Jeff.Donohue

So that's why it says "Don't F_ck Up!" in big neon letters on the underbelly of the Otter. That explains a lot.

Here's a newbie question: I just started my coached jumps this weekend, and my coach (who I thought was great -- very helpful, etc.) mentioned that I should "watch the plane fly away" as I exited. The lift was an Otter. We were practicing basic docking (me move forward, she move back, vice versa). Unfortunately, I didn't ask her the reason for her "watch the plane..." instruction. I'm assuming this keeps me oriented in a manner that makes me less likely to float into another jumper's space. Thoughts?

Hey -- I tried being a very serious professional type for ten years. The pay check is nice, but the damage it does to your soul isn't. I know precisely how much fun I'm having. And I love it. Off to do my first coach jump later today...

Rasmack, Yeah, I was there for about 11 months, including December, in 1992 - 1993, and got to try all of the jule beers. Good stuff.

She should consider a job shift to this force: [edited to add picture...]

Wow. Good thing I wasn't using my faith in humanity, because it just left after watching that.

I think the old joke is "they become stout". I'm guessing it's an issue you don't have to worry about, Swedish Celt.

Nitrogen -- that's interesting. I'm a brewer by hobby, and had wondered what the widgets do, precisely. (I've cut them open and realized they were resevoirs of gas, but didn't know what, precisely, the gas was, and assumed it was carbon dioxide). It's definitely non-standard brewing technology. On the other hand, I brew relatively simple ales that self-carbonate (yeast is an amazing microorganism), so I haven't had need to address that.

Someone set us up the bomb, Kallend. [Yes, I've just outed myself as a nerd. But anyone paying attention new that...]

Stouts are great, and Guinness is particularly great if you want to have dinner and drinks in the same glass. The interesting thing about Guinness is that its alcohol content is less than your typical ale (about 4.0%). I knew a guy who used to say he could drink Guinness all night and not wake up with a hangover. Probably true, given the alcohol content. The problem I run into with stouts is they don't travel well (at least in cases/bottles). So if you don't have them on tap, they are not quite the same. Even the (relatively) new Guinness cans, which in my opinion are as close as you can get to Guinness on tap and much better than Guinness in a bottle, don't quite grasp it. (For those who have only had Guinness in bottles after having it on tap -- and been disappointed with the bottles -- the cans have a little widget that basically acts to carbonate the stout right as you open it, so it's neither flat nor bubbly... Neat invention.) If you're into the flavor, check out McEwans Stout or some of the Oatmeal Stouts.

Geography was never my strong point... Yeah, I meant south. For some reason, I had you guys triangulated to Arizona. Allow me a "duh."

Just what I need -- another way to justify to my wife why I should go out west for the winter to skydive... "But look, hon, there's going to be Tuborg there..." Yeah, that prolly won't fly... [But thanks anyway!]

I think it depends on where in the country you are, and if you have a good liquor/beer store around you. (I was going to write "packie", but anyone from outside of Massachusetts wouldn't understand what the heck that meant) You can definitely find all of the beers I listed in the US. For me, my long lost love is a Danish Beer, Tuborg Groun (Tuborg Green, a lager), which you can't get in the US -- at least that I've been able to find. I spent about a year and most of my liver in Denmark in the early 1990s, and lived off of the stuff. Any Danish jumpers want to mail me some?

Why does it have to be imported? You can do pretty well with microbrewed American beer. You said that you didn't want "barley beers" (I think you mean wheat beers, because lagers like Pilsner Urquell are made with barley). What about ales? If you like Urquell and want to stick with lagers, try Sam Adams (US), Jever (Germany), and Carlsberg (Denmark). A lot of people who like Pilsner Urquell also like Stella Artois (Belgium), but I personally don't. If you want to try ales, you can start out slow and build from there. You can start with Newcastle (UK), which has a really dark color but is actually very light flavored -- some say unflavored; Tremont Ale (Massachusetts), and Bass Ale (UK). If you like the flavor of hops (the part of the flavor that makes you sort of click your toungue as your drink it), try an India Pale Ale, such as Dog Fish Head IPA (Delaware) or Tremont IPA (Massachusetts). You probably want to stay away from lambics, rauchbier, and anything with the name "trappist" in it. It's like wingloading your tongue at 1.7:1 right out of AFF.

Sooo.... I guess the lesson, here, kids, is to print the ransom note on the "black and white only" setting. [Edited because I don't want to be dis-barred: this is not legal advice on how to commit a crime, just a snarky comment presented in a non-professional capacity.]

Not a helmet painting issue per se, but my I left my four year old daughter decorate my Velocity. It was fire engine red. Now it's fire engine red, and covered with My Little Pony and Cindarella stickers. Let's just say it's unique.

Different (the 120 sq. ft. will be have faster turn response and quicker dynamic stall response). That's per the SIM. As for the "why", the SIM leaves that out. Hazarding a guess, though, I'm going to say that it relates to the aerodynamic nature of the wing: at the speeds that we're travelling at, we need a certain amount of wing surface to generate the same amount of lift, and that amount isn't directly proportionate to the drag. In other words, is it that the smaller jumper has a greater proportionate drag co-efficient? Just a guess. P.S. I just read the answer that someone else posted before me. The lines are shorter. That makes sense.

This may seem like an odd question, but is there a weight limit to windtunnels such as the one coming in NH? My boss (a non-skydiver) is a biggun' (he's probably 6'6" and about 280 or 290 pounds) and when I mentioned that the tunnel is coming, he got very excited... However, it occurs to me that you need a certain amount of lift to get into free-fall, and I'm not sure if the warp engine or flux capacitor or whatever it is that powers the fans will be strong enough for such a large object.... Are there specs on a "maximum load"? Thanks.

That's very disturbing. That's particularly true if it's a kid. Did anyone else notice how seemingly low that was? I counted 18 seconds (not a scientific measurement, mind you) from what appears to be exit to what appears to be impact. Assuming normal freefall rates, that would be slightly over 2,500 ft. (1,000 ft. for the first 10 seconds, and 1,000 ft. for each 5.5 seconds thereafter, per the most recent SIM I saw). He may have been falling faster than normal (call it 3,000 ft to give that argument the benefit of the doubt). But, still -- 3,000 feet! After finishing AFF level E-2 (is Pepperell the only DZ that uses the current SIM numbering?), I can hop and pop at 3,000 ft., but I only feel comfortable doing that because I've done 11 solo dives and 3 tandems (and by the way, it scares the crap out of me). To stick a kid out there to do it on his first jump.... I suppose it's also possible that the film is edited to speed it up... but to my untrained eye it doesn't appear so... The mind reels...

Best compliment was from a former co-worker as I was leaving that firm: "We'll miss you around here. You are a twisted visionary." It goes along with my whole plan of global domination, so I'm happy with it... (Now where did I put Mr. Bigglesworth...)

My favorite is the line: "[A member] said some have a 'warped perception' of what it means to practice chastity." Actually.... no... I think we're all pretty clear on the subject.

That was sort of surreal... I dig how you can see part of the tandem rig but not all of it, as though the editor didn't quite know how to make a tandem rig look like a solo rig.... And then, as he's landing, you see a sort of shadowy figure behind him appear and then sort of disappear... I wonder if he's using a BOC cloaking device...

I have no factual information about the situation, but I'm pretty sure they couldn't get permitted if the area was unfit for human habitation. While New Hampshire is the "live free or die" state, they regulate pretty much everything! I'm looking forward to having a tunnel an hour away like you wouldn't believe! [attempt at humor on] Besides -- where is your sense of adventure? What you call a chemical spill, I call a potential swooping pond! [attempt at humor off]

I may be going out on a limb here, but I predict that remarkably few members of dropzone.com will be joining this club... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051013/ap_on_re_us/college_chastity;_ylt=AnCZm1V21_Y.z1bpjJpSd7Os0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ- You can just call me Nostradamus.