Gato

Gotcha - I've only jumped out of Cessnas so far, and I haven't been to a larger DZ. Gotta get to know those planes. Thanks! T.I.N.S.

I can't imagine how many times this has been discussed here . . . . . . I remember seeing part of this Wesley Snipes jewel on cable not long after it came out, and it was quite a different experience seeing the whole flick from the perspective I have now. I'm not going to bother pointing out everything I saw that made me say, "Bullshit," but there were a couple of things I wanted to bitch, uh . . I mean, uh . . talk about: 1. How refreshing to see a hottie female DZO. How disturbing to see her drink part of a beer 5 minutes before a tandem jump. Excuse me, I'll call this a "No Shadow" tandem through a trap door. Could someone please tell me where that pink plane (Pac 750??) is now, and does it still have a trap door? (It wasn't just SFX, you can see it on the bottom as the plane banks away.) Just a sidenote, I happen to know a hottie DZO. 2. Interesting that every chute in the film except for the tandems is a 7-cell. Is this a reflection of the time period, or is it because of all the CRW in the movie? Also, PD is mentioned in the credits, but isn't Swoop's main made by Precision? 3. Also interesting to me that the young guy, Selkirk, is way way excited about jumping that red Racer, and gets to ditch his stupid Protec. Not to knock the Racer, it's just that I seem to hear a lot of stories of Racer and Reflex containers opening on the step. Again, just stories. 4. Is it commonplace, or was it commonplace at one time to see a 4-way RW team starting a fight over their favorite table at the Burn In Bar? 5. This did bother me, though: When Sellkirk loses his left riser because of the severed cutaway cable, he would have been soooooooo dead. You hear one of the judges say "4000 feet," and I started counting. He was at terminal at this point, tryin to pull his reserve. Swoop cutaway and tracked over, extracted Selly's reserve (not his PC?????) and pulled his own D-ring at almost exactly 20 seconds. Sooooo dead. Both of them. That's about it. I will say that I did enjoy watching the movie, especially Gary Busey's track into a windshield at the end. That was fucking hilarious. And there is some good RW and canopy footage, which is always cool. Are any of the actors actual skydivers, does anyone know? Also, Swoop is my new hero. He looks a lot like Ben Affleck, he apparently lives and sleeps on a window washing rig, does intentional CRW wraps for his newbie friends, and won't talk to you unless you've jumped with him. I also liked that he's willing to cut away at the drop of a hat. And you have to admire a man who will take a job for a free T-shirt. I wonder how my wife will handle me not speaking to her until she's jumped with me? T.I.N.S.

Ok, this is going to sound like a HUGE rationalization, and I don't care. We are opportunistic. We are almost perpetually horny, unless we actively try to concentrate and focus on something else besides sex. And of course, there's almost nothing better to focus on. Some people maintain we are not a naturally monogamous species. Judging by our behavior (not by our ideals and morals) I'd tend to agree. That said, some of us have learned to put the "animal" aside and actually participate in normal non-sexual interaction. As soon as I find out how to do that, I'll post it. It's better to err on the side of caution and assume the worst, not because he's not what he seems, but because statistically, you'd be correct. If you're ok with that, just keep yourself from being in "compromising" positions with him. He's probably not after you - no man in his right mind would get two women who know each other to trust him so much, knowing the dire, dire consequences of such a dual-edged betrayal. Of course, none of this means a damn thing if you actually want him. I really do hope it stays like it is for you - you deserve to have a nice place to stay! T.I.N.S.

I can't believe this - I just stopped myself from posting another reply on the penis thread, asking if Turtle wants us to feel a bit gay! I must be more vigilant . . . . T.I.N.S.

I hope I didn't vote wrong - I think I may be confused. If I say I Own one, to me that means it's my responsability and I "own" whatever it does. On the other hand, to some folks it might mean I bend over and get "Owned." Oh, and I "stand" upward and slightly to the left. T.I.N.S.

To watch Dropzone, the movie? Beer, wine, other? T.I.N.S.

Hey Daremrc - Sorry to hear about your shoulder; I'm glad to know you're on the mend. Hopefully you'll be a miracle of modern medicine and be able to get back sooner than May. I don't think it's silly or pathetic, man - it's whatever gets us going, right? A friend of my wife's came back from Iraq about a year and a half ago, and before he left for the Marines, he was already an expert at Kung Fu, but a pretty small guy in general. When he came back, he was a goddamn Recon Superhero, and one of the most kind, inspiring, funny, and deadly humans you'll ever want to meet. I couldn't sit still after spending some time with him. I'm too old for the military (so far, knock wood) so I began taking better care of myself, got back into the martial arts, and I try my best to avoid the apple fritters. The evil apple frtters. The funny thing is, it was only after I got in better shape that I was motivated to try this sport. (Actually, the Jet-Powered Birdman video was what got me!) Hopefully I'll get to jump with you in the future - if you're ever in Kansas City, first round is on me. Keep me posted on how you're doing. Chris (Gato) PS: I just want to thank all of you who protect us, here and abroad. Come back home safe. And if you know "Fruity" Rudy Reyes give him a big man-hug for me! T.I.N.S.

This may get a bit long; my apologies if you fall asleep. Standard Disclaimer: I am a noob and I don't know shit. What follows is based on personal observations I've had in my very short time in this sport. Call it a noob's 2 cents. Grain of salt. Etc. This is for me and my fellow noobs, and one noob in particular, who has apparently never jumped, and keeps posting really odd (and sometimes inflammatory) questions. Not that posting questions and irresponsible statements is bad........ So I'm sitting at home last night watching a DVD of "Stewie Griffin's Untold Story," and got to the part where he's going to take swimming lessons. Stewie is deathly afraid to get in the pool. Then he sees another kid who's got it down, and suddenly is ok with the idea of getting in the water, to show he's better. That night he's at the dinner table with the family, reading a copy of "The Mechanics of Swimming". The next morning Brian walks in the bathroom and catches Stewie shaving all the hair off his body to improve his speed in the water. As soon as he gets in the water, he sinks like a stone. I instantly thought of how I first approached skydiving, reading everything I could, listening to Skydive Radio, and living in these forums. While quite enjoyable, none of this gave me an advantage or prevented me from being scared out of my mind when it came time to get out of that 182. So, to those of you who haven't jumped, I'm going to say the same thing a very wise Skydiver said to me: "Find a place you like, and GO JUMP ALREADY!" There is nothing you can do, outside of actually friggin' doing it, that will adequately prepare you for this experience. If you really, really want to be ready for it, do the following every day: - Get plenty of sleep. - Eat well and excercise, concentrating on your core. - Meditate at least twice a day, focusing on breathing and calming down. - Make sure your car is in good shape, you'll need it for those drives to the DZ. - Limit your exposure to DZ.com - Go to USPA's site and read the SIM. I spent so much time not doing this stuff in the beginning, that I forgot to have fun. Let me say that again. I forgot to have fun. You can't know everything, and if you do, it's only a matter of time before you realize you don't know a damn thing. That's enough. Go jump. Do it. Get out of that plane and do it. You won't regret it. Yours, El Gato Student of the Tao of Stewie T.I.N.S.

I'm home alone tonight because I don't have a gig this weekend. Plus, it's like, cold enough outside to make my boys crawl up into my shoulder blades. My wife is in Cincinatti with her siblings and I had to stay here to take care of the felines. I really don't like sleeping alone, you know? I sacked out on the couch last night because the bed felt too empty...... I don't suppose anyone else ever feels like this, hmmmm? She did, however, give me a slippery souvenir before she left. T.I.N.S.

I'll bite . . . . Evil Dead 2? T.I.N.S.

No, that's not true. Jessica Biel is special. And we will be married on top of a mountain, and there will be trumpets and dancing, and you'll be invited. T.I.N.S.

Jessica Biel - no question. I'd let her beat the crap out of me first. It'd be soooooo sexy. T.I.N.S.

I guess irony can be pretty ironic. T.I.N.S.

I get where you're coming from, Normiss, but the movie was intended to show us what's possible more than indoctrinate us. I think it would be a good idea for more people to have a greater awareness of physics in general (Might help the landings!) I have no intention of praying to Marlee Matlin any more than you do, but I did enjoy the movie. That said, I do agree that some people who are open to this kind of thinking can be roped-in to believing charlatans and evangelical lunatics. And I think it was a bad idea to have the androgenous trance-channeler in the movie. It's very hard to make a pschic look legit. IMHO, sometimes (Only sometimes), it is more important to determine whether certain information is useful, rather than whether its source is completely credible. That's what this one guy told me, once. Take it easy...... T.I.N.S.

"We cannot fail this time - WonderMO Powers:ACTIVATE!" T.I.N.S.

Thanks! I didn't want to say it, but yes. T.I.N.S.

The wheel wells are not pressurized, and airliners typically cruise at 30,000 or so feet AGL. Combine this with the cold temperatures and trans-continental flight times, and you get hypoxia, frostbite, shock, suffocation, and death. Not necessarily in that order. You might survive a 20 minute flight, but I doubt any longer. Remember, kids: Stowing away is for boats, buses, and tractor trailers. T.I.N.S.

0 : The red rodeo is in town. (I can explain this, if you don't get it.) 0 : 20 degrees F. Cold winds. Holy shit, cold winds. (I know, S.I.U.C.C.!) 0 : No jumps, no beer. Simple math. You picked one hell of a weekend to ask this - maybe we should do this every monday, if it's going to make me feel this good about myself. Not. T.I.N.S.

This is more of a good thing from the beginning. Sort of. One night, my wife and I heard a cat outside, and couldn't find it anywhere. The next morning I walked out to the car to go to the grocery store and heard the cat again, but it was obvious that it was a distressed kitten, and that sound just kills me. I followed the sound under the car, and saw nothing. Just for curiosity, I popped the hood, and there was this tiny, flea covered, damp black and white kitten. We took her to the vet, and ended up keeping her, and her name is Mehitabel. The day I found her was 2 days after 9/11. After so much sadness, she was a complete blessing to us. A few weeks later, we got her a playmate, Winston, who is featured in my avatar. He came from our local animal shelter. And here they both are in full view: T.I.N.S.

Hello caribadive - You probably won't get many answers until you fill out your profile, and this subject has hundreds of threads. I'd suggest you do an individual search on each container in the forums - seriously, I've asked the same question, and I'll save you the flaming I got. Good luck on your search. El Gato T.I.N.S.

Thanks guys! Seeing footage like this and being able to discuss it is invaluable to me. What is amazing to me is how far skydiving has evolved, but the fundamentals always apply, i.e. pin checks, spotting (even though you have a GPS), and avoiding catch-hazards, not to mention the fact that the Earth is always waiting to swallow us. I feel very fortunate to have gotten into this sport at this time, with video so accessible, tunnels to train in, and these forums. I think I have a pretty good shot at not just surviving, I may be able to actually get good at it. We'll see.... Thanks for your insights! Gato T.I.N.S.

Since we seem to be working our way back to discussing the event on the video, would someone please answer my question - What do you think is the root cause of this malfunction? (I don't really care about what the guy is trying to accomplish - I was taught to cut that shit away immediately. Your ass is more important than your main.) I was thinking of possible causes: - Brushing a door frame or other surface on or in the plane, dislodging the pin. - Broken closing loop. - Improperly stowed or overly exposed bridle. - A bad/bent/broken closing pin. (????) I'm just trying to keep something like this from happening to me. T.I.N.S.

Sunshine, Sunshine, Sunshine..... You don't attain actual geek status until you have attended at least one Star Trek convention, or comicon. You may also qualify if you own the original Star Wars trilogy, or if you own a light saber, or if you find yourself making fun of an inept MBA. Or if you read about sex more than you engage in it. I wouldn't worry too much. If you need to know where to get a good light saber, though, please let me know. El Gato T.I.N.S.

Did this most likely occur because of a broken closing loop, dislodged pin, or a bridle caught on a door frame, or what? Can anyone tell what the brand of container is? When I watched it the 1st time, I thought it was staged and that one of the other guys deployed his PC for him, but like someone already said, his main flaps were open and loose from the beginning. It appears one of the guys tries, only for a second, to extract his PC for him after seeing the bag come out, but I'm not sure. I know I'm not qualified to speculate here, but it appears this might be the reason my instructors have told me to watch how I move about the plane. Pretty freakin' scary. I hope I look that graceful if I ever have that mal. T.I.N.S.

Sweeeet. Have fun! T.I.N.S.