Beachbum

Speaking from the viewpoint of someone who started surfing in Texas in the mid 60's .... I can tell you that you made the right decision. Texas DOES sometimes have decent surf, if you live down at South Padre, or in the Corpus area at times, but not nearly as consistent as east coast (I've also spent time in N.C.). Plus, you can add another saltwater habit in Florida ... great variety of inshore fishing!! Enjoy ...

No kidding Chuck!!! I was SOOOO pleasantly surprised. After all, a dz IS still a business. I hope everyone involved truly appreciates the sacrifice made by the dz to go forward with the scrambles (btw ... I am pretty certain a great time was had by all, and I'm meaning before the jello shots came out!!). This sort of attitude is one of the main reasons I so much prefer SDH compared to the other local dz. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Well, nobody else has posted it yet, so I am ... !!! From the email sent out: As everyone hopefully knows our beloved BrokeBack Dave was involved in a tandem accident last Saturday August 1, 2009. Skydive Houston will be hosting 4 Way Scrambles this Saturday to benefit BrokeBack Dave and his family. Our goal is raising over $5000.00 from this event. 4 Way Scrambles is an event that has a competition structure and is always a great time. Here is how it works: 4 Way Scrambles is OPEN to all USPA license holders. Register at Skydive Houston before 8:15AM Saturday August 15, 2009. You can pre register by emailing [email protected]. Please also CC: Jerilyn Cordova at [email protected] Include your name, email address, USPA License #, years in sport and JUMP #’s. You can also register in person at manifest before the briefing on Saturday. By pre registration you will get the random 3 point rookie jump draw on Friday when the last jumper is down at SDH via email and be eligible for a free pair of Gatorz sunglasses. 8:20 AM, Skydive Houston will pull the random team draw. Each team will consist of one rookie jumper 0-150 jumps, one intermediate 150-600 jumps, one advanced 600-1500 and a open jumper with 1500 jumps and above. The team will then become a 4 way team for the day. 8:30 AM, each team will be given the random 4 way, three point rookie skydive draw from the National Skydiving League website. You will then have one hour to practice, pack, meet, greet and creep your skydives. 9:30 AM, WHEELS UP FOR SCAMBLERS! The competition will consist of five skydives. Four of them will be 3 point random rookie style followed by the fifth round which is a speedstar. The cost of the competition will be $22.00 a jump including video slot to 13500ft. $5.00 per jumps made that day will go into the BrokeBack Dave Fund. Each videographer that donates there time to the cause Skydive Houston will donate $100.00 into the fund and comp there slots. At the beer light after the judge has posted the scores, we will award medals to the first, second and third place teams. We will also offer one medal to the most improved in the rookie class. Dinner will be served at the beer light by Team Jager and will be complimented with two kegs of beer. We will only be collecting donations for dinner and all donations will be matched by Skydive Houston. Come on out and enjoy the FUN! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Eh? looks like tequila induced thoughts removed .... My thoughts as a low # person who started pre-ISP .... Up until the ISP came out, I'd have to agree that canopy training was sorely lacking. I came off AFF and into level 8's feeling like "now what" ... and then later, when the ISP came out and I read through it I realized what I SHOULD have been doing. So, got a copy of the card and did all the stuff on it that I hadn't done. There is a LOT more canopy training going on now under the ISP than before it existed. Enough?? ... perhaps not, but it's a whole lot better. The extra benefit I've seen to it is that now students are much more aware of the importance of proper canopy training, and most make some efforts post AFF/student jumps to continue to work on it. This is done either with help of others at their dz in an informal manner, canopy coaching by more "qualified" individuals (local swoopers, for instance), and/or by taking more formal classes like Scott or Brian offer. Is AFF the beat all/end all? ... no ... it's like any other training program, and should evolve as better methods develop, or errors and/or holes in the training are made apparent. The other thing about it that I see as a big benefit over static line is the fact that students DO get freefall. After all, that is the reason most want to start, and I believe that giving them a taste of it right away helps keep them interested and coming back for more. As a side note that may or may not effect how some see my views, I never did a tandem either ... knew I wanted to start it as a sport and went straight to AFF. And no, I don't recommend that path for all. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

You started early Today is only thursday Tomorrow's friday As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Just curious, what year is your Voodoo? I also have one, and mine are great, and have a keeper loop of material on the back side for the excess brake line. Edit to add ... put together with a Triathlon ... risers come with it, or the rig ... I'm not sure .... riggers?? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Aside from the income angle, I can see where video would be very useful in the event of any sort of problem on the jump, too. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

nah ... I just got a late start ... at 45. I almost started back around '78, via a couple my girlfriend and I played cards with who both jumped, but she went in and that put a big damper on my developing enthusiasm. It wasn't until 2000 when I met someone (who started back in the round days) who told me about all the advances in equipment and training and I decided to give it a go. I'm not ancient, but yeah .... in spite of what might take place in my head, most days my body tells me that whippersnapper doesn't apply to me these days (at least most days ... LOL!!) As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Hehe, we love you 'old' guy and you know it!! Might be right ... but I think some of the younger crowd has seen that too ... At risk of showing MY age (and if I'm remembering it correctly), the correct response there is along the lines of "and stop calling me Shirley" ... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Someone emailed this to me a couple of days ago. It is just the typical political bs if you actually read it. The intro says "agree to enroll", but if you read on down in the actual bill, it only says "are urged to forgo their right to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and agree to enroll under that public option". I wish someone really WOULD put up a bill that requires it!!! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

How many years ago was this??? ... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

As far as the info I've been told went (source always been reliable to this point), the excuse used to sell it in legislature was the "endangering rescuers" line, but behind the scenes, there was some of "I got a call during Ike about such and so's father (mother, whoever) that stayed down on the island" type of thing ... calls from worried people who apparently were not happy that their relative(s) elected to ride the storm out on the coast, and were now supposed to be without rescue options due to the proximity of the storm. These people either live in, or have property that they frequent at the beach. It's not like they have no clue what a hurricane is or what it can do, yet they decided to stay. It seems it was their relatives and/or friends calling the politicians. Keep in mind, that with costs along the coast what they are now, many of these are families with significant money and influence. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I've never pulled immediately out of the plane. Even on hop-n-pops, I've always given myself a couple of seconds to be well clear and be sure I'm not going to tumble or anything (not really much of a concern now that I've done more of them) ... and no, I can't say I have ever monitored altitude loss from plane to saddle on one, but would guess it probably averages around 500' with my normal pack job (nearer to 700', or once in a while greater at terminal). So, that would put me under something solid by about 1300. Reserve will buy me at least a few hundred feet in that situation, and for my experience level I'll take it. As I said above ... more time to locate and get to a good landing area. Where I usually jump, terrain isn't going to present a problem, but I have been up to Lost Prairie 3 times, and as someone mentioned ... there or anywhere like that, you could be up a creek relying on that 1800' number depending on where the plane is when you have to bail. I don't want to have to remember one rule for home, another for away. And yes, I still do h-n-p's now and then. I agree that they're good practice, and think the suggestion to do one and check altitudes before/saddle is a good idea. I'll report back after I test it (not that it will be totally definitive, since I'm sure my packjobs still vary!!). As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Agree with concept, but the number I'm at for this stage of my skydiving career is 2000 feet ... lower than that and I'm going silver. That faster deployment gives me a little more time to locate/set up for a safe landing area (no telling what the airplane may be over, and I'm SURE not going to want to try to determine that on my way out the door to make the decision). Plus, my Triathlon is often a slow opening, so it gives me more leeway for the Cypres by only going main above 2k. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

That is what was SUPPOSED to take place as it was ... but some agencies sent or allowed rescuers in anyway ... not the people's fault that they didn't stick to guidelines and stay out. As for "idiot" ... I think that term would be better applied to local officials who call for a total evacuation way before one is needed too many times ... the "cry wolf" syndrome. I understand their predicament to some extent ... they wait too long and then people complain that they weren't warned in time, too early, and the opposite. But to me it boils down to something you and I have discussed before ... lack of taking responsibility for one's self by a lot of folks. In this case, they are punishing people FOR being willing to do so (law encouraging more of that "sheep" behavior I know you like to refer to ... ;) ... )!! People who stay may not ought to in some circumstances, granted ... but if they're willing to risk their lives to protect what is their's then I don't think the state should be arresting them for it. Lawmakers WAY overstepped the boundaries with this one as far as I'm concerned. Plus, as you mention, it would be further burden on enforcement to carry out the searches/arrests, plus the logistics of transporting the now prisioners from the area to a "safe" location. edit to add: As for the payment aspect ... IF they call for help, perhaps ... but not when rescuers are sent in without request for assistance, which has been the case at least some of the instances I am aware of that I was told were used to help pass this. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

http://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou090727_tnt_mandatory-evacuation-law.7fa0914c.html I think it was much better as was ... they told you that you SHOULD get your behind out, but if you stayed, you knew you would have no emergency services and were on your own. If the state would have kept to that, they'd have no problem risking lives of emergency personnel, but no .... they let them try to rescue people who stayed behind anyway, putting them at risk as well as the rescuees. It will be interesting to see what they determine to be "reasonable force" when someone who wants to stay to protect their home/belongings confronts them with a weapon in order to stay. I don't believe the state should be able to tell someone they cannot make an informed decision to remain in order to protect their property under any circumstances, especially when it's a situation where looting is commonplace. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

There was a post that led to this song a week or two ago ... maybe in "general" forum?? ... I didn't like it then, and still don't. Of course, I'm an old fart ... different tastes. The way I see it, if USPA wants to run a contest like this, it should also be open to use of other original music, and not confine people to something they may dislike!! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Didn't catch the # ... but saw another instance of a downwind takeoff by them later in the day ... hmmm ... maybe 1:30 or 2-ish. Of course, winds were light and variable, but if they're not willing to accept that reasoning for the otter, why should it be acceptable for them? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Well, it's been just over 5 years now since John left us. This time of year his absence is brought home to me even more so than the rest of the year, since we had developed the habit of loading up his truck to fish our way to Lost Prairie and back for a bit of an escape from the Texas summer heat. Each year since then, mid July rolls around and I feel like something is wrong because I'm not packing up skydiving and trout fishing gear for that trip with him. Missing you John. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I went through AFF in the Houston area also, and did my first level 8 (same as your first post AFF jump these days) up at Lost Prairie. I was on a 215 here, and they put me on a Nav 280 up there (about 3200' if I remember right). I agree about flaring just a tad higher - even with a low experience level you can notice a difference. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I'm another ProTec/goggles person (so far), but I have seen at least one person in this area who has a full face that he can keep his glasses on underneath. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Not that I see a way it has anything to do with their case, but does the dz's electric bill include the runway lights? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Perhaps the end will change your mind on that, but to me the fact that she did it at all, was willing to learn to shoot in spite of the revulsion she had to even the sound of guns (note the tears when she initially fired a shotgun), carry a personal firearm, and be immersed in the gun culture to that extent shows a willingness to have her opinions changed that I don't believe a lot of people capable of showing. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

To paraphrase RushMC's line ... I think several missed my point (it wasn't to restart a prior debate). The idea proposed seems designed to tax those who are the worst offenders, while giving a break to those not in that category. A flat tax cannot do that equitably. What if you live in a rural area and the only job you can get requires you to drive 60 - 80 miles each way to reach your job and return home (or any of a myriad of other reasons you might need to use a lot of gas, like trades that require someone to drive a truck to haul tools/supplies of their trade, etc)?? To me, tho it IS probably as fair as we'll ever see in place, a flat tax can't really be fair unless everyone's income and travel needs were at least close to the same. Someone who makes $50,000/year can much better afford the burden than someone making minimum wage. Again, I said I like the concept ... the mechanisms to accomplish it in a fair manner are beyond the amount of thought I will ever put into it (unless someone hires me for that purpose!!). As for the comment about freedoms ... I agree, and if you notice in my first post I mentioned rights. I'm not one to favor more government intervention relative to most situations. We already have taxes ... trying to make them more effective and fair seems like a good idea to me. Bad habits? I used those examples mostly because the article referred to it as a limo/yacht tax concept, plus I happen to have lived where I saw how many yachts make that north/south trip each spring/fall. Since I was in a marine school at the time, I was offered jobs helping crew them for the ferry trips. As a result I was able to speak with a fair number of the permanent captains and some owners, and discovered how little a lot of those yachts are actually ever used (or even seen!) by their owners. So yes, I consider that a big waste of fuel for a large portion of them to make the trip down/up the ICW twice a year "just in case". I'm sure that everyone can think of ways that they could help save energy that they don't bother to enact. I do try to do my bit, but I'm as guilty as anyone about some things ... I own a small fishing boat, so need something that can tow it, and skydiving can't exactly be considered a necessary use of fuel ... Though I'm fairly new to SC and don't read it daily or sometimes even weekly, I'm certain the flat tax has been covered before. I wasn't attempting to debate that ... only to express my happiness at seeing that someone is at least TRYING to have an open mind about it, and seeing if they come up with something better. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Can't claim I didn't fast forward a bit, but I agree with your comments about her ... just want to add one thing. I think she did something a lot of people would be hard pressed to do (based on comments observed in SC, especially a lot of the regulars here ... LOL!!!) ... she obviously went in with a reasonably open mind, especially considering her past with guns/death. I wish more people could take that approach with more things in our lives! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?