Tonto

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content

    6,441

  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

  • Feedback

    0%

Posts posted by Tonto

  7. Quote

    But he's a respectable guy that has contributed a lot, so whether I agree with him or not, I'm going to respect him.



    100% with you there.

    "If I have seen further it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants" - Sir Isaac Newton.

    Sparky is one of my giants.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  8. Quote

    Quote

    Until dogs learn to bury their shit - they are not welcome on my DZ.

    t


    What if they have been properly trained to shit in the long grass like a civilized dog?



    Until dogs learn to bury their shit - they are not welcome on my DZ.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  11. 0:14:0

    African winters rock! 2 perfect days, 12 AFF's with 3 students, all of whom passed every level, and 2 wingsuit dives. 42 jumps for the month, weekends only. 185 so far for the year, averaging more than one a day for the year so far, and 4 more sleeps before I leave for the AN-72 Wingsuit Boogie in Germany.

    Life is good!

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  12. Quote

    Oh, I´m sorry for that.



    I doubt it's YOUR fault. If the 2 events were closer together, or further apart, it would be easier to attend.

    Lets see what happens next year. Julian is still coming this year, I think.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  13. The change in dates for Marl have made it impossibel for me to be there. Too long to stay, too soon to come back. When we're a long way away, we plan a long way ahead. When dates change, so do we.:(

    t

    It's the year of the Pig.

  14. Very pleased to hear that. Still OK for me to use your Mach 1 if my suit isn't ready in time? Did you collect a few T-Shirts from Bernard?
    Are you guys all flying out together? Any airport farewell planned?

    I did 14 dives this weekend, but only 2 were WS. One flocking with the plane, within about 100ft till 8000ft, and the other a nice flyby on Dawie's tandem. (Well planned and excecuted, with permission from both TM and pax, who has 5 tandems now.)

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  19. :$ I have no skydiving pictures up in my house. I've never really done it for the pictures, but these may look really nice. I'll wait till Dec though when I have good pics of both of them. Don't want any sibbling rivalry just yet!

    Quote

    But how did you deal with the ear pressure?



    Since Shanna has been about 5, she's been swimming a lot underwater, and quite deep underwater too. In December, summertime here. she was spending about 30 seconds as deep as 14 ft(4.2m), and mostly we feel the need to 1st equalise at about 6ft. (1.8m) This means she's already comfortable with the concept of equalisation as we discussed this several years ago when she was trying to follow me to the bottom of the pool. (I may have some pics of her swimming about at the bottom of the pool on my PC at home)

    I cheated on her 1st plane ride by giving her a couple of sweets to munch on, as the swallowing makes it easier for us to equalise. Mainly kids tend to wait till it hurts, and then cry. At that point they're overwhelmed by the pain and don't think their way through things very well - just like adults. If you can teach them to recognise what it feels like as it starts, they're perfectly capable of managing it when it happens. Driving up and down a mountain pass is ideal for this. (let someone else drive so you can discuss the feelings with your child.) All we're dealing with is a new experience - and I think kids handle new experiences pretty well.

    When you're practicing equalisation with them, I think it's easier to practice behind them, so that they don't feel the need for your physical presence to be able to perform. If you're the TM, that's where you will be anyway. Last thing is kids have a lot of snotty noses when they're young. No jumping with sinus issues. They won't know about that, so it's up to you. Ask then to sniff and see if they sound blocked.

    One more pic, heading for the door after watching the 4 way leave..

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  20. With Caleigh, (my elder daughter) her mother and I first thought 7, and then decieded to wait an extra year until she was 8. With Shanna, she decieded she wasn't ready at 8, and waited 2 days before her 9th birthday before the event.

    If you know your children, and you listen to them, you'll have a good idea of whether they are doing this for you, or because others are doing it, or because they want to do it. I've seen a lot of SO's do jumps for the wrong reasons, and I didn't want my children in the same position.

    My children also had the added benefit of knowing the TM (me in the 1st case and Chris in the 2nd) for their whole lives. They have grown up with his child, and the trust was complete and strong.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  21. No, she's not still excited.:( She's been back at school for 3 days, but I've got the girls again this weekend because I will be in Germany for 2 weekends, so we'll be back out to the DZ.

    I have no idea if she will take up the sport in future. If she does, it will only be when she's 16, apart from tandems. She certainly won't need to skydive to be special and loved by me. Same with the elder daughter, who is far more interested in scuba than skydiving.

    It's the year of the Pig.

  22. Thanks.:)
    I can't begin to describe that moment, but I don't think either of us will forget it.

    After reading this thread again, and thinking about the "there is no benefit to a child doing a Tandem" idea, I must disagree. Although I love her unconditionally, she feels better being a part of the world I live in. She's been hanging around the DZ for years. I really think she was ready for this. Next one will be in the summer (It's cold here now) and her big sister (Now 13) will do her 3rd tandem then too.

    t

    It's the year of the Pig.

  23. Quote



    While I agree with everyone that you should not get involved with anyone right away, since it won't be fair to anyone involved......A little meaningless protected sex never hurt anyone.



    Fixed it for you. Stats to the end of 2006 indicate more than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.

    Last year, 39.5 million people were living with HIV. 4.3 million were infected last year.

    http://www.avert.org/worldstats.htm

    To the OP - Welcome back to the dating world.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.