tbrown

First of all, alcohol and nicotine are both drugs, though legal. Alcohol can be a seriously dangerous drug, especially if you're jumping or driving home, and it can even kill you if you drink too much of it. Smokes kill more people than all the other drugs and booze combined, but it usually takes thirty or so years. I think a DZ has every right to ban drug use altogether and kick people off who are found using, even after hours. I have no problem with people who want to smoke pot, but they should "get a room". Reason is that the drug laws are so stupid that the Feds can come in, shut down the DZ and sell off the assets under the RAVE Act. It's a bad law that stinks, but until we get the Nazis out of Congress (and the White House) we'll just have to live with it. Back in the seventies there was far too much open drug use at DZ's and I've personally witnessed a number of fatalities in which the victim was stoned beyond any doubt. Those bad old days are the reason why places like Perris have drug testing for their staff. As a libertarian, I hate drug testing in general, but I can see an operation like a commercial DZ as a reasonable exception. If jumping out of an airplane can't get you off you've got problems that drugs won't help. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

All my cutaways (so far) were many years ago, but they were from square mains with 3 ring release on a piggyback system, soooo they're not very different. I agree that a slow malfunction can lull you into a loss of altitude awareness, as I once dicked around with a problem all the way down to 1200 ft before chopping. All I learned from that was that I could get away with it and my reserve (a round at the time) would open really quick. It was dumb. But the streamer malfunction I chopped was tougher. They're really disorienting, I was whirling around under the suspension lines which never really felt like they were doing anything. I knew I was in really serious trouble and was pumping gobs of adrenaline, but I had to focus on just looking at my chest for my handles because everything else was just spinning around. I found them and pulled them one-two and was sitting in just above 1500 ft, but it was a lot scarier and took more effort to keep my reactions under control. The mere thought of a horseshoe is sickening. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's just about sharing and having fun. That's very true. But wait, there's more. While you're sharing and having fun, you can be learning more from the experienced jumpers. The sharing creates an atmosphere where everyone relaxes and talks and there's a lot of teaching going on in there. Everything from how to get better performance out of your canopy to something that may save your life someday in a pinch. It shouldn't have to be about beer if you're not a drinker. But if you are a drinker, then it most definitely should be about beer. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

You should always get fucked with the new gear in bed with you. If it's a canopy, you fuck on the canopy. The rest of the rig, you figure it out. It's very good luck though. Didn't you already know that ? You've got a thousand more jumps than me... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It was a blue plane and the call numbers were 873. There are pictures of the plane, both before and after the crash in Andy Keech's "Skies Call 2". The plane crashed during the 8 way competition, hauling teams and a number of people were seriously injured. I think one or two of them never jumped again, but nobody was killed. The pilot managed to slide the plane sideways across a cornfiels and break off the landing gear, while the port side prop cut a gash into the fuselage. Several months later, Dennis Murphy sued everyone from USPA to McDonnell-Douglas and was banned for life, at least at the time. So last year at Perris, after returning to the sport from my own 22 year hiatus, I was a little surprised to see Dennis wearing a US Team style jumpsuit. Bit my lip hard and refrained from saying a thing or two about the old days and just moved away from him. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I cannot speak for any of the DZ's I jump at, so did not answer the question as it was phrased. But anyone who sues a dropzone, especially for their own mistake should be blackballed, blacklisted, shunned, silenced, treated as if they weren't even there at any dropzone. Might be a shame if some fuckin' kids slashed their tires too... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The Orange County Register wrote a really decent full page article in their Sports Section this week about the Nats. The emphasis was on canopy swooping, as the most crowd pleasing event ("attracting the same kind of people who go to demolition derbies, for the same reasons"....truer than we might like to admit). It had a pretty accurate description of the three swooping events, a great picture of somebody swooping the pond, a map to the DZ, and a list of all the many Orange County resident skydivers who would be cometing. I can tell you at work the article was a HUGE hit, with people lining up to ask me questions all about it. And so far, there's nearly a dozen people heading out next weekend to check it out. So Bravo to the OC Register! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Brian, I'm in the same boat too and will be making my first jump back after an injury this Sunday. My wife's always been very supportive. We met at Perris in 1980 when she made her first and only jump. I hung it up for 22 years, though she never asked me to and during all those years she always told me she'd married a skydiver and that some day I'd jump again. Even during the years I didn't believe it myself. So I finally started back last year and she's been wonderful about it because she says I haven't been this happy in years. So what do I do this spring, but go and 180 my foot on a no winder. She came out to Elsinore to get me and everyone was AMAZED at how good she was about it. The only thing she's put her foot down is that I upsize my canopy, which I've done from a 190 to a 210. A small price to pay for a guy who weighs 250 out the door anyway. But she's nervous about Sunday. Truth is, so am I, but it's only natural. fear of getting hurt again is completely natural and we just have to get by it and then everything will look a lot better. Be patient with her, and much as you'd love to see her do it, don't bug her to try it if she doesn't want to. I'd love my wife to try a tandem just once, to see what freefall's like, but she "has no interest whatever", so that's fine. If your wife's been hangin' out at the DZ, she's a jewel, but don't expect that either if she gets busy with things. My wife's got too many things going on in her life to waste a day at the DZ, especially now that she's making glass art. Best of luck to us both and just go show your wife how much you love her. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Earlier this year I incorrectly stowed my right brake and it popped loose on opening, giving me a heck of a spin. I was able to pull both toggles down, which immediately stopped the spinning, but was shocked to find I'd lost something like 500-600 ft in that brief time. It's nothing to fool with, even if you can fix it, so do it quick or let it go. Since then, I've added one small step to my packing procedure. After I stow each break, grab the steering line, above the riser, and give it a good tug. I'm looking at the toggle when I do this and visually establishing that I can see that the toggle is set and is stopping against the guide ring. It's a very quick, easy, and worthwhile check for your peace of mind. By the way, if you're getting new risers, make sure they have the new hardened cable housings for your 3 ring cables. Then if you spin it up badly some day, those hard housings will make your cutaway pull a lot easier. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

A total with nothing out, I'd go straight to the reserve handle. If anything at all was out, my pilot chute or whatever, I'd cutaway first, then pull. For cutting away from a bad canopy overhead, I try to get both hands on my handles. I once chopped a streamer and then besides going unstable I couldn't visually find the handle. I forced myself to calm down and reached for where it had to be and felt my thumb go through the handle & punched. So I'd rather have both in hand and then cutaway. My present rig has a RSL, so it's likely to beat me to the punch and I'll be pulling a ripcord that's already been pulled. But I'm pulling it. And my Cypres ? Oh yeah, forgot about that thing. I turn it on in the morning and off at the end of the day, the rest of the day I forget it's there. You forget it's there too (after you turn it on, of course). Without a RSL, you can get in deadly trouble down low if you try to get stable. Even with a Cypres, you may be falling too slow for it to realize you're in trouble, you'd have to re-accelerate to 78mph before it fires. That's how the guy at the 2003 WFFC went in, he cutaway a spinner below a grand and tried to get stable. He was below 200 ft before he was falling fast enough to scare his Cypres. It fired, but too late. If you don't pull, it won't happen. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Would also depend on who gets to keep the DVD... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Just the one I'm married to for the last 23 years. One of the best quotes on this subject I ever read was from a rather surprising source (or maybe not). Marilyn Chambers, the porn star wrote this little jewel,. "Fantasizing about sex outside of your marriage is lots of fun. But actually having sex outside your marriage isn't as much fun as you might think, and the damage it can do to your marriage may be irreparable". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Aw Jeanne, I was so hoping to jump with you this time. I'm all healed up and I will be there. Jumping too. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Leave your poor ma out of this, she's just doin' her job. Meanwhile you grab a shovel and start burying all those dead kittens. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

There was also film on the TV networks of the execution. I remember seeing it on NBC I'm pretty sure. I was 12 and in the 7th grade. I don't remember thinking it was "outrageous" or anything else pro ar anti war. It just sort of blew me away seeing a real person get shot like that. It woke me up to the idea that any war is a nasty business. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I just hope she excercises her 10 day rights to cancel the transaction. Maybe then she'll think twice about giving out her CC numbers. Asshole is only the first of a very long alphabetical list of the things you are. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

My openings have always been lovely!! Well, for about 20 jumps I was tucking my nose in, but that seemed to caused end cell closure, so I stopped doing it & the end cell closure went away. Why would anyone want to stuff the nose on a Spectre ? They already set the standard for snivel just the way they are...you working on a crossword puzzle or something while you open ? You also mentioned your brakelines are pulling the tail down and that you're gonna get that fixed. You should be able to see slack in your brakelines even when you're pulling your front risers down. Best of luck! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I prefer to think of myself as a "gut glider". I hate the word "bellyflying", it's like something the young punks use to snicker at us, like it was somethin' to be ashamed of. Haven't done any freeflying yet, but I think it looks pretty cool. I even call it "hip hop skydiving". But relative work and RW are words we made up for ourselves and by God we should hang onto them. Fuck this "formation skydiving" crap, it's RW. We invented it, that's what it's called and if you don't like it, go fly on your butt.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I met my wife at Perris in 1980 when she took the FJC. Yup, I swooped on a first jump student, but 24 years and 2 kids later I guess I can be excused for that. She only made the one jump. About a month later she was going to make a second jump and was all geared up when she took me aside and said she was too nervous and really didn't think she wanted to do it again. I told her that was no problem, she didn't EVER have to jump to make me happy and that the nice people at manifest would understand perfectly and give her money back. So we went over to manifest together and they were extra nice about scratching her off the load and making a refund. That summer she went along with us on our expedition to El Capitan (this was August 1980 and we had permits) and watched us go off at the top, then she helped hike back down with all the camping gear. Our kids are now 15 and 19 going on 20. The older one thinks she'd like to make a tandem just to see what all the fuss is about. The younger one isn't interested, but wants to do the wind tunnel as a sort of amusement park ride. My wife has "no interest whatever" in making a tandem. It's all okay with me. They're wonderful to understand how much I NEED to jump. They get off on telling people their old man skydives. And I've made it very clear to them they don't ever have to jump to make me happy. Nobody should jump unless it's something they really want to try. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

An asshole is an asshole is an asshole. they all come in all sizes & shapes. There's probably a picture somewhere of a little kid crying because they tore up her Kerry-Edwards poster too. Not to mention all the kids who've been killed because they're Russians, or Chechens, or Arabs or Jews, or black Africans in Darfur. I doubt very much thhat anyone can prove there was a directive from Kerry Campaign Headquarters to tear up Bush-Cheney posters being carried by small children. This is just a sad reflection on the general level of public incivility and not on either Kerry OR Bush, for that matter. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If the existence of God could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, then what good is faith ? There may or may not be things that point to God's existence, but the decision to believe in God is a matter of free choice, faith, and belief. Believing in God isn't as simple as believing in the law of gravity. We believe in the law of gravity because we wear parachutes and because some of us have seen what happens when things go wrong, so we have no reasonable doubts about that. God is not someone or something we can even understand. The Bible, or any other scripture are attempts to explain the unexplainable nature of God in terms we can understand in our limited existence. I think the evidence of all things great and small, and the orderly way they fit together points to a God. But I can't prove it. So I choose to believe. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

*** The tip is part of the delivery person's pay. It's factored into what the employer pays him, etc. In It's also factored into the way the IRS looks at peoples' tax returns, if they work in certain occupations like food service or hair styling. The IRS places such a heavy assumption of tipping that they will go after people in these trades if they think they're holding out on reporting income from tipping. No matter whether or not these people actually earned the tips the IRS claims, because the IRS doesn't give a shit, they just shake these people down anyway. Because the IRS doesn't have the balls to go after the bigtime tax cheats, they just put the screws to the people who can't fight back. Surveys have shown time and again that hourly wage earners tend to be the best tippers and that higher salaried types are usually the cheapskates. And religious types are the worst of all, they just leave useless religioos tracts. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Two things truly out of our control are gravity and time. Planet earth has more mass than us, so earth will win every time. We're going DOWN, the only question is whether or not we can control it. The other is time and in our sport there is very damn little of it. Even on a "ha-ha that sure was fun" perfectly safe skydive, we're coming within 15 - 20 seconds of impact with the planetary mass (see above). This is one of the discussions I get into with my scuba diving friends. Like us, they play in a weightless environment and depend on their gear to go on living. They can also get into their own kinds of trouble, but I think they have more time to think it through. With us, we have to act pretty fast and hope it's the right thing. No matter how good we think we are. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I don't actually partake in the substance but it sure does smell good walking around pretty much any park in the city. I don't smoke it no more, but I love getting a whiff of it in public, it's like, "tee-hee, somebody's being naughty!". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I, personnaly, find Mirages ugly as hell. But I would not use asthetics when recommending a gear to someone else. I personally also think the Mirage is ugly as hell. They're boxy looking compared to any other rig. I've no doubt that they're a safe rig of high quality construction, but they look about as fat as some rigs from back in the old days. I have yet to see a Mirage that even tries to taper from the main to reserve container. I recently bought a very clean used Javelin that I'm extremely happy with. I'd been looking at the new market and for quality and price on a new rig had pretty well narrowed it down to either a Wings or Infinity. Ain't it great that we have so many wonderful and safe rigs ? That the only things we worry about are the extras, the price, and delivery times ? I think so. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !