tbrown

What a bunch of assholes. Sen. Bill "Asshole" Frist and the Republican leadership wouldn't even bring Bruce Springsteen to an "up or down vote" on a resolution to honor his musical career on the 30th anniversary of the release of "Born to Run". What a bunch of complete fucking shitheads ! Note: Resolutions honoring artists and musicians tupically pass the Senate on an almost daily basis, or at leat they used to before the fucking Nazis hijacked the Republican Partei. Reminds me of nothing so much as their soul brothers, the fucking Nazis, denouncing Jazz as degenerate Negro music. Apparently The Boss is not up to their standards of ideological Aryan purity. Sig fuckin' Heil Frist, and suck my dick ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Yeah, but not for very long! Ummmm, actually what I meant was short of being bopped on the head or having a stroke in freefall, I'd have to do some serious thinking back on the ground about what my problem was if I couldn't get something opened all by myself. And whether or not I would or should continue tempting fate after such a serious fuckup. But then again I also believe we're all entitled to exactly ONE serious fuckup a lifetime before judgement is passed (unless gravity is the judge, in which case there are no appeals...). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Anybody packing an AAD should take a regular look out the window or door after takeoff and check your altimeter for 750 ft. You're still buckled up in your seatbelt and your beeper thingy hasn't even beeped in your ear yet. Every time I look at 750 ft. I think, "My God, I don't EVER want to get this low before I get something open". It's so low that you will land wherever you open, IF you open (remember, it's an ACTIVATOR, not an "opener"). It's meant to protect the ground from your body more than the other way around and is only meant to function when it's too late for you to make a decision. I'm glad to have one, but if I can't be under something above at least a grand under my own power, then I have some serious questions to ponder. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

In my younger days I worked at two different jobs with two different guys who saw the camps first hand. They were American GI's whose units found and liberated the camps. They'd fought a horrible war all the way across Europe from France and been through the Battle of the Bulge. They'd thought they'd seen it all until they saw those camps. One of them in particular said he still couldn't get the smell out of his mind, and that was some thirty years later when he was telling me. They remembered things like how many of the prisoners went right on dying, evenunder American care because they were too far gone to live. And they remember what an arrogant and unrepentant bunch of SOBs the SS guards were. They'd tried to hide by wearing striped prisoner clothes, but they were easy to spot because they were obviously healthy and well fed. I don't know if either of these guys are still living now, but they told me what they saw and I believe them. Oh yeah, also used to jump with a guy at Perris long ago whose parents were both Auschwitz survivors. They weren't Jews, but were Russians deported to Auschwitz for slave labor. They even had the numbers tattooed on their wrists. This stuff really happened people, don't ever forget it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The glide ratio of the reserve should easily be better than the flock, so he should have been able to make it back - but when he never did, we (his fellow flockers) launched our own search. The DI continued operations as normal. Then call the police if you have to. If that embarrasses the DZ then so much the better, a warning to the Mgr from the cops might be the only thing that penetrates his thick skull. Recently I had to land about a mile out from a well known DZ (NOT Perris, where Tim Farnham and his minions are on your case and headed your way with a truck before you even land - the guy should teach a course on how he does it). I was fortunate to find a nice flat wide open field with a dirt road that accessed the local paved road and I had a perfect landing. NOBODY ever came looking for me, I was just fortunate to get a ride from a very nice family that was pulling out of the parking lot at a nearby VFW hall and they graciously drove me back to the DZ. This same DZ doesn't do a very good job of chasing cutaway canopies either, a friend of mine recently lost her brand new Stiletto after a cutaway. The real danger of course, is that one of these days somebody's going to be left "lying in a ditch" and the whole sport's going to take a black eye for it. There's simply no excuse for it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Torture doesn't work anyway. people who are interrogated under torture will admit to whatever they think their interrogators want to hear, just to stop the torture. Which is why so many people confessed to absurd charges of witchcraft, flying around on brooms & so forth. But even then the torture doesn't stop, becuase torturers get to where they enjoy torturing people for its own sake. Which is a different problem altogether. Experienced professional interrogators are agreed that information gained by torture is anywhere from suspect to useless. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Some years I've been very spiritually motivated. Others years, not at all. There's nothing wrong with having a warm cozy celebration in the darkest depths of winter (even in So. Cal). Ever watch a little kid checking out their first Christmas tree ? The sense of wonder on their face is priceless. And I don't think it ever goes away. The Puritans in England were SO religious they even outlawed the celebration of Christmas in their day. And by Charles Dickens' time, Christmas was in ill repute because it had become like a Halloween for hooligans - caroling was a form of trick or treating for booze. So I guess over the years, Christmas is what you make of it. It can be the celebration of Christ's birth, or Santa Claus coming to town. I like both. And Merry Christmas to all. P.S. - The Dylan "Ten of Swords" project is almost done. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Just noticed a cool story on the news today, the state of Pennsylvania is considering permitting the use of a Stone Age weapon for hunting. Some states like Alabama already permit their use. The Atlatl is over 8000 years old and considerably predates the bow and arrow. It's a dart throwing device, about two feet long that can fling a 5 - 8 ft. dart at speeds of up to 80 mph. Anyone who's read the "Clan of the Cave Bear" books will recognize this as the device that Ayla and her hunky boyfriend supposedly invented. It works by simply increasing the leverage of the arm, as if the thrower had a longer arm. Anyway, not many hunters actually use the things because the skill required is considerable (like just getting close enough to be within range). But there are a few hardcore fanatics who have brought down some deer, and even a buffalo with the things. I think it's cool. Besides, nobody can ever accidently shoot their friends because they didn't know it was loaded.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Kate Winslet sure looked good in "Titanic", no matter what a crappy movie it was. Also Salma Hayek in "Frida". And back in the day, the youhnger Susan Sarandon was always sensational. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well all right then, this could've happened at the beginning of summer and you'd really have been screwed. But Fab, check this out - you're talking about your PARACHUTE HARNESS. This is the thing that makes it OK for you to jump out of an airplane. Without it, or if it ever failed, you would "die". Too many jumpers make too many serious or even fatal mistakes trying to squeeze one more jump out of gear they KNOW they shouldn't be jumping. Doing the smart thing can take discipline. So do the right thing and live to be an old man. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

PC for Pilot Chute - PC means ParaComander !!! Damn young'ins need to know history Ayup, you tell 'em bro. I hate the way RW has become FS. I mean WE called it RW, so what's wrong with that ? FS has no soul. EFS, or the older EFSD are good though, you can at least tell your mother it means "extra fun skydive". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Now with this info why would someone want a 9 cell Fly one and you'll see. I used to own a Spectre and now I jump a Pilot. I like them both, but I like the longer range and flatter glide of the Pilot better. I don't especially like the steep glide of the Spectre, especially when landing as I find it gave me an uncomfortable feeling of ground rush just before flaring. I don't get that feeling from the Pilot. They're both great canopies and you really can't go wrong with either one. Just depends whether your tastes incline towards apples or oranges, if you know what I mean. Plus, as the Pilot is a relatively new canopy, there aren't as many of them on the used market just yet. There are lots of good Spectres in all sizes for very affordable prices. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

with all due respect, that doesn't solve anything for the hapless jumpers who do turn because they panic. You mentioned making sudden panic turns, as in a situation where somebody cuts you off on final. Bill Von has given some excellent advice on making emergency flat turns. I started practicing them up high and I'm happy to say the technique saved my ass when somebody deliberately cut me off on final. This guy was crowding me so much to one side I yelled at him. Then, turning and looking straight at me, the fucker turned 90 degrees in front of me, maybe 50 ft off the deck. I remember "time slowing down" as I told myself not to panic and not to punch a toggle down deep. I tugged just the slightest bit of right toggle and then immediately matched it with my left toggle. That''s all it took for me to neatly slide behind the guy by maybe 10 - 15 ft, as well as float up a little higher than him. My toggles were still about head high and I had enough spped & energy in the canopy for a decent flared standup landing. It doesn't take much to miss somebody, just a few feet. As long as you don't hit them, you're basically good to go. I realize this doesn't deal with recovering from a low radical turn. But it's really important to teach yourself how not to react with a hard turn when things get sticky down low to the ground. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

GWB is living proof that intelligent design is a fraud. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Back in the 1980's, Haitians waiting in line to vote were massacred with machetes. The pictures were all over TIME Magazine. Even in the US, officials make it difficult for some American citizens to vote in non-white precincts. Your right to vote is one of the most precious rights you've got. Yeah, campaigns are heavily financed and tweaked by lying spin artists. And the whole political process is a massive bummer. But you need to vote. You OWE it to a lot of people who have fought and died for your right to vote. And you'll NEVER be as well informed as you want to be, or "ought to" be either. Nobody ever is. Winston Churchill once said "democracy is the worst possible form of government, until you consider the alternatives". So put on a blindfold and throw darts at your ballot if you must, but use it and vote. Hope to see you again at Perris sometime too. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

One of my favorites, I own a copy and just watched it again a few nights ago. I like the "premium fantasy" hooker who demanded he "lip my stockings!". Also the the samurai TV director shooting the Suntori commercial "Cutto - cutto - cutto !!" It is dreamlike and reaches the right places inside my head. Oh, and one final thing - that COOL tall glass building with the moving pictures, like the dinosaur. WHY don't we have anything so amazingly cool here in the US ?!?! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I sure hope to hell the dead guy at Perris wasn't reading this crap last week. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Don't forget the blowjob sex education he gave America's kids. No fuckin' problem. You got somethin' against blowjobs ?? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. I'm getting fucking tired of these forums. Do what you wanna do, it's a free country. Maybe we'll be reading about you next on "the sports page". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I've seen four people go in, but have yet to watch a video of one and have no desire to either. I don't see any reason to bum students out like that. All you're going to do is drive some of them, or maybe even a lot of the away from the sport. Skydiving is not as safe as driving a car, but we're still trying to get the idea across that it can be a safe sport. And for most students, it will be the happy memory of the one tandem tourist ride they take in their whole life. And God bless 'em, it's still one more jump than most people make. The ones who continue will inevitably lose a friend and eventually get to witness a "drop & bop" with their own eyes. They don't need no stinkin' film, let them enjoy their innocence while they still have it, what's the rush ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Of course he's fucking guilty. Just because the LAPD fucked up and put a perjuring detective on the stand doesn't negate the mountain of forensic evidence they had. They just fucked up, something they do nearly all the time. Just most people don't have decent lawyers because they can't afford them. OJ was found liable for the wrongful death of his wife and her boyfriend (the civil jury found his story altogether "lie-able"). But he's skiopped out on the judgement by moving to Florida, where to this day he's searching the golf courses for the "real killers". I'm still hoping a gang of pissed off feminists butcher him with carving knives, the way he butchered two human beings. The pig deserves nothing less. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Every now and then Bill Clinton will come on the radio or TV and speak and for a brief moment I can still remember when we once had an intelligent person in the White House. And what a pleasure it was to have a President who could actually speak English. And what good economic times we had, and the two homes my family owned during those years. And that he NEVER strutted around on an aircraft carrier in somebody else's flight suit like some kid at a beer bust. And how far things have gone to hell ever since. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Love that Exitus patch Mike ! I still remember seeing them jump at Z-Hills in 1977. Exitus invented the chunk exit and they were consistently disqualified from the speed star event at the Nationals year after year for using it. But they were onto something and they never gave it up. Anyway, we were down for the Easter Boogie from a small upstate NY dropzone and had never even been on a DC-3 before. We'd seen pics of Exitus in Parachutist, but seeing them sitting there on the load really excited us. And when they did their exit and pulled a huge chunk out like a bobsled team, it just blew our minds. I like the Freak Bothers patch too. Does Linda Gies know you've got that ?? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Or, get in touch with Shirley Pelland at Pineapple Express. That's www.pineapplexp.com. Shirley's really good people too. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Call Amazon, she's probably got one started in her yard and would welcome some help. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !