vonSanta

Hahah, I've done that too! Door was opened and rain/snow/hail came in. Big ugh. It was pretty clear so we thought it was just odd condensation or something. And, being in Lemming(tm) mode, I followed the others out. I understand why some exited on their back. Went up into a sit after my face started to hurt. Another drawback is the ened to dry out your canopy/rig. But still, it was an experience. My whuffo friends think I'm an idiot when i point out that "rain hurts" though. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Just wondered how common it is to have skydiving family members. There's a sharing of some genetic material (the nature bit) and sharing of environment (the nurture bit). Of course the same urging/craving can manifest itself in many ways, but how many of you got family members that participate somehow in the sport? Me, I got my sister who basically dragged me into the sport when I was scared shitless after the first couple of jumps. Since I started we've talked about little else and we jump with each other every chance we get. She's my kid sister and much more of a skygod than I am (been jumping longer than me too), so I got some catching up to do . My second oldest brother did a static line jump (attended the same first jump course as I did) but stopped after that. He says he's gonna take AFF this summer. If two more from my family start, we can fill the C-182 all by ourselves . Am thinking my oldest brothers kids will be fine, once they turn 15. He himself won't go because "I'm a father. And you're crazy." There are huge benefits to having a sibling as skydive partner. The only drawback as far as I am concerned is that I worry more about her going in than I worry about me doing the same. So, lemme hear it. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Started scuba diving years before I started skydiving. Same with my sister. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

It's not a coincidence "Go" is at the beginning of both "God" and "Google" sorry for double post Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Kinda funny. Jackson was a black dude who wanted to be white. Timberlake is a white dude who desperately wants to be black. From what I've seen of him though, he seems like a pretty ok guy. Jackson on the other hand has so many mental problems his shrink bill equals the Danish BNP. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

It's good to see the Europeans coming along nicely with regards to space exploration. ESA has been very succesful with their commercial satellite program, but it's nice to see they get success with the science bit too. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Very nice pic. So where does the guy with the bat stand? Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

OOOOH DISNEYLAND! I want to go there so I can tear it down. I'll give backrubs for food - and more specialized services are available upon request. We could even video that and show it in Disneyland! Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

I'm like that too. I'm horribly bad at keeping contact with my friends. Doesn't mean I don't think about 'em or care about 'em - I'm just bad at making contact. Phone, email - anything not face to face and I am likely to be rather passive. However, I ain't a leech. But one should just keep people's dispositions in mind before one calls someone such a thing Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

LOL that's pretty funny dude. Imagine your brother taking his woman home and your mother says "hey! Didn't we attend high school together? We were in love with the same guy, I got him and you swore you'd get back at me?" Seriously though. Who cares about age? I see women and men going on about looks and stamina and vigour and whatnot. If they go by statistics yeah sure they're more likely to find younger men in better shape and so forth. But gross generalisations cannot be applied on individual basis and what is more individual than the choice of partner? The way I see it we have some criteria a prospective mate needs to have. If an older/younger mate has 'em, it's good. Their age is of little concern. Some of the criteria are directly related to age (such as say wrinkles) but the vast majority are not. Why worry so much about age? Really, who gives a flying f*ck? Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

I always found the gun duscissions to be sorta entertaining. Both sides erroneously take a fact and claim it to be caused by some thing. In the process, they ignore all other variables and go on and on about how right they are. There are way too many factors that needs to be isolated before one can say anything though. if violent crime goes down, it may be attributed to improvign economy, change in attitude, more people in jail, people being fatter and thus not moving around so much or just about anything. Before a correlation can accurately be made, one should not attempt to call such a thing a fact. We'd need to do a controlled experiment. A mixed Solomon 4 group and perhaps a MANOVA analysis of the data gathered would be preferrable, so we could establish statistical significance. But experimenting on humans like this would be unethical since the measures that would have to be taken to ensure control over variables would be considered "torture" or "freedom inhibiting" by many. On the other hand, the US could just invade Denmark, cut it off in two halves and introduce guns in one. Danes are foreigners after all. And I would really like to be able to carry a handgun, so get to it! And make sure the northern half gets the guns. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

he didnt say,he said it were a reason to why many people hate americans Personally, I don't care whether we are liked in other countries or not. It's their own insecurities about themselves that cause it IMO. We are the "big kid" on the block and some people can't handle that. If we were so bad, we wouldn't have an immigration problem. Have you ever been to the States? This is a very dangerous attitude to have. You don't care about what others think about you, you then do stuff with no disregard to this - and they strike back any way they can, with no reconciliation possible whatsoever. Prevention is better that repulsion by physical force. It has its limits. But, if you're a brute who care nothing of others and go arrogantly around in a bar, fights will naturally come your way. be more diplomatic and you'll have fewer fights - there will be some, but their numbers will be greatly reduced. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

They are two seperate issues. All of our presidents to date have claimed to believe in God. Should they be atheists? How does this affect your country? Teligion really isn't an issue here. Despite having a state religion and everything, Danes are very much secularized. Churches are mostly empty. Religious debates or arguments based on religion in politics are rather rare, although we do have a Christian party. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Am too. Insomnia. Again.. And it's made me cranky this time Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Sure can, that's why Ross Perot was a great president. Oh, wait... What I think Faber is saying is that here, money hasn't got a huge influence on the election results. In the US, gathering a war chest is half the job, so to speak. Saturating the voter with your name and trash talk about the opponent is another. Since they get this money from donations there is a risk for an expectation of reciprocation - you scratch my back, I scratch your back. That sorta thing Campaigns are run very differently here, and it's not a binary two party system. There are restrictions on how money enters politics. And we do not have a powerful religious right or environmentalist left with a disproportionate amount of power due to the $$$ they provide. That's what I think Faber is suggesting. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Hm, sounds to me like a poorly constructed "controlled experiment". Way too many uncontrolled variables to be able to confirm or deny - merely possibly suggest. Wonder who paid for this research? Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Well, we have no scientific data suggesting this, at least not directly. So we'll need a control group and an experimental group. In the interest of science and the future of mankind, I'll do my part of the experiment if the women will do theirs . And no. I don't dance. Primitive mating rituals found in the human animal. Bah, pathetic species. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

I guess after being married for 25 years I feel entiled to be a little Shallow Heh, you could have been BOTH at the same time, thus optimizing the time spent. . It seems the end result wouldn't have been worse. Oh and I am not, nope, in noway whatsoever, encouraging immoral behaviour. Not me Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

I look at guys my age and see the same thing. I'm Not interested Well, it's good to know you girls and guys go for in depth relationships, rather than shallow, casual short term stuff based on appearance Am 28 years old, and I don't give a shit about age one way or the other. It simply isn't a matter of concern - either you like someone or ya don't. Gross stereotyping cannot be applied to each individual case Oh yeah - cranky because of insomnia, so apologies if I come across as a jerk. Just yaking a few chains Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Right on dude. I pack student rigs at a DZ and they're more often than not horribly tangled. And I'm a slow packer. I still earn more than I would sitting in the manifest or at Burger King. I'd suspect the point of using a packer would that he/she would do the stuff that needs to be done. Having said that, I uncollapse my/stow brakes prior to anything else, and I would lay up the rig nicely, but the $5 a packjob people need something to do too . Packing is pretty draining though so i can understand their perspective...but the pay is definitely not "bad". Heh, something funny is I've seen some packers with an attitude of "be nice to me...or I might not pack as carefully as I could". Sorta implied in what they write/say. Guess those people don't understand marketing, business and "supply and demand" . Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Big time dude Can hardly wait for spring and summer...it's gonna be gooooood Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

I know this is an old thread, ut I have a question or two. When jumping near water (or where a water landing is a distinct possibility) I understand that you need certain training and extra gear (flotation device etc, dunno about the US regulations that much as I live in Denmark). It seems from the articles as if they had problems locating Mr Geoff. did they have a visual on him as he splashed down and then lost it? I'm wondering if a scuba diving strobe (or similar device) might not be a good idea if you jump at beaches/near water? It's a small piece of gear, relatively inexpensive, easy to operate and durable and it makes you quite visible. If it's too bright for a strobe, there are other devices that also achieve the same result. Maybe such a thing is mandatory in the US (haven't read your SIM from end to end) but if it isn't, why not? Are there any safety concerns? I'd doubt it, as it's about the size of a cell phone and easily can be stowed in a pocket. So if it isn't mandatory, is it not a good idea to carry one anyway? If not; why not? One of the DZs I jump from is right next to a body of water (heh, what we call a fjord, even though technically it ain't). It's far enough away for us not to need flotation devices according to the regulations, but it's not unheard of that some jumpers make an out landing on an island in the middle of the fjord (see attached pic). The potential for the water landing is there - any reason why I should not add some kind of signalling device to my gear? Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

If you need them, you can't fly. Blue skies, Winsor - I feel much the same about my canopy. ROFL A Classic! Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

Ugh, just came across this thread (thought it was a word play or something and bypassed it). Sympathies big time from Denmark. I sincerely hope you guys will get through this ok . Dunno what to say. You guys are in my thoughts and I wish the best for all of you. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

It's the stupid winter weather. Managed to get about 65 jumps from end of June to start of October - then the winter weather closed in. Three months without jumping, then 3 jumps (1 x-mas, 2 new years eve), and then the weather once again shut it all down. I think we've had about five or six days here where it hasn't been low clouds, rain, wind or snow . I'm also unemployed, so money is short. Usually I can earn a some jump tickets by packing, but that means I ain't jumping those days. Now that DrAvalanche (my sister) officially is a medical doctor I'm thinking my already very substantial debt to her is about to grow even more - until I get a job. I just worked out it'll take me two years @ $300 a month to pay her back what I already own her. Or as she puts it: "My rig. Pack it. Now. And Forever" With any luck I am going to Russia this summer. 10 jumps a day for two weeks will be fun. From Mi-8 helicopters and big Antonovs. Just gotta wait Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst