vonSanta

Humm, do we have the same relatives? I got the same questions. My grandmother put it more delicately though: "So Claus, do you have a girl yet? One you're going to marry?" I got all embarrased and stuff. What do you say to something like that? Ended up saying "Umm, no. I'm far too good and ugly to be married." Which of course made the interrogation that followed even worse. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

ROFL Kallend you're not a red terrorist commie antipatriotic person who likes explosions and anarchy and hate Bush, preferring jihad and Islamic law instead, huh? There ya go NSA; even highlighted the important bits. Kallend; you won't be needing your rig where you're going, I'll give ya $200 for it Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Definitely be careful. They might think you'd do perfect as the role for "The Bitch" and thus only air unflattering bits about yourself. Or they might just do their thing and you might end up thinking "hey that ain't a true representation of who I am!" Now you got a whole world to convince what they saw on TV was wrong. I guess all humans want recognition. Some want fame. Some want fame for any reason whatsoever. The attention, "being someone" whatnot. From your posts I can tell you're not one of those people. And your 15 minutes of fame will be better when you go on David Letterman as the Sierra Hotel skydiver who just did an amazing thing. Think of all the mates *that* would give Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

It's your body. I only got 81 jumps, about half of them on a Safire 149 @ 1.19. Been told I am (for my experience level) a good canopy pilot. After some 40 jumps on it I've hardly begun scratching at the envelope of this canopy - it'll last at least 300 jumps more for me. But a Nitro at 1:1.47 at 60 jumps? After 60 jumps you have nowhere near experienced most of the possible "oh shite" unexpected situations. Situations that might kill you if you're inexperienced under a highly loaded elliptical. I'm too inexperienced to give advice about canopies really. What I can say is that I've not experienced many of the unexpected situations under canopy yet - simply because of the laws of probability. Haven't been exposed to them long enough. So that's where my advice is coming from. A 1.47 WL on an ellipitical canopy at 60 jumps is not what I'd call "safe and responsible". Being extremely safety conscious and whatnot won't help you if you experience a chance "oh shite" situation that's outside of your skills. It's your call though. It just seems a bit gung ho and dangerous to me. Regarding swooping maybe I should add that I've seen instructors outswoop people with pocket rockets - with the instructor jumping an old and worn *big* 7 cell Spectre. Gear matters, but skill matters equally or more. Check out this clicky Can ya do what Billvon suggests? Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Alrighty, I'll take number 7 :D Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Most seem to repeat a level or two. I got lucky and passed right through, even though there sometimes were a month or more between jumps. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Dammit, TSOM - I still listen to ole' Andrew and the gang. Andrew will say he's definitely not a goth though. Check out this clicky for his view of evolution . The TSOM cover of "Gimme Shelter" is one of my favs. "Heartland" is definitely up there in the top too. Shite. I may hate all the gimmicky mascara/white painted face, clothes and fashion statement stuff, but I sure as hell love much of the music. Hand me one of them Goth numbers, will ya? Oh, should add: "in a world where people shout" Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Well, here you don't get pied on gettingf your cert or after your x00th jump. You get thrown into a really really disgusting duck pond kinda thing. If there's ice on it, we'll simply make a hole for ya. In some countries in Europe the DZ's are mostly club-oriented. I gather that gives off a different vibe than a commercial DZ. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Aw Amazon! Don't be *too* good - there are lots of us hidden in the shadows silently whispering words of encouragment. We'd do it out loud, but many of us are furryners and fear that a "pre-emptive US attack" might drive aviation fuel prices up. In the words of a Discovery Channel advertisement thingy about a UFO program: "Yeah, let's attack!" Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

I'm with ya Quade. . I'm very good when it comes to pointless existentialist discussions about just how futile any attempt at making a difference in life is on the grander schemes of things. And I got the arrogance bit down as well. I like to read really odd books and use big words when I put someone down. Let's revel in misery - preferrably someone elses Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Vibes coming yer way Muenkel! Best of luck! Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Whatever, is that a TSOM "I was wrong" song quote ya got in your sig file? If so; coolness. Ad I wear my helmet because that's the way my sis measures how much my ego has swollen between jumps. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Dude, you're in for it now Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Hey, I'm Santa, I have to work my arse off this time of the year Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Oh yes Christ Mass. A holiday purportedly there to celebrate Christ that has been hijacked by commercial interests and turned more towards its pagan origin of giving gifts to each other to show good will between humans, with the added twist that good will is now sort of mandatory and wars will break out if the customs aren't followed to the letter. A time of year when unrealistic expectations are placed upon families, a time when we all have to aim all so more precisely and struggle a bit harder just to not disappoint each other. But everyone is fine with this, right? I mean,, the way we celebrate X-mass nowadays is "pretty close" to the original intent, no? I'm sorry. I hear people talk daily about how spent they are after X-mass. They quickly add "but it was good". I suspect it's the same good a scared shitless tandempax experiences once he/she touches down on the ground and is safe once again. X-mass has turned into a period of high stress for a lot of families who struggle to live up to an unrealistic ideal where it is as important not to fail/disappoint as it is to "succeed". No wonder there are more suicides this time of the year than other days. I'm spent from X-mass. But it was good and all. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

You'r right Lee, you Yankees are better off without that Allouettes. Better send 'em back to Europe ASAP, they can't be any fun, being French and all Btw; I've heard that exact same thing said before. Only it was from a Leopold tank crew, talking about the whining turbine M1 Abrams Other news: late equalizer in the Euro-US game. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Thanks for your answers chaps, appreciate it. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Heh, i can just hear a "3...2...1....Flaaaaaaare" several minutes delayed Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

I wish for strength for you and your mother Michele . Growing old and frail is not for weaklings. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Talking about my grandmother - mother's mother. She's 80 now and kinda pissed off about "not being able to play tennis anymore". yeah, she's that kinda lady. Haven't had any serious health issues before. She's losing her hearing now ("and the bloody hear apparatus is not set up correctly

How about this: newbie student jumper on S/L. Canopy opens fine. Now we share the arifield with gliders who're pulled up along a wire. When one glider is launched, there's usually one alnding. Therefore: no crossing the runway if you're 500 meters or below. Student is on radio. Doesn't heed instructions. End up flying low, directly over the runway and parallel to it at less than 300 meters. The woman guiding him down is screaming to him so loud his radio can be heard from the ground. Student does nothing. Steel cable launches the gliders narrowly miss him and clip the extreme outer edge of his canopy. When he lands his canopy wraps around a just landed glider that has come to a halt maybe half a second prior to him landing. His excuses: a) "couldn't hear the radio" and b) (once told that *it could be heard *on the ground*): "the woman guiding me down was giving me wrong info. She wasn't guiding me down safely, so I ignored her". Student was perma-grounded. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Hahah, you actually got around to show her that? I got a "climber's helmet and climber's goggle" from my sis, since my grandmother was present. And she did comment on "that very nice silver necklace, it's so sweet that you two kids (me and my sis) wear the same thing, always knew you were connected" Can't tell her it's a closing pin . Was kinda funny how the explanations grew more and more absurd, to the point where my grandmother pretended she had problems hearing us Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

I've searched this forum for info about the pro/cons and possible problems with poptops - much on reflexes and racers, but very little on Tear Drops. I use a Tear Drop (from '95 IIRC) and I really don't know much about the poptop issue. If I read it correctly on the other threads (clicky and clicky) it's a one pin design. Possibly issues might be line snag, hard pull and problems finding a rigger experienced with the design - again I got that from reading those threads. Now, reading those threads have raised some concerns. For one, there's no telling what the pull force will be until I either have a mal (and by then it'd be too late to do something about it) or pull it prior to a repack (and then it'd be an academic issue, because the next repack might be different). There was also talk about the closing loop loosening, causing the poptop to stick out more and be more prone to catching lines. And talk about someone then fixing it by tightening it, causing a hard pull. Someone also mentioned something about "closing it from the outside" being an issue, but that didn't make too much sense to me. If someone could shed light on it, I'd appreciate it. The closing pin is protected behind a flap. It's on the front of the rig (as in facing my back when i wear it), so it's very well protected - I like that, especially as someone I jump with had her "normal" reserve pin get caught on the pilot's seat of a C-206T when the pilot did some zero-g stuff - plop, the pc on the reserve shot out. But these other issues have me a little concerned. Anyone care to educate me a bit? Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Nah, she was already married to an officer of some kind, that's why she was off limits. He sorta looked the other way and lived with the shame for a good while. Me, I wouldn't have done that. I'd taken the pieces of my broken heart, gone to a newspaper, gotten a six figure amount for my story and be a sugardaddy for some skychica while I jump my arse off. See? Us opportunists get more outta life Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Elfanie, this clicky holds a list of skydiving related terminology. It is far from complete but covers the basics. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst