Tink1717

Banana, AND , I'm at work in a Catholic owned place!

(T)rans ( P ) acific ( P )aretnership. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

It's not limited to any single place. I've seen it at single cessna drop zones as well as the huge boogies. There is no place you can get away from it and there is no way you can tar a single place or even a group of places with the label. You roll the dice and take your chances every time you leave the house. The reality is that there is not now, nor will there ever be in the future, any place or time where you are safe. Life is a risk. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

In '68, there was a movie called "The Gypsy Moths". It was the first major Hollywood film to use air to air skydiving cameras. A few years later when I was ten ('72 or so) it came out on TV. The opening scene was so cool that I knew then and there that was what I wanted to do. I spent the next few years attaching everything I could to some form of parachute. All my G.I. Joe's made jumps ( not all of which were successful ). My parents once caught me trying to jump off the balcony with a "parachute" I made froma beach towel and kite string ( my first attempt at BASE). I even built model rockets just so I could build the parachutes. When I told my parents what I wanted to do their reply was not only no, but "HELL NO!!" Fast fwd 20 or so years, I'm in the fire department and off on my own in the burbs of Baltimore. I was channel surfing and I surfed into an infomercial from a DZ in the "area" ( three hour drives to DZs are in the area.). They sent me a flyer and the next week I made my first jump and the reat is history. And I still want three others to redo the opening jump of Gypsy Moths........... Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

I have. And many more than I'd like. I have seen multiple staff on staff violence, student on staff violence and jumper to jumper violence including a jumper on jumper stabbing. I don't know how you've went roughly twice as long in the sport as I've been in and not crossed that. I have seen theft at DZ's and boogies that total in the tens of thousands of dollars, seen drunken vandalism of extreme senselessness and been the victim of hundreds of dollars of property destruction. I too have been to the Herd and NOT seen that, but that was the exception rather than the rule. We are no more or less barbarous than the average whuffo. BTW, where are you jumping that you've never seen that? I want to move there! Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

I'm inferring that you are connecting a DZ that has high incident numbers with low safety. Right? Don't make that mistake. There are BIG DZ's out there that are very safe, like Z-hills and Cross Keys, but have high incident numbers due to sheer volume of jumps. By contrast I've seen fly by night DZ's that are as sketchy as Truman's DZ in Fandango that have never lost anyone. (Due to low volume, if you only jump once and make it, the DZ looks good.) So, what exactly are you asking? Be specific and name names. "is XXXXXXX DZ a safe operation or what?" would be a good place to start. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

Agreed. But his main objective was to preach. He wanted to capture a much larger and diverse audience than he alone was capable of producing. The more new faces, the more $$$ coming his way and the more clout associated with it. We've seen this before with those who are allied with his ilk, like Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort. They don't have a theme park but they will engage as they did on Nightline a few years ago just to get to a new audience. They got destroyed in the debate, but winning wasn't their objective, preaching was. Just like Ham's objective was. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

The Daily Show.

I've been thinking very seriously about this very question. First, it would take having a place to go where I can use the skillset I possess and make a living income. Second, it would have to be an english speaking place. I'm too old to learn and be proficient at a second language. Third, it would take a commitment on the part of my new homeland to not go the same path as the US. No sense in jumping from one sinking ship to another. Fourth, it would take a wholesale action on the part of the state to take some action against me. Something like the TPP or the establishment of a state church or a requirement for gun ownership. Or expansion of NSA wiretapping to include sale of information to private companies ( I predict they will do this in the future.) Other than that, I don't know. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

Bill Nye, as do almost all those who debate the likes of Ham et al, miss the point of the debate. Ham didn't want to debate, he wanted to preach, and to a much larger audience. Nye, for his part, played right into this strategy. Ham, et al, KNOW they can't win on facts, theory or observation, they only want the chance to preach to a larger audience and with the appearance of equal status with those who are their opponents. Ham, even on his best day, would never even be able to debate his way out of a wet paper bag against Bill Nye or even a first year Earth Sciences student, but to preach on a national or world stage, that's what he really wanted. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

Walked right into that one didn't I??? Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

I got stuck on level 4 too. That was 2300 jumps ago. Keep at it. Get to a tunnel and let 'er rip!

That's actually an improvement for a Skyvan...... Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

I'm mostly deaf already. I'll give it a shot. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

It's over. Period. Your buddy must move on. However, always remember your buddy's problem is NOT with this dude, but with his soon to be ex. She knew that he knew. She re engaged with the third party despite that and in such a manner that she was caught. She's got to go. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

Where's a condom when it's most needed? Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

As a former instructor and tandem master I can say that you should certainly do a tandem first. The introduction to the freefall environment in a controlled setting is worth its weight in gold. Also, you might be one of the rare students who come away not thrilled with jumping. A tandem, as opposed to AFF, will save you money in that regard. So, if you've read this far you're likely committed to jumping. Let's base the next part on the standing that you're going to pursue the sport. With that being said, you are looking at a substantial layout of cash in your fist year. After that it gets less demanding but can get expensive at any one point. You are looking at ( based on last years prices at the DZ I last worked) about $1500 USD for your lessons. This is directly related to your performance and can be less ro substantially more. Then you're looking at about another $1000 USD or so to finish getting your license. A good way to supplement your training is tunnel time. Get as much as you can afford and as often as you can. It is truly the best non jumping training you can get. After that it's time to get gear. You will need to get your own personal gear. Student gear is just that - student gear - you will outgrow it by the time you leave the nest. You will be councilled to start off with used gear for a rig, main, reserve and AAD. This is highly sound advice that is a near universal standard in the sport. A used system will set you back about $2500 or so, depending on what you get, where, and from whom. Be very careful and let your instructors and riggers in on every step of your decisions. We've been there before and want to make sure you get the best deal possible. You will also need some ancillary gear to go with your rig. Jumpsuit ($300 or so new, $50 and up used). Altimeter ($150-ish new, $25 and up used {be very skeptical of used altimeters. They're often untrustworthy. IMNSHO}). Helmet ($40-500. You get what you pay for.) Goggles ($10-200) Gear Bag ($100-300) Packing Mat ($~50) and about $100 bucks worth of things that escape my mind at the moment ( Not a hard thing to do at any time). So, think of it as more or less like buying a motorcycle: expensive start up costs, but relatively cheap after that. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

Nope. He's still alive and can reproduce ( although when the story gets out, he might not have the co operation of women), therefore a Darwin Award is not permissable. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

Nothing. I was mad about being able to relate to being that horny. Pissed about being 50, fat, divorced and bitter and being never again able to get relief for being horny. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

I was actually talking about people. There is a huge number of jumpers who SCUBA also. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

There is a LOT of crossover between SCUBA and skydiving. In NYC there are more than a few DZ's that can get you an A license quickly, but not right now. The winter is brutal at altitude so most DZ's go semi dormant. If you're in a hurry, FL is your best bet. I'll recomend Z-Hills (Zephyrhills) outside of Tampa. They'll be able to get you everything you need to get started. Have fun. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

Allow your instructors and coaches to guide you when it comes time to buy gear. What you can start doing now is getting the generic things : helmet, goggles, altimeter, etc... Than when you're ready, your instructors willbegin to tell you what you should be thinking of in terms of gear purchase. Don't be in a hurry. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

+1 Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

Debunked as false in less than 12 hrs. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

+1 Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717