tbrown

"people like you who get off playing god should be reminded that you are not a god, just a person. what is disgusting is the fact that our congress can end the lives of millions of people in the name of "national defense" and yet they want to save one poor woman who can't function on her own. Wow, give me a moment to take off my bedsheets and pie plate halo, but I've had a busy morning playing God (it's fun, you should try it sometime...). First of all, the main point of my posting anything about this at all was that nobody had and that surprised me. I was sure there would be a variety of opinions out there for and against and I wanted to hear them, especially as this case troubles me. I do take the personal opinion that removing a feeding tube is the intentional starvation of a person who can't care for themselves. I think the thing that's the most troubling is the "legality" aspect, as I also happen to believe almost any atrocity can be justified on a legal basis. And I'm no right winger either, anyone who knows me would have to clean out their pants after laughing so hard at that idea. Well gotta put the halo back on, the chicks next door want to play angels with me, this should be fun... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Or like the kind of dream that has me sitting bolt upright in my bed, gasping for air and drenched with sweat at 2am on a weeknight... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

There is no easy answer, but what purpose is served by forcing the "machine" to function when the "essence" has left? What purpose is served is a good enough question. Personally I wouldn't like to live that kind of an existence myself (note to self: get a Living Will - and a regular Last Will & Testament on the ball SOON). But an equally valid question is, who's going to decide ? And just how "dead" is she ? She's not on a respirator, her heart isn't going to stop beating because somebody turns off a switch. I'm trying to remember the girl's name in one of the original "right to die" cases, she'd OD'ed on pills and booze. When her family finally won a court order to take her off a respirator, she surprised everyone by going on living for a few more years, until she finally died in 1985. But nobody was allowed to starve her, or press a pillow over her face, or anything else to actively kill her. Nobody really knows what's going on inside her mind. Maybe death would be a release. But do we go around deciding who should be "released" from life's suffering ? She sounds like you and me - she'll go on living as long as she gets some food in her. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Teri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed again today, for the third time in four years. For a quick synopsis, she's been alledgedly "brain dead" since 1990 and her husband says she'd never want to be kept alive artificially - but she never made a Living Will provision to that effect. Her parents want to keep her alive. The lawyers, judges, and politicians are having a field day playing politics with the woman's life. They keep pulling her feeding tube, then putting it back in, then taking it out again, putting it back in, passing a few laws, going back to court, and on and on... A few years back, an old friend died of cancer when he requested having his feeding tube removed. That was HIS choice, he was pretty clear about it, the cancer was out of control and the end was near. He died within hours of the tube being removed. I have no problems with what he chose to do. But it seems to me that if this woman's parents want so badly to keep her alive and if she left no clear directives to the contrary, that there should be an assumption presuming that her life should go on. The law places a marital relationship ahead of parent/child relationship, but I know if I one of my daughters was married and something like this happened, I'd be holding out to keep her alive. If the loving husband couldn't see his way clear to a divorce, I might make a few discreet inquiries about ending HIS life instead of my daughter's. It's so ironic, because today that convicted sex offender guy confessed to kidnapping and killing that little girl in Florida. And he's going to get more due process than this woman who's never (so far as I know) even been accused of a crime in her life. This IS an execution, and the doctors agree it will take a week or two for her to die. And it's all so nice and legal. It's disgusting. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

That's true, it has been. But so has everything else. Maybe there's only so many things to talk about and this is a topic near & dear (ahem !) to all of us. So what's the harm ? I think the fatality report from Tunisia may have sparked fresh interest in this as well. The best thing you can do is in the realm of PREVENTION. Know your gear and keep it maintained. Even if you use a packer, USPA suggests that you reset your kill line yourself before leaving your rig at the packers' tent (along with setting your own brakes and opening your slider back up). Next thing is pay attention to how your p/c is behaving. If the kill line is shrinking, most p/c's will give you a warning, with slow flakey behavior a couple times before failing altogether. If you think your deployment is too slow and don't know why, show your p/c to a rigger - before you jump it again. Next, don't let routine lull you into giving your p/c a lazy toss. Once that baby collapses on your back, it sort of crawls around like an amoeba on your back - nasty thought. Throw that baby like it was a hand grenade ! And maybe get a pullout p/c. I don't use one myself and they have their own drawbacks as well - but you'll NEVER have a horseshoe with one (although I have had friends "tow" them owing to a lazy extraction, which sometimes resulted in a bunch of nasty things at altitudes too low to contemplate). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Bringing home some Guiness and having some lamb stew with soda bread. The kids will blast The Cranberries on the stereo. Maybe sit back and watch "The Commitments" after dinner, with....more Guinness (there's also a six pack of Harp for sissies who won't try Guiness). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

USPA used to warn people not to attach the JS to the reserve handle, because if you threw or lost the handle the string would catch it and it might snarl deploying reserve lines. In fact, a JS attached to a reserve handle was partially to blame for a fatality in the northeast in 1977 (the other factor being a so-called "disreefing pin" system used on one brand of round reserves, instead of the more prevalent diaper system). USPA suggested that if you were going to use a lanyard, to attach it to the chest strap or MLW. I used to own a 1978 Hanbury rig that something of a JS built into the reserve ripcord. This was when Kevlar ripcords were being used on some rigs instead of steel cable. The ripcord was split like a "Y" and the pins at each end of the Y were bent around at the end they attached to the Kevlar cord. When you pulled the ripcord, the pins would come out of the loops, but could go no further than the grommet where the soft cable housing came out of the upper flap, then they'd stop and by continuing the pull you'd manually peel the whole upper flap up & away. I used my reserve on this rig a couple times and could feel the peeling when I hammered that ripcord out. And here I am, older. fatter, reasonably happy and very much alive. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well, if I knew I'd die jumping, would I know which jump ? Could I stop at 1937 if I knew it was 1938 ? Or would the Twilight Zone nab me in some twist of fate anyway ? I'd hate to board a plane knowing THIS WAS IT. Common sense would say to ride the plane down. We have all accepted to some degree or other that we could die each & every time we do this. I say a quick prayer for everyone on the plane while we're taxiing and then I sit back and enjoy the ride. There's lots more to life than just skydiving too. And we should all pry ourselves away from the dropzone regularly to enjoy those other things. But bottom line is we're all gonna die anyway, so just be sensible and try not to worry about it. Hell, I'm turning fifty this year, I'm probably more than halfway there anyway, but still healthy enough to jump (and a few other things without pharmaceutical assistance), so I just count the blessings and keep going. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I dreamed I was out at Perris during the Nationals and one of the teams dirt diving in the practice area was The Grateful Dead. Jerry Garcia was obviously NOT dead and everybody was saying things like, "They're not only a great band, but they're turning some shit hot points this year". Skydiving and The Dead, two of my favorite things.... I think Garcia had a tiny little Vector rig too. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well Dave, all of the modern "Social Democrat" parties in Europe are Marxist in origin. There's been other thinkers and influences since Marx, who after all lived in the 19th century. Which is a lot like the teory of evolution tracing its roots to Darwin, who originated the theory in the 19th century, even though it's undergone some major changes since then. Most of the historic socialist parties fit into the democratic process and have been voted in and out of office over the years like any other party. Britain's ruling Labor Party right now is Marxist in its origins, though Tony Blair has been quite moderate in his economic policies. France, Spain, Italy, and Germany all have socialist parties that are alive and well. And of course never forget Sweden. Lenin was the guy who introduced violent revolution into the process and Marxist-Leninism is a historically distinct branch of the socialist movement. He may have been ahead of the curve in realizing that Commie economics didn't work as early as the 1920's and his NEP was a lot like some of the economic liberalizations going on in places like China or Vietnam today. But the troubling thing about Lenin was thhat he was willing to shoot his way into power and held onto power by shooting anyone who got in the way. And a "shootist" state breeds characters like...Stalin. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Change of plans! Had planned on going up to Taft for Safety Day and checking out their new PAC-750XL (only the 2nd one in the U.S. It's there and I'd invite you ALL to head north thru the Grapevine & check it out). But I'll be doing Safety Day at the Big E, also doing Excel Camp with Melanie Curtis & Co. See you all there. And Rosa, my friend Mike and I would just LOVE to make an afternoon load with you (he hasta work in the morning, but since you and I both broke bones & stuff last year, we need to do a dive together...). I'll be there. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

One thing I've noticed is that anytime somebody goes in, it's not unusual for somebody else to quit. Losing someone you know is completely different from reading about somebody else's accident in the Incident reports, especially if you happened to be there or see it happen. I'd urge you to get back in the air this weekend. Saturday is Safety Day anyhhow, so go out to the DZ and help make it happen. I'd think maybe they should even dedicate Safety Day to Michelle's memory, and Adria Allen's as well. Then get back in the air. You'll probably feel some jitters on the ride up, but the moment you step away from the plane and feel the big sky around you, you'll feel like you're home again. You're just learning (the hard way) to show it a new respect. Blue skies & jump safe. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Mike, about 20 or so years ago Dave Schulz had a bunch of "one thing leads to another" happen to him, with the net effect of his having a bagloc at 500 ft. He peeled and punched both handles simultaneously and had about a 5 second reserve ride under his old Pioneer 22 ft round. This was definitely a high speed malfunction and there was no RSL, or Cypres. Square reserves are supposed to open faster than the old rounds. So his experience may help to answer the question, but I assure you he most certainly didn't think anyone else should try it, he was very lucky to come out of it alive. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'm 49. Think I'll stay that way for another eight months or so, then it's the big scary one. Think I'll stay home from work and try & find some friends who also want to play hooky and go skideevin' for the day. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Speaking of wishing for a 10 in. Bic, this guy goes to see his doctor because he's insecure about the size of his unit. The doc says, You're in luck, I was just reading in my medical journal about how the Swiss are using segments of elephant trunk for transplants. You can select as much or as little trunk as you like, it heals up quickly, and there's almost no problem with tissue rejection. We could probably set you up for a transplant next week." So the guy gets all excited and goes for the transplant. After a couple weeks, the bandages come off, the stitches come out and he's ecstatic to see he's got a real whopper. He's so thrilled he invites his secretary out on a date. Everything's going great too, they're really hitting it off, when all of a sudden, the guy feels his dick unzipping his fly. All of a sudden the unit reaches up over the table, grabs his baked potato and vanishes back under the table. The poor guy's eyes bug out and he gets all red in the face, breaking into a sweat. His date takes his hand in hers and says, "It's alright, please don't be embarrassed. Actually, I'm rather impressed. Can you do that again ?" And the poor guy grits his teeth and tells her, "If that thing shoves another hot potato up my ass it'll kill me". And if that offends you, have another hot potato yourself ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I still can't believe this is even a serious question. I mean really, isn't jumping out of an airplane "stupid" ? Ask your friends at work, they'll tell you. It's all beautiful though, and so is swooping. I don't swoop, and won't, but that's just me. But I love to watch it, because it's beautiful. And it is attracting public attention, which we need, ever since skyboarding fizzled out with the X Games. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It would come down to more of the overall canopy design, such as trim angle and cross porting, right? I remember in the old days, USPA used to recommend going into the brakes for turbulence. Nowadays canopy makers like PD recommend full flight. Don't really know whether it's overall canopy design, or the materials used, or a little of both, but would suspect it may be design. Brian Germain recommends a "quick stabbing" motion on the toggles when encountering turbulence, though I think he also goes with full flight in general. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Got a 1984 Nissan Sentra we bought brand new, fresh off the boat with 4.3 miles on it. It's past 226,000 by now and on its second engine. My wife was pregnant with our first kid when we bought it. The kid rode home from the hospital in it, her first ride in a car. Sixteen years later I taught her how to drive it. It's a 5 speed stick too, so she's one of a very few kids her age who can drive a stick. For the most part this old Sentra is now semi-retired, local driving only, but the old girl's still pulling her share of the load. Been completely paid for now for almost sixteen years, so we've sure got our money's worth. It's like one of the kids. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Most of our fellow dot.commies are probably too young to remember who Elizabeth Ray was. Ms. Ray was a stunning blonde thirty-something Congressional staffer who was most definitely not hired for her typing ability. In fact, the Congressman who hired her even said "we can teach you to type". Ms. Ray WAS really great at some really cool stuff and guess who one of her main squeezes was ? Senator Ted Stevens - "Mr. Decency" himself. Of course Big Ted was thirty years younger and still able to get one up without pharmaceutical assistance in those days, so that may be one of the issues behind his belated putsch to make us all more decent Americans. If Congress ever took half of this family values bullshit even halfway seriously in their own lives, the escort services of our nation's capital would go out of business overnight. I've been faithful to my wife for 24 years and if I want to watch Sex and the City on cable, Ted Stevens can just shove it up his ass. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's the happy place, that's the way I heard two people talking about it the other night at Taft. It really is. No bills, no taxes, no job or boss, no President Bush. Just you and your friends in this huge weightless sixty second happy place. And that's not all, as soon as you open you get another adventure all over again, flying your own private wing, and that's another happy place. And when you get down, the dropzone is usually a happy place too, full of happy people like yourself. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Taking Timothy McVeigh, a real terrorist as an example, we can see that the system worked in dealing with him. McVeigh was charged with a crime, he was permitted to have a lawyer - and a very good lawyer, who worked very hard for him, and a trial by jury. The trial was even moved somewhere else, so that local feelings about the bombing wouldn't be such an issue. He was tried on the evidence, which his lawyer was allowed to challenge all the way. And he was convicted by a jury. Even when he was sentenced to death, he still got an appeal. And then finally he got the needle. So if it worked for Timothy McVeigh, why shouldn't it work for anybody else ? If this guy Padilla was plotting to blow off a dirty bomb, then after two and a half years, where's the fucking evidence ? If he's guilty, lock him up or give him the needle. But after two and a half years, i'm starting to wonder if the government even has a case against this guy. And I wouldn't be surprised if they don't. Our Constitution is alive and kicking. And if somebody tries to tread on it, it can kick back. Whatever else he might be, Jose Padilla is an American citizen and if the government wants to accuse him of a crime, then they can just fucking well prove it to a jury. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Many a day I sat out from jumping due to the possibility of having to use my reserve.. and landing BACKWARDS under a round.. with wind of more than 10 mph... makes doing a PLF really hard.. its usually 3 points of contact ( Feet-Butt-Head) instead of the preferred 5 points of contact for a good PLF. I had to cutaway on a day like that. Landed my 26 ft lopo conical in a flooded field, only got blown over backwards. Must've been a rock under the water, I dunno. But whatever it was, it shattered my helmet right off my head and I was off to the races, doing a bellyflop waterski thing straight for a flooded irrigation ditch. Managed to pull the canopy down in time, but wow what a nasty end that almost was! Since I started jumping again two years ago I haven't had to use my reserve (yet). When I do, I'll be glad it's a square. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Find out this weekend at Taft ! Mike Mullins will be flying loads to 23 grand, with oxygen. Didn't make one last year, but think this weekend I'll give it a go. Sounds like something we need to try at least once. Besides, there will be plenty of cheap ($17) skydives from "only" 14 grand and a great feed on Saturday night. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Get your butts to Taft, Seventeen bucks a skydive On Mullins' King Air Mike is leaving soon, Tomorrow is the big bash, Skydiving and food! High jumps on both days, 23 grand with oxy, Two minute freefall Almost forgetting, There will also be a keg, (Can't boogie without...) Great people, nice plane, What skydiving's all about, See you all in Taft ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

This is precisely the problem with most capital cases, the crimes involved are so horrific (victims are children, the elderly, pregnant women, on duty cops, etc.) that our judgement gets clouded. If the case is a hard one to solve, then sometimes ANYBODY will do. Like some stoned pot smoking drifter that nobody likes anyway. There are too many people on death row who don't belong there for the simple reason that they didn't commit the crime. "Innocent until proven guilty" is only on paper, anyone who's ever been arrested knows they're guilty unless proven innocent by either a really smart expensive lawyer or a sheer act of God. Yeah, I'd like to ice this guy too, but the way I feel about it isn't my best rational judgement. Lock him up and throw away the key, he probably will be ass fucked to death inside of six months anyway. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !