mhartboca

wow... i'm afraid i'm going to show my lack of knowledge here... I'm at #93, been jumping for 18 mos. NO ONE, EVER, instructor or otherwise has EVER said that I can't sign my own jumps. I just jumped a new DZ while on travel, and they asked for my license, my USPA card and my logbook. Again, all my jumps other than license qualification jumps, are self-signed. They had no problem with it, or if they did, didn't say anything.. Michael Hart

nah... just starting to work on the requirements for the B. Got one jump in at Lake Wales yesterday. Nice place, nice people. Too bad I was pressed for time or i'd have done a couple more. So Judy & Chris.. and Brent and Kevin and all the other WTS'ers who may lurk here... 93 and counting... gonna hit #100 either this weekend or next... wanna do it with my friends and then... BEER! Michael Hart

Maybe I will make some jell-o shots to help you out with those 4 ladies. Judy I am sad to say that I am going to need the help. the drunker the better though. well then, i guess it's time for me to step up and give something back to the sport and to all those at wts that've helped me progress... count me in.. and in.. and in.. and in... Michael Hart

I just bought a used one and had Altico do the mods to bring it up to date (full length riser covers, new reserve pin cover, bridle cover, new boc). Figuring the Cypres that I got with the rig was worth $200, I then paid $500 for what is essentially a new container. It's very, very comfortable and IMHO well made. Both riggers at my dz, neither of whom are Dolphin "fans" both say it's a good container and well built. I now have about 15 jumps in mine and love it. Of course, I had a Racer before, so some here will no doubt wonder about my sensibility! (BTW, I really liked the Racer too!) Someone here mentioned a Chevy comparison. I concur. I drive a Taurus - one of several I've owned. Like the Taurus, the Dolphin is comfortable, looks good, does exactly what it's supposed to do at a decent price and provides excellent value. I could drive a $40k Lexus and while it does look better and has all the goodies, it doesn't do anything more than my Taurus. Ditto for Dolphins vs. the "luxury rigs". Michael Hart

hey judy...

This is a great idea! Us newbies (92j's and I still consider myself a newbie) find it a bit intimidating to approach experienced folks and ask if we can jump with them, especially when "breaking the ice" is naturally difficult for some of us. There's several folks at my dz that will seek out newbies and include us in rw jumps or offer coaching/fun jumping. It helps our confidence tremendously, builds comaraderie and makes us feel much more a part of the family. thanks for the great suggestion Michael Hart

the way i read lowie's comment was that lightly loaded Sabre2's may tend to have end cell closures (mine does, loaded at 1.02), not that the only time they happen is on lightly loaded canopies. Michael Hart

ditto. i even tried the ones that seal around each eye and my contacts still got very dry.. Now i jump with a Z1 full face and absolutely love it. Michael Hart

I'm confused (no surprise ) I thought the limitation was that the ProTrack can only keep the highest level of detail for the last 10 jumps. I can't imagine the JumpTrack software not being able to do so - I mean, it's on the pc, so why wouldn't it be able to keep the most detail on thousands of jumps? If I read the info on JumpTrack correctly, it uses a MySql db for the datastore. So while it's possible that JumpTrack will only show detailed speed graphs for the last 10 jumps, it seems highly unlikely. I'd say the limitation, a very restrictive and probably artificial limitation, IMHO, is in the firmware in the ProTrack. BTW, I have JumpTrack v1.xx (haven't upg'd to v2x yet) and I can see detailed speed graph information on the last 40 jumps (since I got the JumpTrack s/w and interface). I still want a Neptune though... Michael Hart

I've never heard of a roll pack or a briefcase. I've packed my Sabre2 230 using the Precision pack (text here: http://www.precision.aero/packing.htm and video here: http://www.precision.aero/packing/mvc-002v.mpg) and I love it! It's waaaay easier to bag the damn thing than with a standard propack - remember...230'!! sucker's huge! Doesn't seem to have any effect on openings either. Still pillow soft. They do seem to snivel just a little less.. maybe a second or two, but this is strictly an off the cuff observation. meanwhile - i don't hate packing nearly as much! michael

Disclaimer: I'm a newbie to the sport (1.5yrs, 78 jumps) and not a rigger so not only am I not qualified to speak authoritatively as an expert, I'm not allowed to portray one on TV either! Dolphins have long appealed to me. When I bought my first/current rig, used, I looked long and hard for a Dolphin based rig. I read everything I could find, checked out all the manf's sites, talked to many people, etc. I just liked the Altico approach of building a durable, functional container without falling into the overload-with-options trap and all the other price-increasing stuff. In the process I called a few of the rig manf's and talked with their folks. I will say that I -never- encountered anyone at any company that was rude or unknowledgeable about their products or anything less than good customer service. But Altico stood out even then. Mike was more than happy to answer any and all of my questions, talk about gear in general, etc... even though I told him up front that I was looking for used gear. He said more than once to call him back, anytime, if I had -any- questions, whether about Dolphins or not. I was not able to find what I was looking for. And while this will no doubt cause some rolled eyeballs or groans, I wound up buying a used Racer Elite. (Why do people dis these so much? It's a great rig!) Anyway. I recently found a Dolphin D-4 for sale. I wrote Mike to ask if a Sabre2 230 would fit, what mods the container would need based on DOM and s/n, etc. I had a response back THAT DAY. Anyway, regarding canopy/container sizing, here's what Mike wrote me - again, about a D-4, but seems to me it'd apply to a D-3 as well. The canopies you mentioned are only slightly larger than the canopies that were used to size the DOLPHIN D-4. However, the suspension lines on those canopies were Microline. If your canopies are rigged with Microline, I see no problem with them, because I've received many reports from riggers that they routinely put canopies into a DOLPHIN that are one or two sizes larger than those listed in our sizing chart. If your canopies are rigged with Dacron, the additional bulk may make packing pretty difficult. There are other factors which influence the bulk of a given canopy in a container, most notably temperature and humidity. A canopy that packs easily in a warm humid climate may be considerably more difficult when it's cold and dry. Any company with that kind of support, customer service and dedication to the sport gets my vote, every time. Just my opinion, your mileage may vary. Some assembly required. Offer void where prohibited by law. Michael

no. i thought about it. i was pretty agnostic most of my life. after i married, i started attending synagogue with my wife and her family. after a few years (4?) i began getting interested in judaism. the history, antiquity, customs became very appealing. i was baptised lutheran but never could quite stomach the three deities concept or the "some guy as savior" thing. i HATED the thought of praying to a guy. after learning quite a bit by osmosis, i decided to look into conversion, kinda as a ?gift? to my wife. the conversion course was about a year in length. during that time, it became obvious to me that conversion for -someone else- was wrong. religion and your relationship with g-d is a very personal thing and should only be done for -yourself-. anyway, during that year, it became something i wanted to do -for me-. some of my reasons - the traditions, the antiquity (knowing that we still say prayers that are ~3000 years old). i like not having a man to pray to - that never sat well with me. i like knowing that, unlike most xtian religions, i -can- talk directly to g-d, i don't need some church appointed lackey telling me that i can only talk to g-d through him. i don't like the way the xtians go around trying to convert everyone and telling how they found a personal relationship with jesus... so what? i get to talk to g-d directly! and there's no "sacred place" where you have to go to be in g-ds' presence - the synagogue, while used as a place to gather and pray, is not "holy" in any special way - it's just a place where people gather to pray. synagogue actually means "school" and is more correctly thought of as a social or community center. plus, we don't have revival meetings and don't have to go door to door looking for lost souls... anyway... my suggestion - DO NOT convert or change for someone else. what you can do is learn the customs and be respectful of them. my $.02... Michael Hart

i too own a sabre2 (230). i'm a newbie (53 jumps) with probably 35 pack jobs to my name, including the 20 i've done on the sabre2 since i bought it. mine has NEVER opened hard. i ?often? (maybe 40%) of the time think it snivels long. i often get a turn on opening. most jumps (80+%) i get one side or both sides with end cell closures. are these packing issues? dunno - but as a relatively inexperienced packer, i'd say it's certainly possible. Michael Hart

0 : 5 : 0 only 1 on saturday - blech. hate being at the dz for 4+ hours and only getting one jump... argh.. 4 on sunday - including two awesome 4ways - learning experiences for me! thanks chris, lacey, alicia, judy! this may not be much for you skygods, but we did a 6pt 4way and a 4pt... oh-so-much-fun-for-a-newbie-like-me!!! tried to get into sitfly position the last two jumps... tried about 7 times total - almost had it once - about 2 seconds .... oh well, try again next weekend! Michael Hart

vicodin is nice... and even though it tastes REALLY bad (to the tune of tastes like shit!)... if ya crunch one between your teeth, just enough to break it up a bit (don't have to chew it to powder) then follow with a decently strong drink.... not that i'd advocate recreational, er, improper usage of prescription meds.... re: oxycontin... not outlawed at all... but for awhile there i'm sure every rx got pretty close scrutiny... would love to try one.. heard they rock... er, work well for pain Michael Hart

shane... hey.. i'm in memphis... where ya stayin? i can usually be convinced to get out for drinks and dinner... i'm not a local so i probably can't tell ya all the cool places to go, but if you're doing Beale street and the surrounding area downtown, ya can't go too wrong. lots of food and drink places... live music, people watching, etc... let me know... Michael Hart

0:6:1 6 over 2 days - i tend to be a late starter on the weekends ;-) and the weather held us up this morning, otherwise I'd have made it to #50... oh well, there's always next weekend... 1 slam through the tree/tall shrub, clearing the barb wire fence by, oh, 18"? i guess i still don't have a great mental picture of how far i'm gonna fly in a given wind from a 500' +/- final. up until 5 seconds before my appointment with said greenery, i was -positive- i was gonna clear it... oh well... at least body and rig are none the worse for the wear and tear... michael Michael Hart

awesome - can't wait... so, these are probably typical newbie questions.. for saturday night, there'll be floor space to crash on? i'm planning on bringing my trusty air mattress! costumery - never been good at that - required? i could always go lame, put some tape on an old black pair of glasses, some waaay too short pants, white socks, trusty pocket protector and go as a geek.. but then what's the costume! it was either that or come as a middle aged mid-life crises white guy scopin' out the young chicks (as though there was a chance!) and hoping to score before passing out... estimated attendance? festivities (non-jumping) should start about when? there was earlier discussion (Judy?) about group costumes... michael Michael Hart

hehe... my daughter turned sixteen this year... she was just a baby like 3 months ago.... Anyway, my plan for dating: Kill the first one and word will get around. michael Michael Hart

FFF - we haven't met - i hope someday we do... in the meantime, hang tight. none of us who haven't been through what you're going through can possibly imagine what it's like and what strength you have to continue on. when i look at the replies from people who do and don't know you, it's obvious to me that none of us in this community are really alone. i hope you feel the strength and well-wishes of everyone here. for myself, if i can offer any support, let me know. PM, email, even phone - i'm sure i can talk shit long enough to get ya distracted! they say that g-d never gives anyone more hardship than they can handle - so be strong. just in the few minutes it's taken to write this, you've helped me. i realize now that my problems are pretty insignificant. g-d speed for a quick recovery michael Michael Hart

i'll echo some of the recommendations already given... Asimov - not just the Foundation trilogy (think it's actually 5 or 6 now, isn't it?), you have to include the Empire and Robot trilogies as well to get the full story. BTW, I believe Asimov is the most prolific author ever? Interesting trivia - with the exception of the last 2 (3?) books added to the Foundation trilogy in the last few years, the tri-trilogy was written backwards. As best i recall: Foundation 1,2,3, then Empire 1,2,3, then Robot 1,2,3, then the last Foundation books... If you don't know the whole series, it's essentially a history of earth, humans and the universe, from approximately "now" (whatever that means) to 100's of 1000's of years in the future... i read the trilogies backwards (by accident) and it was still a great read! Heinlein - Time Enough For Love, Stranger in a Strange Land, many, many more Clancy - but only his novels, not the co-authored ones Michener - The Source Walter M. Miller - A Canticle For Leibowitz Crichton - just about any Koontz - especially liked Lightening and Watchers Mary Higgins Clarke - just pick a couple! Ludlum - almost any, but the Bourne books are good *Alison Tyler - Best Bondage Erotica *Gloria Braeme - Different Loving * = not for those with "vanilla" tastes.. so many books, so little time... michael Michael Hart

Mmmmmmm... Tawny Kitaen... the finest young thing to grace the hood of, well, just about -any- car... why is it that some songs just NEED to be heard with the volume knob on "10"? yikes! so many to choose from... Stones - Start Me Up Pink Floyd - almost all of Dark Side of The Moon, Welcome To The Machine Puddle of Mudd - She Fucking Hates Me Toby Keith - I Wanna Talk About Me Trace Atkins - Chrome DMX - X Gonna Give It To Ya Enya - Sail Away Eagles - Sunset Grill, Life In The Fast Lane Loggins and Messina - Angry Eyes Pink - Wheeler Talking Heads - Burning Down The House I'm sure there's more.... michael Michael Hart

glad it turned out good.... so now - BEER! (you got PM) michael Michael Hart

0:0:0 the only thing worse than a non-jumping weekend is driving four hours to be at a dropzone that's not jumping... :-( "only 4 more days... 4 more days..." michael Michael Hart

Someone very sexy . . . got anyone good in mind? no.. but i'll bet there's a LOT of volunteers... michael Michael Hart