peregrinerose

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Gear

  • Main Canopy Size
    120
  • Reserve Canopy Size
    143
  • AAD
    Cypres 2

Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    Keystone Skydiving Center Collegeville, PA
  • License
    D
  • License Number
    28983
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    1000
  • Years in Sport
    7
  • First Choice Discipline
    Formation Skydiving
  • First Choice Discipline Jump Total
    900
  • Second Choice Discipline
    CReW
  • Second Choice Discipline Jump Total
    8

Ratings and Rigging

  • AFF
    Instructor
  • USPA Coach
    Yes
  • Rigging Back
    Senior Rigger

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  1. "Don't knock it til you tried it" sounds like crazy advice regarding having a kid. Popping out a life form, just in case my mindset changes from 'I don't want to reproduce' to 'I love kids' does not make a hell of a lot of sense. That's one really big experiment at the expense of another human being that completely depends on me, and one I'm not willing to engage in. I never wanted biological kids, there are entirely too many people on the planet, there is nothing special about my genes, and there are over 100,000 kids in foster care that are waiting for homes. Most will never get adopted. We adopted one of them, and at some point may do it again. One of my patients, an 80 year old guy, asked me when I was going to have kids. I told him that was not going to happen. He thought about it for a minute and then informed me that he knew exactly why my husband and I were not going to have kids. "Your husband just wants to keep it nice and tight." Not the reason I was expecting It does not remotely surprise me that the women with higher IQs have the least likelihood of bearing young. I work in a low socioeconomic area, and it's amazing how many women have 4-6 kids with different dads, all in the efforts to 'keep' a man in a relationship, or to get more welfare money, or because they are desperately trying to find love, so they get it the only way they think they can, by creating a human to love them. It's sad. Most women with higher IQs aren't going to bear young for those kinds of reasons. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  2. Well, given that you have been on crutches since the injury, my guess is that it will be worse for you than it was for me. And it was pretty freaking bad for me. Keep in mind my husband broke his back the same day I blew out my knee (see Incidents forum for that one), so I had to take care of both of us. Slowing down was not an option for me. I destoryed my ACL, MCL, meniscus, and patellar cartilage May 13 last year. Within a day I could bear weight with crutches and was walking without crutches within a week. A month out was the surgery. I had surgery on a Wed, was back at work five days later. My surgeon tends to be conservative, so I was non weight bearing for 2 months, busted my ass at PT and was done with that within 3 months or so of surgery. I had a second surgery to remove a cyclops lesion. Pain was absolutely brutal... since you are using crutches, you may actually be worse off due to muscle atrophy in the past month... you'll have farther to catch up than I did. I did allograft surgery. Hamstring isn't all that great, I didn't want to be stuck with a 90 year old ACL and risk of rejection as that would be just my luck. Given that it involves breaking chips of bone for the allograft, that does add to the pain level, so hopefully that won't be as bad for you. My best advice... whatever they tell you to do with PT, DO IT. As much as you can. I was doing PT immediately after surgery at home, leg raises, etc.. the more you keep muscle tone up early, the quicker rehab will go. Mine over a year later is still not right, but good enough I guess. I ran a 5K Sunday, and I have never been a runner. It was my goal to prove the knee wouldn't beat me by doing it. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  3. The article is really interesting, but doesn't take into account a few factors. One, war is very different now than it was back in the day. In WWII, or even Qari in the article, soldiers were facing consistent stimuli... the battles were ongoing, no breaks, no reprieve. Now, it's not so constant and much of war is carried out from afar. Drones. Air strikes. There will be a long calm followed by sudden, shocking trauma. That inherently will lead to more PTSD than in someone like Qari who just regards war as a way of life and can't imagine any differently. There is actually some decent research that indicates that this may be part of the dramatic increase in PTSD now compared to a soldier in WWII on the front lines. Second, PTSD is not unique to the military by any stretch. There is research showing that victims of crime, including child abuse, may suffer it. Those who witness brutality, including fatal accidents may have some effects from it. Those who have their psychological construct of 'real' overturned, such as the spouse of a sex addict who learns suddenly what has gone on behind his/her back. Third, there are multiple forms of PTSD, not all are the same. Some fade with time naturally, others are lifelong battles. There are so many variables involved, and some of them quite likely include, but are not limited to, the factors in the post. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  4. Almost all eye docs have an autorefractor that we use before the phoropter. It measures the shape of the front surface of the eye as well as bouncing light off of the retina to get it in focus for the machine. If it's in focus for the machine, it's in focus for you. Why still use the flippy thing? Lots of reasons.... 1. Although the autorefractor gives one point of focal vision, your visual field is a lot broader than just one point, and the prescription and aberrations of the eye change away from the very center. The flippy thing is used for more of a greater field of view, and much more functional. The wavefront LASIK takes the more peripheral aberrations into account and compensates for them (not everyone has enough peripheral aberration to warrant the extra cost of wavefront LASIK, but for those that do, it makes a big difference). 2. Vision is more than simple physics. There is also visual interpretation, and that can affect preferred prescription as well. 3. Binocular vision... for those of us with two eyes, the eyes have to work together as a team, that also affects the prescription in the glasses and the flippy thing can check for binocular balance, to ensure that the eyes are working together as a team. I also check eye alignment with the phoropter. If the eyes have a tendency to not work quite together, or not like to stay lined up, I can quantitatively measure the drift tendency and compensate for it with prism. That alleviates eyestrain in people with this problem. 4. Near vision. Lots of things affect near vision. With so many kids on ADHD meds, and all of the meds make it tougher for them to change their focal distance from far to near, they end up needing bifocals to compensate for this (and sadly, not all eye docs know to check for that side effect and pediatricians are not educating parents/patients about it). Plus presbyopia (getting old) and needing bifocals. Plus a lot of other focusing related issues, none of which are simple physics to measure, all get checked in the phoropter with the near point rod. Hope that helps.... if it makes you feel better, about 80% of the time, I know the 'right' answer to which is better and am simply testing the patient's reliability in taking the test. I like to make sure that the patient is consistently picking the same lens combination before they sink money into a prescription (whether glasses, contacts, or refractive surgery). There are also kids that pretend they need glasses even though they don't, and kids that pretend they don't need glasses even though they do. I can be really sneaky with a phoropter when I need to be to ferret out those kinds of problems Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  5. I figure if I kiss him, in a pinch I would use his toothbrush over not brushing (and have done so, actually). Same with undies. Money is kind of important to share. What happens if one of us dies, how is the other going to know the financial system, life insurance, bills, mortgage, etc? It's just stupid for both parties not to have full knowledge of the finances. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  6. Go to www.ehealthinsurance.com and shop around. I've used them twice with no problems between insurances when not covered when my husband switched jobs. They will give you all kinds of options regarding plans of all companies all over the place. We have Capitol Blue Cross, and when he broke his back skydiving, other than the usual copays/coinsurances, no issues at all with things getting paid. They also send a check quickly for out of pocket costs (he sees a therapist now that does not take insurance but is very good, but the reimburse a fair amount of the costs). Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  7. I have to say, when Chad and I both were broken on the same day, some friends did drum up fund raising. We didn't ask for it, our priorities were on survival, quite honestly, in that moment... mostly for him. We also could not have made it without the financial support. We have great medical insurance, but those copays all add up, and with both of us requiring multiple surgeries, me unable to walk or help him much for the first three months, it was bad. Friend support made a bad situation bearable, and we are forever greatful for the help, whether it be walking the dogs, mowing the lawn, bringing clothes to the hospital (three hours from our home) so that I didn't stink too badly, getting the mail, etc... we are so fortunate to have incredible people in our lives. Would I donate to a total stranger? Maybe. Depends on the circumstances. Would I donate to a friend? If needed and I could do so, yes. Would I help them out in other ways? If possible due to geography, absolutely. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  8. But... but.... how are we supposed to 'get the red out' quickly??? Oh, that is easy. Just have the offending eye enucleated :-) Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  9. First, do NOT under any circumstances follow the advise of the person who said to use Visine. Visine is a vasoconstrictor, it narrows the diameter of the blood vessels feeding the front surface of the eye. This makes it impossible for the eye to stay healty and is actually quite toxic. It should not be on the market. I've cleaned up a lot of Visine related problems over the years. I hate the stuff. Even if it is very good for business :-) Use a good thick artificial tear, Systane Balance is a good one. Don't use it more than 4 times in a day though. Before bed, put a good artificial tear gel in to stay lubed up all night. You probably just dried the hell out of the front surface of the eye, ripping off cells due to the dryness. If in one day you don't notice improvement, see your eye doctor. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  10. Well, I was involved in a skydiving accident (destroyed ACL, MCL, meniscus, and patellar cartilage) the same day my husband broke his back (See tandem vs. dust devil incident). He may have to give up skydiving, not sure yet. He made it clear that he does not want me to give it up even if he has to. If he did ask me to quit, and had a very good reason, I would consider it. My husband matters more than the sport. If it was a 'quit or I am leaving' kind of request, then I would not quit, because I couldn't be married to that kind of ultimatum sort of person. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  11. You might also want to look into Civil Air Patrol, although I am not sure what the age requirements are. It was a life changer for my little brother. The other thing is kids copy their parents. If you are very active, have hobbies, are out doing things, and he gets incorporated into those activities, he will inherently be doing more. As skydiving instructors, we got our son involved in the dropzone as soon as we adopted him (he was 15 and a foster kid when we got him). It was good for him to watch us, learn from us and other adults. He was never a slug playing video games, because we didn't even own video games. We were always out living and doing.. hiking, travelling, going out with friends, going to the dropzone, and he did a majority of those things with us. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  12. Mine is waaay simpler than that.... I have two old broomsticks, with about a foot and a half of snug fitting PVC pipe connecting them, duct tape to secure. Clamps are free floating on it, so I can just slide them based on where I need them on the canopy. Rope well centered and goes up to a pulley on a beam in my barn (I live in a renovated barn) and ties to a railing in my loft (literally a loft). The broomsticks were free, clamps cheap from Harbor Freight, rope, wire, duct tape, and PVC all laying around the house anyway. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  13. This poll also does not specify how the guns were used. ... rabid animal vs. in a robbery are very different. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  14. MSNBC Video: Lanza reportedly tried to buy rifle, was denied Yeah, you want to try that one again, professor? OH, then he must have used a knife. No, wait, he got it from his Mom, a gun nut herself. Wouldn't you think a self-confessed gun enthusiast would have been smart enough to secure her firearms when she knew she had a son with "mental problems" (to quote the gunman's brother). No, neither would I, based on what I see written by gun nuts on here. Well, I guess you could call me a 'gun nut' since we collect WWII firearms and target shoot in our back yard. All of our firearms are 'semi-automatic', but that's not saying much, since a lot of firearms are, even the 100 year old ones. I also have a son with violent tendencies and mental health issues, who has been getting increasingly volitile since getting no mental health care or meds after leaving our home. We taught our son to shoot, and gun safety. We also have ammunition in locked boxes in a completely different location from the guns, which are also stored with clips removed and hidden. Sure, he could put a bullet in the chamber (if he even knew how to do that.. we didn't teach this) to fire, but it would only be one shot. Most of the guns have trigger locks anyway. So I'm not sure why you think that 'gun nuts' are not as a rule following safety rules regarding their firearms. Oh... our son could easily be a mass murderer, he has that kind of rage in him. It is only a matter of time til he hurts someone. Mental health would not help him when he lived with us, other than ineffective therapy, he did not want treatment for himself, so could not be forced to do so, and even when he was violent, we were told either press charges or 'deal with it.' There was no help, and I'm a persistent pain in the ass when it comes to problem solving, and I tapped every possible source of help I could. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda
  15. Nice!! Soooo jealous that you got to meet him. My aunt is one of his golf buddies, and she sends pics all the time with him too. I really need to take up golf.... Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda