arlo

trust me now?

i hear ya going over the big water, but let's keep this on topic. lol no pics. anyway, the whole dog/hare thing reminds me of a scene from lock, stock and two smoking barrels (or was that snatch?). i tend to shy away from them sometimes. now where were we... CARL COX! p.s. and yeah macca, i'd kick your ass.

HA! i knew you'd be lurking around here somewhere! (btw, i still haven't sent the shirts yet..they're still sitting in my house) edited to add: oh crap. i was typing this stuff while you were posting. thanks for the compliment sweetie. you know i love you. steve, no one that knows me will believe there's a non-phone pic in existence. have i said how excited i am to see carl cox? i am soooooo ready to be moved. if i had a camera phone, i'd take a pic of the man himself and email it to you guys tonight with us blazing along with him.

Okay, several years ago, there was an article about how to prevent hard openings. section 3 of this article (which can be found on PDs website) addresses pilot chutes. the last paragraph apparently is what was read and possibly misinterpreted. i've copied this directly so everyone can be on the same page, so to speak. it does not say all F-111 pilot chutes are deadly. it says to never use an F-111 shock (bungee) cord collapsing pilot chute can be deadly. i hope this clears matters up now. blues, arlo (section 3 of article below:) ========================= 3. PILOT CHUTE The pilot chute has a big effect on canopy deployments. The size, type of fabric, length of bridle, apex length, mesh size, and aerodynamic shape all affect the deployment of the parachute. Some pilot chutes have too much drag at terminal velocity. This can cause these problems: 1. They slow the bagged canopy down so quickly that the chance of line dump is increased. 2. When reaching line stretch, the jumper instantly accelerates the canopy back to his speed, since it is attached to him by the fully deployed lines. This is the first force the jumper feels at line stretch. (Moments later, the canopy starts to fill with air and slows down again. A pilot chute with too much drag will have slowed the bagged canopy down so much that the jumper will experience quite a strong force when the canopy reaches line stretch. The canopy feels this jolt too, and the pack job will be forcefully spread apart by this force. This can cause harder openings, since the now disorganized canopy will inflate more quickly. In extreme cases, it may even open hard enough to cause structural damage to the parachute system, bodily injury, or death. A Pilot chute with more moderate drag will get the canopy to line stretch with less severe shock to the jumper and the canopy. The line dump problem is also less likely to occur, and the pack job is more likely to be released from the bag in an orderly fashion. Although a pilot chute with more moderate drag will produce more consistent openings, a pilot chute can have too little drag. This could happen if it is too worn out, (high permeability) too small, malfunctioned, or designed improperly. The danger here is obvious. The pilot chute must consistently function correctly. If it does not, a baglock, or a pilot chute in tow may result. Most, but not all pilot chutes from container manufacturers are compatible with Performance Designs canopies. A pilot chute made from normal F-111 type fabric should be no more than 32” in diameter. We have found 27 to 30“ to be adequate for most sport-sized canopies (all measurements are finished dimensions). Pilot chutes made of zero porosity fabric are more sensitive to specific design criteria, and two of similar size may have widely different drag. They are definitely more sensitive to variations in design, with factors such as mesh size and hole size at the pilot chute base making a big difference in the drag produced. The zero porosity pilot chutes that we have tried that work adequately are between 25” and 27” (The 25” is preferable with most sport canopies.) and have relatively fine mesh. These pilot chutes also seem to be more sensitive to variations in line stow length and line stow tightness than regular pilot chutes. This can happen with a ripcord system, a pull out, or a throw out, if the pilot chute problem is bad enough. Collapsible pilot chutes can affect deployments too. The shock cord method of collapsing the pilot chute is tricky to design so that it works consistently. It must be properly designed and use only zero porosity fabric to maintain its calibration. Never use an F-111 shock cord collapsing pilot chute! It can be deadly, because the calibration speed changes rapidly as the fabric changes its porosity. We have seen many F-111 shock cord collapsing pilot chutes cause deployment problems due to inconsistency or outright failure to inflate.

plur

oh just go make another hole in the wall, chris. seriously, to each his own. that's what makes the world such a great place. i'd do the same thing if i had to listen to country. re: carl. yes, respect indeed. i can hardly wait!! 7 hrs and it's GO time.

i have yet to see mr cox in a "club" setting (saw him at ultra this year), but i can tell you that a gang from zhills is pretty pumped up about seeing him tonight. i am sooooooo looking forward to his good energy!! i've seen interviews with him and the man seems so genuine and his love for music is unrivaled. what a gem! i don't know what's going on, but twice this week i get to see some serious geniuses at work. i saw trent reznor/NIN tuesday night and will see Mr. Cox tonight. sometimes it's just good to be me. did i say how excited i am to get to experience CARL COX?? i am ready to dance my ass off tonight!

dude, i'm going to see carl cox tonight in tampa, FL. does that answer your question? FIFTY THOUSAND WATTS OF POWER.... bring it on.

no "official" additions/addendums to any PD manuals have been made in the past, oh, year at least. but would you mind emailing a copy of that "addition" you're talking about? my interest is piqued now regarding this. i'm only curious because i do know that the only manuals PD has put out in the past year or so have been military manuals. i happen to know the only technical writer at PD so i'm pretty sure my information is accurate. thanks and if i were you, i'd seriously consider the source of my information.

hospice may be the best friend you and your dad can have at a time like this. i'm not sure if this is a state thing or what, but one of the things about hospice is that you agree that you're not going to take any action to cure the disease, so to speak. what this MEANS is that if someone is dying of liver cancer and the chances are 0.1% that they will survive, they won't be attempting to have a transplant or enter clinical trials. i know that sounds hokey but that's the situation my mom was in but we opted not to hospice so we could get her into clinical trials. it was too late by then. also, mom knew that bringing in hospice meant that she was terminally ill and that wasn't gonna happen. she saw them come in with her father and they were a tremendous help and were so very caring and nurturing. they're not like nurse ratchet or anything. it takes a special person to be a hospice nurse and i know a few. anyhooooo.... this is definitely something to talk over with your dad and hospice can be as much help to YOU as they are your dad...maybe more so. rhonda really hit the nail on the head with her description, as did stacy. i'm so sorry you and your dad are going thru this. if your dad just found out, it's no wonder he's in denial. that's normal right now. big hug... a

are you guys meeting eric at the show? eric is my NIN buddy. he even got a txt during the show telling him (in my chosen words) how great it was. rip it up tomorrow at the show! :)

that's crazy because i thought EXACTLY the same thing when i saw him last night! he absolutely reminded me of rollins. glad i wasn't the only one.

GO. i had to drive to orlando from deland (~ 1 hr) to see the show and had to work this morning. it was sooooooo worth it and i'd do it again in a second. i still can't believe how excited i am about the show. :)

not long enough. i know it was under 2 hrs but not sure exactly...maybe 90 mins. btw, if you haven't seen TR in a while, you're gonna be sooooo surprised. he looks VERY different. lis, i just rechecked the blog and the comment he made last night was no longer there. he said something like 'sorry orlando. i had a terrible performance. i got some bad news just before going on and the performance was bad. we had trouble with the lighting again. frustrated and something and tired of something and the touring.' i was a bit surprised to read that but even more so to see that it was gone just now. wonder why he'd say the crowd sucked? how could they possibly have a bad crowd for such a good show? oh well. perception, i guess. glad WE didn't suck.

i think you'll be pleased. he definitely dug into some of his classic stuff on this one - which was suuuuuuuuper nice to hear. i hear ya about the new album, too. it is definitely a little more "pop" sounding but like you said, TR makes things different. i checked out their website and in his blog he apologized to orlando for, what he called, a "bad performance." wtf. i was floored with the entire show and that's saying something. the sound was incredible and the dirty was, well, DIRTY. i can't remember anything in recent time holding my attention for that long, but they did. so if THAT was a poor performance, i don't know if i could handle a "good" one (but i'd be willing to throw myself on THAT hand grenade to find out). mark my words - you won't be disappointed. this ranks up there in my top handful as well. no question about it. enjoy the show.

that man has the sexiest whispering voice i've EVER heard. raw sexuality aside, he is soooo incredibly talented as a producer, lyricist, musician...absolutely amazing. works for me. xoxo

trent reznor is god. seriously. i just returned from a NIN show in orlando and they were absolutely f-ing incredible. i am gonna be soooooo useless for the rest of the week after seeing that show. f-ing amazing.

51°F and dropping here... just got in from a concert. i saw god. and bill, you know me...ANY excuse for a bonfire...a BIIIIIIIIIIIG bonfire. with little cans of starting fluid. you know the drill.

zhills is a full service dz. there are adequate shower facilities to accomodate anyone that plans to stay there for months at a time. camping is great. RV rental is available. there's a snack bar which serves breakfast, daily lunch specials, and dinner on occasion. there's a fully stocked beer bar with my favorite bartender. there is a rigging loft onsite with outstanding riggers, the owner of which is a current RW world champion. world reknown videographers. the student program is outstanding. AFF instructors AND AFF examiner onsite. the tunnel is close. the coaches are great. the organizers are plentiful. there are organizers for every level of skydiving and most are free. the skydiving is FUN. the dz houses 3 super otters in the winter, 1 in the summer. we have a helo alot of the time. the landing area is HUGE. there's almost always a bonfire. there are team rooms and a creeper pad. the only reason i "dinged" the location is because it's in the country...but hey, alot of people like that so it's not really that bad. :) it's a 40 minute drive to tampa int'l airport and 70 minute drive to orlando int'l airport. the people are very down to earth. did i say the skydives are fun? the people are close, but not cliquish. you'll leave with alot more friends than you started with. and...it's the home of the muff brothers and a resident hellfish or two. fireworks on most occasions...BIG fireworks. fun fundraising. community involvement. the DZM donates platelets every two weeks. people are always willing to help. it doesn't get much better than that. i think i covered most everything. ;) enjoy.

were laid spread out before me......

godspeed Mrs. Parks...and thanks for leading the way.

ancient.

all's well in deland. as of 4am, nada. got a little wind (or "gustage", as a reporter on TWC called it ), 9am until about noon just some rain and a few smaller gusts (30-40ish MAYBE). i think we had larger gusts in the past 2 hours than we did during the passing of the hurricane itself. it is quite strange to have had a hurricane blow thru and the temp outside is 66 degrees right now. it's gonna get COLD. brrrrrrrrrrrr.

happy belated b-day ron.

call or email skydive city and ask them to get phantom (jim) to pick you guys up at the airport. he provides this service sometimes. so be nice to him. phantom rocks. oh yeah, www.skydivecity.com or 1-800-404-9399