lifewithoutanet

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I take it you or someone you know was invovled?

Hahahaha!!!

Certainly not me. I know little details about it other than the premise of the commercial and that it's being done. Seems like it's going to turn out pretty cool, though.

-C.

Look for an upcoming Sony commercial involving soccer in the air.

-C.

Awesome news, man. I slacked off for a couple weeks, but I'm flying again on Saturday before heading out to the DZ to jump. Should be soloing soon, too.
-C.

First: Congratulations!

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Jump 10 was interesting. Very experienced guy at our DZ was being a bit 'problematic' during the skydive.

Get it on video? One of the guys at my old DZ was finishing up his rating and my AFF instructor flew as a passenger. He was a little "problematic", too, and it was fcuking hilarious. We watched that vid' again and again and again.

-C.

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After 4 years of this place, which gets to you, my care factor is just dying....I'm not sure what to do. It's like senioritis in high school, but a billion times worse, and every day that I get closer to graduation it gets worse

Wish I could tell you it ends after school... Fact is, it'll do that with work; your first job, your next job, your next job. There will come a point in time that no matter how much you enjoy what you do, at some point it'll feel like something you have to do and you'll lose motivation. You'll hit periods like this (edited to add:), but it's temporary.

As Winston Churchill said, "If you're going through hell, keep going."

You'll get through it...you almost are...keep going.
-C.

Sitting on my couch, multi-tasking between work, DZ.com and a Chris Rock special. He just did a routine on how America worships money.

"The only reason banks are closed on Sunday is so people will go to church!"

That killed me, but got me thinking. How do YOU feel about money?

I've known irresponsibility and debt up to my eyeballs, even when I made too much ("too much" being relative). I've known scrooge-like saving habits. I've learned to find a proper balance (for me). And then there's the past few months... People ask me why I started skydiving and I tell them, "Because I hate money."

So, how do you feel about money?

-C.

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The important part is to see how they react to it. If the reaction is business as usual then I'll agree the problem is more widespread than just Rumsfeld.

I might be taking your statement out of context, missing something about it, but I'll run with it anyway.
"Business as usual" in Washington, dems or reps, is denial first. "The truth doesn't get better with age" doesn't seem to apply to them when so much popular opinion is based on initial reaction. For you or I, individuals, sure, we'll take the initial information and see how the details pan out. Popular [public] opinion, however, seldom endures the details past the initial media explosion.
So, as for how they react to it...denial first, damage control later, regardless of party. These are, afterall, career politicians rather than the civil servants that politics should theoretically be built upon (but throughout history, rarely, if ever, has been).
Damage control in this situation is the administration acting as a team, sacrificing a member in pursuit of accountability...so that they can move on. It's the same in any party. I'm not too surprised by it anymore.
Would you agree?
-C.

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The Cessna 152 that I am training holds 24.5 useful gallons of fuel.

What have you trained it to do?

The 172 I'm training in holds 56 gal. Does this constitute tank-envy?

How long have you been flying and how is it going?
-C.

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I also don’t think that in one date you can determine what they want out of you. Just don’t assume that there looking for a relationship.

Agree with you there. I think what's caught me off guard is the speed at which the one from last night brings things up compared to how fast *I* would have brought them up. So, yes, it could just as easily be me who's confusing things.

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If you do see that they both want a relationship and you have to choose think about every thing. How important is Skydiving too you. I only have 7 jumps but I am at the drop zone every weekend that I can be. would a non skydiver understand that?

Man, I'm with you there. That's another thing I'm doing a lot of thinking about. I think there's been one weekend (when I've been in town) that I've missed since moving out here. How will they put up with it if they're not into it? It's analogous to the guys (or girls) who play golf every weekend and how their SOs get upset when they take their clubs with them on every vacation. I don't know that I can be with a whuffo, but when I'm at the DZ I don't find myself hitting on the ladies (and they're probably thankful for that).

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I posted a thread once a wile back asking how important it is for your SO to be a skydiver. There was a lot of different answer but I like what Phreezone said.
He said that you will never be happy with a non skydiver. I think that depends a lot on how obsessive you are about this sport. For me it is taking over my life

I remember that thread. That's a good one for me to go back and read.

So, while I'll admit it seems like I'm putting way too much thought into all this it's been a fun exercise to see what other people think. I normally don't talk about this stuff this much. Glad I chose to this time.

-C.

Im aoubt to beark tadritoin of tihs treahd and tpye my rsepnose crrocetly. Pealse froigve me.

Pretty interesting how our brains are wired. What has me curious is how this theory would factor into dyslexia. Granted, I don't know much about the disorder.
-C.

Good points all around. I think what's causing so much over-analysis and thought on this is the date from last night and that with the way she's talking, I'm worried about leading her on. I am ready to "date", but weegegirl is right, I'm not so eager for the "instant relationship, just add one date".
I think also this all has something to do with what amounts to just about zero social life during the week. Wake up, gym, work, dog-park, home...wash, rinse repeat until I get to jump all weekend.

And hey, DrunkMonkey, you are going to hell for that. Always good to meet another fellow inmate.

-C.

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If you feel that way, you are dating the wrong gals.
Dating doesn't have to be expensive. Pack a light dinner and have it on the beach. Go out for a day of hiking or riding some bike trails. Not ever women wants to be wined and dined at a fancy restaurant.

Agreed...the "" after my statement was supposed to show humor...I was only kidding about that, as if the volume of dates was expensive and time consuming. Just shows how humor doesn't always make itself apparent in this medium.

-C.

Very impressive to see, even from the ground. Can only imagine what it looked like up there, guess I'll have to wait for those images.
Congrats to all involved!
-C.

I'm not in the habit of asking strangers (okay, not all of you are) for advice about my love-life, but what the hell, I haven't come to a conclusion on this myself, so I'll see what the rest of you have to say...

After a pretty devastating and sudden break-up (if you could even call it that) a little over a month ago, I've started dating again. Just a couple of dates here and there with women I've met in SoCal. The difference now--being that when I've dated in the past it was normally women I'd gotten to know for a little while, friends of friends, etc.--is that I'm still relatively new to the area, so any woman I meet and go out on a date with, well, I know virtually nothing about her.

Friday night, had a nice date: sushi followed by coffee and walking around Manhattan Beach. We enjoyed each-other's company, had pretty good conversation and a generally good time. Nothing spectacular, but...nice. We both said we want to see each-other again. Oh, she has done a tandem and would love to go again, then possibly more.

Last night, had another date with another woman. Dinner, dessert, then we just sat down outside and talked for a long time. We asked a lot of get-to-know-each-other type questions; past relationships and dating, where we grew up, our families, what we like to do. Like Friday night, also good and relaxing conversation, but a bit deep for a first date. I'm definitely attracted to her, but, well...I'm having a hard time figuring out why. The rest of this is going to sound nit-picky to some extent, I'm sure, but here goes:
She hates the cold. I not only love to ski, but paradise for me is in the mountains in Colorado.
She loves to shop. I'm a guy.
She finds the whole skydiving thing "amazing", but could never do it. "No way."
She's blindingly liberal. I consider myself a moderate with a few liberal opinions and a few conservative ones. My use of the word "blindingly" to describe her stance on issues is obviously just my opinion, but still, it seems to be more based on party-affiliation than thought. Also, she harbors (admittedly) a lot of "liberal guilt". Again, that's just my opinion.
We'd barely made it through dinner and she'd already invited me to a get-together at her house later this week. (Nothing big, but more on my analysis of this later.)
The vibe I was getting was that she's already very into me and we barely know each-other. I'd like to take things a bit slowly given the way my most recent relationship went. I'm not feeling broken, battered or scared shitless by it, but naturally, I don't want to go repeating the past.

So, the thing is, I find myself more attracted to the one from last night, but given that I want to take it a bit more casually, I feel like I should be more interested in seeing the girl from Friday night again. They're both attractive women, so it's not like one is more attractive than the other. I think I know why I feel more attracted to the one from last night...her excitement is something to feed off of. She's already told me repeatedly how glad she is we met. As for the invite to her house this week, I'm not expecting she's going to try to harvest my kidneys or something, but it just feels rushed and a little unsettling. At the same time, maybe it feels good to be desired again, like I felt in the not-so-distant past. Still, it's exactly this sort of thing that I'm thinking I should avoid that I believe is what makes me so much more attracted to her than Friday night girl. Forgive me for the list above, but the summary to that is I feel like ultimately I have very little in common with her: she doesn't ski, skydive, climb, nor have any interest in any of those activities. Not that she absolutely has to do everything I like to, it's just that most of those activities involve a fair bit of commitment; it's not like going to the movies or to a show...they consume your entire day, if not multiple days.

I'm not the type of guy to go dating a few girls at a time. It's time-consuming and expensive. Also, it seems already (to me, at least) that the girl from last night probably wouldn't feel too good if she knew that I was going out on dates with someone else. Maybe that, given how long we've known each-other, is what I need to base my decision on.

Sorry about the length. Believe it or not, as long as this one is, it's still not my complete thoughts. But at this time, if anyone has any thoughts on the matter, I'm all ears.
-C.

Colorado is a tough place to leave, but 19 years is a long time. Best of luck to you in all you do. Colorado will always be there (as opposed to California, which is expected to slip into the Pacific sometime between now and Sept 5th).
Congrats on your move and Blue Skies wherever you land.
-C.

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Condensed milk, when sprinkle onto a lit match, can be most entertaining.

While we're on a pyrotechnic note...

The chemical compound used to make pop-rocks (those little noise-makers wrapped in tissue paper which "pop" when you throw them at the ground, not the candy), when painted onto a blackboard, can demolish said blackboard in a pretty spectacular explosion when tapped hard enough with a piece of chalk.
-C.

Regardless of how you know it or where it came from, post an interesting fact that most people don't know. This one, which I learned from a book called "The Joy of Pi"...

The height of an elephant (from foot to shoulder) equals 2 x Pi x the diameter of the elephant's foot.

The author was attempting to demonstrate just how intrinsic and relevant Pi (3.1415926535) is to our world. A strange fact, yes, and one of those "when will I ever use this in real life?" kinds of things. But as I like to reply when I hear that question, "If you don't learn it...never."

So, post your interesting fact, regardless of subject or context. I just feel the need for some worthless or valuable info.
-C.

Make way for blanket generalizations and wild stereotypes...

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So is this a burnout that couldn’t get a real job with the airlines…the jet engine too much for his reciprocating engine brain? I’d rather the aircraft are taken to a national company with the resources available than to Joe Bunda of the greesemonkey crew. Oh I know we all like Joe, but there is a reason Joe works for the DZ and not the big boys.

On second thought, just make way for gross inaccuracy and flagrant disrespect. Seriously, it's okay to have an opinion and all, which you seem to have, but how can you begin to pass judgment on someone's choice of life if it's different from what YOU would do if you were in their shoes? Would you say the same of the brilliant small-business[wo]man who decided to keep their enterprise small and manageable instead of selling it off to Corporate America and working for Someone Else? How about the mechanic who prefers to work on classic, carburated engines instead of fuel-injected, aluminum, computerized street rods.
Maybe you'd rather the planes be taken to a national company, but what's wrong w/ the accredited, certified mechanic who prefers to work for himself or a smaller group of people?
Have an opinion? Fine. But please, show a little respect.
-C.

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As far as your heater unplug it and it will not come on.

Therein lies a problem. I'd suggested turning it off at the breakers, but there's a safety valve that runs into it that we can't turn turn shut.

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Quit your whinning and grab a cold beer

Done. And done. And done.

-C.

I'd love to, don't have the ballz to do it.
Made me think of the following, though. Hope it's not a repost:

A Lifestyle Story

A highly successful and dynamic business leader was having a few days vacation in Mexico. Ever alert to commerce, he was fascinated to watch the local fishing boats at work. After three days it became apparent that one fisherman consistently seemed to out perform the rest. He didn't fish long but always returned with his boat laden with fish.

He approached the fisherman, whose name was Juan, and asked him about his consistently high catches. Juan said that it was a combination of local knowledge, fishing skill and a couple of family secrets that made him successful.

The businessman pointed out to Juan that he only seemed to fish until about noon, and asked what he did with the rest of the day. "I take a siesta, see my wife, play with the kids and have a drink with my friends in the plaza." The businessman then made Juan a proposition, he would fund Juan to oversee a fleet of ten boats and by working twelve hours a day could he generate some huge dollars.

Juan replied, "But why would I do that when I would have so little time for life's pleasures?" The businessman did some quick calculations and said, "Don't worry, in ten years you'll have made enough money to retire." "What would I do if I retired?" said Juan. The businessman thought, looked around at the picturesque village, and said, "You could take a siesta, spend time with your wife, play with your kids and have a few drinks with your friends in the plaza."


-C.

The white pop-top looks hot. Congrats.
-C.

Saaaweeeeeeet. Now when are you gonna get under it? Sounds to me like there's a need to use a "personal day" sometime this week. Why wait for the weekend?
-C.

As those of you in SoCal know, we're in a scorcher of a heat-wave right now. For those of you not in SoCal, well, we're still in a scorcher of a heat-wave right now. It's pretty ridiculous. I think my golden is ready to break out the clippers and give himself a full-body crew-cut.
As if it wasn't bad enough, my heater keeps turning itself on. Our landlord has been notified and he's pretty good about taking care of stuff, but even w/ the thermostat set all the way to the left, the damn thing keeps turning itself on. I swear I am not making this up...the only way to turn it off is to give it a good solid whack on the side, a la Arthur Fonzarelli.
The weather back "home" in Boulder is in the pleasant 70s. It even snowed last week. Three months was a good stint in California...I think it's time to move back to my beloved Colorado.
Hope the rest of you are keeping cool.
-C.

0:6:1

Six jumps and two 15-min sessions in the tunnel. First time in was in the morning (beer paid). Went back in the evening; quite an eye-opener and really helped me tune my body position. Worth every penny.
Thanks to Eric, Justin, Andy and Celeste who all provided some excellent coaching and tips.
-C.

I'm not a parent, but given the vast age differences between myself and my 16 and 14 year old little brothers, 'parenting' is a role I've often found myself falling into when 'cool big brother' just isn't appropriate. From what I read in the other thread, you're off to a good start by 1.) reinforcing that the punishment is for the forgery, not the missed assignment and 2.) making her follow through on the assignment, even for no credit at all.
One thing my folks drilled into me--and that I continue to instill in my little bros--is that the truth does not get better with age. If you deal with it up front ('it' being the f-up w/ the assignment in the first place), you can quickly move past it. If she just covers it up, she's got to maintain that lie. One perpetuates the next, becomes a big mess, she gets grounded...whereas if she'd just fessed-up in the first place, she might have faced disappointment, but likely wouldn't be grounded.
Hope this helps. Sounds like you've already got it handled in the right way to me, though.
-C.
Edit: PS