tbrown

Either that or it's time for a couple to talk about it and work at it. That's what it takes to make a relationship, or especially a marriage go. If you just pack up and leave when the going gets tough, or bland, you'll NEVER have along or meaningful relationship. A lot of people just don't get that relationships take work. And the work helps you grow inside as a person too. It's not guaranteed to work out all the time, nothing ever does. But nothing ever lasts without work, and plenty of it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

What, is this a joke or something ? I'd like it if your friggin' dog was doing it and so would anybody else. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Orgy of the Dead. Absolutely sucks, from beginning to end. It's a graveyard ghoulie film, alledgedly, from 1966. Has a lot of topless ghoul chicks doing really lame dances all over the graveyard. Thing is, it's SO bad that not even all the nekkedness can save it. It's SO bad it's truly AWFUL ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Many of you have been great and for that I thank you. I appreciate those who stayed on target and didnt talk about my looks as if I were a store display model... Well we hope you stick around too Lisa. Not just with skydiving, but at dropzone.com. Skydivers who sit in front of computers are kind of a weird mix, but mostly harmless. You're going to do just great by the way, most of the fears and doubts you've expressed are exactly the same things that go through any student's head. But you're already 5 jumps up on the game and you must be lovin' it or you wouldn't keep coming back. You'll do just fine. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

This place was a student S/L "mill" before "tandem mills" existed. Back when all their student rigs were cheapos (round military surplus canopies), which don't give the softest landings, they used to teach S/L first jump course students, "We teach the standup landing method...", which translated to: they only taught the students to keep their feet and knees together at landing, but unlike most other DZ's, they never taught them how to do a PLF, or even mentioned it. Andy, now that we've exchanged PM's we're both sure we ARE talking about the same place. I took my first jump course there, back in '74 and we were taught the real PLF. Never heard any mumbo jumbo about teaching students to do standup landings. In defense of this dropzone, which was probably the biggest operation around our region at the time, there were some progressive features. While they used static lines, which were the ONLY training method at the time, they used the direct bag deployment type, which was better than most of the jury rigged S/L's I saw at other DZ's, which are also now defunct and shall likewise go unnamed. This DZ also used Sentinel MK2000 AOD's on their student reserves, which was definitely progressive for the times. And sure they used surplus T-10's and 24 ft reserves, but that was standard issue for the day - a time when 200 jumps under a Paracommander was a requirement before you even got to touch a square - and considering some of those squares back then, that was a good idea. I wouldn't call them a "mill" any more than any other dropzone that realizes their profit margin is with training students. It's just that the college kids who got "milled" had a rougher "seat of the pants" adventure than any of the tandem kids do today. And a lot more broken legs and ankles too, but that was also to be expected. And a good indication of how much better things are now. The DZO was definitely a "colorful personality" and we'd all seen him physically chase several people (and an ex-wife or two) off the property. But he was always pretty strict about safety and grounded a few people for good reasons, usually for low pulls. He chewed my ass out once for pulling at 2 grand when I had about 40 jumps, and I took it to heart and cleaned up my act. But he definitely knew who he liked and who he didn't like, and if he didn't like you, you were flat out of luck. The place definitely had an attitude problem and I know what you're talking about. Those of us who persevered and learned how to skydive basically did it on our own, inspite of a boneheaded DZ culture that was little or no help. But I saw the fatal accident you described (the first fatality I ever saw), and some of the details you describe as to what may have contributed to it are very saddening, I mean after 29 years there's not much to be done for it. It just makes an old memory infinitely sadder. But that place is gone and from what I can see, things are so much better for students now. Students have got to remember they're not just the consumer (though they are that too), their ass and their life are on the line, so walk away from any operation that flips you an attitude about your safety concerns. They don't deserve your business - or anyone else's. RIP Nick. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Whoever you jump with and whatever you try to do, concentrate at first on simple awareness. If you're jumping with just one or two people, where are they ? Where are you in relation to them ? What's your altitude ? You can work on stuff like learning to fly over to them, dock, then be pushed away and chase them for another dock, but you need to develop the habit of checking your altimeter regularly as you do the other fun stuff. You need to learn to track really well. A lot of experienced jumpers will be perfectly willing to stay put on breakoff and watch you track away and pull. They can tell you some helpful things about your track back on the ground, whether it's good and what you can do to make it better. Because when you jump with any size group of people, you need to know how to do a good hot track away from them at breakoff. And getting back to awareness, how to look around while you track and see whether anybody's nearby, or above or below you. And that the ground below isn't getting too darn big on you. And how to take one good last look around and give a strong wave off that people can see before you throw your pilot chute. Relax, have fun, keep it simple. Don't try too many new things on the same jump, one or two at most will do. And they all come back to simple awareness of where you are, where they are, and where the ground is. Have fun kid ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Andy your story about the bad dropzone from long ago has such an eerie ring to it that I've PM'ed you about it, as I'd rather not make an assumption and start throwing names around. All I'd like to add to this discussion is that after returning to the sport from a 22 year layoff, I'm very happy - so far - to see a MUCH more positive attitude in our sport. A lot of the old macho bullshit has fallen by the wayside and it seems to me that dropzone staff, instructors, and experienced jumpers are much more receptive to safety concerns voiced by newbies. Of course nothing's perfect and we have our share of insufferable head cases who think they're God's gift to freefall, but in general things are a lot better. I hope... On the other hand, newbies don't always have the perspective to see "both sides" of a safety issue. So many have been raised up on AFF that they're scared of jumping or pulling below 4 grand. They don't even grasp the simple fact that it takes ten seconds to fall the first thousand feet, so leaving the plane at 2500 ft gives them the same amount of time (more or less) as a terminal pull at 4 grand. Sometimes newbies need to be told what's good for them, but it needs to be done in a positive and reassuring way. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Imagine falling on a ski slope with skis unreleased. Picture the position you want to be in - feet facing down the hill sliding on the sides of your boots and your thigh. That's the position you want to slide in. Thanks Bill and Lisa. I once got up and walked away from a collapsed 5 cell canopy long ago after making a really sincere PLF. And my only serious injury was from being stupid when I shoulda PLF'ed. But the problem I've had on modern canopies is the way the traditional PLF tends to throw you over forward, it's nasty. On so many "hot" landings rate of descent isn't really a problem, it's the excessive forward speed. So when I've been able to see a good flat surface, I have been sliding in on my butt and quite comfortably. But that doesn't negate the risk of tailbone or spinal injury either, so your side slide and comparing it to a downhill skier's slide is very helpful. Sort of like "stealing 3rd base", no ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Perris has great instructors for anything and everything. Learning more control in the tunnel can be helpful, especially since your problem sounds more like a control problem than altitude per se. But we all experience low altitude now and then, it sneaks up on you FAST ! Two summers ago I was on a fun 4 way that broke off around 4 grand. I usually throw it out at 3 grand and we were getting good seperation with our tracks. But I got distracted by something (don't even remember what) and suddenly the ground was a lot bigger than I wanted to see. I'd estimate I was closing on 2 grand when I threw my pilot. Which was still book legal, as I have a D license, but I was fully open around 1600 ft and a long way out. I just made it back to dropzone property. And as the rig was a rental with a Cypres, I came a lot closer than I'd like to a Cypres fire and two out situation that can happen anywhere below 1500 ft. Aside from the safety issues, the gear shop would've (rightly) charged me up the wazoo for that one ! Get in the habit of looking at your alti every so often without thinking about it. If you're sticking with the sport, buy yourself an audible - but don't depend on it, batteries die at the funniest times. Your best defense is to learn eyeball perception of what the ground should look like. (Hint: it starts getting TOO BIG below 3 grand). But we all have to learn from our mistakes, so just stick with it and fly safe. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Anyway, just in case, if I wore earplugs I would take them off just prior to jumping out of the plane. I disagree. Maybe the solid rubber kind might be a problem, but the standard expanding foamy kind of earplugs allow air to pass through the foam and are no trouble at all. I wear earplugs. My Mindwarp helmet also helps to block out the wind noise of freefall and canopy flight as well. The repeated engine noise and the noise of freefall will damage your hearing over time and you won't even notice it happening. It may just be age, or that I rocked out a lot in my youth, or worked around aircraft and rivet guns for many years, but I do have some documented hearing loss in the upper range and want to protect every bit of hearing I've got left. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

First, good job handling a scary mess ! Well done ! Second, maybe NOW your local club will do something about that rig. The next time it happens might not turn out so well. Your cool head and prompt action was the greater part of it, but there's always a bit of luck involved with horseshoes. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Jump Shack uses Teflon because John Sherman thinks it's better for the rigs he builds. Bill Booth uses the yellow L stuff (sorry, I can't recall the name). This is what's called the free market economy. You don't have some authority (i.e. the government) telling you what to buy or making your choices for you. Not yet anyway... I've never heard of any serious safety problems with a well maintained Racer or Vector. You buy what you want to buy. If you like John Sherman's explanation better, then buy his rig. It's the American way. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

They all mean 180 from the formation!!!!! Don't get fancy and put your self in a bad situation. !80 for the center means that you may not turn at all. Just point you butt at the center of the formation and track like a mofo. I think the confusion comes from the early days of RW when people were doing almost entirely round stars. In a round everyone is facing in towards the center and everyone does a 180 to get out. As other, non-round formations came along about the mid seventies, most of us figured out that 180 actually means 180 from center and that you might do anywhere from 0 - 180 degrees. Put nicely, a camera flying above the formation should see a fleet of assholes and shoe soles receding in every direction out from center at an impressive velocity. I mean come on, this is skydiving. We should be able to do this AND chew gum, I would hope... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If you know what I meannnnn....... And thanks, I already gots a cap. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'll be there and so will my buddy Mike Gerwig. A lot of the Perris Air Trash members are also dot.commies, so I've sent a notice to the AT website as well. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

For me, this sounds like a moderately dangerous sport and I will continue jumping past 20 jumps only if I will decide for myself that fun I am receiving is worth the risk. That's very well stated. I don't think most us drew the line for a decision after "x many" jumps, as you're doing, but the decision process is the same. And it's an ongoing decision. Just because you decide this year that's it's safe enough and just too beautiful, doesn't mean the equation won't change next year if you get hurt, or you witness a fatal accident. In my personal observation, every time somebody's been killed, there was always somebody else who decided they'd had enough and put their rig up for sale. I hung it up for 22 years, partly because I got married, but also because there was a rash of fatalities and near misses back in 1980 that made me feel like the Reaper was stalking me. Now I'm back, all these years later with a completely different attitude. For one thing, I have confidence from training and my moderate experience. If I thought it was TOO dangerous, I wouldn't do it. It's a very personal decision that we all make - and re-make - all the time. These days,, it's just too beautiful and gives me too much inner peace to not jump. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Haven't had any serious issues with the ears, but you really need to take your time. Get things healed up and maybe even go back to the doctor. Don't try to "be a man" about it, you can get anything from blinding pain to permanent damage, or even need open skull surgery if you mess up badly enough. Don't risk it, please. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

This isn't a 'beer' first, is it? If you have to ask, I'd say it is. So you jumped without an AAD and lived to tell the tale. That's good, you don't feel you have to "dpend" on one, whatever that means. Just don't forget the only jump you make without an AAD that really counts is the LAST one. Nobody ever gets on the plane knowing that this will be the one time they need it. Which is why most of us use them. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Those people hate us. Number 1 reason we should've never gone over there in the first place. They're a bunch of dumb fucks who aren't happy unless they're killing somebody. They'd shoot a baby in a stroller if they had nothing better to do, so why give them the opportunity to kill an American baby by even being there. We'll never change ANYTHING about they way they live or "think". Yeah they hate us, remember those Palestinian dumbfucks who were dancing in the streets firing their AK's in the air on 9/11 ? We should've dropped the big one on that town the next day. Fuck 'em all. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Simply impossible, can't be done. For starters, the military can't function without women in every kind of role anymore. Second, women in the service won't stand for it. Just because some sissy ass Republican politicians think women shouldn't fight... Third, removing women from "combat" roles would mean bringing back the draft, which nobody wants to even talk about. It might finally get rid of Bush though... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

This girl's going to go a long way in life. As far as the Catholic Church goes, they've got enough trouble keeping their sanctifued hands off the altar boys, so they can just shut the fuck up. (Yeah, I was raised Catholic, can you tell ?) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

A vaccine is really extra-necessary because unlike most STDs, condoms are not effective protection. HPV is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, i.e. the grinding of groins and pubic areas together during sex is all it takes to pass it on. So unless they make latex undie condoms..... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Life begins in the back seat of the daddy's car. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I think that's pretty cool Dave. By the way, Wal-Mart is also going to open walk-in psychotherapy. It's called Wal-Nut. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

What the Republicans are pushing for is single party government with no opposition tolerated. I'm not a Democrat either, just an American who's concerned about the government being taken over by extreme right wing textbook fascists. The Republicans aren't worried about no filibusters turning against them someday, because they confidently envision gassing their enemies and making lampshades of them. They're evil bastards and the Constitution means NOTHING to them, other than an obstacle to their ambitions for absolute power. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !