skydiver30960

You know your office better than I do. My feeling is that if you feel something is wrong, it's probably a safe bet. I got laid off on the first of the New Year, and I've been REALLY happy about the whole situation. What made losing my job MUCH easier was that when I started to see the writing on the wall I started to plan ahead. Stuff like: look at how much $$$ you have in the bank. I'm not a family man, so I didn't need a lot. But it's just a comparison of your needs vs. your bank account. Think about how long it'll take to get a new job (or how much you plan to be off if you're going to take a "break" from the workaday world) and make sure you have the savings to cover it. Try to limit expenses. Don't count on severance or unemployment benefits; then anything you DO get is icing on the cake. I know some of this sounds pretty sophomoric; but I had a buddy who, as we started seeing the direction the company was going, went ahead with his plans to buy himself a new house and truck. Needless to say he was sweatin' . Long story short: start saving for the "rainy day" today instead of waiting for the pink slip. Then, when/if it does come, you'll be more prepared and will be able to handle a little time without a paycheck maybe even take some well-deserved "walkabout" time! Elvisio "bummin' it and lovin' it" rodriguez

Well, only a blind man would not see that the point has been made, but just because I'm so proud of my own opinion, Spain is where it's at. I have not visited the UK, and would very much like to someday, but not at the expense of never going to Spain again. Both my trips have concentrated on the South of Spain and the land is captivating. Granada, Toledo, Sevilla; all are truly awesome. How can you not LOVE a culture that goes home for three hours in the middle of the work day to eat and nap? Then goes back to work for a couple more hours (maybe), goes home again and hits the clubs until 4AM? Does the siesta give the energy to stay out, or does staying out require the siesta? It's a chicken vs. egg thing that I never understood, but enjoyed fiercely! Elvisio "espana suprema" Rodriguez

MY NEW BEST FRIEND! Elvisio

Man, ZZ Top had it right. Is there anyone else here who is willing to stand and be recognized in support of ... cheap sunglasses? I just picked up two pair at the mall for $7.50 each. One for jumpin, one for sittin around waiting for jumpin. I used to be a raging Oakley and Killer Loop fan. But one day I just bent/broke/lost/had stolen one pair too many of $100+ sunglasses. Damn, I love 'em. OH YEAH, there was another ZZ Top song that sang of the virtues of another clothing accessory... hmm... I wonder if anyone else can guess which song I'm talkin' about... hmm... So maybe there's one thing better than cheap sunglasses... Elvisio "another useless thread brought to you by" Rodriguez

I'm sure they won't know how much jump tickets are going to be until closer to the convention 'cuz of the fluctuations in gas (and Jet A) prices. Last year, they let you pre-buy tickets when you registered, with the idea that you could get them cheaper if ticket prices went up before the Convention started. It didn't last year, but I'd bet it'll happen this year. The "pre-buy" if it's offered again, might be a good bet. Definitely not knocking the WFFC staff, I know they do everything they can for us. But, myself personally, I'm looking for jump tickets to be a bit-to-somewhat more than last year. Elvisio "as long as the beer is still free" Rodriguez

altitude: 14,000 aircraft: otter maneuver: 3-way freefly description: AWESOME SUNSET JUMP! Launched a round with two jumpers head down and one sitting, HD with grips on the sitters legs, sitter with grips on the HD legs. FLEW AWESOME! It looked stupid in the door but came out like it was it's job! Broke that into a mellow campfire, got bored and flew in for a SWEET mindmeld on the sitflyer. YEEEEEEEHHAAAAAAA! Elvisio "still giddy" Rodriguez

I have NO desire to do anything. On today's "to do" list is: 1.) Repack a reserve; 2.) Assist in teaching a weightlifting class; 3.) Work out; 4.) Hang out with buds after dinner. Right now my motivation will provide for completing the following tasks: 1.) Working the shape of my bony ass into my La-Z-Boy and watching bad TV (any daytime TV on Discovery Channel, History Channel, Travel Channel, etc.) until sometime around 5PM. Then, go to the fridge, start drinkin' beer, and continue TV watching. There's a hockey game on that looks like it's going to seriously hijack my evening. Methinks there is a bit of an inbalance between those two lists... Elvisio "motivationally challenged" Rodriguez

a quick search on cnn.com yields a story dated 3/15 about a skydiving fatality in Australia. The reason it got so much attention was it was the daughter of Britain's Minister for Europe. The article mentions a "tangled parachute" (singular) in one paragraph and "her parachutes malfunctioned" (plural) in another. No mention of a camera, but it does say she was an experienced skydiver, not a newbie. Elvisio "dan rather, I ain't" Rodriguez

Sold! Now, make it happen. Quick. I'll expect the beta test on my desk by tomorrow afternoon. Elvisio "best $100 I'd ever spend, other than that time at Mardi Gras" Rodriguez

I have a buddy whose boy (at age 4) told another daycare student to "get on your knees and smile like a donut"... Needless to say, parent-teacher conferences were involved... It still makes me laugh... and a little jealous. This dude's nastier at age four than I am at thirty! Elvisio "school's out forever" Rodriguez

No way man! That's one of the COOLEST things about science. Every time we turn over a rock and find an answer, we look over our shoulders and find a bunch more rocks to turn over. I think that in the past they (i.e. the science community in general) has tried to say "OK, now we know everything" but more and more we're beginning to understand that we'll never understand it all, there will always be one more layer to the onion. Scientists cast their sight outward to the farthest reaches of the universe, and inward to the smallest subatomic particles, and no end is in sight. It's a blast! Elvisio "you are here" Rodriguez

Wow, lots of posts. Duckwater's point about shooting to kill and emptying the gun is a good one. If you wound somebody or try to do so and miss, if they weren't planning on killing you then at that point they will be. And when there's only one side to the story... also a good thing. When I went to get the CCDW permit in my previous home state of KY, they talked about all the situations in which you are justified and all the situations where you are NOT. Here's my conclusion on the situation: THE LAW SUCKS (sorry, lawrocket and other litigators). There are so many loopholes and technicalities that it's impossible to guess. So here's how I look at it: Plan on the worst case scenario: that even if you ARE justified in using deadly force that the injured party will have a good lawyer and will get you caught on one of these myriad technicalities and put you away for the next ten years of your life. Now, when you find yourself in a "to shoot or not to shoot" situation, take (literally) a half-second to ask yourself: Is stopping the crime I'm about to stop by shooting and/or killing somebody worth spending the next ten years of my life in prison: 1.) Murder? Definitely. Take the shot. I lose ten years, but I can give somebody else back the decades of their life that they were about to lose. 2.) Rape? Definitely. That's the kind of thing that f**ks somebody up for life. They won't die, but trade ten years of shitty life for a lifetime of shitty life anytime. 3.) An ass-kicking? Maybe. Are just fists involved, or is it baseball bats and brass knuckles? If somebody isn't going to be able to walk again, it may be worth the stretch. But if it's just a matter of a couple black eyes or having a jaw wired shut for a few weeks, keep it in the holster. 4.) I catch a guy in my house holding a knife? He's a dead son of a bitch. Nuff said. BUT: 5.) I catch a guy in my house holding my TV? Try to hold him until the cops get there, but I'm not willing to go to jail for my 27" JVC. If he decides to rush me, THEN AT THAT POINT it's more than my TV, it's "sorry officer, but I genuinely believed my life to be in direct danger, so I put nine hollowpoint .45s in his chest." So that's how I see it: there aren't many possesions in my house that I'm willing to go to jail to protect. If my life and the lives of those I care about are not in DIRECT danger, I'm inclined to shy away from deadly force. But come for my life or to harm or kill somebody I love and I will do everything in my power to stop you. Elvisio "maybe if it was a 42" plasma screen..." Rodriguez

0:9:1 Beer is for my 1000th jump! Elvisio "1000 jumps and I still fly like crap" Rodriguez

Mark and riggerrob, thanks for the help! Just what I needed.... Elvisio "knowledge is power! --School House Rocky" rodriguez

though not appropriate for your dog (from the pic) a good skydiving dog name: Spot. Then you can yell BAD SPOT! BAD SPOT! Doesn't everyone hate a bad spot? Elvisio

Reflexes aren't too common in my neck of the woods but they do show up once in a while. I've actually had really good luck with the pop tops, never had to go back and snug down either of the whopping TWO I've repacked. BUT: last time I did a repack I was thumbing through my packing instructions and couldn't seem to find a schematic for constructing a new closing loop for the Reflex. I'm sure that if I needed to that I could use the old loop as a template but knowing my luck it'd be after a Cypres fire or some Murphy's Law kind of thing like that. Does anybody know who is handling Reflex's license now that the original manufacturer is out of business? I know they sold the license to somebody when they went belly up. I need to find out if there is a publication (online, or in a revised packing instruction, or whatever) that offers a schematic of the closing loop. OR, does anybody have any rule of thumb that they use for these loops? Danke, Gracias, and Thanks! Elvisio

Be sure to confirm the ingredients in any pastries or "cakes" you may be enjoying while there. A friend of mine in school got a piece of "cake" expecting a mild buzz and ended up dropping off the face of the earth for almost two days. He knew what he was buying... just didn't now it would have such a KICK... Elvisio "was it poundcake" Rodriguez

No work, slept in late; Good weather for the weekend; Things are looking good! Elvisio "my haiku is worse than my flying" Rodriguez

I'm a 29 year old guy playing his first ever season of honest to goodness ice hockey. I'm loving it... I don't know if it'll ever overtake skydiving for my #1 obsession, but it's definitely a close second. It's such a thrill to be participating in something that I thought I would always just have to watch from the cheap seats. My league (along with most all leagues where a beginner or intermediate skill level predominates) is a "non checking" league. This means a little bump and grind (minds out of the gutters, folks) is OK but no real checking an no roughing and DEFINITELY no fighting. But even at this relatively benign level of the game, I see the passion for the sport and the thrill of competition and the occasional push or shove adding up to the emotion that brings people to drop the gloves. It happened just last night (my teammate was involved, not me), and it wasn't encouraged by the referees or other players, but it happened. Myself, I'm just now starting to get good enough on my skates to get into the play, and I've felt that energy building up in me after somebody put an admittedly legal play on me. I haven't come anywhere near dropping the gloves, but have felt that rush and can see show some might be pushed over the breaking point. It's a lot like skydivers arguing at the DZ over stupid DZ politics: why do we do that? Because we love the sport and are passionate about our involvement in it. As far as the Bertuzzi thing goes, I (personally) DON'T want to see the government get involved. I know I'm in the minority on this one, but I really DON'T want to see a lawsuit here. It's just like governmental involvement in skydiving. None of us wants that, right? Why? Because as soon as the door is opened, it will be easier to open it a bit further next time, and the time after that, and the time after that. The hockey players on the board will agree that there is a strong "unwritten code" about hockey players policing themselves. Problems that come up on the ice are resolved on the ice. Maybe Bertuzzi needs to be suspended for life, but I would rather not see the courts involved. Elvisio "sorry for the long post" Rodriguez

Does this have anything to do with the broken ankle? Too much time lounging around in bed recuperating, maybe? Since no skydiving there was more time for....? Elvisio "need to make sure my girlfriend doesn't break any bones" Rodriguez

Or, if I can't find one girl to fulfill them all, I wouldn't mind several different girls to each fulfill one of the criteria... Elvisio "yeah, that'll happen" Rodriguez

Do I have to pick just one? Who am I kidding. I'll take anything I can get and be happy for it. Elvisio "slowly learning my place in the romantic pecking order" Rodriguez

Sign me up for top spot in the R&D department. Oh, and QA department as well. Elvisio "we service what we sell" Rodriguez

Drop them an email to explain the situation and get a return address,then ship it off to them. Here's how cool these guys are: 1.) The first time they helped me out was when my protrack got knocked off my helmet. Being a know-nothing newbie, I actually trusted the plastic clip to do its job rather than adding zipties or rubberbands. Riser slap sent that protrack flying at 2500 agl. Damn. Drop an email to L&B to tell them what happened and (sorta) complain about the clip's design, and BANG new protrack arrives in the mail. Totally cool. 2.) The second time was when I broke the LCD screen because it was on the outside of my helmet and I bounced my melon of something (happened too fast to really know how it happened). Send it in to L&B, new protrack arrives in mail. So, although I paid a lot for the ProTrack, I'm now on my third unit and have only paid for one. L&B products are a bit pricey but the customer service ROCKS.

I (along with most of the gun-carrying public of the USofA) had the same idea, but I'm sure it'll never happen. I don't think explosive decompression is an issue as much as the fact that when we fly (in particular us penniless bastards who fly coach) are packed into that plane like sardines. There is just no way a round would get from the gun to anywhere else without going through somebody first. Plus, it's a fact that we get stressed out when we fly. It'd only be a matter of time before an argument between two passengers about who gets the overhead storage space would end up in a high-noon showdown. Have you noticed that there have been no hijackings since 9/11? My opinion is it has NOTHING to do with the added security. Up until that day we (as a airline riding public) had been trained by past events that if we just be calm, relax, and do what the hijackers tell us that we'll PROBABLY be OK. I'm pretty sure that attitude is long gone. Remember that dude who tried to use his "shoe bomb" right after 9/11? The passengers damn near tore him limb from limb. Armed passengers or no, armed pilots or no, armed marshalls or no, I think hijackers realize that they're going to have thier hands full if they ever try to jack a plane again. I think the greater future threat comes from bombs rather than armed people. Elvisio "my two cents turned into a quarter" Rodriguez