lauras

Not bad, Hotpants. Why don't you shimmy on over in your lycra shorts and let me watch you pedal?! Bike gets here on Monday I think. Thanks for your help!

I wish. I have pretty good Moron-Radar, but I've been told "funny, you don't look American" by: a Vice-Chairman of a huge Wall Street bank, some partners at a very prestigious Chicago law firm, a Colonel in the US Army, and a Dean from one of the Ivy League Business schools. Yeah, I may be from crunchy-granola San Francisco and I may be (gasp!) a Democrat, but ethnic profiling in any way, shape or form - be it affirmative action, or whatever - is just fucking bullshit. We all have the same opportunities and responsibilities. But it never ceases to amaze me that in 2004, I'm still not American-looking enough in my own country.

Nice compliment, means you aren't fat. Ehhh, wrong time of year! Holidays = Fall Rate.

It's not just one guy. I've had this same conversation with literally hundreds of people all over the US. I've criss-crossed this country up, down and sideways and it doesn't matter where I am, someone will come up and ask me what country I'm from. It's frustrating and annoying and incredibly naive to think that ethnicity doesn't have any impact on being an American. I've had a complete stranger actually challenge me on my citizenship and right to be in the US. At the time, I was working out of a corner office at a Wall Street investment bank, paying more in state taxes than he made gross annually x 5. But apparently, being melanin-blessed makes my citizenship suspect.

Here's my experience: Some Guy: "So, where are you from?" Me: "San Francisco." SG: "No, I mean where are you originally from." Me: "I'm originally from San Francisco. I was born at St. Mary's on Stanyan Street." SG: "Yeah, but you don't look American." Hand to God, I can't count how many times I've had that conversation in my lifetime. edited for spelling

Huh, no biggie. Oren's been stuck herding me, Sally, Arlo, Michele, Kathy and all his other girlfriends for 5 years now. I don't know if anyone else has been able to feed and water the Zhills kitty cats for this long and managed to keep all his limbs!

Why yes, I do have an evil twin. How did you ever know, Ray.

18 Dec - 2 Jan, you lazy git! The exchange rate's excellent, c'mon over!

Our local Zhills manufacturers & vendors include: Sunpath (Javelin) www.sunpath.com Sunrise Rigging (Wings) www.skydivewings.com Aerodyne (Icon/Pilot/Vision/Smart) www.aerodyne-int.com www.tonysuits.com www.sunshine-factory.com www.TonyHathaway.com www.Tunnelcoach.com www.ECFreefly.com www.TotalBodyPilot.com www.skydiveratings.com www.baserigs.com You can also line up BirdMan coaching/flocking by contacting NotSane via PM. We're a wee bit spoiled at Skydive City. You want it? We got it! Don't forget Billy Porter's Pirate Day on 31 December. Argh!

you have your opinion, i have mine. i just don't think it's cool to slam a coach without having flown with them or their school. if you want to say that martin sucks as a coach because he doesn't compete frequently, again, you're entitled to your opinion. i think some people might think otherwise though. yes, i have been coached by both sally & martin a number of times and they are friends. big surprise. i've also been coached by bob healy, chromy, brian johnson, and a bunch of other "big name" flat coaches. every single one of them has added to my skill set. prices ranged from $75 to $150/hour. i respond better to some of them than others and those are the coaches i'll go back to. nothing personal and nothing to do with the price difference. no matter what, you're forking it over. i want coaching from someone who is a great teacher, flyer, debriefer, etc. not some shithead who's all "ooh, check out what i can do in the tunnel" but can't teach his way out of paper bag. one last thing - we must be doing math differently: you paid $75 / 30 minutes coaching tunnelcoach charges $50 / 30 minutes coaching how and where is tunnelcoach charging more?

You're always going to have differences of opinion on how to efficiently train in the tunnel, but I think we can agree that utilitizing a coach is probably the most cost-efficient approach. The purpose of any tunnel camp is to be able to fly a lot in a short timeframe, but keep in mind that most people can't fly for more than 15 minutes per hour and fly strong throughout each rotation. Camps offer the unique opportunity to be able to fly 30 minutes to an hour or more in a single day, stacking your learning curve, while giving you breaks in between to get rest and build your energy level back up. AFAIK - If you were to go train by yourself, Skyventure Orlando charges $200 for a 15 minute block of time plus another $50 for one on one coaching on top of that. An hour block (which you have to fly solid, no breaks) is $630/hour and I think that's going up sometime soon. Some of the other coaches mentioned charge $75/30 minutes for coaching. Tunnelcoach.com charges $25/15 minutes, multiply that for the amount of time you're flying ($50/30 min, $100/hour, etc). freeflydrew - I'm not sure where you got the $850/hour rate, since TunnelCoach.com charges $730 during the camp. This is a great deal cheaper than a lot of other tunnel camps with the same amount and quality of coaching, feedback, etc. I believe with Martin & Sally you're getting some of the best coaching that you can find in Florida. They certainly wouldn't have combined efforts otherwise. And, as far as "nothing personal and no offense" goes, easy with throwing the term "rip-off" around. edited: because i can't spell & added some info on tunnel camps in general.

You can also get in touch with Pip & Judy Redvers at the dz. They have a number of caravans on site. [email protected]

i'd say your wuffo day wasn't so bad! i'll stash the leftover vodka in the freezer for next time.

i just heard about a friend confronting his 14 year old daughter about a pack of cigarettes found in her school bag. after using the old "i'm just holding them for a friend" excuse, and being told that she would be randomly tested for all the fun stuff, the kid caved and 'fessed up to smoking a joint and drinking a beer the previous weekend. thank buddha i'm not reproducing. i'd be a lying, tap-dancing schizophrenic all during my kid's adolescence!

Hi Vicki. I relined my Spectre with Dacron after having some surgery (fusion of C5 & 6) this past December. Prior to surgery, I put a bunch of jumps on Tony Hathaway's Dacron-lined Spectres and that pretty much sold me on it. It's a great combination of the soft Spectre openings with the "springiness" of Dacron. There is the occasional off-heading and/or brisk opening, but nothing unmanageable. Most people I know that have Dacron lines are CRW dogs, video dudes, those that jump an exorbitant amount each year (1000+) or those that have had the same type of surgery as me. I don't find it too popular otherwise, due to additional bulk in the pack tray. No problem with using slinks or mini-risers and Dacron. That said, an out-of-trim canopy is just that - out-of-trim. Have your rigger take a look and adjust if possible or go ahead and reline that baby. Let me know if you need any more info. -Laura

Team Synchronicity! Job well done by the USA Women's 4-way team! Check out Round 10 on www.omniskore.com.

Dude, this bike thing is turning out to be WAY expensive. It's like buying skydiving gear all over again. Let's see, so far, my shopping list (x 2 for the Big Man): bike components (seat, peddles, I dunno - chain?!) bike rack skid lid new specs jerseys shorts (which i recently discovered you have to go commando in) socks weird shoes gloves hydration system computer thingy... But, it should make for a fun winter! I can't wait.

Please report to the loft at Zhills immediately for your beating. We can only deal with one Ron at a time. Bad! Bad man!

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/23/nyregion/23swoop.html?hp Registration for the NYTimes is free. 3 nice pictures accompany the article. On a side note: I have a small complaint about swoop meets in general. At the meets held at my home dz thus far, I've noticed a distinct lack of consistent "spectator-friendly" commentary. An explanation of the rules and point system, announcement of the name of the swooper and his/her type of attempt, etc, would do wonders to increase spectator knowledge and interest. If you want X Games type interest, it would help if the organizers of swoop meets addressed the events in an X Games type of manner.

Ah, yes, the fabled Saloni 2000 dive loops. Aubrey, ask Jody to whip up a set.

call sunrise rigging direct. someone screwed the pooch somewhere along the way. 1-813-788-1910.

As usual, the best graphics in skydiving. Lotsostyle.

Make sure the tech puts a towel over your eyes - if you fall asleep and wake up startled to find yourself in the tube, you'll have to start all over again. Sounds silly, but the towel really helps settle you down.

the torneau website, huh? it's all over for you. if i catch you & oren cruising mayor's at lunch time... oren's alti conveniently died this weekend so a suunto is on it's way. i haven't worn a watch regularly since i started jumping. it just feels weird. i'll actually look at my wrist on take off on commercial flights, as if i'm checking my alti. makes me laugh every time.

Damn! Busted! Yes, I am a luscious 25 yet again. And let's just say that I'm "ethnic in an asian/pacific rim kinda way." That's what the government says, anyway. Thanks everyone! Now, if you want to show me how much you really love me, you'll take your pants off.