Bigwallmaster

Why after years of not talking, do old girlfriends look you up on the internet and call wanting to start another relationship up. This has happened to me twice in the last year. They both called and said "you were always so nice to me and I just got to thinking about you and wanted to get to know what your doing now and maybe try and get together. Guys or Girls do you have any theories on this, and does this happen to you too? ------------------------------------------------------------ Yeah must have something to do with the holidays; I've had the same thing happen in recent days. An old girlfriend that currently has a boyfriend was text-ing me on Christmas Eve, and then finally called me yesterday after I didn't respond. It's like, if this girl has a boyfriend she claims to be so in love with, then why is she thinking of me on Christmas Eve? The answer: In years prior she and I were together during the holidays, and had such a great time. The sex was great. All the holiday parties etc. It created good memories for both of us. But when it really comes down to it, she contacting me for one of the following reasons: 1) Her sex life with her boyfriend currently sucks, and she's calling me because it's convenient and familiar 2) She's fighting with her boyfriend and is feeling insecure 3) She's finally come to her senses and has realized that I'm the fucking man!! (Alright that last one is probably a stretch). It's hard say why these girls are calling you, but I will say that it's likely at least one of them fits the above scenario. Also, I think some of it has to do with the age of the women you are describing. Regardless, just go with it, bang em, have fun, and enjoy their friendship. But be careful about heading down the relationship road again. Cheers, J.P.

What did you do, remove the engine? Last I checked, the Pantera weighed closer to 3,000lbs. ----------------------------------------------------------- Doh! Sorry about that . . . . . typo on my part. I meant to write 2300 lbs. The interior of the car only has one seat; no creature comforts at all either (ie. no dashboard etc.). The car was built specifically for an old California Pantera racing league from back in the late 70's. I don't know too much about it, other than I know one of the tracks they used to race at was the old Riverside raceway (not in existence anymore).

Yeah. . . . I'll run my Pantera (dyno'd at 570 hp) against that shit any day. I guess I should note that the car weighs nothing; about 1300 lbs.

ha ha ha. Word!

When Chuck Norris has sex with a man, it is not because he is gay, but because he has run out of women. Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants. If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, "Two seconds till." After you ask, "Two seconds till what?" he roundhouse kicks you in the face. Chuck Norris uses ribbed condoms inside out, so he gets the pleasure. Since 1940, the year Chuck Norris was born, roundhouse kick related deaths have increased 13,000 percent. There are no disabled people. Only people who have met Chuck Norris. There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard. There is only another fist. It was once believed that Chuck Norris actually lost a fight to a pirate, but that is a lie, created by Chuck Norris himself to lure more pirates to him. Chuck Norris once lined up to kick the winning field goal of a high school football game. When the football went flat, he persuaded the referees to let him kick the field goal with a 3 month old child. Chuck roundhouse kicked the baby 60 yards through the uprights and then proceeded to bang every girl in the stadium. When Chuck Norris's wife burned the turkey one Thanksgiving, Chuck said, "Don't worry about it honey," and went into his backyard. He came back five minutes later with a live turkey, ate it whole, and when he threw it up a few seconds later it was fully cooked and came with cranberry sauce. When his wife asked him how he had done it, he gave her a roundhouse kick to the face and said, "Never question Chuck Norris." Those aren't credits that roll after Walker Texas Ranger; it is actually a list of people that Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked in the face that day. If you unscramble the letters in "Chuck Norris" you get "Huck corn, sir." That is why every fall, Chuck travels to Nebraska and burns the entire state down. Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried. Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia Earhart while she was flying over the Pacific Ocean. Chuck Norris does not have AIDS but he gives it to people anyway. Rather than being birthed like a normal child, Chuck Norris instead decided to punch his way out of his mother's womb. Shortly thereafter he grew a beard. When Chuck Norris plays Oregon Trail his family does not die from cholera or dysentery, but rather roundhouse kicks to the face. He also requires no wagon, since he carries the oxen, axels, and buffalo meat on his back. He always makes it to Oregon before you. Chuck Norris built a time machine and went back in time to stop the JFK assassination. As Oswald shot, Chuck met all three bullets with his beard, deflecting them. JFK's head exploded out of sheer amazement. Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month. A man once asked Chuck Norris if his real name is "Charles". Chuck Norris did not respond, he simply stared at him until he exploded. Chuck Norris recently had the idea to sell his urine as a canned beverage. We know this beverage as Red Bull. Chuck Norris can make a woman climax by simply pointing at her and saying "booya". Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits. Chuck Norris once shot a German plane down with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!" The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain. After much debate, President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima rather than the alternative of sending Chuck Norris. His reasoning? It was more "humane". Chuck Norris often asks people to pull his finger. When they do, he roundhouses them in the abdomen. Then he farts. Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs. If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death. One of the greatest cover-ups of the last century was the fact that Hitler did not commit suicide in his bunker, but was in fact tea-bagged to death by Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris took my virginity, and he will sure as hell take yours. If you're thinking to yourself, "That's impossible, I already lost my virginity." then you are dead wrong. Chuck Norris uses a live rattle snake for a condom. Aliens do exist. They're just waiting for Chuck Norris to die before they attack. Once Chuck Norris was knighted by the queen of England. When the queen was performing the ceremony, Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked her in the face and stole her tiara. He now wears it when he plays polo with Prince Charles every Thursday as a reminder. Chuck Norris's girlfriend once asked him how much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. He then shouted, "HOW DARE YOU RHYME IN THE PRESENCE OF CHUCK NORRIS!" and ripped out her throat. Holding his girlfriend's bloody throat in his hand he bellowed, "Don't f--k with Chuck!" Two years and five months later he realized the irony of this statement and laughed so hard that anyone within a hundred mile radius of the blast went deaf. Chuck Norris appeared in the "Street Fighter II" video game, but was removed by Beta Testers because every button caused him to do a roundhouse kick. When asked bout this "glitch," Norris replied, "That's no glitch."

But Really. If you can't drop your Feelings in the Trash from time to time. How do you expect to ever make it in BASE ? If You are really -In Touch- with your Emotions of Caring about wellbeing of yourself and others. Then you Will Not BASE jump. ------------------------------------------------------------ Agreed. You make a valid point, Ray. BASE is about selfishness. But I think a more accurate statement is to say that hardcore BASE jumpers have these feelings, but are able to mindfully put them aside to indulge in the sport. And the jumper who can't put them aside will either quit or will continually struggle with this dilemma. But to say someone is a not a real BASE jumper if they are having these feelings is a bit of a stretch if you ask me. --Quote--------------------------------------------------- If you are totally aware of the Dangers involved in BASE and there possible consequences to loved one. How can you say. You Care ? ----------------------------------------------------------- You're right! And I guess this is the great difficulty. I care about my family very much, but I'm still going to BASE for my own emotional well being. It's something I like and want to do before I die. But at the same time I feel it is important to explain to them that I am aware of their concern for my well being, as a means of maintaining a good relationship with them. As opposed to saying "I don't give a fuck what you guys think." Again Ray, I read most of your posts and have nothing but respect for you, and your knowledge of BASE. I appreciate your response; it has certainly helped me consider the "other" things that come along with BASE. Perhaps this conversation would be better a discussed over a cold beer sometime. Cheers, J.P.

JAAP, Thanks for the words bro. -Quote--------------------------------------------------- For me it was the last big conflict I needed to have with my parents to mark a point in time that seperates the child from the independent grown up. ----------------------------------------------------------- Reply: Man this definately seems to be the case with me too. My folks have never liked the climbing, and BASE is a whole other story. ---Quote-------------------------------------------------- Just remember that there are thousands of brothers and sisters out there that do understand you. We're explorers, you're born with the blood or not. You can't explain it. ----------------------------------------------------------- Reply: There is alot of truth here Jaap; definately helps to be reminded of this. Cheers, J.P.

I being void of all feelings. . . .If you plan on being a real BASE jumper. I suggest you drop your Feelings OFF. In the nearest Trash Can. --------------------------------------------------------- Ray, Thank you for your response. I've read alot of your posts on DZ.com and I respect your opinion and will take what you have said to heart, as I do understand the point you are trying to emphasize. Equally, I will agree that an integral part of the sport demands that the jumper ignore the opinions of unsupportive loved ones. But. . . .I call bullshit on the above statement and I think it's ridiculous. Everyone experiences emotional response, even if they're afraid to admit it. And I guess if they don't admit it and claim to be "devoid of all feelings", then they can come be part of your "real BASE jumper" club! Cheers, J.P.

My folks are stubborn people. I have had a strong interest in BASE since I was a kid, having watched it on "That's Incredible". When I was 15 or so I saw that famous Discovery Channel special with Moe and his cronies. I remember recording that show and watching it over and over, studying everything I could at the time. I wanted to know more about BASE. My mom was the only person who was aware of my "obsessing" over BASE. I would always stop her a few seconds to watch a clip of the video. A few years back when I started skydiving, my Mom asked why I was pursuing "something so dangerous." My motivation for skydiving was BASE, and I told her then that I had intended to start BASE after I gained enough experience. Several years have passed and I am now planning on doing an FJC in the coming months. I have showed my family tons of BASE video from all the over the world, including the bridge in potato land where I'll eventually do an FJC. When showing them the bridge footage I tried to the best of my ability to explain the dangers involved, and that alot of people die BASE jumping. I then told them why BASE is something I want to pursue. My question is: Is that enough? Is there anything I should do to inform my family? How did you explain BASE to your family? Do you ever have feelings of quitting BASE because of your family's dislike of the sport? J.P.

It's obviously happened, and will continue to happen. The real question is how often it happens, and how large the percentage of never-skydivers (as in, never made a skydive or made very few skydives, distinct from "used to skydive") there are amongst us. ----------------------------------------------------------- Let me ask you this Tom. . . . If you happened to come across someone that had 0 skydives but, let's say, 15 BASE jumps, but was interested in a doing a course. Would you do it? . . .I know this question is subjective to the jumper and their attitude and all that. J.P.

Isnt this what Travis Pastrana (sp) did? ---------------------------------------------------------- Probably. But that may be the only BASE jump he ever does. The reason I say that is it's very likely that he didn't run into any difficulties with the canopy, or wind, etc. on that day. I am no BASE expert, but I imagine it's possible for a zero skydive BASE student to get lucky the first couple jumps in potato land. And then on jump #3 they get a line twist, can't clear it and land hard. I realize this could very easily happen to someone 500 skydives also. But when you build some time skydiving you run into, and exeperience "problems". Some are minor and easily fixed, while others require a cutaway. In most cases though, they happen alot higher off the ground than they would on just about any BASE jump, allowing the pilot extra time to slow down and gain experience in flying the canopy through these situations. Something like line twists, a problem every skydiver regularly deals with, may not be handled as efficiently by a zero skydive BASE student. I have very little BASE experience, but something that is inherent in the sport is when things go wrong, they go very wrong very fast! Funky wind, a toggle hang-up, whatver the issue, I'd like to think my chances are better having done a few hundred skydives. Cheers, J.P.

has anyone else experienced this? how did you overcome this? cheers ---------------------------------------------------------- Honestly. . . . .think about your love of falling. That's why you want to do this right? To experience what it's like to fall relative to a fixed object. Then think about why you feel it's important that you do this. If its because you accept the fact that life is temporary and this is something that fulfills a life exerience, then focus on that thought the next time you arrive at the exit point. But I'm with everyone else. . . .if it doesn't feel right, then it's not meant to be on that night. Go drink some beers and forget about it. After awhile if it's still calling you, try another go at it. The good news is that you've already accomplished something that countless other "dead" people couldn't, you had the balls to listen to your gut. Let us know how it goes. Cheers, JP

When you guys made that trip to Baffin, I remember watching in the video that you took dog sleds out to the walls. What town did you leave from?

well. . . I tried to upload some pictures from my phone, but DZ.com said they are too big to upload. oh well.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Reply To -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...BASE videos...do tend to skew what for many is the reality of jumping and present it instead in a sanitized and palettable form which turns real danger into real cool... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm curious if you have seen The Ground is the Limit and what your opinions of that film were? ------------------------------------------------------------ Or better yet, the original "Rage". In many scenes there's no music, just alot of footage that depicts the real deal. The scenes from San Fran or other night time jumps they do paint a realistic picture of the seriousness of BASE. It's the first video I ever saw and I was freaked out by the idea that I was still interested in doing this shit. And for the record Sabre210, I know you're not saying that all BASE videos portray the "it's all good" and fun side of the sport. Cheers, J.P.

ha ha. Yeah he should have. . . . .overall it was still fun, and I wasn't afraid during it. But a few days later I thought to myself "ya know that was probably dumb!" Oh well everything worked out fine

Hi I've been offered a balloon jump of agl between 3000ft and 5000ft. I was a little concerned about exiting at the lower end as getting out at 3000ft is my normal pull altitude! Is this normal, to people just hop and pop? ---------------------------------------------------------- I'm not necessarily proud of this, but the last balloon jump I did was from 1,800' using skydiving rig. In hindsight, I should not have done the jump nor should any of the other jumpers. The balloon pilot was an ass. First off, it seemed he put too many people in the balloon; he had jumpers plus 3 non-jumpers. Secondly, he claimed he couldn't go any higher until one of us got out! I don't know anything about flying balloons, but I will say that if a balloon pilot accepts your money, he should be willing to take you to at least 2500' for safety sake. So to answer your question. . . .3000' should be fine!! Pack carefully; pull stable . Have fun.

Everybody at work today, and I mean EVERYBODY is asking me about the poor preganant lady who broke her face skydiving and "how come her reserve didn't open". I'm getting to the point that I'm telling them it would take us a good 20 minutes to sit down and have me explain the laundry list of things they did wrong. ------------------------------------------------------------ Uh. . . . . .yep!! Pretty much sums up my day too. . . . . ."Kill your TV"

What's wrong with that gal jumping a 190 main?!? What does she weigh? --------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing wrong here if she's really light. Anything too much bigger she might get carried off by the slightest of winds!! I guess the only thing I would add is that a Sabre 2 is semi-elliptical and not quite as docile as. . . . .say a Navigator. The slightly steeper turning tendency of a Sabre 2 could make things happen a little too fast for a person with little experience.

Nice one Cornishe. Read your response to Link. Beautiful. Fucking beautiful. I lauged my ass off when I read that. Link is an asshole. Everything that comes out of that guy's mouth is like whip cream on shit. Especially when it comes to leaving ropes, haulbags, etc. "Sure it's okay if you come to Yosemite to do a wall, but if you fix pitches and leave gear for too long we'll take your stuff!!" And his treatment of BASE jumpers is silly. I mean c'mon. . . .you'd think the guy could turn a blind eye on someone jumping in the early morning hours when no one's around.

Climbers don't get as fucked as jumpers. Their sport is still legal on NPS land. --------------------------------------------------------- I agree with you about the legality issues regarding the NPS and climbers; from that standpoint climbers don't get as fucked as jumpers. My bad. ---------------------------------------------------------- They don't have to drop gear bags to climb. -------------------------------------------------------- No but they may need to in a life saving situation. Have you ever climbed a multi-day wall route? Have you ever had to retreat off an overhanging bigwall in a snow storm with 100 lb. haulbags? I'm presuming not. When this is the case, chucking bags may be the only thing possible for moving fast in a retreat situation and avoiding hypothermia. Not to mention if you're already several days up the wall.

I mean you really have to admire the dedication the NPS has for there perseverance & dedication to Jumpers as Well as (let's not forget the) Climbers alike. We should not forget those Climbers because they can be charged with Arial Delivery as well for even dropping down gear bags to the ground. ------------------------------------------------------- . . . . .he he. Yep.Climbers get just as fucked as jumpers. Years ago when I first started skydiving I actually had a park ranger in "the valley" harass me because of a USPA sticker. When I asked him why he pulled me over he sighted a "zero tolerance" policy on parachute related activities, and probable cause because of the sticker. Which I'm sure is bullshit, however I am no legal expert. When he searched my car and found no BASE/parachuting gear but rather tons of climbing gear and "paraphernalia" (ie. a pipe) he gave me a whole speech on the dirtbags and trouble makers "extreme sports people" (his term not mine) seem to attract. Nevermind the fact that my education and ability to use proper grammar far exceeded his. . . .perhaps their list includes both climbers and BASE jumpers alike. Cheers, Bigwall

I know some guys who got busted by the border patrol. They pretty much just let them go with a "well, we aren't really here for that." --------------------------------------------------------- Huh. It's funny. . . .I go to El Paso of all places very often, as my family owns a company there. I've met the acquaintance of one jumper there who told me similar stories regarding local enforcement. Furthermore, this same guy jumps other locations on the border and has had no problems with jumping even though they are in clear view of border patrol at times. Nevertheless, I guess it depends on if the guy bustin you is having a bad night or not. Cheers, J.P.

yeah it's got me pretty damn curious too.

All of this is especially true when you throw in someone who already has some experience under his belt, has gotten lucky using bad techniques, and then one day it all comes full circle to bite you in the ass. . . .literally. Case in point, I recently flared a little too high over the grass landing area at Perris on a hot day, canopy lost pressurization and I broke mah tailbone!! Granted things were made worse by the hot weather, however, if I had PLF'd perhaps the outcome would have been more favorable. Billvon is right. . . . .break those bad habits once and for all from the get go.