jaitken

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

A central component of Tom's BFFM program is bodyfat measurements. Using a simple, cheap caliper, you can get surprisingly accurate measurements, and as long as that number trends down you're doing something right, assuming you're measuring consistently, of course!

If you do what you say you're gonna do then you don't need supplements. If you're hell bent on spending money then get some ephedrine and do an ECA stack. Unlike 99% of the crap you see in the muscle mags it will actually work. But there's really no need. If you clean up your diet and add a little exercise you should be able to drop that 10lbs of fat in 6-8 weeks, maybe less -- spend the $$$ on jump tickets instead. If you need something more structured, I highly recommend either of the following: Tom Venuto's "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" program: http://www.burnthefat.com/ Will Brink's "Fat Loss Revealed" program: http://www.fatlossrevealed.com/ An added benefit of FLR is you get a year's worth of access to their forums which include, among lots of other useful stuff, an extensive database of reviews of just about every supplement out there. Check them out, both Tom and Will are highly regarded in the fitness/bodybuilding worlds; neither one will steer you wrong. Here's an article written by Will that you may find useful: http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/nutritionbasics/a/brinknutrition.htm "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti

FYI, since I didn't see it here already, from Buz's obituary: His family suggests that in lieu of flowers donations may be made to a memorial fund at the Fisher House or to Best Friends Animal Society to benefit abused animals. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti

Just like with skydiving, you're buying life support equipment. Why would you buy something off of eBay if you "don't really know much about it"? My suggestion is to find a good local dive shop and get them to help you find appropriate gear. If price is your biggest concern just be up front with them and see how willing they are to work with you. Worst thing they can do is help educate you and then refuse to match the price. :-) To answer your question, Mares and Aeris are very good brands. You can read all sorts of reviews on www.scubadiving.com -- just select "Gear" and go from there (in fact, if you click on the BCD section, and read the article entitled "The Best New BCs" you'll find a review of the Aeris Sport, which is the one in the eBay ad). However, if it doesn't fit or "feel right" what are your options? Another reason to hit up the local dive shop is that you'll have an option to try on all kinds of gear before buying something. Good luck, "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti

Care to explain how and what exactly you injured? Sure. While tracking away during an otherwise-uneventful 3-way, I went to wave off and pull. As I reached out with my left hand I felt a "pop" in my left shoulder area. I didn't know it at the time, but I had torn the pectoral muscle away from its attachment point on the upper arm. Unfortunately, my first reaction wasn't helpful; I instinctively pulled my arm back in towards my body, which caused me to get unstable briefly. After a couple of missed atempts at grabbing the main PC, I hit my hard deck and went straight to the reserve handle (with the injured arm; yeah, that felt good). I was in the saddle by about 1800' and landed without any other complications except that it hurt like hell to steer and flare. A few weeks later I had surgery to have the tendon reattached and began the lengthy rehab process. After talking to my surgeon (who happens to be one of the team docs for the Redskins), I believe I may have damaged the tendon previously in the weight room. While it's a fairly rare injury, the two most common causes are lifting exercises like the bench press and making a tackle where your arm gets bent backwards. A month or so before the accident I had taken a couple weeks off of lifting due to pain in my left shoulder, so my guess is that it was strained or even partially torn and I managed to tweak it "just right" on that particular skydive. In any event, the repair seems to be holding up well. I've resumed all normal activites and haven't had any issues. I'm still weaker than I was before the injury but based on my results so far it's just a matter of rebuilding my strength... another six months of lifting and I should be fine. Jeff "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti

After getting my A license, I bought a used rig and put a Sabre2 230 in it. Shortly after I hit 100 jumps I bought a new rig and elected to buy a new Safire2 209. Due to an injury this spring that kept me out for almost 6 months (torn muscle in freefall) I haven't jumped much this year, so I've only put 20-25 jumps on the Safire2, but I like it so far. I am about 60lbs heavier than you but I think you'll find the Safire2 to be a great canopy. Packing a brand-new zero-p canopy is a pain in the ass, so I'd definitely agree with the suggestion that you buy one used if possible. I had a few "abrupt" openings with the Sabre2, but those were likely due to a combination of poor packing technique and body position on my part. Openings on the Safire2 have been great and it's plenty of fun to fly. As for turbulence, I haven't noticed any difference between the two canopies. Demo'ing each of them sounds like a good plan. Regarding your flare technique, I've only got ~150 jumps so I'm not qualified to give much advice. In general, the more speed you have coming in, the more flare power you have at your disposal. However, you should really take this up with a qualified instructor/coach. I took Brian Germain's canopy class and would highly recommend that you do something similar, then follow it up with additional coaching. In particular, get someone to film your landings and review the video with your instructor. Jeff "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti

I've got at least 2550 fewer jumps than mjosparky, so take this for what it's worth...

The surefire might be small, but the .45 caliber bullets that show up just after the bright light comes on are another story...

I've been on Oahu once, don't remember the dive shop though... was only there for a couple days that year. Dove a couple of wrecks which were pretty neat. On Kauai, I've been out numerous times with both Bubbles Below and Sea Sport Divers. Sea Sport is based in the Poipu area, while Bubbles Below departs out of Port Allen. As for dive sites, my favorite without a doubt is the 3-tank trip to Ni'ihau. Both companies run charters there, although they will only go if there's enough interest, so make sure you call well in advance. The diving off of Ni'ihau is amazing... great vis, amazing diversity of marine life, and some really one-of-a-kind stuff, like being able to get pretty close to a Hawaiian monk seal. I liked the Seasport boat better for the crossing over to Ni'ihau (a 2-hour ride than can get exciting on the way back). Bubbles Below now claims to have a 6-pack dubbed the "Dive Rocket", but I don't know anything about it beyond what's on their web site. I would willingly recommend either company. Be advised that a Ni'ihau trip is an all-day affair; you'll leave early (like 0600) and get back around 1730. http://bubblesbelowkauai.com/ http://www.seasportdivers.com/ HTH, Jeff "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti

I just got back from a week in Corolla, had a great time. My fiancee's family goes there every year and we've tagged along each of the last two years. There are lots of rental agencies, but they deal with two called Twiddy (http://www.twiddy.com/) and Sun Realty. As an example, the house we stayed in is called Celtic Shore; it's got 5 BR, a pool, and a hot tub. It's on the sound, not the ocean, but the island's only only about half a mile wide at that point, so it's not a big deal to get to the beach. Anyway, check with the local rental companies and I'm sure you'll be able to find a house that meets your size/budget needs. Anyone know if it's possible to do a beach jump there? :-) "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti