npgraphicdesign

Sounds like I might be looking you up when I get there... Thanks for the feedback by the way. Is the weather pretty good in January? How warm/cold is it?

People from Lilliputland dont count as foreign... MEEEOOOOWWW!! Well, technically, ALL of us are foreigners here...

right on, fair enough bud. youre calling me sick...hey i'm not the one sticking my fingers in the hedge trimmer Touche.

When in January? It'd be fun to meet some international skydivers.

yeah yeah waaahhhhh!! you gonna post pictures of the mangled digit or what ?? how else are we supposed to learn from this mishap per se.. No I will not. It is already wrapped up and I have no intention of tearing the gauze/bandaids off just for your sick satisfaction.

My first thought was 'damn I need to get a bandaid so I will stop bleeding all over the place' and not 'oh i better get the camera so i can take some photos for bloodthirsty fellow skydivers.'

I assure you my thought process was not "Oh crickey, here's my new hedge trimmer...let me stick my finger in it to see how well it cuts it " It was part accident part slip of the hand.

Well the new hedge trimmer I bought works great. Aside from cutting branches/shrubs, it also leaves symmetrical and evenly spaced cuts on your finger. Not bad enough for stitches, but bad enough to leave a nice blood trail from the shrubs through the garage all the way to the bathroom. At least it's not on the hand that pulls the chute. I'm safe...relatively speaking...

Might be visiting a friend in LA mid-January. How's the jumping weather in those parts? My friend is about 1 hr away from Elsinore so I was contemplating getting some jumps in, regardless of whether I finish my license by then or not. Would love to hear some input. Oh fellow experienced skydivers, learn a noobie something he doesn't know!

N/A

While doing some research, I found that DZs have one or the other: 1. AFF A, B, C..etc. 2. AFF 1, 2, 3..etc. What's the difference between the two methods? I see that there are similarities and differences in both. As I understand, #1 is the newer approach, and #2 is more out of date? Or am I wrong... For example, if you start at one DZ that utilizes #1, then you have to move to another location, and the DZ there utilizes #2. How difficult would the transition be from one AFF method to the other method?

Already pre-ordered. Also hoping to win tickets to a show...but don't see that happening...

Although having never jumped at a Russian DZ, I'm 100% purebread Russian, born/raised in Moscow, and I'll tell you this much: I don't doubt that they have great DZs. I also don't doubt that your fellow jumpers/instructors won't knock back a few shots before jumping.

That depends what you mean by safe. If they are truly free fonts, you aren't committing any copyright violations. That being said, a lot of free fonts that are available for download are free for a reason; a lot of them are designed quickly with little to no consideration of proper type design rules. Many free fonts are designed by people who learned how to use the font creation software and plugged in their vector drawings, then said "hey i created a font." That makes those fonts a by-product of technical software knowledge rather than knowledge of proper typeface design. Forget weights such as bold, italics, condensed, etc. Most free fonts have just one weight. To sum it all up; it's better NOT to use free fonts. If you have the money to spend on a real font, buy it. You will be better off in the end. However if it's a quick side project, such as an ad, sales sheet, or something similar, then use a free font. Just know that you are sacrificing a lot of quality.

Helllo hellloooo....

Now...are you talking about after the dive, or after hours...?

Another great bit of advice I received from another instructor this past weekend. My first complete solo exit was out of a 206. Ok, fine. I sat at the door, gave the count, and plopped out like a sack of potatoes, managing to close my eyes in the process. (don't ask.) My 2nd solo exit was out of a 182. Here's where i was scared/nervous. "...wait, so I open the door and climb out onto the strut BY MYSELF give the count and go? Am I crazy? What if I slip & fall? (yes i did ask that question)" My instructor didn't bat an eye and said "So what if you fall? You have a parachute & then you go skydiving." A light went off above my head, and i said to myself "oh yea....that's right!" So while the nervousness is still there because I'm brand new to the sport and still learning, the fear of actually climbing out onto the strut isn't that much of a block anymore.

That is perfectly fine. I have 5 generations of doctors on my mother's side, last two being psychiatrists (mom/grandma.) So I am relatively well-equipped for dealing with any REAL mental breakdowns.

Well you ARE suppose to fall out...if you don't, you don't skydive. Sounds like you're really psyched! Have a blast! PS. Yes you are nuts...seems like all skydivers are...

...and it's a big one!! I am a student on his Cat E2 jump, and lately, whenever I look up at the sky, I wish I was up there jumping instead of wherever I may be at that moment. There's so much to learn, and from what I've seen so far in this sport, one never stops learning. But I'm looking forward to every single moment. Does that sounds unusual, or do most people catch it that quickly?

Well judging by your post, congratulations are in order, rather than sympathy. So when/where's the party? Are single ridiculously ridiculously good-looking guys invited, as well as newly single women looking for ridiculously ridiculously good-looking guys? If you need entertainment, I'm available.

Butterflies? Pfft...amateur. I get pterodactyls!

Amen. I was in NY yesterday visiting grandma, and as much as I love her, as I was doing some food shopping for her, I was looking up in the sky and wishing I was up there.

...does your heart rate stop increasing on the way to altitude? ...does your mind stop saying "WTF are you doing standing on a strut of a plan 14K above the earth?" ...does your family accept what you are doing and stop giving you hell about it? ...do you cross the line between learning and having everything you've learned become second nature? ...do you realize that skydiving isn't just a hobby but a sport? ...when do you stop being nervous about making a mistake? ...do you stop making fun of noobs at the drop zone for doing something funny, stupid, wrong, etc..?

That post is worthless without a picture to put things in perspective. Well, if I ever try I'll make sure to splurge and get a video...or at least some pics. I'd imagine I could convince someone to do it for free considering there would be a naked girl involved. Where do you jump out of?