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And then there was August 9, 1995 when Jerry Garcia left us. I couldn't even go see any of the other Dead guys in their little bands for two whole years. We used to see that old gray geezer every year and just took it as an article of faith that we'd be seeing him again...and again. He's been gone now for almost ten years. Glad to say life has gone on and as long as airplanes fly there will be skydiving, but I sure do miss Jerry. He was America's favorite wierdo, and more rooted in jazz and American folk and bluegrass than most people realize or give him credit for. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Making a bandit night jump and the only people below are cops and a squad car. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I came back to the sport after a very long time away (22 years) and had to learn how to pro pack. Besides that, I hadn't packed a rig in all that time either. But if you're learning at Perris, I know they start you off by hanging the canopy from a hook. That's a good way to start, it gives you the time to look at everything and see where it's all going. The thing I did was to repeat the stepa over and over until I felt comfortable with them, then I did a complete pack job. And then I pulled the whole thing apart and did it all over again. By then I was not only feeling confident, but bored and antsy as well. So I jumped it, and guess what ? It opened. In the old days, like thirty years ago, you'd learn to pack a round canopy for your first freefall, which was usually around your sixth jump. Talk about stressfull, you were not only going to pull all by yourself for the first time, but on your first packjob as well. That one opened too by the way... Packing's not all that hard, it's just a pain in the rear. It's completely understandable that you'll be nervous about jumping your first pack job, but believe me, the thing will open. I don't know anyone yet who's had to chop their first pack job. It's just going to take you a few times and after you get two or three good openings, you won't even think about it anymore. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Artemesia Gentileschi. She was the woman painter of the Italian Rennaiscance to sign and sell her work under her own name as a woman. Her father was an established painter and she learned from him in his studio. She did a very dramatic Biblical theme painting of Judith, from the Old Testament, cutting off the head of Holofernes, a Babylonian general. She got him drunk, seduced him and then whacked his head off (don't get any ideas...). Anyway there's a cool movie about her called "Artemisia" that you should be able to find on DVD. But probably not overnight. But for sure you could find her name on the web. If you're looking for somebody more modern, or even American, try Mary Cassatt, the Impressionist painter. Or as somebody else mentioned, Frida Kahlo. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Sad news, but somehow not surprising. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'm a 49 year old white male with a wife and two teenage kids. And if I pulled a stunt like that, stealing a car at 4am, leading the cops on a chase, and then backing into the cops' car, you know what people would say ? They'd say, "WHAT was he thinking ?!? What the hell was he doing in a stolen car in the first place ?" I'm sorry the kid's dead and very sorry for his family, but somebody else besides just the cops need to be accountable for their actions. And yes, the cops need to be accountable too. If we let them carry weapons and give them the authority to use them, they have to be accountable for how they use them, they don't get a free ride either. Chief Bratton's never struck me as a softie though, so I'd give him the benefit of a doubt. He's wanted to change the policy for over a year and has his reasons. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Oh yeah, especially some of the crap I've written. Though lately I'm trying not to post when I've been drinking... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

You left out churches and cemetaries - both very cool places, especially if there's lots of stained glass windows or a really cool bunch of tombstones or monuments. And please don't forget balconies... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

This can be done; I've heard of people getting the container open that way. The problem is time, the reason you learn to only try three times (hard pull) or to count to three is so you can stay aware of altitude during a high speed malfunction. Trying to "fix" a pilot chute in tow is a bad way to spend the rest of your life. I knew somebody who died trying to mess with one. A high speed malfunction is no time for amateur rigging ! Whether or not you pull your cutaway handle is up to you, but get your reserve out and do it quick. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Have raging hormones made your son a smoldering inferno ? Well if they have, then send the lad to Mary Kay Letourneau ! Mary Kay she understands teenage male libidos, He'll earn extra credit every time she peels his Speedos... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It was precisely because the swatstika is such an ancient and mystical symbol that the Nazis used it. Hitler and his gang were hung up on myths, astrology and all that stuff and they knew the power it can have on people's imaginations. I mean if you can put the Nazis atrocities aside for a moment, it really is a COOL looking symbol. Aside from Hindus, American Indians also used the swatstika. There are some pre 1930's National Geographics with pictures of Indians who have swatstika patterns in the beadwork on their native clothing. It's such a shame that the Nazis had to ruin the reputation of such an ancient symbol. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It never ceases to amaze me how people can put somebody down for doing one of the nicest things a person can do. I suppose they don't become a whore until they dump you for somebody else. That or there are half a dozen guys lined up behind you waiting for their turn.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Could you possibly wear some spiny black batwings on a harness ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

And then there are 4000 jump wonders who screw up the dive because they can't be bothered to go to the dirt dive. The organizer sez it's okay, "he's got 4000 dives and I'll tell him what we're doing on the ride up". Then when the six way goes off the tailgate, guess who goes right over the top and funnels the exit ? Yeah, Mr. Wonderful. The fact that the other five people would've held that exit together means nothing to him, he's got 4000 dives. Makes me wish I packed a pistol in my legstrap. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

You don't have to dress up in all your gear. Just wear "normal" clothes you jump in, sling the rig on your back, your jumpsuit over one arm and hold your helmet & stuff in one hand and step on the bathroom scale. I'd always guessed at +30 lbs and that's exactly how it turned out. Of course if you jump a smaller rig and canopies, it could be 5 or 10 lbs less. It helps me watch my weight, as my reserve isn't legal above 254 lbs and I like to stay at least 10 lbs below that. Dropzones like to ask this question too, it helps them to not overload the planes. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Make up for a lot of lost time last year when I was injured. Make at least 100 dives (I'm on a budget & have a family). Learn a lot more about canopy flight. Do some fun 4 way stuff. Jump on a 10 way team at the Nationals. Walk away from every landing and have lots of fun! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

That's sort of an overly broad condemnation of a lot of people because of one nut job's disturbed piece on kitty kats. We're not all assholes, nor do we all try to push it on everyone we meet. Whoever wrote this thing obviously needs something to keep himself busy. As for "fucking Christians", well I enjoy doing that too. Oh, and I warned our cat that we're on to her little scheme now, so she just better mind her P's and Q's. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Ever since that asshole called Chelsea Clinton "the White House dog" when she was twelve years old, I've wished somebody would just kill him. I don't give a flying fuck about his opinions or his ratings, but anybody who would throw that kind of a cruel remark at a twelve year old girl is not a man. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Oh hell yes, the poor guy's career is probably finished by now. As a general in the public spotlight he probably shouldn't have said it. I'm not a vet, but a friend of mine at a job once about fourteen years ago, who is a Vietnam vet told me how exciting a firefight can be. He said it's scary too, but it's a hell of an adrenaline rush. I think we can relate to that as skydivers. He was nineteen years old when he served over there. I suppose if you have to get into a kill or be killed firefight with some people who are just as scared as you that it can only help your chances of surviving, winning, and carrying out your mission if you can generate a little enthusiasm over a situation you can't change anyway. The general was just telling us something that every combat vet knows. He probably should've kept his mouth shut in front of the press though, the average couch potato back home doesn't want to trouble him or herself to have to think about stuff like this. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I found mine 25 years ago. We've been married almost 24 of those years and have two wonderful kids, one is already an adult. I couldn't have done any better. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Can't exactly say as I have, but my wife, who is probably my sixth of seventh sex partner, has been the only one for almost 25 years now. Neither of us is quite the nubile/buff young things we were in 1980, but we're still knockin' boots and likin' it. Sometimes I get a silly idea like married people should get a "good conduct pass" to go a little wild every seven years, or something like that, but that's really a fantasy. There are plenty of women I'm attracted to, but that just means I'm not dead yet (which is good). If you can find the right person, and (real important) they love good sex, definitely keep them ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Zero P, for more jumps and better landings. Downsizing would not be appropriate. Not sure if I would Pro, trash, or psycho pack it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Welcome to Club Forty ! The company we keep just keeps getting better all the time. I'll be fifty in November, suppose it's time I got off my duff and joined POPS too. (I still remember being eighteen at the dropzone and seeing these old guys with POPS patches on their jumpsuits. Never even occurred to me I might be one of them someday.) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I would assume that under any equitable application of these laws, that MEN might face a similar choice ? And I don't mean servicing female clients either, that's pretty rare, songs & movies aside. But I'd bet anything that the whole controversy would grind to a halt if a few Aryan males were confronted with the possibility of having to take it up their ass or down their throat. THAT would be a whole different story, I'm sure. And I'm sure there's a "healthy" market demand for handsome unemployed men in the Fatherland. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

First of all, a murder is an "unlawful killing". Bush hasn't killed anyone in an unlawful manner, so that would be the factual answer. Aside from that, the unquestioning moral certainty the guy has shown on every life and death issue from invading Iraq (and Iran ?) to the death penalty in Texas is unnerving. Hate to say it, but when you sign off on over 100 death warrants as a governor, you are for sure send some innocent poeple (plural, as in more than one of them) to their deaths, but the guy said he "knew they were all guilty". It just ain't so... The guy is scary as hell, but a murderer ? Nope. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !