cbain

What about adding camera reviews to all the other reviews? Christina

Here's a picture of me in mine but I don't have a shot from the back yet. Christina

That's us over there

I just heard this on the radio yesterday so it's fresh in my mind. I midget is less than 4'10" tall. Being 5'0" I'm only 2" away. But I'm the shortest person I know that skydives. So, I don't know any midget skydivers. Christina

Nope. I'm pretty sure you haven't. Christina

No change for me this week. Christina

I agree with what others have said about the MLW. I had a container that was way to big in the MLW and I couldn't reach the slider, etc very well at all. Now I have a custom container and there is very little sapce between my shoulders and the harness yoke and now I have no problem reaching the risers. I'm 5'0" and jump 18" risers. When I asked about shorter risers when ordering my new container/main canopy I was told that anything shorter than 18" would start to deform the canopy in flight. Christina

Mon-Fri morning - 30 min TaeBo Tu & Thus - 5 min (12 reps of each) with stretchy band resistance thingy (yes, that is the technical term for it) Sat. - 60 min Taebo When my pool gets warm enough I'm going to start adding in some swimming in the evenings. I'm also going to start trying to do more of the advanced Taebo (60 min) videos but not there yet. If I'm tired of TaeBo I also have an excerise bike I'll switch to for 30 minutes. I don't have a seperate ab workout because the TaeBo has a lot of ab work in it already. I'm not training for anything just trying to get in better shape and hopefully lose some wieght. I've really been wanting to do an adventure race (short one) though so if someone is interested in putting together a team to start training for fall or next year even I'd be interested. Christina

Congrats on the new rig. Don't forget your BEER! I too love my Racer 2K3. Christina

You could demo a Firebolt from Jumpshack. They're in Deland. But I also agree that you should stick with the canopy you're familiar with for any canopy coaching. Christina

I'm going to have to take Frodo to the vet today. He's got a patch of fur missing on one shoulder and the skin looks all icky there. Not sure what's going on. I saw it a couple weeks ago but it was a little spot and I just figured he was playing too rough with one of the other cats but now it's a pretty good size spot. He's not going to be happy and neither is my checkbook. Oh well. Christina

-1 for the week

Right now, such a country may not exist but there are many countries much much closer to legalizing it than the US is. It "could" happen. Christina

I'm 27 and my mom still won't let me drive Christina

Everyone thought I was a good girl. I just never got caught. Christina

Agree with that as well, at least for the majority of people. Married at 21 divorce at 23. I hadn't even figured out who I was yet let alone what I wanted in another person. He also really needed to get himself figured out. No kids, thank goodness! I'm remarried now though. Much improved this time around. Christina

Well, I've never tried this but my chemistry teacher in high school (years ago) used to swear by bubble gum. She pre-chewed it, formed it into a little pellet and down the hole. (At least that's what I remember). Or maybe try googling it? Christina

In the 4 examples you listed do you think that they felt the jump was beyond their ability without having an AAD? I don't see any indication in the reports that they were low timers doing big ways or planning some crazy trick for the jump that they would've felt they needed an AAD to do. They definately were depending on their AAD but if you asked them before hand, "would you do this jump if you didn't have an AAD?" They probably all would've said yes. And if they went on to actually do the jump without the AAD, they might have all died instead. I don't think asking the question "would you do this jump if you didn't have an AAD?" is a clear indication of whether someone is depending on the device to save them or not. Maybe a better question is "Do your EPs at any time include waiting on your AAD to fire while you do nothing?" On a side note the first time I read Derek's posts in the incidents forum I also got the impression that one should at least be willing to do a jump without an AAD and without an altimeter and that somehow jumping with these things all the time means you're automatically depending on them. He did later clarify though to say that jumping with these things is good but just not to depend on them. Christina

Like I already said, reserves and harness can and have failed. Not what I am saying at all. Did you read about the skydiver that had been saved by her Cypres once before that had trouble pulling, so she concetrated on keeping stable and waited for her Cypres to fire? That is what I am talking about. Some jumpers do not treat back up devices as back up devices. It is a way of looking at how to make a decision. Do you factor in your seat belt or airbag when you decide how to drive? I hope not. Same thing for AAD's, altimeters, etc. Drive like you don't have them and skydive like you don't have them. I don't know anyone that drives faster because they have an airbag, but I do know skydivers that make riskier jumps because they have a Cypres. Derek No, I don't change how drive because I don't have airbags. But if I could afford a new car I'd sure have them! Not because it changes my actions but because the other day when that car pulled out in front of me I realized how much "messier" I would be, if I hadn't been able to stop or react in time. Airbags have saved lives whether you depend on them or not. So, no I don't change how I skydive because I do or don't have a cypres. But if I can afford one I'll jump with it turned on just in case that "other person" decides to do something stupid, like they do driving. Christina

I agree with what you've said here. But I also see the other side. Any piece of equipment can and will fail, and that includes parachutes and harnesses as well. And if you trust reserves and harnesses 100% than that's not being honest with yourself either. I improve my chances of survival by jumping with a throughly tested reserve and harness. I can go even further though and improve that "margin of safety" or "mitigate the risk" by using an altimeter, an audible, a cypres, a helmet, 3 ring cutaway system, rsl, skyhook, etc. Why not stack the odds in your favor as much as possible? I don't trust my cypress to save me though by any means. But you also can't trust your reserve to save you if you screw up bad enough either. I think the issue is that it comes across as "trust your reserve and harness 100%" and "trust everything else 0%" when in actuality the whole thing is a big muddy scale of gray between the two. You also state, not to do a jump that you wouldn't do without a Cypres. Just because I'd be willing to do that jump without a cypres doesn't mean I should. It just means I'm willing to accept a higher risk. Just like people who perform high performance landings accept a higher risk. It's not about doing the jump with or without a cypres, it's about the level of risk that person is willing to accept. You could have one person that refuses to ever jump without a cypres and one who never jumps with a cypres, that doesn't mean either person is "ready" to make a particular jump. Educating people on their gear and educating them on making the right choices of when to and when not to jump will help more than telling a newbie that they should be willing to do a jump without a cypress or altimeter. Christina

No weigh in for me today but I changed some things up. I was getting really bored on the excerise bike and I was working out after work which is really hard because I'm always tired and make excuses when I get home. So, I got some Taebo videos, 2 basic (30min) and 2 advanced (60 min) to throw into the routine. I also got one of those stretchy band things to do some resistance training. I'm also lucky that I have a flexible schedule at work so I'm still getting up at the same time, but working out in the morning and going in to work a little later. No excuses! I've done the Taebo 4 days in a row now and boy is it's kickin' my butt! My abs and glutes are sore! (But not too sore). Working some different muscles. Hopefully the new routine will help with the motiviation and boredom. Christina

Sooo cool! All of my parents (mom, dad, stepmom, & stepdad) have done tandems. They were also all shortly after I started skydiving. But now they never ask me "why" I do it. I've thought about getting my tandem rating in the future (far far future). I'm worried that I'm too short. Is there any limitations on size for a tandem instructor? Also, can you get a tandem rating just to take friends and family every now and then but not do it all the time or is that dangerous because of currency? Christina

The past 2 weeks have really caught up with me. Got back from my trip last night. I did really good the first two days of the trip with excerising and eating good but then some things went wrong at the vendor and we were working long hours. Things didn't go so good after that. I'm up 4 freakin' pounds It's very hard to stay motivated but I promise myself right now to get back on track, today! Not tomorrow, not next week, TODAY! Christina

I have the 2 "normal" ones and 1 in my left cartlidge. I didn't think it hurt too bad. Kind of like the nose, it made my eyes water but then it was over. It healed super fast. I want to get two more next to it so that the rings go from small, medium, big but haven't had the $$. I totally agree they are addictive, (same with tatoos). Keep coming up with more I want to get. Christina

Did I catch this part right? Did you stuff the main PC, after the reserve opened, into your jumpsuit to keep it from launching the main? But what if the pin had come loose and the main opened, with the PC in your jumpsuit, wouldn't that have resulted in a possible horsehoe with the reserve out and increase chances of entangelent? Whereas with the PC not in your jumpsuit if it had opened you might have a had a better chance at a stable 2 out? It also seems that if the main did come open that having the PC in the jumpsuit would increase the chances of the main coming out of the d-bag, whereas if it opened without the PC in the jumpsuit, with the reserve already out you may have been going slow enough that the main wouldn't have extracted from the d-bag. Just wondering what the consensus is, with a PC in tow do you stuff the PC somewhere to keep it out of the airstream or does that make things worse? Christina