Nightingale

I did do tandems as a student... I'm not sure I'd do a tandem as a passenger for someone just learning, but I'd go for a tandem with one of the instructors I know. I might even pay for one if I really wanted to get back in the air. It'd be fun. =)

Some tunnel time when you get back might help a bit.

Thank you everyone for your help!!!

I have cool-max, but my suit is nylon. It was so worth it.

Thank you. It seems that now, with online classes and even traditional classes that are requiring some kind of internet discussion forum, textbook makers have gotten around not making money from used books and are charging students $50-$75 for "online course access" to their classes, or give the access codes free in new books. Now, students can't buy a used book to save $40, because they then have to shell out an extra $50 for the access code.

Mine has about 700 jumps and is a little older. I was told it was worth about $500, so that's probably about right.

I rode the plane down on my AFF level 2. What happened: The instructor prepped me for an exit from one aircraft (otter). Then, the dropzone switched the planes on us to skyvan a few minutes before the call, and I now had to learn a new exit. Then, my instructors got switched around, and I found someone whose name I didn't know on my main side. Why it didn't occur to me to ask the guy his name, I have no idea, but we never really got introduced before getting on the plane. If it were one of those things (the exit/plane, or the new instructor), I probably would've been okay, but having both happen on a five minute call was too much when I was already nervous because my instructor had pulled for me on my first jump. I'd grabbed my instructor's altimeter instead of my main handle when it came time to pull, so having someone I didn't know on my main side was freaking me out. When the door opened, I realized I was soooo not in the right headspace to make a safe skydive. It would've gone badly. So, I told the instructors I wasn't going. They were both totally cool about it and didn't pressure me. The guy who was reserve side rode the plane back down with me, and the other guy whose name I didn't catch went for a jump after making sure I was okay, which I was, after realizing they'd let me stay in the plane. It was a really awful feeling, but it was the right decision for me to make under the circumstances. That didn't make me feel any better about it at the time, though. I decided to do a tandem after I landed and thought it over for a bit, and I asked for John, the instructor on my first tandem two weeks earlier. The dropzone was happy to accommodate, and we went up and had a great skydive. He was so relaxed that I felt stupid being nervous, I knew he wasn't going to let me wuss out, and he knew I wanted to skydive, so we were on the same page there. We did as much of a level 2 AFF as we could tandem style, so it was a learning jump, and he helped turn a really horrible day into something good. I went back to the dropzone a few days later to watch the swoopers, John saw me sitting on the bench and reminded me that skydiving is really not a spectator sport, and talked me into giving level 2 another try. I passed that day. However, if I hadn't gotten back in the air the same day for a tandem after my first try at level 2, I'm not sure I'd have been able to talk myself into going back. A couple people really went out of their way to talk to me about what happened and make me feel comfortable giving it another go, and that made a huge difference. What you guys do every day, the things you say to students, the little things that you probably don't remember the next day or week, they matter to us. This was nine years ago, and that one day made such a huge difference in my life, because if one or two people had done something differently, I'd never have jumped again, wouldn't have passed AFF, gotten my A license, my B license, gone to WFFC and Prairie, and met so many of you awesome people. Even to those tandem students that you never see again, what all you instructors do really makes a difference.

I totally agree that it should have never made it that far. And, I am the DZO. Do you have policies for your office staff to help them screen for people who may not be competent to sign a waiver and consent form and what conditions should require a doctor's note to jump?

Somewhere close to zero (at least in the last 7 years or so, which is the time I've been involved in the CCW community here). I've heard of a couple of incidents where there have been cases where CCW holders have used their weapons, but we're a relatively safe county. We also have gun ownership hovering at around 25%. Whether you think that's correlation or causation is up for debate. Here's one, though. A store owner shot an armed robber who was threatening his employees and customers. The owner ordered the robber to drop his gun, and he refused. The owner shot the robber in the head. Damned good shot. http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=8755202

Yeah, if you believe their training and methods were worth a shit. The were not. Apparently so, so what could we expect of even more poorly trained civilian CCW holders? Perhaps a greater hesitancy to empty a magazine at a perp. Cops here have to go to the range to qualify every 3-4 months. Here in California, it seems rare to find officers who shoot more than the department requires them to. There are some, but they seem to be the exception. I'm sure in areas where gun culture is more prevalent, this is different. I personally know a really good chunk of the CCW holders here in my county. I know them because I see them at the range regularly. I know how many there are because I'm politically active on the issue, I know how many permits my county has issued, and I know how many of them I know, interact with, and shoot with. I'm at the range about once a week. The majority of the ones I know shoot pretty often. In my experience in California (and admittedly, experience is not data. If anyone has the data, I'd love to see it!), CCW holders fall into two categories: 1. Those that hit the range regularly and carry a gun. 2. Those that get their CCW to say they have it, and never carry, and shoot recreationally once in a while. I'm sure there are exceptions, but it seems that usually, when someone gets their CCW, they'll carry for a bit, and realize that it makes them uncomfortable. They will then do one of two things. They will either put the gun away in the safe or they will start hitting the range a lot more often, because once you have that gun on your hip, it gets heavy...it's a heavy burden of responsibility, and you don't forget about it easily, and you don't take it lightly. It's there, and it's serious, and once you put it on and wear it, you realize just how serious. That said, would I empty a magazine at the bad guy? Every CCW holder has to think about this question. The majority of the ones I've spoken to have the same answer I do. My answer: Nope. Not unless I was personally in danger, or someone I cared about was, because that's why I carry a gun. It's not to be a big damn hero. That's the cops' job, and I'll trust them to do it. You put me or my family in immediate danger, I'll do what I have to do.

For me, 7 was enough. I was trying to hit 100 jumps at WFFC, and I stopped jumping that day not really because I was too tired, but more because I really wasn't enjoying it. It became about the numbers, about "gotta get one more in" than jumping to enjoy jumping. So I called it a day.

If I had a clue what to ask for it, I would.

Hey, all... I haven't jumped in a couple of years... wondering if there is still a market for some of this stuff: Neptune altimeter Pro-Track Bonehead Gunner helmet Oxygn Helmet Thoughts?

Your kid is awesome.

I don't care. There is absolutely no point in this witch hunt for retired athletes. Get over it. I don't give a damn whether he was doping or not. He won 7 tours and used that fame to do a hell of a lot for cancer research. At this point, I think people are sick of hearing about it, sick of the government wasting money hunting former athletes (and dragging some of them to congressional inquiries) who aren't even involved in athletics anymore. Stop it. As for doping in general: legalize the safer forms of it and educate people on how to do it safely. Otherwise, there will always be a competitive advantage to cheaters, and there will always be an incentive to cheat, because the people who are doping will have the advantage. Level the playing field.

The National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom was founded in 1859 (twelve years before the NRA in the US). It was granted a charter of incorporation by Queen Victoria in 1890. They're NOT the same organization as the NRA in the United States, are not related to them, and they are the governing body of pistol and rifle shooting sports in the UK. Two countries just happen to have "National" rifle associations.

Glad you're okay, Dave. Sorry for your loss.

OMG, she's adorable!!!!!

The problem with minimum wages is that it doesn't guarantee that anybody will have a job at that wage. It just says that you can't have a job for less than that. It's a pretty fine distinction, but an important one. What it means ultimately is that if the work you do isn't worth that pay, your job will disappear or move elsewhere, where it can be done more cheaply. I'm not entirely sure that really helps anyone. If the cost of paying a worker more can be passed on to consumers, then a business will do so, and your dollar will buy less. If, on the other hand, people are unwilling to pay, say $20 for a basket of strawberries, instead, those strawberries will be imported from somewhere where they can be grown more cheaply than where a worker needs to be paid $10 an hour to pick them.

I know we've got some forum members near there. Don't want this to end up in speaker's corner, just hoping everyone's safe given recent events.

I had a loop of brakeline come loose once (toggle remained stowed) and somehow managed to reach through the loop of brake line to release the brake. I pulled the brake through the loop and tied a knot around the riser! Put my canopy in an instant spin. I pulled down on the other toggle to level things out and managed to get the knot untied with 100 feet left til my hard deck. Otherwise, I'd have chopped it, because while I could kind of steer it, I couldn't flare it evenly for landing, so I wouldn't have, at under 30 jumps, called it a landable canopy.

"Anyone up for a three way?"

""People who have prepared in advance and used drugs coming here (to London) won't get caught,...If you get caught you fail two tests, a drugs test and an IQ test." (CNN) -Dick Pound, former President of the World Anti-Doping Agency and former vice president of the International Olympic Committee

$150K in debt is manageable if it's all FEDERAL debt. It's not... The cap on federal debt is $136,000, and the per year cap on federal loans is a lot lower, so if you're not making money (and we were prohibited from working more than a few hours a week while in law school), you HAVE to take private loans unless you have some other means to pay. And, the Feds don't take into account private loans when asking for their payments, and the private lenders don't take into account the borrower's federal debt. My student loan payments this month: $800 private loan $700 private loan $150 private loan If I were making payments on my federal loans, that would be another $700. Instead, I am taking classes at a junior college to keep these payments deferred because I simply can't afford them. I can't consolidate my private loans, because it would actually RAISE my monthly payment and RAISE the interest rate by almost 3%. So, that would be really dumb. My take home pay is about $3000, as I have no dependents. If I were paying my federal loans, I couldn't pay housing expenses because even under income based repayment on my federal loans, the loans would total about $2350, leaving me with a little over $600 for food, rent, clothes, transportation, and everything else. Going to law school was the stupidest thing I ever did.

When I was on WC 10 years ago, the dumb-ass insurance company could have had my surgery for bilateral carpal tunnel done in 2 months. they choose to take 3 years. They ended up paying 75% of my highest amount earned in the previous year, with all the overtime from then, I made more than I would have on a 40 hour check. I got these checks for three years. They also paid all my tuition, books, and milage for three years for me to get my nursing degree. Then I got a $40,000 settlement. And some of you guys wonder why I vote Democrat. Those who rob Peter to pay Paul can always count on Paul's support. That might not have been his fault. It sounds like the insurance company could've paid for his surgery and gotten him back to work quickly. They chose not to do so, which cost them a lot more money in the long run, probably let the injury worsen, and resulted in having to pay for vocational rehab (retraining). Sometimes, insurance companies will string people along on claims they should pay hoping the injured people will give up and go on disability instead. Some do. Those that don't end up costing the insurance company a lot more money, because they're paying for lost wages, attorneys, and sometimes retraining and medical procedures that wouldn't have been necessary if the company had treated the injured employee properly from the get-go. Yes, there is work comp fraud, there is malingering after a legit injury, but most of the time when a claim makes it to court, it's a legitimately injured person who has a different definition of "all better" and "medically necessary" than the insurance company does.