narcimund

I have a completely different opinion. I've bought TWO cypreses from ASAPTRADES at $820.00 and I'm thrilled. He's a strange, hyperactive kid, but so what? He quickly sent two, brand new, unopened cypreses for the price we agreed on. I think the reason people bitch about him is he's a huckster. This kid is always looking for an opportunity. If you casually mention you like hamburgers, he'll try to sell you his lunch. He's not a nice, polite, passive seller -- he's in your face trying to get ahead. And that's really obnoxious. On the other hand, he appears to be honest, offers a real value, and is probably a better businessman than any of us. If I needed another cypres, I'd call him right away. First Class Citizen Twice Over

You know, with all this talk about women not getting along with men and men getting nowhere with women, you'd start to wonder... Nah, most people aren't that smart! First Class Citizen Twice Over

Fresh young junior marketing man at Red Bull to his boss, "Boss, I had a great idea. Get this. We could put Red Bull in larger cans, then the customers wouldn't have to buy two any more!" Boss to fresh young junior marketing man: "You're fired." First Class Citizen Twice Over

Sangiro, Here's a goodie that would make forum browsing more fun: A mark of some sort in the thread listings that indicates which threads the viewer has already posted in. I know I sometimes post in a thread then forget to look at it again. It would be handy to have a marker that means "You've contributed to this thread. Don't forget to read the follow ups." First Class Citizen Twice Over

I have to agree. In addition, I'm personally not comfortable hanging so many devices off my body. Every bit of gear is one more thing to think about and be distracted by. The last thing you need in a split second crisis is an overload or interaction failure. I had a mal last week that resulted in a cutaway. The last thing I needed at 2000' with a spinning main was lots and lots of helpful little devices telling me their opinion of the situation. All I needed was my eyes telling me where the ground was, my judgement that the canopy was unrecoverable, and my two hands on my two handles. That's enough. While I have a dytter, I'm a bit uneasy about them. The impulse to rely on its authoritative beeping is terribly strong. More and more I think the simplest gear is the safest gear. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Why do you have both? If the pro-track is the same, only more, what good does the pro-dytter do you? First Class Citizen Twice Over

One benefit of S/L training is simply that it's a lot more jumps. My S/L training was around 25 jumps as opposed to 7 or so for AFF. That's 25 times gearing up and pin checking. 25 times climbing in the plane, riding to alti, spotting, climbing out, doing . It's 25 times watching a parachute open, checking it, finding the DZ, maneuvering, landing, gathering the gear. It's 25 debriefs. AFF has a lot going for it, but 25 is more than 7, no matter how intense the freefall experience is on those 7 jumps. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I find it more likely we would commit species suicide than consider that side of things. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I'm a perl/SQL programmer and I thought I'd clear something up that's been making the rounds in here. Some people seem to be misunderstanding the meaning of the error message that appears sometimes. "Too many connections" does NOT mean too many people are logged in. Being logged in does NOT put a burden on the server. In layman's terms, the error message refers to the number of simultaneous times the database (SQL) program is being asked for information by the forum program. That can be caused by lots of people clicking around in the forums at the same time or by software errors where the program does not release the database after it's done with each series of requests. So don't worry about hitting "Log Out" to help dropzone.com's performance. The only value "Log Out" has is if you don't want anyone else who uses your computer to use your login on dropzone.com. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Wow. Everything you listed as undesirable about the second company sounds great to me. "Never really said exactly what I would be doing" (i.e., find what I can contribute over time instead of in a one-day interview), "significantly smaller" (i.e., less beaurocracy), "benefits aren't as great" (i.e., let me make my own decisions with the extra money), "they are just trying to hire talent" (i.e., people with value contribute their skills both strategically and tactically). Just goes to show that what you hate, I love. So given all this, why would you ask for advice? How on earth could anyone on a bulletin board know your best choice? First Class Citizen Twice Over

First Class Citizen Twice Over

Looks like you've still got the stock fuel tanks. I'd be worried about endurance here. You're gonna get 6000 ft/min climb rate, but only for about thirty seconds! First Class Citizen Twice Over

I used to get a couple of telemarketing calls and five to ten hangups every day. All of them had blocked called ID of course, so I could just refuse to answer them, but the damned ringing is still annoying, as is having to get up from whatever I'm doing, walk to the phone, decide I don't want to answer, then listen to more damned ringing. I was ready to simply cancel my phone service. About a year ago I signed up for a phone company service which blocks all calls that do not transmit caller ID. If you don't have caller ID and call me, you'll hear a message that says, "This phone will not accept calls without caller ID. Please turn on your caller ID then call again." They also have the option of recording their name. If they do, then my phone rings, I hear "You have a call from {recorded name here}. Do you want to accept it?" I literally haven't had a single hang-up in the last year. I have only had 4 telemarketing calls in the same period. My phone is no longer my enemy! I love my phone again! First Class Citizen Twice Over

I once asked the company president if I could use a company credit card for my "going away lunch". He said that was fine. I then spent the next hour inviting EVERYONE in the company to lunch. That was about 50 people. We took over an entire restaurant and spent around $500! First Class Citizen Twice Over

A probable non-skydiver using the nickname "realguy321" is begging for money in the classified ads. His address suggests he's in prison. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Thanks for this story. I know that when I give pin checks I often forget to look for bridle routing problems. I'll definitely include that in my routine from now on. Congrats on a safe landing. First Class Citizen Twice Over

I'd tell your buddy to sell the canopy and give you the money. Why should you take on the work? First Class Citizen Twice Over

Nothiing spectacular. It wound itself up in line twists and it wasn't going to come out. I waited for it to open fully, thinking it might settle out, but that didn't help. I chopped at 2100' and was fully open at 1900'. Unfortunately I got fixated on getting back down at that point and screwed up my landing badly. I'll be sitting funny for a few more days, I think. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Oh, I've taken care of that responsibility too. Don't worry about that. First Class Citizen Twice Over

Here's a big public thanks to my rigger Kevin Snedker for a great reserve pack job! It unpacked quickly and perfectly when I needed it this weekend.

5 (parachute rides):4 (jumps):0 Nice to get in some jumps, although generally I prefer only one parachute ride per airplane exit. I'm incredibly lucky to have been jumping with someone clearheaded enough to follow my main down and recover it for me. Thanks, Curt! First Class Citizen Twice Over

Damnit! This is the best thread ever. I'm laughing so hard I can't stand it! First Class Citizen Twice Over

Alienangel S. Thompson! First Class Citizen Twice Over

God no! I used to camp at a DZ when I was a teenager, but that got old and grungy quick! Now when we go for a whole weekend (which is rare with our schedule!) we get a nice hotel room in town, wake up Sunday to a hot shower, breakfast on a great latte and pastry, walk around a bit watching the city wake up, then head in to the DZ refreshed with plenty of time to jump. First Class Citizen Twice Over

You don't have to rush TOO much. Notice the change is anticipated for 14 months from now. First Class Citizen Twice Over