christoofar

Hear hear AndyMan! One good thing about TSA is that, when they eventually get their act figured out, will have standardized security across the board so everyone will be treated the same. Norman Manetta remphazised that on an NPR broadcast I heard two weeks ago. Airports that want to adopt their own "additional" security checks and procedures is unacceptable; if one airport has a reason to institute another check, they should notify TSA and FAA immediately as to why they feel they need the precaution because the extra precaution may be needed at other facilities. I have a friend in Bah-ston who recently was hired by TSA to work at Logan. He has assured me even thought they are in a hiring and training frenzy right now... you *will* be treated and scrutinized the same way at every U.S. airport in the near future. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

I've found the opposite to happen to me. I was questioned more often in ORD (line check, and the ticket counter) and I was wearing a suit and tie with the gear bag over my shoulder. I'm sure business casual is probably more in the "harmless" type of dress that you speak of. Passengers actually seeing a rig over a shoulder and you boarding the plane will setoff alarm bells in their minds... if they know what it is. If you're wearing just a plain old tshirt, or even a skydiving tshirt... whuffos will just glance over it and figure you for military, extreme-sports freak, etc... much like you would gloss over someone who had 15 zillion piercings. As far as security goes, the more you "seem" like the type that jumps, the easier your trip to the gate will be. Also, not every skydiving tshirt is an obvious "you are a skydiver tshirt". I have a couple that brazenly announce it, most of the others are just the speed-limit (120mph) sign with the word skydive! plastered on it, some others I have are too existential to be recognized. I didn't get questioned when wearing my bright-purple "Fear is Not Fatal - Skydive San Marcos" tshirt and cut up jeans on a 4 leg flight. You would *think* it would set off alarm bells, but it doesn't. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't the exit doors on most Boeing and MD-80s sealed during flight? There is no way a passenger could open them at cruising altitude and exit the plane with a parachute. I don't know if that's a good logical defense to use when trying to get to the gate and you're stuck @ security... but it's worth a shot. At Rantoul there were no problems in the Champaign airport... I was one of the first groups leaving (I left after 6 days) and I gave an impromptu course to the security personnel (upon questioning of my carryon) on what sport rigs look like and what all the parts are you see in the Xray machine. I also explained AAD and that they should always be turned OFF. I have taken a rig through SAT, PHX, Vegas and ORD and have never had any troubles with airport security. I think it more has to do with the individual scrutinizing you than anything else. Some places don't see lots of skydivers coming to/fro so they don't know what to do. There might be a few places where even a supervisor has no clue about people like us. Either way, all the big U.S. carriers allow rigs as carry-on. If you are stopped, ask for a supervisor if they won't let you onboard. Be cheerful and polite; answer any questions asked (don't over-volunteer information). Other helpful hints: DON'T carry your rig to the airport unconcealed; esp. at large airports where there are lots and lots of whuffos. Buy a gear bag at the sporting goods store. You don't want to be in a plane full of scared-shitless whuffos staring at you through the whole flight. DON'T take the rig out of your gearbag before the xray machine. Let security stop you if they have questions. At your arrival, it's okay to take the rig out after landing and throw it over your shoulder if you don't want to carry it in your arms... you won't be stopped by security leaving the airport and since everyone is on the ground, you won't hear much flack from whuffos. DON'T exclaim to the world that you have a rig. Let security take you aside so you can talk to them directly, away from other passengers. DO turn off your AAD before you pack your rig or take it to the airport. Know how to turn it OFF in case you are asked to turn it on. DO explain what the AAD is when asked by security; it is an emergency reserve-opening device to be used during a skydive. It is there to save your life. DO wear skydiving t-shirts, etc. paraphanalia with you if you can. A guy in an Armani 3-piece with a parachute looks odd and suspicious. A dude with five-o-clock shadow in a "GO FAST" tee seems more apropos to have a chute. Same goes for women; not a good idea to look like June Cleaver. DO answer any question asked of you politely and honestly. Being talkative unsettles nerves. You don't have to spill your whole life story, just explain that this is a sport you do and it's fun and exciting. If you brought a skydiving rag with ya to read, share it. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

My most vivid memory is when I saw my brother underneath me on a skyboard tracking while I was in freefall on his 400th jump, my 1st.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure we will be reliving that unfortunate day for the rest of our lives, just as our parents and grandparents revisit Pearl Harbor again and again. This is a reminder to us how frail and short life is. I don't need to see the buildings anymore to remind myself of that. Enjoy your life. You only have one chance to live it. . ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Today is a good idea for getting things caught up, talking to your relatives, friends, children--going out and doing normal everyday things. I'm keeping the TV and radio off this week. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

I never seem to find a chick who can cook. I wind up doing it. You like Mexican? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

If you observe carefully... there is a shot of a bunch of little square chicles bouncing around and they climb on top of a refrigerator... the pic on the refrigerator is a freeflyer wearing a helmetcam. Then they scrub the picture to make the freeflyer's teeth whiter. (hehehe I wonder what kind of stereotype THAT sets) ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Don't want to impose, but could y'all strip that clip to a digital format (like WMV/AVI/MPG/RM) and post it? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

alan... please man.. break those paragraphs! ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

I can and do. It's interesting though, I seem to have the same problem only in reverse. Next time you're in Antioch, we'll go to this club I belong to. We do sit-kneel-stand aerobics and sing for about 45 minutes, eat a cracker and drink a sip of wine, shake hands and go have breakfast. You'll dig it. After breakfast about half the time I go skydive nearby 45 minutes? Where is this club?! Every club I've ever been to likes to "0wn" you from 07:45 'til 11:30... so you're starving by the time you get out. My current club has a hundred-year-old university attached to it they have me for the whole day during some semesters! ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

That is the best euphamism I have heard this millenium. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Some of the substance you are talking about, like dress, is really part of a culture, and not really religion... although the two concepts are mixed together. So are particular societies' norms, values and taboos. If you just look at how different groups deal with particular events, like death for example, I think you'll gain a bigger understanding of where Arab muslims are coming from. Westerners used to wear tons of clothing from the 1700s til the early 1900s, even in the intense heat. And funny hats were all the rage for most of the time during these centuries as well. Education was also very hard to come by for women until just recently as well. We don't recognize most of this because most of us grew up in post WWII and weren't exposed to any of that "old stuff." Westerners keep forgetting that the origins of advanced complex societies originated in the Middle East and in Asia, not in Europe or the U.S. Granted, these people haven't advanced very far in the past few thousand years... try going to the bathroom in Greece and you'll soon find out. Sociology majors eat this stuff up for breakfast. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Hmm, I stepped on the scale this morning. Apparently, my wingloading has now dropped to 1.04:1 since I last weighed myself. When I got my Sabre2 170 I was about 1.2:1 Adkins diet and ab crunches sure do work! Now if I want to go faster I just need to eat some burritos. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Obviously you have not been lurking here that much. Clay LOVES Sheep! He is definetly the "sheep" type! HAHAHAHAHAHAHH!!!!! That is so BAA-AAA-AAAD ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

I was seeing God when I had my reserve pull in Nov. I'm an anti-sectarian... I believe in God and Jesus... but I can't stand religious pariahs who spew animosity at people... I also despise people who live high on the hog based on their faith (read: evangelists). We have one very prominent evangelist in San Antonio that lives in The Dominion (where David Robinson, Tim Duncan live). He has a palace some of us call "The Cult" over on the northside of town. Listening to him many times, his fire and brimstone prophecies are very effective at scaring money out of his worshiper's wallets. Despicable. I go to a Catholic university in San Antonio and also have my own grudges and grievances with Catholicism... so instead of tithing to a church like I was raised to do, I instead volunteer my time instead to causes, which is much more valuable, in my opinion, than fattening some lethargic organization's wallet. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Dammit. I have another month to go before I'm 25. Y'all have no IDEA how much insurance costs on a late model Mustang conv. for someone my age! ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Ooo when I saw this thread originally I was thinking it was a Slink failure at first and was rather taken aback. My slinks keep misaligning. I know they are extremely durable... but how bad can they get when during deployment they rotate around? It happens on almost every deployment... and I've been resetting them every single time on packing. Does it make any difference? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Yup, I agree. Having a 1.2 Sabre2 as a first purchase canopy and jumping several Spectres and Triathlons, I would have to say Sabre2 is very responsive, and has a lot of forward drive even when the winds kick up... like you see with Cobalt/Stilleto/etc. Sharp moves on the toggles on the Sabre2 ss a no-no on this canopy. Throwing the toggles down will cause the canopy to pop up... good if you are landing uphill but most of the time I would avoid doing that. On no-wind days I bring the toggles down, stop, then down some more, stop, and keep doing that in rapid succession to keep the canopy planing out flat. Be prepared to sprint like a mofo if you are not used to this kind of speed and you have to land downwind. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Dammit. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Last I saw on the threads was the weeked of Nov 9. Anybody gonna git there party on? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Uhm... oooooooooooooooooo-kaaaaaaaaaay. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Landing off from the DZ is better than a canopy collision, anyday.... FYI. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Oooo I want to go. I'd like to meet you guys.

It must be great to have non-whuffo parents. But then again, non-whuffo parents know _everything_ about skydiving culture and know EXACTLY what you are up to, ALL the time! ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.