jumperoo

I recently debated this myself. I have chosen to wear my jumpsuit for a while (until I have many more jumps) since my canopy control still needs some work and, based on the damage I've done to my jumpsuit on landing, I can only imagine what would happen to bare skin. By the way, I bought my first rig used, without an RSL and sent it back to Mirage to have the RSL installed. They did it in no time and for very little cost.

You might track this down here: http://www.flexvision.com/stickers.htm

Here's some pictures I took in South Africa and Botswana.

What's a typewriter?

If you really were going 79 in a 55 mph zone, how about just admitting that you did wrong, paying the ticket, and slowing down in the future? I don't mean to be a total ass, but exceeding the speed limit by 24 mph is not safe - and if you really were going that fast, you probably deserve the ticket. Paying the fine, and earning points on your license, may encourage you to think twice about reckless driving. As for the error on the ticket, I know someone who got out of a ticket because the date was recorded incorrectly. I think it just depends on what judge you get that day. If you don't think you were really going 79, I suggest arguing that you were going slightly less fast, and asking for a reduction in the ticket. From what I hear, this works quite frequently, and it could mean less points on your license.

I did my first jump tandem, and I absolutely think it was the right way to go. It eased my concern about jumping off of a plane, and I got to take some time to look around at the scenery and experience the freefall without watching my altitude every second, and being concerned about the canopy. I've had very little time to experience the sheer joy of freefall since I started AFF. It was nice to to get that experience on my very first jump, so that I knew what I had to look forward to once I got some experience under my belt. I would definitely recommend a tandem first jump to others. And, while I don't want to sound critical, I think the notion that you must be a pussy if you rely on an expert to initiate you into a life-threatening and frightening sport is macho crap. You have the rest of your life to throw yourself out of the plane alone. There's nothing noble about doing it on your first jump.

You may also consider having your old DZ call the new DZ (or vice versa), so that the old DZ can vouch for you, and the fact that you have previous training. At my home DZ, they are very willing to do this (they even offered to call ahead to places that I might vacation, so that the DZ would know that I was coming, and had training).

That's a terrible experience to have. At least the cat died quickly, and you did all you could to try to save it. Nevertheless, I understand that it is still a very upsetting thing to have happen. Obviously, you are sensitive about domestic animals. There's nothing you can do to take back what happened to the cat from last night. But, it might make you feel better if you did something to help improve the life of another animal. You could donate time to a local shelter. They always need people to pet cats, walk dogs, etc. They also need donations (money, food, cat beds, blankets, stuffed toys, etc.). I realize that this won't take away the bad feeling that comes from running over an animal. But, there are so many needy domestic animals in the world. If we can help only a few, I think we can alleviate some of the bad feelings created by the tragedies that occur to all of the others (such as strays left to run the streets and be run over by cars, animals that have to be euthanized, etc.). I hope you feel better soon.

Here's a photo from my first jump in June. Scary.

This isn't really a POLITICAL bumper sticker, but it's the funniest bumper sticker I've seen in a long time: "If I wanted to hear from an asshole, I'd fart." Anything about farting is simply funny...hands down.

Very funny. I've always taken the position that if women would just sit their asses down on the seat, then no pee would get on the seats in the first place -- and thus there would be no need for the next person to assume the stance. It's a vicious cycle.

It never fails. Meat eaters ALWAYS challenge me when I explain why I stopped eating meat. If you're going to give it up, be prepared... Tips for going meatless: First, don't expect for vegetarian subsitute products to taste like the real thing. For example, I love Boca burgers (and the original version has no fat), Boca Italian Sausage, Morningstar Farms chicken patties and breakfast sausages, Nate's meatless meatballs, and many other meatless products. But, it took me a few years of vegetarianism before I really acquired a taste for these substitute products. I think it's because after several years, you forget what the meat-based product tasted like. Then, you can appreciate the flavor of the vegetarian product on its own, without comparing it to what you remember a hamburger, etc. tasting like. Second, try Hain's vegetarian chicken gravy. It's really great. At thanksgiving time, I skip the turkey, but make veggie gravy for my stuffing (which is, of course, not stufffed into the bird) and potatoes. It's so good. One of the best veggie products I know of. The dark brown, beef gravy is horrid. Third, convert to soy milk (it's got lots of protein and, after you grow accustomed to the flavor, tastes much better than milk). I use Silk, plain flavor. Soy is hard to get used to. I started by going half/half, and then quarter milk/ three quarters soy, and then on to whole soy. Now, when I smell milk, I think of that nasty, stinky cow smell that you recognize around farms. It's funny though, that I could never smell it when I was still drinking milk. By the way, soy ice cream is really great (though I don't think it's any more nutritious than regular ice cream). Soy ice cream sandwiches are yummy! Lastly, to make sure you get enough protein, consider increasing the amount of nuts and starchy beans in your diet. It's really easy to whip up veggie meals from kidney, pinto, black, navy, etc. beans. Also, if you have a co-op nearby, you can usually get fresh ground peanut butter, which makes JIF look like peanut-flavored margarine. Good luck. The animals thank you for your thoughtful choice