm just curious what you would do, especially because this IS happening. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I also mostly drink water. Before that it was Dr. Pepper (I think it's a Texas thing...I don't live there anymore, but I'll always be a Texan at heart), but lately I can't get enough vanilla coke. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down. 2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice. 3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that. 4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "in" 5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has Gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to espresso. 6. In the memo field of all your checks, write "for sexual favors". 7. Finish all your sentences with "in accordance with the prophecy." 8. Dont use any punctuation marks 9. As often as possible, skip rather than walk. 10. Ask people what sex they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer. 11. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go". 12. Sing along at the opera. 13. Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme. 14. Put mosquito netting around your work area. Play a tape of jungle sounds all day. 15. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood. 16. Have your coworkers address you by your wrestling name, Rock Hard Kim. 17. When the money comes out the ATM, scream "I won!", "I won!" "3rd time this week!!!!!" 18. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling "run for your lives, they're loose!!" 19. Tell your children over dinner. "due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go." Any other ideas? I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

We have a joint account, but then we were 19 and 22 when we got married...I was still in college and he was in the Air Force making diddly squat. I have heard of a lot of marrieds keeping separate accounts, which kind of rubs me the wrong way, but I guess if you were both already established and had jobs and everything when you got together, why combine it. I just hate hearing people say, "I pay the mortgage and car payments, she pays the utilities..." etc. I mean, to me a marriage is a TEAM, and doing things like that seem to drive a wedge between you. That is just my opinion though, after ten years of marriage. Take it for what it's worth. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

It's not fair! I really want to be a post whore, but this site is one of the very many that is blocked for me at work. I spend hours playing games on my PDA or surreptitiously reading magazines at work because I have nothing to do, but dz.com is blocked! Oh, what a post whore I could be! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Count me as another Ozzie Meet Harriet. When I "did" the girls, I came up as Jack Kerouac though. I also had to guess on some of these though. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I thought that was the best quote! And the woman who was crying so much, while she was saying that it was the worst thing she's ever done, did you see the smile on her face? Her freefall was the worst though! Those legs were flailing like crazy! Someone here noted it was a Skydive Arizona Otter, any ideas on the instructors? The DZ was in Mexico City, but most of the instructors seemed to be American. Did they bring them in? Or are there just a lot of transplants down there? I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Tonight at 9pm ET/PT on CBS, the premiere of the new season of The Amazing Race will feature a task that will involve the teams doing tandem jumps. Even if you aren't into these sort of "reality" game shows, I think it will be fun to watch this one. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Yes, and it IS by Sugar Ray. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Well, I never wanted to try it. The thought of jumping out of a plane terrified me. I sent my husband for a SL jump about 8 years ago for his birthday because I knew it was something he wanted to do. Ever since then he has been trying to convince me to go. Well, I guess he finally figured out that I'd never agree, so he just signed us up for tandems and told me that he had a surprise for me. He did give me hints and I figured it out about 5 days ahead. My first thought was, NO WAY! But the more I thought about it, the more I figured that it would be good for me to overcome this fear. Plus he put so much thought into it, I didn't want to disappoint him. Well, I loved the tandem, so we waited about 2 months and then went back for AFF. I just completed my 4th AFF jump Saturday, and that was after a cutaway on my 3rd, so yeah, I guess I'm in it for the long haul if that didn't scare me off! Why? It's fun, it's relaxing, the people are awesome, and it's changing me in a lot of very positive ways. Although, I do still ask myself why every time I go up. I guess that'll pass soon enough! Luna I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Oh, I love reading funny whuffo questions. I just heard one Saturday that I haven't read anywhere before. He was getting trained to do a tandem, and was wondering how the main deployed. His paraphrased question was "So, do you just fall to that place where the air gets thick enough that it gives the drogue enough resistance to pull the main out?" I had to crack up over that one. Luna I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Here is the full story. I hope they figure out who did it! http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/4174173.htm Luna I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I'm not going to offer advice on whether or not to buy it, but I'll try to help you about the down payment if you decide to. With the VA loan that you qualify for, you don't have to make any down payment, and you can request all closing costs to be paid. However, there is an upper limit on what you qualify for with a VA loan, and I don't think $540,000 falls within it. Wouldn't hurt to check though. The only problem with the VA loan is they tack on a funding fee of somewhere in the range of 3-4%. There are other ways around a huge down payment, but almost all of them require at least 5% down, which is still $27,000 on this size loan, which I wouldn't imagine you'd have lying around. In general, they don't like for you to get a loan for your down payment, and that is a question they usually ask. Good luck! Luna I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Dang, had a blonde moment there I guess! I know that a Navigator is a canopy! I guess I said that because I don't know what kind of harness we use. Here is the pertinent part though: I noticed when I was putting on the rig that the shoulder straps (is that the right term?) were much looser than I've had them before. It was a lack of knowledge about the gear on my part that I didn't realize there must be another adjustment to shorten the torso part. It tightened up some after tightening the leg straps, but it was still looser than the last two times. I'm now guessing that this played a significant part in the chest strap ending up so high. Is that right? You can bet I'm now going to take a much greater interest in finding out about all of the different adjustments on that harness and making sure I am snug everywhere that I need to be! Thanks again to everyone for the input. Luna I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Thanks for all the input. I am afraid it probably was "just" line twists to start, but I just couldn't see well enough, and went ahead and pulled the toggles down. I know, upon reflection it didn't make much sense to me either, but I just remember that when I tilted my head back, not only was I feeling resistence, but I felt MORE pressure on my throat (and my throat feels tender this morning, so I wasn't just imagining the choking sensation, which is good for me to know). I was jumping a Navigator 260 harness, which was loaded at around .87. I have jumped the same harness (if not the exactly same rig) twice before and not had problems. I thought the leg straps were tight, but maybe not quite as tight as before. The toggles were farther away than normal, I remember having to reach for them and being afraid I wouldn't get them...same with the reserve too. Luna I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I just did my 3rd AFF jump today and had a cutaway. I know that I did the right thing by cutting it. It was spinning out of control, and when I felt my legs start going out horizontally, I knew it was time to go. The big question is, what caused the spin. The thing is, when I deployed my main, the chest strap came up and was cutting right across my throat. When I tried tilting my head back to look at the canopy, it choked me. Therefore, I was never able to get a really good look at the canopy. Did I have line twists? I don't know. I went ahead and grabbed my toggles and pulled them down. If I had line twists, would performing that task, releasing the brakes, cause an uncontrollable spin to initiate? When I first noticed the spin I thought I had a brake unstowed, so I pulled down on the toggles, twice, and the spin just kept getting worse. Looking at my video was very inconclusive. There was some obvious underinflation on both ends, one more than the other, but I don't know if that cleared up right after the camera cutaway or not. I know that you guys didn't see it, and I did already talk to my instructors about it. I am just trying to figure out if I did something that caused the spin. Oh, no lines were broken, which someone had though might have caused it. They recovered the canopy and checked it over. So, I know grain of salt and all, but any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks! Luna I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Anne Rice also wrote a book called Exit to Eden which is along the same lines. I read it but never got to the Beauty books. They made a movie out of this book in 1994, which tried to make it into a comedy. I was so lame! But the book is really good! If you like the beauty books, pick this one up for sure! Luna I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Yes, I know it's become very unpopular to like Survivor, but I can't help myself! I am just fascinated by the personalities, watching how they all interact and react to stress. Only nine minutes left! Go ahead, call me sick! Luna I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!