Skyliving_Dave

So then, people have all kinds of crazy usernames - I want to know the origin of the interesting ones! If your username is just your name then I guess we can live without the explanation, unless you don't want to feel left out If yours has a story behind it then great, or if it just reminds you of something then say so. I'm pretty new to DZ.com so this will help me (and others) get to know people better... To get the ball rolling, I have a jacket with skydiving.co.uk across the back. One day my bag strap was covering the 'd' so it just said sky iving.co.uk. My friend knows full well that I jump but she then asked in all seriousness 'Dave, what's skyliving?' Cue huge amounts of laughter and lots of blonde jokes. Now a lot of my whuffo friends call me skyliving dave. Who's next? PS: If you're a greenie and this is a repost then please delete it. Couldn't find it when searching though... -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

McDonalds? Dude, that stuff makes the picture look appetising. Look at what's in the pic, I bet the burger flippers would take that, fry it up and serve it to you. Doesn't that freak you out? Imagine someone cooking what's in the picture... ew! -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

I wear my visual alti on my left hand and my audible by my left ear. I'm a real fast faller too so I wear an extra visual alti on the back of my helmet for the benefit of others in the formation -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

Sorry to anyone who didn't like it - if you clicked the link without reading the disclaimer then more fool you. Good point about bounce pics waking people up though - maybe this will help... -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

check this out.....it's pretty morbid, but it almost looks fake. A police officer sent this to me. It is not for the faint of heart. If you have a weak stomach, then don't look at the URL. It is a picture of the demise of a suicide jumper taken shortly after he landed. It shows him with his insides now on the outside. You will see the look of horror on the faces of the bystanders. Judging from the faces of the bystanders, I believe this to be real. http://home.att.net/~songs2/Jumper.jpg -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

Hmm, reminds me of back in school when my politics tutor was teaching about the US political system. He said that over there no one makes specific election promises, partly because people might expect them to do it and complain if they don't. The main reason not to say anything specific was because if you say something that pleases some people it will displease more people so you're best off not saying anything at all. Looks like the UK is heading the same way. *sigh* I'll be voting Lib Dem again this year. They won't get into power but they're the only ones with any good ideas, or in fact any ideas at all. We had a green party candidate call round yesterday but his beard was quite small so I doubt his true commitment to his party. In answer to your question, yes it is an election full of evasions, spin and trite, woolly promises to 'make things better.' The most imagainative thing they say is 'We want to improve the NHS, education and policing.' Well duh. OK, I'm done. -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

BPA magazine subscription page There's the link for ya, it costs £22 for a year, ie six issues. That's about $42 in funny money -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

Cool, I just ordered a year of skydiving online

Hmm, sounds like Skydiving is the better choice, especially as I'm a student and it costs a jump ticket less It did occur to me that I could find out just as much online, but I guess that's not the point. It's good to read something on paper every now and then, and there is a lot of static (good word for it) on here. Nice to read stuff that is not in minute chunks interspersed with smilies, typos, in-jokes and opinions. Don't get me wrong, I love it really! Thanks for the help

Hey guys, I noticed you guys over the pond have a couple of mags to read; Skydiving and the USPA mag. In the UK we get the BPA magazine but that's it. I guess with only 5000-ish skydivers in the country there isn't a market for more. Problem is, it comes out only every 2 months and I'm generally done reading it a couple of hours after it arrives. I need more! I figured there'd be a lot of cool stuff in the US mags, some different perspectives and all that. Would it be worth getting them shipped over here? A year of Skydiving is $28, which seems good, a year of Parachutist is $47, which is quite a bit more, but wouldn't break the bank. What do you guys reckon who read them? Are they worth it? Which one is best? -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

Good news dude, that's not (always) true

I get the impression you're after sympathy... No way! free custom canopy, grumble grumble... Cheers, Dave

What the? Looks like my last barbecue! -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

The question is though, would you eat a twinky that's older than you are? If not, what would it take to persuade you? Would you do it for a free jump? Free - it's my favourite price -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

This is in the true spirit of all those random 'facts' you hear from people in drinking establishments, ie you breathe through your skin in freefall and all those other 'true' stories whuffos like to tell us. Someone down the pub told me that Mars Bars could safely have a best before date 250 years in the future because there's so much sugar and preservative in them. Apparently they put something realistic on the wrapper instead as people would think it was a mistake or freak out about it somehow. I'm not saying this was from some scientist, or that I actually believe it but I thought I'd toss this one out there and see if it pops up on the bullshit detectors... Who believes it and who doesn't? Who knows the answer? Who wants a Mars Bar? These are the questions I need answered! -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

Yeah, I get that shit all the time. Or the old, 'cool have you been wingsuit flying/skysurfing then?' I always compare it to driving, it works really well as an analogy even when you develop it quite a bit. For example you say no, getting my license is like a driver's license - you're a bit shakey on the road and don't have much experience but you're judged safe to be let out on your own. I tell them that the skydiving stunts they see on TV are the equivalent of the crazy driving stunts, and no one expects everyone who can drive to be able to do that stuff. That seems to work pretty well. The one that really pisses me off is when you say you're going to a competition and they're like 'what, how the hell do you *compete* at skydiving? You just jump, fall and pull your parachute, right?' Aaarrgghhh!!!! Even if you do explain about FS, FF, accuracy, big ways and all that other stuff they still don't quite get it. Whuffo you jump out of them planes? Whuffo you don't play golf at the weekend? -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

Dude, I think that's just your throwing. I can huck a disc dead flat or curve it either way, whether I'm throwing forehand or backhand. I know you can get discs with a built in curve for playing disc golf. As you probably don't have one of those I guess your disc is bent or you're throwing it with a curve without realising. *thinks* maybe you're always stood on a slope when you throw it -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

Yup, I'm a S/L baby as well. I did a mere 2 S/L jumps, then a paltry 23 DRCPs I know I know, they're static line too really. Anyway, the whole shebang took me 13 months, 44 jumps, too much money and a whole lot of beer and bad weather. Some people just don't know when to quit! Dave - King of the one-way funnel (tm) -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

Aye, I'm with you there! Welcome to Dz.com chards. You also get a welcome *kiss* from me. (No harrassment accusations please guys, she's my girlfriend. No really, she is ) If anybody else would like a special welcome e-kiss then please post a reply. PM me if you're the shy type. Oh yeah, and you Plee guys are cool. Especially Del, who couldn't get the green facepaint off the next day. We ended up with him looking green and ill (hangover helped) and me in lovely purple trim y-fronts over my jumpsuit trying to hitch a lift back to the DZ after an spot that was barely in the same county. Happy days... -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

Well I reckon Sparky is right to some extent, trying to be cool can mess you up badly. Hooking it in, downsizing too early, doing stuff beyond your skills... Any of those can kill you, and a combination of them lowers your chances a whole lot. The thing is though, trying to have cool gear doesn't make you dangerous. Sure, people who do the things mentioned above to look cool are likely to have cool looking gear too, but they're not the *only* people who like to look good. I'm conservative in the air, and I don't try new things without advice from instructors and people I trust but I still like to have smart gear, ie I would attach a camera/audible to my lid securely, but I'd take the extra time to make it look neat. I bought my gear 2nd hand but I still love the colours and style and it's my baby. To be fair though, I'd have bought it if it was pink (well, maybe ). Come pull height, a pretty rig will save you just as well as an ugly one. I bet we all try and get mud stains off our rigs when we have to PLF it, even the marks that don't make any difference to anything. I actually think people who take a pride in their appearance are likely to look after their kit well too, technically and cosmetically. The sort of person who regularly and thoroughly checks their kit will quite probably chuck their jumpsuit through the wash every now and then. It doesn't affect how it flies but it does affect how it looks... Anyway, back to the actual thread - I reckon FS suits look nice, though maybe just because I've got one and that's what I'm into at the moment! Gotta love the way it accentuates *all* the curves -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

I chose other... My canopy never sits that long though I don't live anywhere warm (UK!). I just jump anyway -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'

umm, someone once gave me a free hook knife, does that count? Not much but we Brits must have one so it saved me £7.50

Well, this is another 'I know a guy story...' but here goes. A bloke had a two out and landed while entangled in his main he couldn't really do anything and when he landed people ran over and found he was turning a funny colour and being strangled by the lines of his main. He had a hook knife (compulsory in the UK) and someone grabbed it and sliced the lines from around his throat. Not used under canopy, but better than someone having to run right back to DZ control or whatever to fetch one. ----------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- 'Everybody needs a mate called Dave'