p1p3

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Forgive my ignorance here, but can you "undread" your hair, or do you have to lop it off and start over?

You can undread it if you have a lot of time and patience. My guess is that it would talk anything from an hour to half a day per dread depending on how long the person has had them. And the hair would be in need of some serious maintenance after that. But it can be done.
Most people however just cut them to an inch or so and comb that out as the hair is not as tightly knotted close to your head.

Thanks everyone for the mostly helpful advice.
First I wanna say I don't have dreads because of religious or political believes. Hey I'm an agnostic, fuck the environment, meat loving kind of guy if anything
Also cutting them is not an option really, have grown used to them after all this time and the girls usually like them... and I'm a new jumper so I still have a real life outside the DZ
I usually have them in a bandana even when not jumping. Will have a look at those hair gloves and see if i can find them cheap anywhere.
Rubber band are no good in dreads as somebody already mentioned, they can get eaten up and then they melt and becomes some oily kinds of goo. Very nasty.

I started jumping last year and have 4 AFF jumps so far. I have long dreadlocks and have no plans of getting rid of them but I'm scared of them getting in the way when jumping. I usually wear a hoodie with them down under it onto my back. I is however not the most comfortable way to have them and I feel it makes it harder to maintain a good arch because of a lot of stiff hair getting pushed onto my neck by the helmet.
They also got stuck in the risers on training harness on my dz and that was scary enough 2 feet above the ground not falling. I can only imagine them getting stuck in a cutaway situation...
Anybody have any suggestions or tips about jumping with dreads? Anything really, clothing, good helmets or ways to get them out of the way while still being safe.
Picture is a bit old and they are about 3" longer now.

Try right clicking on "Computer" and select "Manage". Then click on "Disk Management" under "Storage". See if your drive shows up in the list.
If it does and it is missing a drive letter, right click on the volume in the lower part for your disk and select "Change Drive Letters and Paths..." press "Add..." and select "Assign the following drive letter:". The default should work fine.
If there is any question marks, exclamations points or error symbols on the lower left side of the disk see if there is an option to import or initialize the disk. Most things you do here should be fairly safe and give you a warning or question if it will erase any data. However if you can, try making a backup on another computer first. And make sure you read every message you get. I'm not taking any responsibility here...
If the disk doesn't show up in the disk manager at all make sure you have installed Service Pack 1 and all updates from Windows update.
You can also have a look through the "Event Viewer" that is under "System Tools" above "Storage". Check under "Windows Logs" "System" and see if there is any error messages of warning related to disks or USB devices.

I haven't worked with fiber cables in quite a while and have really no official training but I have done about a thousand splices. What we did when we put connector on was to use a pigtail connector and just splice the two fibers together. That way you don't have to mess with the connector assembly at all as the manufacturer have already done that for you. Also like quade said, all splices and connectors have a loss so try to keep them to a minimum. It also depends on how long the cable is gonna be. The longer runs you make the more careful you have to be about keeping everything perfect.
I'm not absolutely sure about what brand we used but i think it was from Siecor.
And like I said, It was a long time ago and I don't really remember any brand names but you should get hold of a tester to measure the total loss of the finished cable. They can even give you the distance to a crack in the cable. The splicer will usually give you the loss for a single splice but nothing beats knowing that the whole cable is OK when trouble shooting a communication problem. Of course it also depends on how long of a run you are gonna make and how easy the cable is to access. For a short cable it might be easier to just replace it than to try and fix it.
And a last word of cation. Don't eat or drink anything when working with fiber cable, if you get splinters from the cable into your body they are impossible to find and can do quite a bit of harm if you are unlucky. Also watch your eyes if you are using infrared lasers, always make sure you are not working on a live fiber. You can permanently damage your eyes without even noticing it.
I'm gonna have a look around and see if I can find any of my old documents if I still have them. Might be some list of the equipment we used.
And again like I said. I have no official training only know what I learned from my colleagues. I might be completely wrong in some of the things and things might have changes since then...

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What's your money situation like? Do you have enough to do a tandem before continuing? May sound like a "taking a step backward" kind of idea, but it could work. That's only if by the time you get back to the dz you're still feeling this way. Something tells me, however, that you're going to be ok.

Money is usually not a problem for me but this month I had to both pay for my skydiving course and tax so a tandem is out of the question this month and I don't think there is gonna be any jumping at all next month.
But if I don't get the chance to make any more jumps this season I'm gonna think about doing a tandem next year. Maybe I can use it as a sort or refresh. Don't know what the rules are here in Sweden about not jumping for a while and what you have to redo.
I'm also gonna try to get to Bodyflight this fall/winter.

Didn't end up going to the dz today because of one hell of a cold. Don't know if that could have been part of the dizziness I felt last time but I hope so. At least I'm gonna tell my brain it was I'm also definitely gonna stay off the sunset loads for a while.
The thing about planning I also think is very important. My last to jumps I had the whole freefall part perfectly planned but once under canopy not so much. Arriving to the dz 30 min before the lift and spending most of that time getting finding gear is probably not the best ting to do but was my only alternative if I wanted to jump. Sometimes it sucks to work...
The PFL advice is pretty much what I do now. Just let my body compress it self using my knees and legs as springs and roll over. It was actually a lot easier do for real than during training on the ground. The first times I was to pumped up with adrenaline and concentrating on flaring at the right altitude that I completely forgot it. I was just lucky not getting hurt but still feeling enough pain to not forget it again.

The thing that nobody should look down on you for riding the plane down is true in theory but doesn't really work in practice. When I was doing my course before my first jump there was one jumper who rode the plane down and I remember looking down on them for not jumping. And this was before I even been in the jump plane at altitude
I can only imagine a jumper with a couple of hundred jumps and no plane rides down. Sure they probably have a lot more respect for the the whole thing but still.
Of course I would never say anything bad about it to them but I cant change what I was thinking... Now after my own ride down I completely understand the feeling of not wanting to jump but who know in a year or two. The human brain is a strange thing. We easily forget how hard things were in the beginning when we are good at them.
I work with computers and is sometimes asked to fix something really simple for people. Usually I think what an idiot for not knowing how to fix this stupid thing, even when I know the person with the problem is a lot smarter than I am. They are just not that good at computers.

Thanks for all the good advice. I think I'm gonna go out to the dz this weekend and just chill out.
Like I said, I'm very proud of my landing on level four. I got shit scared when I realized I couldn't make it back to the landing area but once I started thinking and remembering everything I been taught on the dz and here I knew I was gonna be fine as long as I didn't panic. Just as long as a planed my landing far ahead.
I also have to say no one at the dz gave me any crap about me riding the plane down and my coworker told me she thought I did the right thing.
Thinking back at it now a day later when my feelings have calmed down I'm also glad I did.
Still there is nothing worse than watching the whole load get out and you sitting there alone on the way down.

I recently started AFF and have done four jumps so far. The first two jumps I did in one day and the following two day I did level three and four. The first three jumps went well. A bit of a hard landing on the first two but nothing out of the ordinary for a beginner. All in all, pretty uneventful.
Jump four is when things started to heat up a bit. It was probably my best jump so far. Good exit, good freefall, pulled on time. I was very happy with it. This was also on the last load before sunset and it was starting to get a bit dark.
Once under canopy something felt a bit strange but everything looked OK. I did a flare, no problems. Tried a turn and it felt good. On this jump I was jumping a different rig than the jumps before so that was probably why it felt strange. Anyway, when I look for the landing site I see that I have drifted quite a bit with the wind. I try to get back but after about 1000 feet I realize there is no way I'm getting to the landing area.
I'm now at 2500 feet and above some trees. I look around a find a good field downwind that I know i can reach. The sun is setting fast but there is still not too much problem seeing anything. I reach the field, everything looks fine. I do a standard landing pattern and do my best landing so far. I also remember to always roll when landing out so I do it just for the heck of it but could probably have landed standing up.
I walk back to the dz and they asked my why I was flying with the wind and I give them pretty much the story above. We talk trough the jump and I pass.
This all happened last week. Now fast forward to today.
After work I went to the dz. I get there pretty late and this time I also get on the last load. I get geared up and we go out to the plane.
Before my other jumps I have been pretty nervous about an hour or so before the jump but once I start going through the jump on the ground it passes. On this jump however the nervousness came just before I get into the plane. I even consider giving up my seat on the load 5 to 10 minutes before takeoff. I discuss it with my instructor and decide to go for it.
The ride up to altitude calms me down a bit. I love flying and it usually helps me collect my thoughts. Me and my instructor go through the jump again in the air and i feel happy that I didn't chicken out on the ground.
We are now almost at exit altitude. The sun is setting but its still not as dark as last time. Sitting in the airplane is probably also making it feel darker than it really is. The door opens and we are the first to exit. Before I even get in the door I freeze up. My mouth gets dry and I'm getting dizzy. I tell my instructor and he asks me if I want to abort. I tell him I do and the other jumpers exits. He tells me we can do another fly over, but I tell him I don't want to. So I ride the plane down in shame feeling crap abut myself.
I know its better to not jump if you feel uncertain about it but it doesn't make me feel any better.
The next time I will have an opportunity to jump will be on Saturday if the weather allows. Now I'm afraid the same thing will happen next time I jump. Could it be just that the circumstances was similar as last time with the sunset and new gear that is getting to me? I'm starting to get confident about my free fall skills. Not that I'm very good but at least I'm not spinning out of control. Could some tunnel time get my confidence up?
I wont be able to go to a tunnel before the season is over here in Sweden and I really wanted to get my A this year.
Any other tips? How did you get over your first plane ride down?

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>You can definitely pay less, but it's hard to find hardware that does a better job. (Goes for several of their products.)

I'm sorry but its not. They are way overpriced for what they give you. Try comparing them in a blind test to something of equal price and you will be amazed by the difference.
BOSE have had some great products in the past but now the are just living on their brand name, selling overpriced products to gullible consumers.

I'm hoping I'm not stepping on anyone's toes here but i have a very strong dislike for both BOSE as a company and their products.

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They are actually best at blocking low frequency random noise (i.e. "white noise.") The physical earmuffs themselves are better at blocking high frequency noise. This is an issue on some aircraft like the MD-80; the noise profile goes from high frequency in the front (primarily wind noise) to low frequency in the back (primarily engine noise.) I'll often perceive less noise in the back with active headsets.

They will also happily block low frequency non-random noise (like speech) but our ears are exceptionally good at picking voice out of white noise. Since it lowers both levels equally we still have the same signal to noise ratio to work with, so we can still hear voice to some degree.

I'm sorry if I confused you by using the term "random noise". By using "" around it I meant noise that is not constant and changes over time. Like speech. Not true random noise. Active noise cancellation also don't work very well over 1kHz and speech usually lies above that.
But like you said. Its all about what type of noise you want to block out.

I also think Sony has some IEMs that have active noise cancellation. I don't know anything about them but they could be the perfect balance to block the whole frequency spectrum.

First of all I would say STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM BOSE. What they make are maybe not the worst on the market but you could pick something up for less than half the price that will beat it. Sorry to all you BOSE lovers, but they are all about marketing not quality.

When you are looking at noise canceling headphones there are 3 basic styles to choose from:
IEMs (In Ear Monitors)
Closed Headphones
Active Noise Cancellation

They have all pros and cons.
IEMs are great for travel. They basically look like the iPod type headphones but they go inside the ear channel. The two big names that make IEMs are Shure and Etymotic Research. They have very good noise cancellation but some people dislike sticking things in their ears. Its also hard to have a conversation without taking them out of your ears. Some models have a talk trough mode but if i remember correctly the are quite expensive.
Closed Headphones are my favorite noise canceling phones. Not that great for travel because of their size but in my opinion have a superior sound only rivaled by open headphones and electrostatics. This category is probably where you get most bang for the buck. The big brands in this category are Beyer Dynamics, Sennheiser and AKG.
Active Noise Cancellation comes in many different styles. They work by using a microphone in the headphone and playing back the sound from in inverted 180 degrees to cancel out the noise. I recently bought a pair and while their noise canceling abilities for statics noises like airplanes, fans and ventilation systems impressed me the sound quality suffers badly from it. They also don't block out "random noise" like people talking. If the is good or bad is up to you. Haven't done much research on different brands here but at least Sennheiser has them. Costs more than a closed headphone and don't really offer anything extra that is worth having. The big ones offer better isolation but have the same problem with traveling that closed headphones have: size.

http://www.head-fi.org/ is a great forum for headphones with good reviews and lots of helpful people.

Maybe I should also mention that my headphone setup cost me a bit above 700$ so I'm a bit biased towards the high end stuff.

EDIT: If I haven't mentioned any brands under the different categories its not because they are bad or I don't like them, its just I haven't heard them so I cant recommend them personally.