ScottMcC

SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!! I was wondering why we never saw you out there... but just know that at least a few of us miss you, and want you to jump more. And law school can't be much busier than med school, seriously!

I think this is very much like applying for colleges/grad schools etc, in that there's a lot of very good options out there where you will learn a lot and have a great experience. The question shouldn't necessarily be which one is "number 1," but instead, what coach can you work with the best? Everyone has a style of instruction that works the best for them, and every coach has different strengths and weaknesses. So don't be afraid to say no to a coach that you aren't happy with, and don't be turned off just because someone else doesn't like particular coach. As a for instance, I had an absolutely terrible experience with a coach (name withheld, but he's someone relatively famous) once that was quite possibly the only time I've been truly unhappy skydiving. I can't think of a single positive thing to come from that interaction. But over the years I've done a few jumps with a different coach, Craig Amrine (9 toes), and I've thoroughly enjoyed each one of them, and definitely learned a lot in a very short period of time. So to reiterate, find a coach that you can work well with!!!

"regular" adobe premier 6.0 works on my pentium 3 that was made in 2000. so if you can find a copy of that you're set.

I seem to recall that at least one person has done it headup, but I can't remember who right now. But I would think that would be quite hard, although that's probably at least in part due to my relative weakness on my feet as compared to my head (and I'm still not at AD level on my head).

there's more to that sale (from the email they sent me as well): CHRISTMAS SPECIALS + Freefly starter pack: order 1 classic freefly suit and get a matter hoodie for free! + Freefly PRO pack: order 1 proconcept freefly suit and get original freefly pants for free! + Freefly expert pack: order 1 matrix freefly suit and get kombat freefly pants for free! WINTER SALES + Order 1 tshirt and get one for free! + Order ORIGINAL FREEFLY PANTS and get second pair for free! + FREE SHIPPING on all stock orders! (offer valid until 30th of november 2005)

it's on Olav Zipser's webpage, http://www.1olav.com but the basic summation of the AD-A is: instructor throws ball from plane. student grabs ball, transfers to other hand, releases. student does 360 rotation on any axis, catches ball, transfers, releases. student does 360 rotation on another axis, catches ball, transfers. winner winner if complete by 6 k. the B involves a total of 6 rotations (one in each direction on each axis), and the C and D require 2 spaceballs.

Tony was one of my AFF instructors, and I was thoroughly impressed by him, and always looked up to him. Colorado has suffered a big loss. I extend my deepest condolences to Dianne as well as everyone else affected by this event.

my fiancee and I are also new to freestyle--we'll be happy to talk to you about the stuff we've found helpful so far--just PM me. dale's stuff if great! the video of last year's world meet in Brazil is also awesome as a training tool. You can purchase it from Tamara Koyn, whose contact info is somewhere on this website.

I'll save you a whole lot of time and money. Ask yourself the following questions: 1. Do you ever get vertigo (room spinning)? 2. Do you have any hearing loss, tinnitus (ears ringing), difficulty clearing your ears, or ear pain? 3. Do you have any trouble walking heel-to-toe in a straight line? 4. Do your have any difficulty standing heel-to-toe with your eyes closed? 5. Do you have any known serious medical problems that would have required treatment with cisplatin, gentamycin, or similar IV drugs? If you answered no to all of the above, then the chance of you having anything medically wrong with your balance is relatively low--not zero, but pretty close. If you answered yes, find yourself an ENT, preferably a neurotology specialist. Some of them even run dedicated clinics for people with balance problems. My advice to you in general though is to save up your time/money/energy until you can conceivably do all of AFF in one go, then consider going to a different DZ where they are willing to really teach you exactly what's going wrong. And video of yourself in freefall can't hurt either.

How to dislocate a shoulder (don't try this at home): 1. Abduct the arm 90º (raise the arm out to the side, to shoulder height). 2. Externally rotate the arm maximally (assume the boxman position). 3. Apply a posteriorly directed force to the elbow (push the elbow towards the sky, assuming you're belly to earth). 4. Go see an orthopod. Muscle strength has very little to do with shoulder stability. Bony support has even less to do with stability. The main structures providing stability are the glenohumeral ligaments (the joint capsule) along with the cartilaginous labrum. So those people with lax ligaments or labral tears are prone to dislocations, no matter how strong they are. Even without the above, if you put your shoulder in a vulnerable position, you're at risk for dislocations, and in the process you're likely to create both labral tears and lax ligaments. So sayeth the dude who dislocated his shoulder twice in freefall without colliding with anyone, but who is now blessed with a reconstructed shoulder that works great. PS: my fiancee also hurt her shoulder skydiving, although hers was not a full on dislocation, more of a subluxation, also without any contact at the time.

I tried that method before I used my method--it didn't always properly deinterlace for me for some reason. hence I used the method I describe.

there's an easier way to deinterlace within premiere. before doing any of this, save your project so that it's easier to revert to what it looked like before. 1. position the edit line on the frame you want to make into a still 2. push "c" on the keyboard to choose the razor tool 3. click on the edit line and then click about a second further down the timeline. (you have now cut your clip into 3 pieces, with the desired frame at the in point of the middle piece) 4. push "v" on the keyboard to choose the arrow tool 5. right click on the newly created segment and choose video options, frame hold. 6. choose hold on inpoint, hold filters, and deinterlace. 7. render a preview of the new segment 8. position the edit line in the middle of the new segment and export a frame as directed by the previous poster. you're done, without having to use photoshop. now of course, if you want to retouch yourself to look awesomer, you're still gonna need photoshop, but that's a different issue.

Dale Stuart did it too: click for pictures of Dale

He might even want to think about a Spectre or Triathlon. In the right hands, either can be swooped, but in the wrong hands they're much more forgiving than even a sabre 2. But I guess I probably shouldn't be replying anyway, because I'm still of the opinion that this thread is a joke.

I've got some freestyle for you right here!!!

I'm pretty sure we've been down this road before...but something I've started doing is putting a little "Photo: Scott McCusker" tag on the bottom of all my photos. Sure, it can be cropped/airbrushed with photoshop, but at least it takes some effort.

there is a very small, but definable risk each time you go under anesthesia. therefore, minimizing the number of times you do so is probably a good idea. however...knee surgery is often done with spinal anesthesia, and shoulder surgery is often done with a regional block as well, but doing both would require general. I personally would rather avoid general if possible--the possible side effects are much greater. doing surgery on multiple sites in the body really does require you to completely set up again from the beginning. the only difference is that you don't wake the patient up in between, but you really do have to rescrub, open new equipment, and reprep the patient. don't do it because of cost--hell, don't even think about the cost unless it's truly a determining factor. think about the fact that you'll be without the use of one arm for about 6 weeks and 1 knee for about 4 weeks, and the combination is pretty tough. if you're up for it, by all means, but if not, recovering twice is not that bad of an option.

Jump #1. But I was on a PD300 and only weighed about 140 at the time, so it would be hard NOT to stand it up. I saw a video of some girl landing a lineover on one of those canopies, walked away with only a sprained ankle after plf'ing.

Kodak publishes a book called "Understanding Exposure." You should read that, and then you should join my movement to get "portrait" and "sports" modes stricken from all cameras, and replaced by good old fashioned f-stops and shutter speed controls. Oh yeah, everyone else's advice is good too.

UPDATE-UPDATE: Matter has offered to do the custom diamond design for me at no charge, I just have to pay for the suit plus other options. They wanted to apologize for past inconvenience. I still haven't heard back from Sonic. Well...I got an email from them saying they never received any emails from me, but no reply to the email I resent.

Take a loop of string, a pencil, and two punchpins. Put the two punchpins some distance apart, and hook the loop of string around them. There should be a fair amount of slack. Using the pencil, pull the loop taught and trace around the figure, keeping it taught as you move. You have now drawn an ellipse. If you move the two punchpins (foci) closer or further, you will note that the ellipse becomes more or less circular vs broad. If you remove one of the pins, you will notice that you draw a circle. If a canopy is to be elliptical, it is elliptical or not elliptical. Semi-elliptical refers to the planform being described by some other equation than the ellipse equation I described above. For instance, the spectre is tapered, ie straight line but swept back, not curved as in an elliptical. But I agree with the poster above. Elliptical alone does not dictate performance. Maybe we should compare focal lengths or something (how far apart the punchpins are in my example).

UPDATE: I just received two emails from Cedric regarding this thread. Apparently Matter CAN do my design and does not find it to be too clown-like. They also apologize for my previous experience. I'm still uncertain as to what I will buy (once I get the cash together). The sonic flywear suits looked pretty nice too from the websites, but they haven't returned my email yet.

You calling my girlfriend short?????? I was always taught that you should pull the cables all the way out because that was much easier to stuff in your jumpsuit once you were under canopy, and also that there was no reason to stop until you were sure you had done everything--kinda like that old mantra about if you're going in, you might as well have all the handles out. Now clearly there's situations where that's not true, but I think you get what I mean.

like this, on the sleeves and legs: (but apparently that's too clown-like for matter)

I think you misunderstand me. I want a tight fitting suit but with some diamonds on the sides. I already have a baggy suit, I'm trying to get away from that.