tbrown

Oh lordy, that picture of a chest mounted pop-top reserve did it for me. I used to own one of those things, loved it. It slimmed down the chest mounted reserve, made it comfy and made me more aerodynamic. Those were the days when we didn't trust piggybacks, because the reserves were still closed woth hard metal cones that could hang up (and thus that wonderful/deadly innovation known as the "last hope rope, or "Jesus chord", a lanyard for jerking your reserve flap open if you pulled and were still in freefall). I really loved my PC too, but I love the new gear a lot better. If you young hipsters want to try some old gear, be my guest. Maybe I can borrow yours while you're up there making fools of yourselves.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I once knew a skydiver in New England who had a Star of David with a parachute tattooed on his arm with the words "Jumping Jew". We all thought it was pretty cool. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's definitely art and rather interesting. Would look more like sex if there were lots of little kitten skeletons though... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Chardonnay's aren't sweet. But some nice sweet white wines that you'd want to have cold would be a Gewurtstrauminer or a Riesling. Both are sweet, but not too sweet to have with dinner. Muscato (also white) is really sweet and probably more of a dessert wine. Of the red wines, you can get some Merlots that have a nice sweetness. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Got out to Perris around 10 am only to find that operations were shut down due to high Santa Ana winds. The fires were still distant and the sky was clear, though a growing fire could be seen on the southern horizon. Shortly after 12 noon, the winds died down and an Otter load got up and jumped, the landings looked good and the people said it was nice. But by then the regional Air Traffic Control was being evacuated from their building and without them the DZ mgmt decided to bag it for the day. Fortunately the Bomb Shelter was open. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

What I like about your grandma is that she's still got the light of an active mind in her eyes. My mom's not as old and she's already starting to fade away. Your grandma looks sharp as a tack. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's not as godawful as Drop Zone ! That film sucks on so many levels I get sick just thinking about it. Besides, look at the bright side, at least Rodman went in... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Welcome back, it's better than ever. I know how you feel, I was out for 22 years. It's a real gift to be back in the air, glad you could make it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Sex with a vampiress. I'd even let her draw some blood, as long as she didn't kill me or turn me into one. And if drinking blood sustains them, I wonder what else might work... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I pack my own main. What's more, since I don't own a rig and have to rent demo gear, I assemble my rig myself. I tell people it "builds character" but it does. If you don't pack your own rig, you're not in touch with your gear. You don't KNOW what it's up to. Yeah, it's a pain in the ass, but so's a good part of life. I don't doubt that a packer can do a decent job and that it will open. But I'm from the days when our sport was more populated by working stiffs, who'd be ashamed to let somebody else pack their rig. It's just more of the snotty "serve us" economy. I did once pay a packer to help me bag a brand new canopy, because it was slicker than snail snot and I could not bag the fuckin' thing. And if you're on a serious team jumping 10 times a day, I can see where video debrief is more important and a team packer can be part of the training budget. But regular Joe & Jane jumpers should get off their pampered asses and pack their own fuckin' rigs for Gawd's sake ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[The Blue Angels are cool, almost as good as the Thunder Birds! No way ! Seen 'em both. The Thunderbirds fly this way, and that way, and this way again, and that way again..... Ho hum.... The Blue Angels rule. They know to wring the last drop of performance out of their planes and make an audience say "WOW !". I've seen six Angels fly into Frisco UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge, trailing colored smoke. Nobody does it like the Angels. And as Carly Simon once said, nobody does it better. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Her name was Pia. We were both 18 and freshmen in college. It was the wee hours after midnight, 12-1-73, in my dorm room. We were totally trashed. But it was good. We went out for a while after that, but it didn't last. I sort of wish we'd waited even a week or two and just got a little more in the groove. The sex would've happened and been even better I think. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

We chunk lots of stuff on pickups, both from Otters and the Skyvan. Sometimes it funnels, but mostly not. It's like everything else, a little practice is all it takes. It's fun and it is a skill. And you've got your first formation instead of having to waste half>all of the dive getting everyone there. I'll go in the base chunk anytime, I don't care, when I step away from the plane I'm in freefall. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

We usually breakoff 4 ways and smaller at 4 grand, larger stuff at 4500. I usually let it go anywhere below 3 grand, after I've checked to be sure I'm clear. In the seventies we used to breakoff routinely at 3500, and I'm talking about 8 and 10 way stuff. Back then a lot of people pulled down closer to 2 grand. Never liked the size of the ground at 2 grand, still don't. Back then people razzed me for pulling "high" at 28'ish, now some people think I'm a low pulling fiend for the same altitude. I really DO think that AFF grads need to accept that sitting in under an open canopy at or above 2 grand is just fine, and that being open above 3 grand can create a hazardous situation, especially at a larger DZ. But the higher breakoff and pull altitudes are a good thing. I never used to feel as relaxed in the old days as I do now when I'm tracking away. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's the curse of the goat. That guy and his goat are both long dead, but the curse remains... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Even after the recent tragic incident, I have decided that routing the excess brake line through the slink loop is still the way I will go. My tabs just can't rotate out, and it is very secure. So far I've only been renting demo gear, which has a velcro wrap for storing the excess brake line. While I don't really like velcro on the risers, or the wear and tear it inflicts, it doesn't seem there's a safer alternative. If going to non-velcro toggles is "safer", and I'm willing to agree with that, it seems like a failure of poor planning or design to not provide a safe non-velcro method to store the excess lines. To admit that they've already caused a fatality (that and the jumper's failure to cutaway from the situation), but you'll continue to stow your line that way doesn't sound encouraging. So what is available ? Is there nothing like an elastic stow band ? Or should we just daisy chain the extra line ? In any event, I'd consider putting a tacking stitch through the Slink tab, no matter what I did with my brake lines. I mean all this Slink and non-velcro stuff is new technology and it's great, but like everything else has its downside that needs some serious thinking through when it becomes apparent. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Once on a wintertime jump in upstate NY, there were many micro fine ice crystals suspended in the air. They caught my own shadow (I think) and turned it into a brilliant phantom "rainbow man" who was flying with me in freefall. That and the white snowy landscapes on winter jumps in the north are always beautiful. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Packing's like doing the dishes or taking out the garbage. It sucks, but it's part of life. It isn't all that hard either. I feel much better in the open door, knowing that the main on my back is one that I packed and that it will open. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Maybe you should pay somebody to jump it too, that way you could sit back with a cool beverage and watch the fun. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I've been on a picket line. I won't cross anyone's. All the smart types who make excuses for crossing are marching us into part time, Walmart type jobs in the new garbage economy. The "service ("serve us") economy. I just miss the days when it was worth not getting your head busted to not cross..... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Depends on the season. In hot weather I like Pilsener Urquell and Corona with a lime. In the fall & winter I go for Fuller's London Pride and their Best Bitter, Anchor Steam, and Guiness Stout. Don't like Hefeweizens very much, the "spicy" taste doesn't appeal. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Saw one once that said, "Smile Motherfucker" that made me chuckle. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'm a recovered Catholic myself, but rather than even go there, wanted to address the condom breakage issue. Dr. Alexa Albert did a study on condom usage and breakage a few years back at the Mustang Ranch in Nevada, before the place was closed. What better laboratory than a licensed brothel... Anyway, the study was broken down into a whole series of questions about usage, frequency, incidence of breakage, etc, etc and had some rather surprising results. In most cases, tracking condom use woman by woman, Dr. Albert found that the actual incidence of breakage was less than 1%. There were a few individual women at the Ranch who had unusually high incidences of breakage. The doctor's conclusion was that condoms can be extremely reliable if they are used properly by people who understand their proper usage and limitations. And that slippage and breakage tend to be a great deal more common among people who are careless, ignorant, or intoxicated. The current term is no longer "safe sex", it is "safer sex". Condoms aren't perfect, but they are significantly and vitally effective in preventing a great deal of pregnancies and many STD's, HIV included. Needle exchanges work too, as distasteful as it may be to give away fresh spikes to junkies, every city that's tried it has seen HIV infection rates decline among addict populations. Condoms work. So does common sense and moral fiber. All three work best. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

A PD170 is an older low porosity square. They tend to lose their "starch" after 500 jumps or so and don't flare very well because their porosity isn't so low anymore. You would be much better off buying a zero porosity material canopy, such as a Spectre, Sabre, Sabre2, etc. ZP canopies, even well used ones, can last for up to 2000 jumps if they're cared for and have the lines replaced every several hundred jumps. They fly - and flare - much better. A 190 would be good for you, but ask your instructor about it. If you get a container sized for a 190, most of the brands on the market are sized to allow a safe downsize to the next size, i.e. a 170, without the main container getting too loose or sloppy. Pay attention to the reserve, used is OK, but only with an inspection by your rigger. You're not a heavyweight, but you should consider a canopy with lateral reinforcement. Blowing out a reserve on opening can be SOOOO embarrassing.... Finally, you might consider buying your harness/container system new. There's NOTHING like a rig that fits your body properly. You can always upgrade the canopies later. And get a Cypres, your life's worth the $1250. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I've had a few reserve rides under 26 ft lopos during the seventies. They're not as horrible as modern folklore makes them sound. You will probably land out, but then again I managed to land right in the middle of the DZ once or twice (?? - don't ask...). They don't open as fast as squares, which is something to think of if you're down to where your Cypres ( buy one for God's sake, if not your own) gets twitchy. I was always able to land mine standing up with a good rear riser flare. Other than the fact that a partially opened round seems to be more survivable than a partially opened square, the squares are better all around. Also in a "double out" situation your round reserve tends to act like an anchor, collapsing the main, or at least holding you up. Put it this way, I'm trying to put a new rig together and I'm not even thinking of anything but a square reserve, and I've got over 300 round jumps. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !