PalmettoTiger

What the hell for?! PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

He's so dreamy!! When oh when are hockey mullets going to come back in style? PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Slowly. Except when I'm trying to get shit done, like this week. Then the world moves much too fast for my comfort. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Been a while since I poked my head in here... Has anyone used a bite switch for general electronics/hobbyist work? My Halloween costume this year includes two laser pointers (I'm creating A Shark With Frikkin Laser Beams On Its Head), and it'd be great to rig them to a bite switch for activation. Do bite switches come as just straight cable that I can solder and splice at will? Or should I be looking to use something else to control the lasers? PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I was just about to post this. "When culture gaps run amok!! Next on Fox." PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I was at the Senate hearing in July where the administration presented their "plan" for addressing climate change. It was appalling to watch them advocate voluntary measures and further research, i.e., doing zilch, and then lauding the resulting 18% reduction in the rate of growth of greenhouse gas emissions - not a reduction in emissions, but a less than 1/5th reduction in the growth of emissions. But when their time was up, it was pretty fun to listen to Senator Kerry and a few others rake them over the coals. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Oops. I was too busy celebrating Comrade Lenin's 133rd birthday. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

But... but.. you said you could take it like that! I'll make it up to you. Have some *sympathy d-* er, wait, private jokes leaking into public forums, that's probably not a good idea. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

You've set some pretty challenging goals for yourself Jessica, but damn if we're not proud of you for accomplishing one of them! PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Man, just think about how much extra alt that plane is gonna get! I bet the pilots would just keep climbing until they ran out of atmosphere. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I'd like to see the segment; does anyone have a copy of it or link for it? I know that CNN has it on their main page right now (near the bottom under 'Video'), but it's subscription-only and I don't have that. If anyone does and has a way to save the video, please share! PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I'm going to get some thermal clothing and I wanted to know if anyone has [url=http://www.underarmour.com]UnderArmour[/url] or Hot Chillys. UA seems pretty athlete-oriented, is it good for just general wear or is it really only good for games/practice? If you've had both UA and HC, which did you like better? If you know of something else that works really well for winter skydiving as well as general use in cold weather, please post that too. Thanks! PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I miss Erin. I never got to know her well (I wasn't jumping much that summer) but she was such a presence at BSA. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Billvon as always makes excellent points. And although I might be putting words in the mouths of Indyz and PilotDave (sorry fellas, hope they taste good, at any rate) I feel that for those of us involved with our college clubs, the question asked isn't quite the question being answered. Instead, I KNOW there are people out there who are capable of handling this sport, and who have something thrilling, awe-inspiring, and powerful lying dormant within them. It's just waiting for a taste of altitude to touch it, awaken it, and bring it to the fore. But these people don't try skydiving for reasons that are silly compared to the profound joy that it could bring them. I know these people are out there because I was one of them until May 6th, 2000. That's who I'm trying to bring into the sport. My aim in trying to recruit more effectively for my college club is not to get people who are ill-suited or unprepared for skydiving to come for a jump, just so I can have more people on the club roster. My goal is to give at least some of those unknowing skydivers a chance to see what's waiting for them. That's why I'm curious to hear others' ideas on recruiting more effectively. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

"Why do I skydive? Because the most astounding rapture on Earth is being off of it." - Dan Korn PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I've messed around with starting a club here, but we're not too organized. Still, in the past two years I've been the point of contact for hundreds of people, and my feeling is that there are a few different types of people who will express interest: Type 1, the gung-ho crowd - they've wanted to skydive for a while and you are their chance. Most of them are thrill-seeking, adventurous people. If they say they're going to jump, you can count on it. Type 2, the lurkers - they're intrigued by the idea of skydiving, and may have done some research or paid more attention whenever it comes up in TV or movies. But they're going to need some convincing. Personality-wise, they're generally quieter and less active or outgoing; if you chat with them for half an hour, you wouldn't get the impression that they're risk-takers. They'll be skittish about jumping, but once they decide to look into it and get fully informed many will choose to make a jump. Type 3, the 'just curious' folks - they may have thought about it, but never very seriously. They probably haven't done any research. Most of them aren't truly interested in skydiving, they're just checking to be sure it's not something they'll do. As soon as they get specifics on prices or injury rates, they decide it's not for them. All judgments about wait times for experienced jumpers aside, if you want to improve your "statistics," analyze it from a marketing standpoint*. Type 1s need very little persuasion, so it doesn't make sense to gear your advertising to them. As soon as they hear that there is a skydiving club on campus, they'll flock to you. Type 2s, who are a bigger chunk of the student body, might even be turned off by messages that would hook Type 1s. So advertisements and flyers about "OMG WOW YOU CAN DO 200 MPH UPSIDE DOWN AND BUCK NAKED!" are a waste of effort (the 80/20 principle). If you emphasize the pure freedom and awe-inspiring beauty of skydiving rather than the intense thrill of it, more Group 2s are going to respond. When we designed our flyers and did the write-ups for our website, we kept that idea in mind. We blitzed the campus with fliers the same day our website went up, and in the first 12 hours we had 800 hits. On a campus with ~4500 students, that's a hell of a response rate. In the big picture, though, PilotDave really hit it on the head. Most college students don't have the money to go through AFF and get licensed. Most don't even have enough to make a tandem. So a college club is necessarily going to have bad retention rates. Yeah, it's true that if they're hooked they'll find a way, but I think that's mostly Type-1s who you're going to get anyway. If you want to try and build a bigger corps of active jumpers for your club, think about how to attract the type-2s. *DISCLAIMER - even though I probably sound like a snake-oil salesman when I'm talking about marketing and message strategy, I never gloss or fudge the risks. When people ask about injuries/fatalities I give them straight answers, and I make sure they get those answers before they put money down. Wouldn't want anyone to find out the hard way that they had the wrong idea about our sport. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Was just looking for the thread to do the bump myself. Timestamp looks a little messed up (9/11/01 1:25 AM). I wonder what time the post was actually made? PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Awesome story! Thanks for sharing.

I know the feeling. OUT OF DATE BY ONE FREAKIN' DAY GIMME A BREAK AAAGGGH PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I would have done it today, but it wouldn't have been ready until tomorrow, and I've got too much crap to take care of tomorrow (stuff I put off today so I could jump). And I'm gonna be out of town next weekend too. So now I've learned my lesson. I'm not gonna get it repacked until I'm actually on the DZ and ready to jump... this is twice in a row I've paid for repacks I never took up on a jump. DAMMIT. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAMMIT Of all the stupid reasons - I can't even talk about it. Just look for yourself. Then do the math. motherFUCK. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Alright. 317 days uncurrent. Made the appointment already, made sure I had the cash. Weather is... decent. hopefully. I know how to get there, my car is fine, I'm dressed, I've had a bit to eat. Time to go. Really. No excuse for procrastinating anymore. I should go. HELP MEEEEE Jumpsuit: check Logbook: check Helmet: check Goggles: check Altimeter: check Hook knife: check Rig: check Wallet: check Keys: check Shades: Yeah. I'm gonna go do this. PTiger PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

The early bird gets the worm... ... but the second mouse gets the cheese. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

No. I heard "installing computers" and I was hooked! PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way