jaitken

Members
  • Content

    29
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    0%

Community Reputation

0 Neutral

Gear

  • Main Canopy Size
    209
  • Reserve Canopy Size
    220
  • AAD
    Cypres

Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    Skydive Orange (Orange, VA)
  • License
    B
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    150
  • Years in Sport
    9
  • First Choice Discipline
    Freeflying
  • Second Choice Discipline
    Formation Skydiving
  1. I just returned after a 5-year layoff. I had roughly 140 jumps previously. I re-read the SIM, visualized malfunctions, and over the last 18 months spent about 2 hours in the tunnel -- mostly working on freeflying, but also spending some time each visit doing basic belly skills. When I finally got out to the DZ I did some hanging harness training and a general refresher with my instructor before my recurrency jump. The good news is that he told me afterwards that he couldn't tell that I had been out of the sport. The bad news is that the one thing that benefited me the most (the tunnel) is the one thing you don't have access to over in the sandbox. If you can afford it when you get back, even a few minutes in the tunnel is well worth it IMO, and will likely make the recurrency jump a breeze. Other than that, keep your head down and check six! "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  2. The policies that provided the foundation for this crisis predate both Obama and W. You've got to go back to at least the mid-90s, if not much earlier. In particular, the concept of securitization set the stage for much of the mess we're in because it allowed investment banks to turn garbage into gold, literally. You can debate whether it was W or Obama that has made the bigger mess since then, but the truth is that BOTH of them were handed a shit sandwich to start with. To my knowledge, Brooksley Born was the first public official who raised the issue of OTC derivatives (in particular, swaps and hybrid instruments) with the CFTC "concept release" in 1998. However, any talk of regulation was vehemently opposed by Greenspan, Rubin, and Summers. As a result of their inaction, I think it's fair to assign a significant amount of blame to the Clinton administration. But it's not like they created the mess to begin with. Greenspan was initially appointed by Reagan in 1987, after all, long before Slick Willie entered the picture, and the Wall Street whiz kids were cooking up complex synthetic financial instruments even earlier. If you ask me, though, the real blame lies with JP Morgan, John D Rockefeller, Paul Warburg, et. al. America made a deal with the devil in 1910, even if almost no one had any idea what had happened. And until someone figures out how to run a central bank without a hopelessly corrupt central banking cabal to go along with it, we're going to continue to pay the price. We will eventually recover from this crisis, but there WILL be another one, and regardless of the trigger (student loan debt? commercial real estate?) it will probably be even worse than the last one. Bernanke won't make the same mistakes that Greenspan did, he's too busy making new ones! And we haven't learned the lessons from the last one, obviously: there's still a complete lack of accountability, a still-growing derivatives timebomb, widespread corruption & fraud, etc. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  3. I don't know anything about Va Beach, but there is still talk of one or even two tunnels in the DC metro area. One in National Harbor (technically MD but just across the river from Alexandria), and another in NoVA somewhere: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/indoor-skydiving-outfit-leaping-into-washington-market/2012/02/29/gIQAwhwrqR_story.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/06/indoor-skydiving-national-harbor_n_1323815.html No idea if either has progressed beyond the idea stage, but maybe someone else here knows more. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  4. I tore my pec several years back and was presented two options. One was to just let it heal, which would leave me with permanent weakness and unknown potential impact on future activities (no more bench press for sure). The other was surgery, which was what I chose. It went well and I was recovered fully in about 9 months. However, because I waited a couple weeks in between the injury and the surgery, due to being referred to several specialists and needing multiple MRIs to assess the damage, the surgery was more difficult than it would have been if I'd had it right away, and as a result I have less range of motion on that side. Not a big deal, but since you're talking about your leg, the impact might be more significant. FWIW my dad completely tore his quad at the knee two years ago and had surgery to repair it. Recovery took a little over a year, but given that he's in his 60s that was expected. Good news is that he has full use of the leg and no complications that I'm aware of (no lingering pain or soreness, essentially full range of motion, etc). IMO, if it's anything more than a minor tear I would want it repaired. It may "heal" on its own, but you'll never have full functionality/strength again. Whether that matters to you is obviously a personal decision, and depends in part on the severity and location of the tear, your age and level of activity, etc. And while there may not be much you can do given your health care system, the longer you wait, the more the tendon (if torn) will retract, making surgical repair more difficult and potentially limiting your recovery. If you're young and/or moderately active, that could be a significant concern, but obviously you have to weigh that against the risks associated with any surgery: infection, blood clots, etc. A few useful links if you haven't already researched it to death: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00294 http://www.sportsmd.com/SportsMD_Articles/id/332.aspx "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  5. I'm assuming that you mean that you're a Type-1 diabetic. My sister was diagnosed when she was around 10 years old. She ran track in HS and college, and has participated in many activities more physically demanding than skydiving without issue. So obviously it can be done. HOWEVER, you mention that you are having difficulty controlling your blood sugars. Moderately high blood sugar levels may not pose an immediate risk, but LOW levels absolutely do. Using my sister as an example, by 60 she appears confused and by 40 she's seizing. If "uncontrolled numbers" can include being low, then my suggestion would be to wait until you have things better under control. You don't know how your body is going to react to the added stress and adrenaline of a first-time skydive, and you don't want to find out the hard way. That said, your doctor is really the only person qualified to give you advice on this. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  6. As someone who has personal experience with freeflying a not-quite-freefly-friendly rig (and what can go wrong ) I'll take a stab at this. Since freeflying generally means a body position other than belly-to-earth and faster than normal freefall speeds (150+ mph), a freefly-friendly rig must meet at least the following criteria: 1. It must provide complete protection of the bridle, such that no part of the bridle is exposed to the relative wind regardless of the jumper's orientation. This helps to prevent a horseshoe/premature deployment. 2. The riser covers and the main/reserve pin covers must also be secure regardless of jumper orientation and speed. 3. The rig needs to fit well. You don't want it moving around on you while you're flying head-down, in a sit, etc. Especially for sitflying, you want some mechanism to keep the leg straps where they belong. If you search for "fall out of a rig" you'll turn up links that explain the issue and provide some ideas for how you might choose address it. Some folks think that the bungee strap is adequate, others have fashioned various types of "butt straps". Talk to your rigger and/or instructors. It goes without saying that when freeflying you need to pay extra attention to the basics: make sure all straps are correctly routed and properly adjusted, check your closing loop, the condition of your BOC spandex and any velcro, etc. No. Freefly-friendly just means that the rig should stay closed and in position until you throw that PC. If for whatever reason you end up with a deployment at 150+mph, you can still break stuff, including yourself. BTDT, got the tshirt. Not sure what you're asking here. If the question is "can I freefly in a student/rental rig?", the answer is to talk to your instructors, who know what rigs are used at your DZ and whether or not they are suitable for freeflying. Rigs AND canopies are tested to certain speed/weight combinations. For example, my Wings manual says 254lbs/150kts. If you exceed those limits, you can damage the canopy, the rig, or yourself. Once you've read the owner's manual for your rig and canopies (usually available online) your rigger will likely be happy to answer any additional questions that you have. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  7. The quote that has always stuck with me is: "So using the '45 degree rule' in combination with time is as sensible as using the number of fleas on my dog in combination with time to ensure separation." Thank you Dr. Kallend.
  8. It depends on how much you want to do yourself. I decided years ago to quit building them myself and was able to find a local shop that's staffed with clueful people who will let me pick the components and then put it all together for a reasonable fee. If you want to do it all yourself, newegg is one good source for components. Unfortunately I'm in VA so the local place I mentioned isn't going to help you (looks like you're in CA). Maybe try tomshardware.com for more info? "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  9. You may be thinking of Colin Wells. I believe he started out at SDVA, at least that's where I know him from. I haven't seen Colin since Cat & Larry's wedding, but he might call West Point home these days, not sure. I'll send them a link to this thread, maybe they can help point him to an instructor who'd be willing to work with him. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  10. Joppa looks to be ~90 miles from both Cross Keys (NJ) and Chambersburg (PA). I haven't jumped either but you can find more info at http://crosskeysskydiving.com/ and http://www.skydivingcenter.net/. If for whatever reason you end up on the south/west side of B'more then Skydive Orange in Orange, VA will be about the same distance as xkeys (~110 miles, give or take), and might be worth a shot. More info here: http://www.skydiveorange.com/ "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  11. Harry Parrish was killed in an incident that involved a dislodged reserve handle: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3636210;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Obviously, the student grabbing the floating handle was a contributing factor in that case, but yes, it has happened. I am not qualified to debate whether this makes the D-ring type of handle better or worse, just answering the question. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  12. As luck would have it, England and Australia have volunteered to do exactly that. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  13. Disclaimer: not a pilot or airline employee. That said, I heard that they only record the last 30 minutes. Since these guys took longer than 30 minutes to return to their original destination once they woke up, any recording of what was going on during that 90 minute period is gone. Whether it can be recovered via forensic analysis I don't know. No clue if it's true or not, just what I heard reported at one point. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  14. Every single licensing/registration scheme has lead to confiscation of legally-owned firearms. It's one of the few absolutes you can count on. For those who mistakenly think that "it couldn't happen here", go talk to the folks in New Orleans. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  15. Sort of... it's not that simple. True, for maximum muscle gain you have to eat a lot, and to lose fat you have to have a calorie deficit. But it's definitely possible to lose fat while building, or at least maintaining, LBM. And the OP's stated goal was fat loss. Your comment on fish is spot-on, though... one of the keys to a good (long-term) diet is to replace most of the "bad" fats in your diet with "good" fats, not to simply cut out fat, contrary to much popular opinion! Salmon, tuna, etc are GREAT sources of good fats... as are flax oil, olive oil, etc. With a little research and experimentation it's not too hard to incorporate these into most meals... use olive oil for cooking and salad dressings, eat fish a couple times a week, etc. There's no need to go on the "boiled chicken and brown rice every meal" diet.