BikerBabe

I have flown several times with my gear since last september, and the ONLY place I've had problems is Albuquerque. They seem to be super strict here, and I'm not sure why. Of course, they have about 100 security people standing around 4 security lines...most of whom are BSing with their buddies or staring off into space. They did not accept my Cypres card as identification of the metal box inside the rig, and said if they couldn't visually identify it, I couldn't carry it on. I see this as a potential problem in the future, since I'll be flying to Phoenix every two weekends to train. The supervisor actually said this to me: "If I let you on with this, then someone else carries the same thing on and blows up the plane, how would you feel?" Needless to say I was appalled at that question and I told him that was a completely inappropriate thing to say. That was when I gave up because I knew I wouldn't be able to be polite anymore, and I checked it. Anyway, I went out the next week and bought a hard sided suitcase that perfectly fits all my gear (rig, helmet, jumpsuit, weight belt, etc) and I now check it on flights where I don't have to make a plane change. I haven't had a problem with that so far. So just a warning if you ever feel the need to fly out of ABQ with your gear (not that you would, unless you live here and you want to leave)...they seem to be overly-paranoid here for some reason. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

not that I'm a freeflyer...but... Go SugarGliderz! I heard from manifest at Nationals that Team Method is not going... I think AZ Freeflight will win it again. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Skydive New Mexico 1 Cessna 182. We're rebuilding. Awesome people! Skydive Arizona is about to become my second home when I start training there twice a month... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Well, all I have to say is that my first nationals was an absolute kick in the pants! I had a singular disappointment that had nothing to do with the jumping and everything to do with the lack of morals of some skydivers, but otherwise I was ecstatic. I even made my 500th jump while I was there. I went on a lark, with a throw-together team, and we didn't quite finish last...but the most important thing was that we had a blast. I'm sure I probably met or talked to some of you, but I didn't even think about my screenname, I was so busy talking to old and new friends. I was seriously rooting for Vengeance as well, since our coach and one team member's significant other are on the team...they worked really hard and it certainly showed! The award ceremony was amazing, and I found one of the members of Unexpected afterward. The Open teams gave them limited edition 24-carat gold coins... Congrats to the Knights, Nemesis, Airspeed 8, and Air Force Blue...you guys rock. I am seriously impressed with the Air Force cadet teams this year, and the intermediate class (maybe even Advanced) had better look out for the boys and girl on Air Force Silver next year! I know the cadet 4-way teams when I was there were nowhere near these guys' level. Woohoo! I can't wait till next year! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Key word: PLF! It takes on a whole new level of importance. I've watched how they teach PLFs at my DZ to the FJC students, and all I have to say is if they tried to use them, they would need new knees. Learn how to do a proper PLF and you'll be fine...but my question is, why in the world would you voluntarily want to jump a round and land it on solid ground? Water jump, maybe, but the ground? Crazy. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Don't let anyone kid you, demos aren't easy! No, I don't have a PRO rating, but I've done several demos into airshows, the Air Force Academy stadium, parks, you name it (the PRO was waivered for us). Stadiums are probably the hardest to do, because of the weird winds, the excitement of all those people, and a lot of pressure to land well and on target (not just peer pressure, either...if you don't, you could get seriously injured!) Our local DZ did one a couple of weekends ago into a wide open field near a car dealership. Based on the landing area, it was rated a level 1 demo, which meant that we didn't have to have our PRO rating to do it. The S&TA limited it to D-licensed jumpers, and we had a guy who was on his first demo. Needless to say, even with the wide open landing area, he still landed "out" and almost hit a car. Don't forget the adrenaline factor, as well. It can make you screw up royally. I would highly recommend a lot of practice, a big "demo" canopy, and a PRO rating. It's safer for you and for the audience. Also, learn to use WDI's to spot (I think it actually makes spotting easier). Someone around your DZ is bound to know how. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Her we go: a complete list... http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2002-08-30-ioc-cuts_x.htm Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Sorry about the link...damned popups! ARGH! I'll find the article again... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

The IOC rejected "air sports" as a new sport to include in the Olympics yesterday, which is basically skydiving events. They also rejected chess, thank goodness. However, they want to include golf. But not racquetball or squash. Hmmm...sometimes their definitions of "sport" are interesting. They are also thinking of cutting out baseball. Sorry, but baseball is more of a sport than, say...ice dancing? http://krd.realcities.com/ads/media/network/sports/popup3.htm Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...our local radio station was talking about this this morning! Seems theres a 13 year old kid somewhere that can't find a football helmet that fits him because his head is 26" around! They talked to the guy in the NFL who wears the biggest helmet in the league, and even his helmet doesn't fit this kid! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL, but Dave, we live in a city/state that has a disproportionate number of engineers... What am I saying...I'm an engineer! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I'm going. Found a team to jump with and we'll be attempting to skydive in the Intermediate 4-way class... I don't really care how we do, I'm going for the experience. Next year, with my permanent team...that will be a different story! I have the jumpsuit I'm wearing in the little pic there to the left. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

OK...I was there, on the jump, in the debrief, it was my team. Perhaps I or my teammate should have been the one to post this? Basically, I agree with Gordo: I'm just glad my friends are both OK. As for prevention, yes, my teammate left slightly early, and I left less than a second after her. My protrack was beeping, and I double checked it after this happened, and the next day, and it beeped when my altimeter read 4000'. The camera flyer deployed perhaps 4 seconds after my teammate left. Mistakes were made by both people, and one of the big things I brought away from this incident was to be on your rear risers on opening and to keep situational awareness all the time. My teammate who tracked away had a 180 degree off-heading opening, and the camera flyer opened with a slight left turn. We heard a million different conflicting opinions that day as to who was or wasn't at fault, and what should have occurred that didn't. We had some camera flyers say it was all my teammate's fault, and others say that the camera flyer should deploy as soon as the first person leaves. So which is right? I personally believe it was a combination of both and no single person carries the entire blame for this incident. Like I said, I'm just glad they are OK. And that we all learned something. On another note...you busy enough this year, Gordo? LOL! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Spiders...yuck! We have all kinds here, including big, ugly, fuzzy tarantulas. See, those are just too big to squoosh, so if one gets in the house we have to herd it outside. Same with the scorpions. yuck. We also have snakes and mice, which i don't mind too much. The worst, absolute worst, however, are the centipedes. YUCK! They're usually about 6-10 inches long and about 1/2 inch to an inch wide...we're talking the stuff of nightmares here. And if their appearance and poisonous-ness isn't bad enough, those fuckers are FAST! There was one in the couch cusion the other day...I swear, he ran to the closet at about 50 mph! Um...yeah, it was in the couch cushion...I still won't sit on the couch! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

The guitar player for the country band diamond Rio is a skydiver, name is Jimmy Olander. I don't normally listen to country, but they're pretty good. I got to jump with him earlier this year when they did a radio promo at our DZ. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I'm on our DZ Board of Directors (we run the DZ). I am finding mysef in charge of marketing/advertising. I'm also trying to help organize a boogie, which is interesting. I don't get compensated, but that's cool. I also "coach" low-timers if they so desire, but I do that for free, as well. Meaning, I'll jump with anyone and help them out. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

All good advice. However, let me add some info to the mix. Skydive New Mexico's hangar and loading area is located at a municipal airport in the middle of nowhere. However, since the airport is paranoid, we are not allowed to land there. Our landing area is about 5 miles south of the airport, and Krishan wasn't lying when he said there is NOTHING out there for a skyball to hit besides tumbleweeds and dust. Perhaps the random cow. We own 5 acres of land, and the nearest house (trailer) is several miles from the DZ. As for the skyball...I agree with what's been said here. Perhaps it would be best to wait, especially since you're a friend, and I would hate to see friends at my home DZ getting hurt or worse. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Hmmm...this could be good or bad depending on how you look at it... My hubby broke both ankles last weekend racing his motorcycle. He's in a wheelchair, and I have to drive him around everywhere. So I'm going to Eloy this weekend! Am I a bad wife? Actually...his mother is coming to stay with us for 2 weeks to help take care of him. Why are men such babies when they get hurt? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LMAO about the apostrophes...that bugs me, too. But my current grammar pet peeve is broken/broke. I swear, every time I see a sign that says "please use other door, this one is broke" I grab the nearest marker and add the "n" to the end. Grrrrrr.... "Broke" is the past tense of the verb "to break," as in, "I broke my leg." "Broken" is an adjective, as in, "my leg is broken". Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups and... ""Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." (Samuel Ullman) Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Great story, Jessica! LOL about the balloonists...it's true. I think aside from skydivers, they are probably one of the closest-knit "sports" communities out there. They have their little traditions, too. If you had landed with the balloon on your first balloon flight, you'd be subjected to a somewhat bizarre ritual involving a prayer and some alcohol (I won't reveal the details, of course, it's kind of supposed to be a surprise). Imagine a field full of 1000 balloons and thousands of balloonists...one of the cool things about living here in Albuquerque. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...one of my friends does something hilarious when they call him. When they ask for whoever it is they're asking for, he says, "hang on, I'll get him/her" then just sets the phone down and goes and does something else. I was with him once and the guy stayed on the line for about 10 minutes! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

The "Aggie" is the mascot of Texas A&M University. the "A&M" used to stand for Agricultural and Mechanical, but they don't really stand for anything anymore, since other subjects are taught there now. This is from the Texas A&M website: "A student, former student or supporter of Texas A&M University. Term is derived from A&M’s agricultural heritage. Aggies are sometimes also referred to as farmers. " Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Good...y'all passed! Just kidding. Actually, replacing "date" with "do" might yield a more reliable study. But the point is, all of the women in those pictures are considered "plus-sized" Yep, even Marilyn...she wore a 16. I was testing to see if you really were as concerned about weight as the previous posts seem to imply. Granted, ANS isn't exactly a prime candidate over which to hold this debate, but the point is still valid. Sooo...can, in your opinion, a "plus-size" woman BE gorgeous? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Interesting... Question for all of you gentlemen: Do you think the women in the attached pictures are beautiful? Would you date them? Why or why not? I'm testing a hypothesis here... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!