dbattman

0715 CST- boy

I agree- Orange, VA is a great place to jump. I spent a few weekends out there and had a great time. 'Mr. Fabulous' is a great jumpship, too. I also give them extra points for making sure everyone sticks to the rules while jumping- no slack for club members. It's also the only place (out of 10) that wanted to know my exit weight and gave it to the pilot. Everyplace else just packs the plane until the slots are gone.

Go out and invest in a wheeled, 21" zippered pilot case or similar luggage. I bought an American Tourister for $150 since I travel constantly and wanted a quality case but check out the thrift stores. I jump a Talon with a Falcon 195 and the rig fits right into the case. There's even room for my jumpsuit and a few other clothes to put on top. Zippered pockets hold my goggles, altimeter, logbook, and few other odds and ends. Whole package slides right into the overhead bin of an airplane and it doesn't get a second glance from security. Hey, you spent big buck on your rig- spend a little extra and take excellent care of it.

That's great! I want to shake the hand of the guy who came up with that one. I am going to have SOOOOO much fun with this.

So, if the theory that married men are always wrong can be proved by science/physics/math what other phenomenon can be explained? Let's visit another issue that has plagued men everywhere since the beginning of creation- are women really, truly evil? So, let us state that women require time and money: Women '=' Time * Money of course as we all know: Time '=' Money Money '=' sqrt(evil) So, by simple substitution: Women '=' Time * Money '=' Money * Money '=' Money^2 and therefore: Women '=' Money^2 '=' sqrt(evil)^2 '=' evil There you have it, simple! http:// http://www.netsoc.ucd.ie/~adame/jokes/evilwomen.html Now, how about proof that men are too stupid to get an equal sign in their post without the '' and too lazy too look it up in the instructions.

I'm not getting through the door to the canteen. Anyone else have a problem?

Being a good neighbor goes both ways. Back home when it snows we plow Tom next door, Linda next store, and a few others before they got their own blower or asked us not to (he's was an older guy and liked taking care of his own snow because it was the only exercise his kids would let him have :) ). Why? Because they were all great neighbors. If he doesn't want to meet you on the street, let the plants die and the mail pile up. Screw him.

So, I was at Skydive Carolina yesterday and got to see a swoop video of some guy hitting the 'Rodriguez Brother' windblade with the edge of his canopy. In slow mo that canopy didn't flex one bit and it snapped the pole on two. Granted he hit it up towards the top third where it's thinner, but if anyone was wondering what would happen if they got hit by one- now you know.

So, not to be on a morbid subject but I was watching 'Hollywood Forever' on HBO about a cemetary and I was wondering, if you had your choice, how would you want to go out? For myself, I'd go for the 'whore house heartattack' or getting shot by some young woman's husband in a jealous rage (when I'm, oh say, 82).

I was told the same thing- one of those 'guy at my DZ talked to a guy at the DZ.....' so take it a face value: "He wears a harness under his clothes with a cable running up his sleeve that attaches to the legstraps." If you look close when he climbs into the rig the hand looks like it 'detaches' and he'd be unhooked climbing in and hanging from his feet. But hey- even if he does have a safety line so it doesn't get away from him, it still takes either a lot of guts or more insanity than your average jumper.

Hmmmmm. Decisions, decision. Both are 1 hr from the airport for my flight out on Sunday and both have an Otter. Of course, Houston does have AC packing. Now if this was the extend of the things I had to worry about, I'd be set!

Look for a fuse on the monitor. Wiggle the power cord on the back of the monitor. Try another power cord. Then take it up and pitch it off the roof.

Where is everyone with regards to their goal?

Some of these replies are interesting. For those without coverage (just FYI) contact Blue Cross/Blue Shield in your area. An Accident/Hospitalization policy only runs about $60 a month under 30 years of age. No contract-cancel any time. I had them when I was out of school and taking flying lessons. They didn't care how I got injured, just as long as I wasn't running from the cops or in a plane dropping bombs. That's right- just 3 jumps a month and you don''t have to worry after that clump of grass bites you when you've got the perfect surf going.

Not to be nosy, but I'm curious about the size of the jumping community that is without health coverage. From time to time I hear about how much it costs for an ankle fracture or leg fracture and I'm wondering how many of us are risking financial ruin over this sport. This is my first poll (oops- shouldn't have used that word) so I hope it works. What type of health coverage do you have? None Accident/hospitalization only (private policy) Full coverage (hospital and doctor-private) Full coverage (hospital and doctor-private) but doesn't cover skydiving Full coverage through employer/school Full coverage through employer/school, but doesn't cover skydiving Other

..by the Dark Side! I can feel it pulling me into it's clutches! I did two sit-flys and a train yesterday and I cannot help but want more, More, MORE! I don't know how it happened, but I found myself staring at an add for cameras the other day! Help Help Help- It's getting stronger! If we were meant to stand up in free fall, the rig would be on our head! Aarrgh!

$400 for brakes? Wow. A competent mechanic could probably do both front pads and rear pads in about 1 to 1.5 hours. Be sure to ask how they're billing the job. If they use something like 'Chilton time' they bill whatever the cost estimates are in repair manual. i.e. A timing belt might be 2.6h in an 87 LeBaron 4-cyl (since I've had one done) and that's what they bill for the labor. If that's the case there isn't much you can do but pay it. You might want to take it someplace else that isn't a dealer or a brake shop. And don't forget to ask to see the worn out drums and have the repairs explained to you. I take every opportunity I can to get under my car with a mechanic, but make it sound like "I'm not disagreeing with you, but I'm trying to learn a few things here."

The sun's out and the blue stuff is moving East! Now if Dad would just get back with my car, I might be in business.

Yeah, that's me. So the reserve is red? Hmm- I've always wondered about that.

Where are ya going? I mean, what place could compare with Upstate NY? Where else in the country can you find crappy weather, snow, high gas prices AND high taxes?

So, I've got to choose where to jump in Houston next weekend. I fly into Bush (heh-heh) Saturday morning and don't have to be in Lufkin until Monday, so I have till Sunday night. Where to go?

The weather in upstate NY sucks. I mean really, really, bad. Fronts seem to come through here every other day. Right now it's low overcast and raining, with more garbage behind it. Course, it's probably decent at the Ranch (where I'm not). Just wanted everyone to know that.

So here it is- I'm on vacation till middle of next week visiting my parents. Combined this trip with some company travel so I not only saved my boss $100s but I get him to pick up the rental car for the duration (yes, he know about it). This is going to be so friggin' cool. The car is packed and I've got my route planned out to The Ranch where multiple Super Otters await me for two or three days of fun fun fun. And it's all only six hours away. Yippee!!! So, why the hell is the car still sitting in the driveway? Turns out after going 15 minutes on the Thruway I felt pulled by some irresistible force to Ovid, NY (1 hour away) to fill out the forms to jump the single cessna. And the best part is, they're not even jumping during the week yet. They normally have a Porter for the season but the lease isn't happening this year so they're working on the Queen Air. Ah F*@#$% Maybe it was the sudden improvement in the weather up here, the long drive, or just being sick of travel with the job. But the bottom line is- I'm a total wuss and talked myself out of it. Still not sure why, but only thing I can think of is the shear size of the place freaked me out. So. I'm going to take my p*ssy ass out to cut my Dad's grass and play my Bro's playstation tonight. Hopefully the weather is good enough tomorrow to jump that absolutely rockin' cessna. So if you see me out at a DZ some day, ask me where I left my pink helmet.

Try: 'This needs to be discussed." Instead of: "Another fucking meeting?"

Whoa! Quite a response for some guy that won't get off his ebutt and do some searching. Thanks!