dbattman

Home-cooked is the poop! Even better is slow-cooked. Throw in some stew meat, mushrooms, onions, carrots, and a potato. Spice it up, fill it with water and plug it in before you leave in the morining. When you get home, you have it all ready to go. Speaking of which, I need to get mine ready for tomorrow!

I tried it back in '97 after I got established in my first post-college job. I loved it, but didn't have any extra money since I was starting out and paying down debt. I was traveling for work in April 2001 and just walked onto the dropzone. I needed a new challenge and jumped (heh-heh) right into it. I stuck with it because I absolutely love the people I meet.

This is going to be a very heated issue in this country, with some strong opinions on both sides. Please, please, please- read your posts thoroughly and think them through before you hit 'post.' Let's not start forming a lot of bad blood in this community.

Depending on how much gear you have and how much traveling you think you will do, consider a rolling pilot-case or similar size suitcase. I have a Talon rig w/ a Falcon 195 and my rig fits right into a 25" roll-on. I can even get a few jumpsuits or a coat in there. The outside pockets hold my logbook, altimieter, brush, bands, etc and it still fits right into the overhead bin. No one gives me a second look because it looks like every other small suitcase out there. Of course, you might have to wear your helmet to avoid checking it.

Same here, but unfortunately most of the people I meet have forgotten this one. I've also had to follow an addition: "Turn the other cheek, but know when it will only get you a bruise on the other side of your face."

I've never told anyone I was sorry to hear about a breakup or a divorce- so I won't say it. Everyone I've ever see split up, well, it was for the better- even if they didn't believe it at the time. My last relationship dragged on for months after it was over and involved a ton of crap. I looked around for a bit after and wasn't pleased with most of my choices. So, I gave up and became a pilot and a skydiver. What suprises me most- I'm a much happier man now than I can ever remember.

What type of work is involved? Unless it's a punch-clock deal (hit in at 9, hit out a 5) take the 4x10. Anything technical, engineering, IT, etc if you try to go 9 to 5, you'll almost alway end up going 9 to 6 or so taking care of those last minute issues.

Two words for your 100th- Get Nekid.

I heard a radio interview with a guy who works out of his house so he gets them all the time. He recorded a CD of some of his calls and played a few on the radio. He pretended to be a stan[url]d-up that wanted to try out his material. dude: "How many telemarketers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Four- but it only takes one to screw an old lady out of her savings! HA HA HA HA HA!" dude: "Why did the telemarketer cross the road? To try and sell the chicken something he didn't need! HA HA HA HA HA HA!" marketer: "I've got one for you. How many telemarketers does it take to kick your ass?" dude: "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" dude: "Hello? Hello?" On another from a carpet cleaning company, he started asking about getting bloodstains out of the carpet and if that "home defense" thing worked with family mambers. The cops showed up a short time later.

"Do you consider yourself to be an alcoholic?" "Absolutely not. Alcoholics go to meetings. I'm just a drunk."

So, XXX comes out tomorrow. Any predictions on what this will do to the student volume at the DZs? Will this be another 'Point Break' for the dropzones? I'm still 'new' (my second season), but I would love to see a huge injection of student money into the sport. Pay off the loans, upgrade the plane, maybe add a new rug in the packing area or even (gasp) drop jump tiks a buck. I'm not advocating DZs turning into a factory, but I hope they don't pass up on a good opportunity to cushion themselves for the future.

I have a Falcon 195, estimate about 300-350 jumps on it (I bought it used). How will I know when it's time to replace it? A few riggers have mentioned "mushy flares" as a warning sign. Does when I start planting my ass on the grass more often it's time for a new one? Anyone know what the 'replacement' range is for porosity? I have access to several porosity testers.

OK- since the subject has been brought up- a poll for our women members (and a few others). Turtlenecks or V-cuts? (I forgot how to do those poll things)

Oh no. The polygraph test. Are you sure you want to take that after becoming a skydiver, at a dropzone, where there's beer? Heh-heh. The possibilities are endless here.

I got a message once. "This is so and so. I need to call me back as soon as possible regarding important personal business. My nuber is xxx-xxx-xxx-xx. Please reference #ffffff when returning my call." Sound like a great setup for 'Crank-Yankers' bit.

Telemarketers have their phones dialed by computer. It dials, waits for a connection, and routes it through to the telemarketer. However, this takes a few seconds. So, if you answer and say "Hello? Hello?" and don't get a body, it's them. Hang up. If it's anyhting important, they'll call back. Or, just get a cell phone.

Unfortunately, air-ops are foreign to most people. I've seen a number of incidents at different places. People leaning on props, running around the tarmac with their cameras, walking up to the plane like it's a passing car (starting to move forward before it's even past them), even a 9 year old kid running up to the C150 as I was pulling into the ramp area (ignoring my frantic waving). Now, consider how often you've said a few words to a visitor at your dropzone. Not a lecture or a scolding, just a head's up. Hey there! Welcome to the DZ. Please stay behind the yellow line or on the grass, don't touch the planes, ask questions if there's any doubt. Enjoy the show! I do it more often than I feel I should, and that concerns me.

I drove out to Skydive Smoky Mountains on Sunday. C-182, C-206, and one helluva tight landing area. It 's so easy to become a turbine snob in this sport and forget the 'roots.' I hadn't jumped a cessna since April when I was out at Finger Lakes and I wasn't exactly looking forward to it. But I'll tell ya, when that door opened on my first load I was a static line student again- seeing the wheel and the clouds below, just stick your head out a bit and spot. Climb out on the wheel and feel the wind claw at you as you hold the strut. Jump. Absolute magic. Loved avery second. Of course, the barrel roll in the 206 was pretty nice, too.

Everyone go ahead. Laugh and point. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Why do I say this? Because you, that's right, YOU will end up paying for this. You will pay for this and all the other insane lawsuits. Some kid is shot in a drive-by by a gangbanger. Sue the comapny that made the firearm. Joe is an alcoholic. It's not his fault, sue the distilleries and breweries. Mary had just had to fit in with the 'cool' clique at school so she started to smoke. Thirty years later she has cancer and wants $4 billion in damages. Bill got drunk at a barbeque and 'fell' into the hosts above ground pool (after being told to stay off the deck) and is paralyzed. He dove. Everyone knows he dove. There's no other way he could injure his head on the bottom of the pool without diving. But, the jury finds the manufacturer of the pool liable. This lawsuit will be settled out of court. I'm calling it now and I'll take bets. The 'big 4' will pay some monetary sum and agree to offer better foods on the menu (which they do- ever have a Garden Salad at McD's?), donations to 'Overeaters Anonymous' blah blah blah. They will cave and take the cheap way out. Why will this be settled? One reason only. Juries are composed of stupid people. There, I've said it. I never, ever, have to worry about serving on a jury. On my last form for jury duty it wanted to know "How many years of education do you have?" I put down 18 and debated if I should just walk out and go home. Would I like to serve on a jury? Sure I would, but it just won't happen. There needs to be an educational requirement to serve on a jury. To hell with 'fairness' and 'jury of his peers.' My peers have jobs. My peers have a decent education. My peers have other things in their lives than sitting in a courtroom hearing OJ's attorneys argue that the prosecuter's jewelry will influence the jury and hearing Kato say wether or not he saw or knew where OJ was the night of the murder- broken down into FIVE MINUTE FRIGGIN INTERVALS!!!! It's not the lawyers. It's not the plantiffs. It is the system.

Spring of 1997 or Fall of 1996- I can't remember that close. I came back on April 1, 2001 at Taylorville, IL. First jump- static line Moorehead, PA near Erie PA. Grass field with a bunch of rattle-shack T-hangers. Also my first look at a jump C-182 with duck tape on it. (Whoa-we're gonna fly in that?!?) I can still see everything in my minds eye- wood panel clubroom, entertainment center, 'Beer Pig' on the TV, picture of two skydivers doing a rodeo- the woman on top complete with Dominatrics' outfit and riding crop. And I'll tell ya- I'll never forget that feeling as I sat behind the pilot watching the ground drop away. Oh My God. What am I doing? I still have that picture the other two students took of us standing outside the 182. Of course, I'm a complete AHOLE since Andrew Hadsell sent me a copy in the mail an I never bothered to drop him a simple 'thank you' scribble. So, on the odd chance he reads these forums thanks a HUGE buch. I am scum of the Earth and I deserve multiple line-overs.

Another member lost to a hook turn with only a few hundred jumps. The question that never seems to be answered is "why."

How about 'footage flicks' like Crosswind and Chronicles? Are they on DVD (I haven't found them)?

OK, so here it is: I've got 10 (count 'em 10) weeks of site coverage scheduled starting July 22. When we startup we'll probably be on 24/7 coverage which means I'm grounded for the duration! The only skydiving movie I have is Good Stuff DVD, and I want a few more. VHS is no good, I only have a DVD on my laptop. After searching, I haven't found any others. Does anyone else know any good ones on DVD? You will be helping to ease tremendous suffering as I tremble and shake from too much O2 at ground level.

Does a Heatwave fall into the high-performance category? Another jumper I know is planning to downsize his 170 at the end of the season and it's going up for sale. I weigh about 210 out the door, have about 155 total, 100 on a Falcon 195. Is this a bad combination? Either way I'm sticking with my promise to myself not to downsize until the end of the season, at least.

Going to other places is great. Don't worry at all about moving. Here's my list so far: Since April 1, 2001 Taylorville, IL Monroe, GA (home-sort of) Gladewater, TX Vandalia, IL Pine Hill/Avon, NY Houston, Tx Ovid, NY Chester, SC Orange, VA West Point, VA Account but no jumps- Rosharon, TX Hinkley, IL Stopped to check them out Wharton, TX (now closed) Someplaces I stop for a day or a weekend, at others I'm a regular there for a month or two. Every place I've been to has been great and I've never felt like an outsider. It's also kinda neat to be hundreds of miles from home and see your home dz jumpship come in for jumps- fits like an old pair of sweats. Hit the road and have a blast. 'Wherever you go , there you are.'