Droolbaby

Thanks for the input. I know there are a lot of things that can be a better cost/benefit ratio, but I wanted to combine one of my loves with that of something close to many people. Besides, something this ambitious can get a lot of great press AND can pull people into the world of real issues. I will definately let everyone know what is happening with this. We shall see. Thanks for all of the help. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

OK. So I have this idea. I want to do something to help open the minds of people as well as help increase cancer awareness. I am considering doing a full US tour on a quest. I am considering making two jumps at each drop zone over the course of a few days. At current count, there are 208 drop zones through out the US (Alaska and Hawaii are not in those numbers) and am considering jumping all 208 DZs in 208 days (basically a drop zone a day, somedays I can jump more than one, but on average, one a day). I would like to know if this has ever been attempted as well as any feed back. I just want some feedback on what people think. Let me know. Thanks. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

OK. That makes total sense. Thank everyone for their input. With so much information on this site, it is hard to decipher it all at once. I know what I want to do, and coming up with a plan to get there is often hard with a sport such as this. I will roll out a keg in thanks after my first sitfly for all of you. I'll even post a notice when it happens and when and where the keg gets tapped. Thanks. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

Hey everyone. I kow these questions have been asked many times before and I have read a lot of comments in conjunction to them on this site. But, as all new things, some make sense to me and my situation and some don't. So I am looking for some clarification based on my current level. Me: I am comletely new to the civilian skydiving world. I did jump for a few years in the military, but there wasn't much need to learn to "arch" when you only have 800 feet to fall and the parachute is attached to the aircraft. Currently I am finishing up those things I need to do to get my "A". Though I do not have many jumps under my belt (15) I do have 2 hours of tunnel time. While I am comfortable with others and understand what is happening, I want to pursue freeflying. The freedom it introduces to open creativity is what I am looking for in this sport. While I know and understand the need and USPA's desire to increase RW work into everyone, I am curious as to when I should start thinking about freeflying. There are many various opinions on this issue, but I am trying to get an understanding of what is going on. I am in no real rush to get there (as you can tell 15 jumps and a hell of a lot of tunnel time). So here is my conundrum..should I be decent at RW work before pursuing Freeflying. I have even been told I should do at least a dozen or more 4 ways before Freeflying. This "4 Way" work will allow me to beter understand heading, positioning with other and help keep my head centered on the task and altitude, and also help provide me a way of checking on my awareness (once one pulls, pretty much everyone knows to pull). And second, as an alternate part to this, is it good to start in the tunnel, or should I just get a coach and sling my body from the plane while having a Freefly coach? Thanks everyone for the understanding, I am just trying to sort the information out in my head and this site. Lots of opinions and just trying to make it specific to my situation. Thanks. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

I forgot to mention the hypothyroid-induced hypoglycemia. If I were to eat like this, I would be near-psychotic, and I would gain weight from the excess of carbs. My body shouldn't be this way, and it drives me crazy that I'm not "normal," but at 47, I don't have much hope that it's going to change. BTW, if I don't get adequate amounts of fat in my diet, I get sick. rl Now you are an example of someone that is an exception to this general topic. Due to your genetic make up and subsequent medical condition, you are someone that fits into the genetics category. While we are saying there aren't exceptions to the rule, it is generally true, most Americans are fat due to laziness and desire for a quick fix. That is our society these days, which is unfortunate. People want something before they work for it. I call it the welfare syndrome..but that is another topic. Despite current marketing and media ad campaigns, everybody needs certain amounts of "good" fats. It is a misconception that fat makes you fat...an extreme caloric surplus must exist for weight gain. That is the trick...find out how many calories your body burns while at full rest (called Base Metabolic Rate...or BMR) and then eat accordingly. I told one guy he could eat anything he wanted...as long as he kept the caloric value for a 24 hour period under 1700 a day. He came to me a week later with his meal log and noticed that on sunday (as a treat) he ate nothing but twinkies. Although he kept his caloric value under 1700, and followed my advice on cheat days, we did need to sitdown and talk about proper nutrition. But it was funny. People think eating healthy is going to consume a lot more of their time and they feel they don't have the time to devote to making healthy changes. Why cook when I can drive thru McDonald's and get my food there? p.s. RhondaLea are you taking anything to help stabilize the thyroid? If you are is it working? If you tried, did it work and why aren't you on it now? ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

Yup. Our plane has instructions on the bottom that explain how to float back up and push someone back into the plane if they exit too soon after you The comments that watching the plane fly away helps with heading control and form are right on the money in my opinion. So are the comments that it's just "plane" a cool visual I was told the person responsible for buying beer that night would be posted under the plane. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

You are not taught to PLF/PLR on your course at all?? Really? Wow, I did my AFF level 1 and my instructor asked me if I had ever jumped? I told him I had 36 static lines in the military and he said "Well, I guess we can skip the lesson on proper PLF skills." Thought it was taught. Maybe it should be added to the ciriculum? Glad to hear you are ok. I have landed on airport pavement (military training jumps). Doesn't feel good, and we were aiming for it..had elbow and knee pads and still got bloody. Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing, the great ones are the ones you stand up on. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

Esentially your WHOLE thing here can be summarized into one quick easy to read statement. Let me know what you think. "Anything to keep people in the news." Entertainers have used it for years and politicians are doing the same thing. If you recognize my name on the ballot, you will more than likely vote for me when (and if) you get into the voting booth. Name regognition. All politicians use this tactic. You want to see some really trashy talk show crap, watch C-Span. Those guys get on there at times and yammer about stupid stuff, for the same purpose..name recognition. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

Well, though not an expert by no means, I do understand this. According to economists, the number one way to improve an economy is to be at war. Either with your self or with another country. In the history of the world, the countries that have prospered the most have been those countries that have been in the most battles and wars. Sad, but true. Think of the savage nature of Alexander the Great on throug hthe Roman Empire. Look at the battles that took place during the medevil times and on into the current era of civilization. While war is ugly, a country at war puts valuble resources into creating a strong military type force. In recent history, look at the advances made in the world between 1900 and the end of WWI. Then look at the progress between WWI and WWII. Then lok at the significant jump in the economic situation through out the world during the Cold War. Is it in our best intrest to be at war? Sadly yes. Is it the only way? No, but until you have a significant re-education of political affairs and political insights of those in charge of our governments, we will always be at war. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

And to think I was actually considering attending that school when I was living there. Glad I chose East Carolina. Wow..what a nut job. And people wonder why racism still exisits in this country. How is this guy still allowed to teach in the school systems? I bet if the Grand Dragon from some KKK group got a spot to teach and said "White people are supposed to kill black people." there would be a fedral investigation and the man would be removed from this planet. This amazes me. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

Well there are three types of body compositions..you have the mesomorph (These are those beefy bastards that look at weights and put on 5 pounds of muscle...think Arnold and the other major body builders) While not exclusive mesomorph types, these men and women usually compete in these types of competetions), endomorph (these guys are the ones that can eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and never add an ounce of body weight...I hate these people personally) and then you have the ectomorph (these are people like me...live on a strict 55/30/15 diet and watch the body fat to caloric intake like a hawk and even one thought of chocolate adds 5 pounds to the waist line). With each of these body types, there are certain things you can do to keep them in a healthy lifestyle. There are genetic dispositions to these body types and recommendation made for each type. For instance, one guy I work with has a huge problem putting on muscle weight...well he is an endomorph and it took him 8 weeks just to slow down enough to get 8 hours of sleep, while I have to work my ass off just to keep from getting more than 6 hours, so we have our own dispositions, but to claim a virus or other "outside" cause is rediculous. I have been training people far too long to believe that. Genetics play a huge part in this game and once you figure out your body type (and most obese people are the ectomorph body type) it is a matter of self discipline and hard work that keep you healthy. If you want to loose 10 or 15 pounds, what I usually do, and this works for me, is I go strictly vegetarian for a week to boost my metabolism and also detox the body while increasing my cardio to 45 minutes 3 times a week..but that works for me...try it and see if it works. (Of course eating all veggie stuff you are going to notice you are going to be shoveling the food into you to keep 1600 calories, just make sure you get plenty of protien (oatmeal and tofu are my person choices for protein.) Hope this helps to some degree. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

I don't know man. I hear once you get into Madrid you may never want to leave AND then add the fact you are skydiving as well...you may be there for the rest of your life my friend...sun, fun, jumping and the women...yeah I would say Scotland has lost another one. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

Welcome. My sister and brother-in-law are near Raeford. Great place *though not to sure of all the sand* but there are some great people there. Would love to see you on the DZ next time I visit. Love the people in NC, just can't stand the weather...see you in the sky. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

Welcome to the madness and mayhem. Atlanta is a great place to jump. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....

Totally untrue. My weight has gone up and down my entire life, and there has never been a relationship between what I've been eating and my weight loss/gain. I have an autoimmune disorder that has destroyed my thyroid. In the process, I've had times of both overactive and underactive production of thyroid hormones. When hyper, I lose weight no matter how much I eat, when hypo, I gain, no matter how little. There are other medical conditions that cause the same problem for many, related both to under- and overweight. Ask any woman with PCOS. It isn't all about supersizing ones Big Mac meal. rl While there are several conditions that directly affect the human body and can cause weight gains, in our society today, many of the health problems we have are directly related to our life styles. OVer eating and overly proccessed foods combined with very little activity due to office jobs and now many home based businesses. While it is possible certain viruses can lead to possible weight gain, the report said 3 out of 10 people. So while there is a possible link, it is still on the people of society to realize, many overweight people are overweight because of poortable away discipline.Many of the health issues in this country would disappear if many people would just push the table away sooner when eating. There is documented evidenct showing cases of heart disease, diabetes and other life threatening conditions are directly coorelated to a persons weight. Just my thoughts. ...Happiness is just a drool away....mmmmm....