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Good advice, Miss Hotpants. I find that as a rule, skydivers tend to be a fickle bunch. And they talk a lot. They respond very quickly to feedback (duh, thus the success of DZ.com), and sometimes that will bite a manufacturer or dealer in the ass, deserved or not. Gear ain't cheap and for most jumpers, it's a huge investment. I think it behooves us skydivers to be smart consumers, to do our homework and make decisions based on educating ourselves and seeking the advice of those that we trust. That said, it is also the obligation of the manufacturers to provide customer service until it's coming out the ears. It is the obligation of the gear dealer to help educate the consumer and to relay to manufacturers what the word on the dz is. Nothing cheeses me off more than the surly person on the phone saying "Yeah, well, it's in process, nothing I can do, so piss off." Those are the times when I want to take the "Customer Service" person aside and say "If you hate your job so much, you should quit." Anyway, I digress. You're right, Arlo - it's a hand in hand exercise.

As far as I can tell, you can get scores/gossip on www.skyleague.com www.omniskore.com

Oh. My. God. Should I start singing "Kumbaya" now?

I don't think there needs to be a women's class. But one exists at the World levels. Why one exists is kind of a mystery to me - no one has been able to get a straight answer as far as I can tell. Like I said before, eliminate the women's classes in all the IPC events and you've got yourself something to stand on. Not just 4-way or 8-way, but Style & Accuracy, Freestyle, Skysurfing, Paraski, etc. If the USPA has decided that they no longer want to recognize the women's class in RW, then they sure as hell better be ready to start disallowing the division of sexes in the other events as well. What, does the competition committee only have it in for women who like 4-way? This debate is all kinds of stupid. No matter what I say or anyone else says, someone will interpret it the way they want (which is what Quade said earlier, and boy oh boy, do I know what you're talking about).

I do not believe that women are weaker skydivers - and where or when did I ever say that? In fact, I believe the women on Synchronicity have posted higher competition scores than you, Ron. Synchronicity, unlike Airspeed, the Knights, Majik, XL, and all the other women's teams at the World Meet, is not full-time and is totally self-financed. No big cash handouts from anyone, including the USPA. So why begrudge them the opportunity to win in a class that the IPC/FAI sanctions? If the women's class didn't exist at the World Meet, I'd be willing to bet that Jaimie, Jaqi, Kim & Sally would still be out there, competing competing competing. You know these women - tell me how they're weak. I'd also like to know where the IPC/FAI calls women the weaker sex. Let me know.

That just kills me. Just know that this is a rule that the Competition committee came up with FOR THE WOMEN'S 4-WAY TEAM ONLY. So, Synchronicity has 3 weeks to go from a Porter exit to an Otter exit, after training solely on the Porter since New Years. Other side of the plane, different size, different memory. No big deal, right? No other event has to meet this requirement. I would pay cash money to see a single member of the Competition committee even try to meet their own arbitrary rules. As far as the merits of the existence of a women's class go - well, get rid of the women's class in Style and Accuracy first since it's been around since forever. When that happens, sure, I'd be happy to discuss eliminating a women-only competition class in RW.

I know there's a whole lot of hoopla over the women's category in 4-way, but no one every questions the separate men's & women's categories in Style & Accuracy. Any thoughts as to why?

OK, I'm taking Sally to the airport in about 15 minutes. I'll alert her to the fact that the Fashion Police are scanning for any non-matchy-matchy faux pas. I'm sure that a big shopping trip will become Mission Number One in Gap (at The Gap?!).

Riight. Because Synchronicity (AKA Team USA) has all the time in the world to think about important stuff like shoes. I'll ask them to make sure their nail polish matches too! The team leaves tomorrow morning for the World Air Games in Gap, France. Competition starts on 9/6. Check out www.omniskore.com for updates and www.teamsynchronicity.com for more info on Kim, Jaimie, Jaqi & Sally. Sending gold medal vibes out to the team!

There was a huge stink about eating dogs right before the World Cup. My family lives in Seoul and my Mom told me that the news reporters were groaning over the big, fat, grossly obese Americans telling us what to eat and not eat. Then they'd show video of an average American mall, the ladies with arms the size of Smithfield hams, the 150 lbs. kids, etc. and say something about how Americans should just stop eating, period. On a side note, dog meat is pretty rare in South Korea. You've got to haul your ass to the sticks if you really want it. I'm Korean and I've never eaten dog meat, or even seen it on a menu whenever I go there (about once a year). I have, however, inadvertently eaten a curried horse sandwich in Zurich, Switzerland. Oops.

Hey all - Just so you know, Skydive City (aka Zhills) is closed on Tuesday & Wednesday during the "off" season from late May through early October. It's a bit quiet on Mondays and Thursdays right now, picks up on Friday and is busy on the weekend. It isn't too difficult to wrangle bodies together to make some cool skydives. Just let manifest know what you're looking for!

Hey Kelly! Stacy ain't kidding about the entire landing area being a swoop pond. Rooster tails for everyone! It's Africa hot, but we're still getting jumps in. We've taken a vote and next summer we're all getting white mesh jumpsuits, because black nylon sucks tremendously. We'll see ya when you get back! -Laura & Oren

There you go, Bill, instilling fear & panic among potential tattoo recipients! Before everyone freaks and starts slamming the evil Japanese, Bill got this from a spoof website...

Have you ever noticed that if you're stuck in line at Jim's and have wait in front of the vent, you'll smell like cheesesteaks for at least 36 hours? No matter how many showers you take? Oh my god, my stomach's rumbling and I'm so far away from South St!

Oh yeaaaaah! Nothing better than a cheesesteak when you're rollin' drunk! Do you prefer Geno's, Pat's or Jim's? I tried to get a cheesesteak here in Tampa from a place that supposedly specializes in serving it up "authentic." The counter dude made the biggest scene when I told him ketchup & grilled onions. He said I was insane and should have it with lettuce and tomato, like a proper deli sandwich. Barf.

As far as I know, there are all women teams from Eloy, The Ranch, Pepperell and CSS. I've heard rumors about other teams from Elsinore and somewhere in the midwest league. There was another team from Deland but I don't know if they're still training. All of these teams look like they'll be in intermediate or advanced. Of course, you've also got the powerhouses, Synchronicity and Chikara in open class. My team (from Zhills) will be competing in intermediate. Hopefully our strict regimen of beer-drinking, half-assed training and occassional forays to the tunnel where we kick each other senseless will pay off! See ya at Nationals? Hope so!

Hmm. So a woman FINALLY has something to say that you want to hear or agree with. Here's your word of the day. misogyny Main Entry: mi·sog·y·ny Pronunciation: m&-'sä-j&-nE Function: noun Etymology: Greek misogynia, from misein to hate + gynE woman -- more at QUEEN Date: circa 1656 : a hatred of women

Gauging from what he's written, Jumprunner knows about as much about surfing as he does about skydiving. He's somewhat literate (drops a couple of industry names & terminology, etc), but the bottom line is that living in the desert = mega uncurrent = he'll never get past locals only rules = dat boy don't surf. I'd wager that he's on surf newsgroups polling if surfers prefer 180 or 270 hooks. Whatevuh. He's bored. Aren't we all, otherwise what the hell are we doing on a forum rather than jumping out of planes?!? ps: Hope to see you at Zhills soon! I've missed the Skymama appearances thus far...

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=alt.surfing.usa This may be a good place for you to hang out. I'm sure the denizens would love to hear all about your radical skydiving.

Read this thread. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=576175;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Weird poopie can happen when you least expect it. In this case, 10,000+ jumps without ever needing a hook knife, and then one day...

Surefire Teva destinkifier: wade around in a swimming pool (preferably not your own), swim a couple of laps, let Tevas dry in the sun. Voila - no funk. Works everytime!

www.sunshine-factory.com A large selection of used gear and new (of course). Give them a call. The staff is composed of very experienced and active skydivers who know gear.

OK, seriously Nathaniel, you're just making yourself look foolish now. You may pontificate all you want about statistics, but in this sport, experience and practical knowledge are meaningful. Get back to me when you've racked up eight or nine thousand jumps over the next 15+ years, made an art of canopy flight and designed a few canopies like Brian has. You can learn quite a lot by reading Brian's canopy owners manual. I'd be willing to bet that it would help you a great deal. www.bigairsportz.com

Get in touch with Tony Hathaway at Zhills. I figure he's loading his Spectre 120 at about 1.4ish and with 10,000+ jumps is more than qualified to give you all the feedback you'd need. He puts about 1000 jumps a year on his Spectres and knows them inside and out. Oh, and he can swoop the snot out of it. www.tonyhathaway.com

The NSL class breakdown doesn't exactly match the class breakdown used at Nationals. NSL AAA = Open/Advanced draw (all blocks) NSL AA = Intermediate (16 out of 22 blocks, iow no slot switching) NSL A = Intermediate (8 of the 22 blocks) NSL Rookie = No blocks at all Check out www.skyleague.com for more details.