Lots of Monkeys

I think that filling out the legal paperwork for skydiving is far more terrifying than jumping out of the plane.

I initialed about 7 pages of legalese which can be summarized, “If you die while skydiving, your family cannot sue us.” One of those pages was printed in 40 point font, and read, “Skydiving is a dangerous activity and you accept the risks involved.” I mean, the font was big. It did nothing to help my nerves.

Once I was up in the plane, it was a different story. You’re in a plane. You’re 2.5 miles above the ground. This is the safest plane ride you will ever take. Why? Because if anything goes wrong, you’ve got a parachute.

I figured, “Why get antsy?”

I knew I was going to step out of the door of the airplane. I knew that I was going to fall. I didn’t have much choice in the matter because of

a) Gravity

and

b) The guy strapped to my back was probably going to jump out no matter what I thought.

I had a great time over at Skydive Orange. The people were great, very friendly, not condescending at all. The hangar is a little “rough” looking, but the overall experience is great. Except for filling out the paperwork. That part was unbearable anticipation. Shane, my tandem partner, was great, and even let me pull the ripcord, which was very cool.

One caveat, I would recommend going in the summer. It’s -12ºC at 13,500 feet.

And yes, I’d do it again.

The University of Wisconsin has developed cheese cutting laser technology. It was apparently pretty tricky, because lasers get very hot and kept frying the cheese.

I had a walk in closet. Had. When I first moved into my apartment, I could set foot inside the closet. Now, I just have a wall of boxes.

Banker’s boxes, to be exact. Some are labeled, most aren’t. I have a vague idea of what’s in each one only because I put the box there in the first place.

I can’t recall packing any one of them, though. I think that any time I “cleaned” my apartment, I merely shoved everything into a box, slapped a vague sort of label on it, (“C6?”) and then put it into the closet. While convenient, I don’t think that it accomplished anything other than postpone real, honest to goodness cleaning for another day.

After a quick estimation, it looks like I have about 3 or so, uh, months of solid cleaning and sorting to do.

I really, really want to play with one of these. The idea of a tapeless camcorder is just appealing. I know they have DVD recorders now that use DVD-R media. Still the idea of using media the size of a postage stamp is very, very cool.

On the other hand, why stop there and just get the new model from Japan?

I was a fan of the Sims when it came out a few years ago. Recent screenshots from the sequel have gotten me looking forward to it. Yes, I know it’s virtual paper dolls, but what other game allows you to do this? In preparation for the game’s release, I’ve even started playing the first one over again.

If you haven’t played it before, pick it up at any retailer, it’s about $20 and strangely addicting. It’s also very surrealist once you realize you’re telling virtual people to make dinner, use the restroom, sleep, take a shower, and go to work.