HeatherB

I hardly ever post about this kind of stuff, but I'm excited! They just announced a Ben Folds show here in town so I bought a pre-sale ticket.

I could vouch for that scenario. I had a lineover on my main last year...(it was during a meet, I'd used a packer) and it was spinning and uncontrollable. Even with my right toggle completely buried it was still spinning to the left and was gaining a lot of speed. I had to chop it. I would have died if I hadn't so it was an easy decision. That's on a Pilot at just over 1:1. My reserve is loaded the same...I hope my reserve would be a little more docile with a lineover but who the heck knows. Could be better, could be worse.

A lot of whiny, angsty poser teenagers must have voted for him. God...that stupid "headspin" song is ridiculous. Aww, poor widdle Wukas has problems with his mommy so he wrote a widdle nursery rhyme about it. Yeah, I'm mean. I wonder what band might do this next year...

Well, I taped the episode (yes, on the VCR, how quaint!) and ran out of tape right before they chose between Dilana and Lukas. I looked online and found out Lukas won. Yuck. Where's the puking smiley? What did they say to Dilana though? Poor girl, she should have had it. I wouldn't have watched Lukas play with the band b/c he sucks, but I'm curious what they said to Dilana. That guy is so creepy and untalented.

I've only been to one DZ so far, Spaceland, that takes off with their Otter door wide-open. I forgot to ask a local why they do it that way.

That was the only song I liked! Everything else was so blah. Especially considering these are supposed to be the best of the best. Why is Lukas still in the game? I'm not feeling Magni either. Toby's a little better but still not great song to song. I think it could be Toby or Dilana. I like Dilana the best...(when she isn't doing her creepy deep/throaty singing voice) If they want to cater to whiny, angsty, poser teenagers they should choose Lukas.

This just sucks. PJ was a friendly face during my visits to Cross Keys back when I had around 100 jumps...he showed me the ropes and helped me out a lot. And he was great to have around during the winters at Z-hills. Always barefoot and sarcastic. We never got to do that 'real' CRW jump; he did properly thwap me on the head for attempting Sabre CRW with someone else. Condolences to everyone.

Ditto. I'll add that I thought last year's candidates seemed much more talented than this group. During last year's show, one girl sang "Imagine" and it gave me major goosebumps. (I can't remember her name though). Nobody this time around is giving me the goosebumps or really grabbing my attention. Lukas did his uber-crappy original again. wtf. But I'll keep watching since I guess there is only 1 more week. (?)

I really hated Lukas' performances...what the hell was that crap? The guy can't sing. The Bon Jovi song was pathetic. I was laughing and wincing during both songs! It looked like Tommy Lee was laughing during it too. I still think Storm is awfully blah and can't sing well either. Liked Dilana's "Blue Eyes" but not her original. She did ok but not fantastic. Liked Toby's original...catchy and he was energetic and got he crowd into it. The Killers is hard to do live I would think...just b/c their tracks are very "produced" but I thought he did a decent job. Magni just kind of wanders slowly and aimlessly around the stage -- he isn't fun to watch. Someone give that guy a Red Bull! I'd get rid of Lukas or Storm and give Magni some Red Bull and another chance next week. Most bizzare moment: Either the entirety of Lukas' performances OR Tommy Lee grabbing Toby's ass.

Jerm?

If you don't take the canopy out of the d-bag and you guess incorrectly which riser goes on which side... Seen it happen to several people! I can't imagine myself going through a full packjob and not noticing the problem though. Maybe if I was drunk.

It was Ryan, Storm, and Dilana.

Well, Ryan is outta there. I predicted Storm but was wrong. She was in the 'bottom 3' but was spared this time. I didn't care for either of their performances. Ryan sounded way off-key during his The Who song, ouch! It was painful...I lowered the volume on the TV. Funky song selection by Dilana, lol. I agree that Tommy Lee is creepy! Maybe Storm or Lukas will be next to go...but the crowd likes Lukas, I don't get it. Creep-factor plus I don't think he has a good voice or stage presence.

I've been watching the show...I think it's the only time I ever watch CBS! And the only 'reality' show I've watched in a long time. The guy with all the makeup, I thought he SUCKED tonight! Baaad Nirvana. But the guys liked it. Loved Toby's Rebel Yell. And he's hot too so that doesn't hurt. The blonde girl, Storm, needs to go. She did okay tonight but has sucked several times before. The guys don't seem to care for her, I think she'll be leaving soon. Ummm...oh the guy who did Coldplay, that was interesting. Very energetic at least. Maybe Ryan is his name?? (sorry, don't have the faces/names straight) And the bald guy, Magni, I think he did pretty well with that Live song. Not WOW, but not bad. Dilana, I thought she did well (I'm not a big fan of that song though)...I do wonder what she looks like without all that makeup and crazy hair! The guys loved her again. I predict that Storm will be kicked off.

What kind of jumps do you currently do that you wouldn't do without an AAD?

Just b/c this type of surgery is routine does not mean it is not painful or cruel. How is it necessary and not cruel? Please explain.

Trim her claws yourself, and provide her with a few scratching posts. I plop my big cat in my lap and trim away. He doesn't love it, but he does sit there quietly. They get used to it. I sprinkle catnip on the scratching posts to make them even more attractive. I have two different posts b/c one cat likes one, and the other likes the other kind. Keep a spray water bottle around, and if you catch her scratching furniture, spray her. Most cats do not like it and they'll make the connection. (especially if it is in combination with a stern voice) My friend who is a vet tech says most cats hate the nail caps and can quickly get them off. Declawing is unnecessary and cruel.

They downloaded fast here... Cool stuff. To my newbie-eye, RU's jump looked a little cleaner, like everyone was in synch a little better than Black Cat.

When I took Scott's class a long time ago, he had a few people with ellipticals switch to more docile loaners for the stall practices. One had a Samurai, one had a Stiletto, I think there was a Velocity too. I scared myself on my first stall by letting the toggles back up too quickly. I'm guessing if you do that on a more aggressive canopy, it would get even uglier. But after that first stall I did a few more and loved 'em. See ya this weekend? We're training.

According to Kurt's story, the French had two re-jumps. Got a 19 on the first re-jump, and a 21 on the second re-jump.

Hey Eric, whaddup??

French 4-way, round 4. How the heck did that get a 21? Or maybe there was a re-jump and they got a 21 on the re-jump but the 1st video is still posted? The video gets real ugly due to clouds/moisture.

I believe the "Welcome Texas Skydivers" ad is Skyride. The URL is dallasskydivers.com. --Heather

Forgot to add that I think my 20 pound rig has something to do with the difference. Have you seen anyone at CO with a tunnel rig? I'd like to try it one day. edit: Just saw your note that you're doing a tandem soon, congrats, I thought you were already a jumper.

If it's any consolation, I've never worn weights while jumping, but I sometimes have to wear them in the tunnel. If I'm in there with big guys or doing a bunch of time, weights are a god-send. I had 12-14 pounds of lead on during 2 weekend trips to colorado earlier this year (probably did about 2 and a half hours of flying). If I was just doing a 15 minute session, I could have done without them, but for longer/multiple sessions during a camp, I find weights very helpful. I've heard people say you should only wear weights in the tunnel if you wear them while jumping (and the same amt too) buuut...for long sessions I can't see myself lasting without any weights, unless I'm with a bunch of other floaty people. And usually a coach wants you down low-ish so they can see your body position better and communicate with you better. (edited to omit possibly offensive phrase, lol)