skysquiffy

Get a pitch pipe. They're fairly accurate if you get a decent one.

Yep. Since I was a little sprite I've watched, read, listened to anything to do with animals. Somewhat true, but point taken. My reference to the breach was just identifying the location. Yeah, and I'm in total agreement about which I'd pick too. Now this I wasn't aware of (the breaching). Right, off to do some research apparently a lucky, albeit a somewhat educated, guess. Curious though, what was the situation that you were in that you saw them...were you wet or dry?

Really not true. Sharks inadvertently kill & injure by checking out objects in the one way they can....biting. They use their mouths. Of couse, an exploratory bite by something like a great white or bull shark would likely be deadly, depending on what part of you they found curious. Personally, I'd never want to be in the open water with a great white unless I was in a cage.

I could definitely argue with that. Actually, that shot was most likely taken off the coast of South Africa at a place called Seal Island (I believe). It's one of the only places where Great Whites are known to breach. Anyway, he probably meant land predator. Nice shot though ;-)

I'm actually quite jealous of this. Not necessarily wise, but still. Of course, I'm sure I'd have some shaky hands, but what an experience. You're probably right about that. I had the opportunity to shoot a .300 Win Mag and a scoped 50 cal recently for an afternoon. Unbelieveable firepower. Talk about respect. The 50 cal was a little big for me, but the win mag was amazing. I'm pretty darn good with a .45 . Of course, this was all target shooting. The best thing you can do in the woods to avoid a nasty bear encounter is make noise. A startled bear is the most dangerous. Of course, that's counterproductive to your hunting I'm sure My feelings are torn on hunting (another thread maybe) but I do respect that you use a bow. Evens the battlefield a little. A killing bow shot takes immense skill.

Wow....you're really intent on putting words in my mouth aren't you? No....what I said was that people that die at the hands of their passion, be it animal, sport, whatever, usually do so because they FUCKED UP. Even in skydiving the MAJORITY, certainly not all, of the deaths are caused by the deceased making a mistake. I'm all about risk management. I'll take my risks in my job and skydiving. I think both are FAR more predictable than standing near a Grizz. I'm sorry, I'm really not trying to put words in your mouth, but your (and others) write off that this guy was just some yahoo and deserved what he got really rubbed me the wrong way. As I said, it was no different than an uninformed whuffo's reaction to a jumping incident. Obviously, wildlife and environmental issues are a passion of mine and I took it quite seriously You couldn't be more correct thought about bears (and all wild animals) being unpredictable. They can react differently than anticipated at any time. I respect your choice to not get close to them

On the other hand, most of the public can't afford to go to Africa or other places to see animals in the wild. Therefore, having a few of them in zoos exposes the public to them, and allows them to come to appreciate those animals. Then, by appreciating them, that mass public becomes more sympathetic to efforts to save them in the wild, and will contribute to those causes. So in the end, "caging" a few for public entertainment can actually benefit the survival of the species. Absolutely agree. Well run zoos that attempt to mimic the natural environment of the wild animal can serve as superb educational tools, endangered species breeding programs and rehabilitation centers. There is a far cry between these types of facilities and a vegas show or the circus. However, it is unfortunate that we need the "better" zoos and aquariums in the first place. They are a symptom of the human race's mismanagement and abuse of natural resources in the first place. I've been swimming with dolphins. It lasted about 5 seconds in the open ocean. To me, that was worth more than 10 hours watching a performing dolphin at Sea World. Again, personal beliefs. I have come to accept that there is a certain value to some "caged" environments.

They are also a different species. Gorillas are not bears, they are not predators. If I decide to study sharks instead of hamsters, my odds of being maimed or killed increase dramatically. By your logic, any person that dies at the hands of their passion (whether it be an animal or a sport) had no knowledge or skill to begin with.

Ummm....read the question again. Diane wasn't killed by a gorilla. She met her fate at the hands of the MOST dangerous animal in the world. "Man" But IF she had been killed by a mountain gorilla due to her continuous close proximity you would've called her a dumbass and an idiot? That was how you answered the question. It was a hypothetical that you answered in the affirmative. The fact that she was ultimately killed by men is irrelevant. She could've found herself in a similar fate as Treadwell and it would not have negated her research and ultimate protection of the species. Likewise for Mr. Treadwell.

And let's not forget that the media report on his death is going to be inaccurate, sensationalized and skewed. About the only thing that can be taken as fact is that he and his g/f died and so did 2 bears. The latter being the most unfortunate IMO. I actually know quite a lot about this guy. He didn't just "walk up to" wild bears. He NEVER wanted to "prove they were harmless". Bad reporting. There's a lot more to this than is being presented by the media. Go figure. Personally I'm just surprised that so many people who have consistently seen how the media warps facts, or is just plain incorrect, are now taking what's said about this guy and his death as gospel.

You feel that Diane Fossey was a "dumbass" and an "idiot"? I am in total agreement about Roy. I absolutely cannot stand wild animals in a caged environment. ESPECIALLY when they are there for no reason other than for entertaiment value. I for one believe that if I want to see a wild animal, I go see it in it's environment. It's the sole reason I learned to SCUBA and I am aware of the risks when I do that.

Actually, Mr. Treadwell was responsible for protecting these bears from poachers for many years. His research and writings alerted many to their plight and helped many people, especially children, respect them. His approach was controversial to some, but not necessarily wrong. It was a risk he chose to take in pursuit of conservation. Anyone that takes their beliefs and embraces them takes the risk of succumbing to that which they admire. Go to any whuffo forum and read the comments about any BASE or skydiving incident. You'd find similar "he deserved what he got" comments. http://www.grizzlypeople.com/home.php Would you have had the same comments about Diane Fossey if she had been attacked and killed by a mountain gorilla? I do agree that it is incredibly unfortunate that 2 bears had to lose their lives.

Then you truly don't understand this sport and how this community works. So if you said you were going to a 107 then that should be disregarded too? Because that wasn't your original question? Noone should speak up because you think it "flies nice". What possible basis of comparison do you have? All you're saying is you haven't biffed in yet. You aren't jumping in a bubble. You can choose to ignore people (unless it's your S&TA), but that doesn't mean others will stop speaking and advising. It's not necessarily your wingloading that's scary, it's your cavalier attitude. Yeah, I guess you could say that people dying and breaking bones "sux"

Why are you "rolling your eyes"? Please listen to these experienced people and even the other newbies that are sharing their experiences with you. I've only got 130 jumps but 5 years in the sport. Two broken legs will do that to you. One was a tandem (I had 27 jumps, TM was my boyfriend), the other was a remotely hot landing at 86 jumps and I caught my toe. Neither jump was unusual, I wasn't doing anything radical, they just didn't go quite right. My loading was about 1:1. While I was grounded with the 2nd break (that one required hardware), my friend was borrowing my rig so she could do back to back jumps. She and another jumper collided at about 100 feet, killing them both. My canopy still has their DNA on it which I get to look at every time I pack. Washing only does so much. I've been 20 feet from a pond swoop gone bad and did CPR on the guy before they pronounced him dead. I wont even go into the lesser injuries that I've been witness to or my other friends that have died. There was a lot that came from those experiences. I was at the DZ every weekend while I was injured. Listening, watching, learning from mine and others experiences. There aren't words enough to explain what it took to get back in the air. You pay a lot of lip service to being careful. You're not listening. Your "rolling eyes" are misplaced. I have never heard an experienced jumper caution a newbie from doing something that was beyond their ability. I have only heard encouragement and the desire to see newbies push themselves and learn. These people are NOT trying to hold you back. They are trying to prevent you from doing something that could hurt you, or worse, someone else. You cannot know how quickly things can go to shit in this sport unless you've experienced it firsthand. Please slow down FOR RIGHT NOW. There is absolutely no reason for you to downsize. None. Become proficient and then move on. Set an example and become a kickass swooper one day.

Ok, in all seriousness, this almost reads like you're trolling (baiting) the forums. I think that's probably why you are getting mostly snide responses. Assuming this isn't a troll... I remember covering wingloadings quite extensively in my first jump class. How is that you don't know what the numbers signify? This concerns me as it seems that you're lacking some basic knowledge. I'd hate to see you grab the wrong rig with a tiny canopy in it 'cause you liked the color of it. What also concerns me is your statement "I think that's what my JM said". If you are EVER unsure of a statement that your JM makes, clarify. And then make sure. You can ask all the questions on the ground that you want. You will not get that opportunity in the air. For the record, yes, I would say most people care about the color of their gear. However, it's usually way down on the list of their priorities. Safe (this covers a lot of things), correctly sized and as inexpensive as possible are most people's concerns, especially right off student status. I bought my canopy off a good friend. It's a Sabre 150, had about 500 jumps on it and I knew he'd taken good care of it. He only wanted $300 for it. The fact that it was decent colors was a bonus. I would redirect your excitement and energy toward learning about the basics of the sport. Maybe show your jumpmaster this thread and the responses so that he can address it for you.

During recent visits home I would say it's slightly more prevalent, but in contrast to the U.S., it's negligible. Or maybe a better term would be reasonable.

Any possibility that he was being facetious?

Does anyone know of a jumper in the New England area by the name of Mitch Hoffmeister? He was a high school friend and my parents told me recently that they were talking with his dad. They mentioned my hobby and he said that Mitch skydives too. Now, that could mean he did a tandem once, but I'd be really interested in getting in touch with him if he's jumping too. If anyone knows of him, please PM me. Thanks!

Or reply to ***Who you are (again, by your own admission) has done an inordinate amount of stupid things during your skydiving career. As you have pointed out several times, avoid doing them in the first place. You're self-induced war stories are coming across as false bravado. Or Well I never said I did an inordinate amount..you did. You don't know haw many stupid things I have done in my life do you? Actually, your first sentence to me in your first reply was "Yes Emma in my 3,000 jumps and 10 years I have gone to the plane without my gear on. I have also hundreds of other stupid things." It appears that you have a fairly good idea, and I think that 200 or more stupid mistakes in 3,000 jumps is inordinate. Then and then Which I never did...What I did do was tell you to do as many jumps as me and if you don't have afew no shit stories then you could gloat. Im betting you will have afew of your own. ok Ok I did...Sorry I never saw that one, only the snide remark one. Really? I got a few PM/Emaisl about this one: ***She was fully geared and ready to exit at 2,000 AGL. That's apparently not a statement that you can always make. And I even responded to them before I got back to you...5 of my friends thought you were being a smart ass...So maybe you didn't mean to, but it did come off that way. Well then I would suggest that your friends have far too much influence over you. Oh it is thicker...Im not in the slightest bit mad. Just enjoying this actually. And in my opinion you are acting like a smart ass. Could we both be wrong? We're not both right. Well your first comment came across VERY smart as a smart ass comment. Maybe you didn't mean it, but it does seem like it. And a question and a smart ass comment get very different responses from me. fair enough, but you didn't actually know I was being a smartass. Great...notice I never said YOU were dependent..Only that there ARE people. Would you treat a CYPRES fire as a run of the mill occurance, or would you realize that its about as close to death as you can get and you would need to think about it? I would think about it before, during and after. Extensively. Yes, thank you. I won't dissect it, but I will offer you an opinion from a newbie's perspective. You've repeatedly stated that there was no additional danger to others. However, I believe that the example you were setting was exceptionally dangerous. Newbies can be impressionable, no? They can get in a lot of trouble by wanting to be like the cool dudes. Education comes in many different forms.

It'll be a real blockbuster, I'm sure.

And thats all I ever said. You need to relook at WHY. But I have seen people have a save and not do this..."Its why I bought it" Is what I am told. Give me a reason that you would not do a hop n pop from 3,500 feet with out an AAD. I would not say they are inordinate based on the number of my jumps...You said that. I have had close calls, and I bet there are several people that have had as many in the same number of jumps....I would rather you not have to ahve any...but its your life and your choice. And its not false bravado....I just don't hide when I fuck up...I tell people so they can learn the lession if they wish. Because you said you didn't question me....So now you admit you did. I don't care really. I was as safe as the pilot or any other passenger would be. Agreed, and thats the same thing I tell people who are getting on the plane with leg straps not done...Of course since I was next to the pilot it would have been hard to push me out the door though. And sinc eI went from seat belt to rig...The chances of an E exit in that one min...while there was very small. Actaully I told you to keep your mouth shut after you came back with this snide remark. Thats not a question...a question ends with one of these (?) and asks for more info...See the difference? (Notice the question mark!) And most people don't act like a know it all smart ass to me when they ask questions...They get a very different response from me. If you had asked why I went to the A/C with out a rig...Or maybe what I did you would have gotten a VERY different answer. But you didn't you gave a snide remark, and got one back. See the difference? (Again a question mark) I only act this way to snot nosed know it all newbies. Take that how you like. Don't act like that, I will not act like this. How would you like a person off AFF level 1 talking to you like you did me? Remember you didn't ask a question...You made a snide remark. Ask questions all day. Act like a smart ass...Expect smart ass back. When you ask a question (Which you didn't remember..you forgot the little (?) at the end) in a snide smart ass way...You get that attitude back. Well I would hope you would talk to someone you trust as opposed to just trusting someone who can type. I didn't do that till you got all smart assed. Again, you didn't ask a question Remember no (?) at the end? (Notice the (?)). You made a smart ass coment with out any more info. No there was no question (no(?)), just a smart ass comment. So then it was not teaching, it was responding to a smart ass comment. Totally different things. again ask a QUESTION, and not make a smart ass comment. You will get an answer, not a smart ass reply. Try me...You will find I will answer almost any question (May not be the right answer, but I will try me best to give a good one. And if I don't know I will gladly tell you I don't know)...I can even do it with out being a smart ass if you ask it like a question, and not a smart ass comment. Care to try? Ron I'm not going to splice amongst all your comments as there's only so many times a person can respond to "smart ass" and "it wasn't a question". You have failed to ever answer the first question I posed to your post. Go back and read it, the first one. You didn't respond and there wasn't a snide thing about my questions. Unless, of course, you choose to see it that way. The second post was an observation based on your comments. I did not intend to be snide. You may feel it was a smart ass comment, but that's merely your perspective. It's how you chose to take it. As an instructor, and somebody with so many jumps, experience, and harrowing experiences you would've thought your skin was a little thicker. You are still being reactionary and overly sensitive in my opinion. You've resorted to redundant name calling and splitting hairs about question marks. And as a point of fact, I realized recently as the plane was about to take off that my AAD was not turned on. I didn't fiddle with it and I still jumped. I did not change my skydive in the least.

Its not an assumption....She was the only one to knock herself out...And all I did was say she needs to look at why she was the only one to knock herself out...She was not knocked out by someone else...Her exit did it. Her EMERGENCY exit. At 2,000 AGL she was ready to exit the plane in what, I would think, is a high stress stituation. She maybe did not have the time to assess the angle of the plane or the ground speed. I don't know. I'm sure that after her experience she will take some time to analyze the whys and whats that lead to her striking the tail. Nope, but what I am saying is not to launch yourself up like a normal poised exit when the engine is at high power, and the tail low. That is THE lession here, not "run out and buy an AAD". We all know that an AAD is a good thing, some of us see that way to many people rely on them and we think its bad. The lession is to not put yourself into a situation that you need to ahve an AAD save your ass...And if you do, you need to see what you did to put yourself in that situation. You should never rely 100% on any skydiving device...Altimeters fail, mains malfunction, Reserves blow up, AAD's fail. But DEPENDENCE on anything is bad. You WANT an AAD cool, You NEED it...not so good. And I agree, but you seem to be making generalizations as to why people will not jump if they don't have an AAD. That choice does not necessarily make you dependent, it depends on the INDIVIDUALS reasons for that choice. And like I have said...I don't care if you listen...Not true, I would rather you learn from my mistakes than see the ground rushing up at you while you are below 700 feet, or hook it into the ground, or climb out with a chest strap undone, or jump a canopy that is known to collapse, or be stupid and think low pulls are cool...ect. But I don't care what you think of me as a person or instructor. I am who I am. Who you are (again, by your own admission) has done an inordinate amount of stupid things during your skydiving career. As you have pointed out several times, avoid doing them in the first place. You're self-induced war stories are coming across as false bravado. I'll go out on a limb and guess that 3,000 is more than 130. And you didn't question my statement you said ***She was fully geared and ready to exit at 2,000 AGL. That's apparently not a statement that you can always make DUH! I said it. But I was still safe...at least as safe as the pilot. So I don't see that as an issue. Actually I did question it. After your little story about how you ran to the plane carrying your rig, I asked "why?", "why did you board......?", etc. So yes, I did ask you a question. Do we really need to waste time arguing semantics? And I have shown you were a guy that stayed in the plane lived and a guy that left died. Not the only time this has happened. You have to take into account what is up with the plane. Absolutely true. However, you are talking about making a choice, an informed decision. One that you effectively removed by not wearing your rig. And I seriously doubt that if you judged the plane was going to end in a mass or twisted metal you would not sit there calmly and say "oh well, I made my choice to ride the plane down". You'd likely be scrambling to get in your gear. Of course we don't know, but if I ever see someone during an emergency situation who isn't ready to leave, they'd better get out of my way. I don't care how many jumps you've got. I really do have everyones best interests at heart....But you don't have to listen so why should I care if you don't? Its your life, I just hope you live long enough to make the mistakes on your own that you could learn from others...Even if you don't like the way they pitch it. How you pitch it is critical. Surely as an instructor you are used to getting questions. How can you justify reacting in such an emotional, critical and condescending fashion? Once again, all I did was ask why you got on the plane without your rig on. You told me to keep my mouth shut. Oh geeze just say I act like a skygod and get over yourself. Do you act like a skygod? I hadn't thought about it, but now you mention it, I guess you are. Now I have NO experience. Not even a little? Some? Maybe? When you wrap up anything sensible you have to say with an elitist attitude, you may be right. I don't like or dislike you. I have no personal feelings about you one way or another. I do know that what you've presented of yourself thus far would make me ask another person for advice and input. As I said before, simply stomping your feet with "but I have all these jumps, I'm right and you're wrong" is not going to fly. I will and do question anything that I see (or read) that does not match what I have learned to this point. You seem to feel that you are beyond reproach or questions. You obviously didn't like that someone asked you a question, you rushed to my profile, saw how many jumps I had and used that as your soul basis for telling me to "shut my mouth". Excellent way to teach. If you were so willing to put your "stupid mistakes" on the line, you should have been ready for some questions afterwards. From people with ALL jump numbers.

As Kallend pointed out, this is an assumption. And we all know of someone, or at least a story, where someone was saved in a car accident because they weren't wearing a seatbelt. However, your odds improve by wearing one. Are you suggesting to this newbie, that if a pilot calls for an emergency exit I should stay in the plane? Why is it people with 130 jumps say jumps don't mean anything, and people without ratings say ratings don't mean anything? I listen when anyone with more experience (years or jumps) talks to me. And to be honest I learn from anyone. I have listened (read) what you have to say Ron, and I have determined from this limited exposure that it would require more than you saying "but I've got these ratings" to trust your direction. Likewise. You have no idea what my experiences have been in this sport. I also haven't judged you. I've simply questioned some of your statements. Once again, reading between the lines is not necessary. If I think you're full of it, I'll tell you. That's becoming painfully obvious. A wonderful attitude for a hightimer and instructor. You're really convincing me now. I have learned from you Ron. I've learned that I don't ever want to have your holier-than-thou attitude no matter how many jumps I have. I've also learned that if my argument is falling flat, I won't fall back on how many jump numbers and ratings I have to prove my point. My mum used to say "because I said so". That only held water 'cause she was putting the dinner on the table.

Yeah and nothing in you getting on me was out of line either. You seemed to have missed the whole point of me staying in the plane, and being belted in till 1,000 feet also. So where is the flaw? And I think me telling you to come back after 2,780 more jumps without you doing anything stupid is appropriate...and more to the point I don't care what you think. My Mom still loves me. My 10 years, 3,000 jumps, Instructor ratings, PRO rating, and several close calls DOES give me more credability that someone with 130 jumps. Explain how I was "out of line" please. Because I pointed out one of the basic procedures that we all learn? I have not been rude, defensive or otherwise attacking. I also never claimed to be safer than you. Please don't misquote me. I will say what I mean every time, I don't require any reading between the lines. You faulted someone's style during an emergency exit. I merely pointed out that, by your own admission, you could not have exited at all on at least one jump. In my humble opinion, a person who dies in a plane crash, when he had a rig in front of him but couldn't gear up to get out, would look pretty foolish in the incident reports. Once again, your ratings mean very little in the black and white. They are meaning less the more you feel the need to bring them up. You would gain more credibility with me by making sense.

Yes Emma in my 3,000 jumps and 10 years I have gone to the plane without my gear on. I have also hundreds of other stupid things. You with your 130 jumps have 2,870 incedent free jumps more before you can pretend to be safer than me. And for the record. I was seat belted in till 1,000 feet. If there was a situation, I would have ridden the plane down. Is the pilot stupid for not wearing a rig? And I had my rig on, and then the nice guy behind me was giving me a gear check when he tried to arm my CYPRES at 3,000. So in 9 years and 2,870 more jumps if you have never done anything stupid...feel free to call me up and gloat..Until then, I would keep my mouth shut and my ears open. Wow, nothing defensive or condescending there. I simply pointed out a basic flaw in your argument. Telling me to "keep my mouth shut" was inappropriate, reactionary and quite frankly rude. I do keep my eyes and ears open, which is why I was able to point out the fundamental error in your argument. By the way, your high(ish) jump numbers DO NOT mean that I will listen to you without question. Don't bother using them as a credibility point.