tbrown

The military does their job and they do it very well. They don't make our foreign policy and are not to blame for the idiots who do. They serve, sometimes at the cost of life & limb and for that we should all be grateful. At the same time, kids really need to understand that this isn't just a fitness club that pays for college tuition. The job can be nasty and dangerous, but necessary. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Another thing that's totally pissed me off about the Billary campaign is their comparing Obama with Kenneth Starr. This was after Obama said maybe it's time to start questioning some of Hillary's "experience" credentials, as in: has she ever negotited a treaty, led the nation through a crisis, etceteree, etceterah... Which are valid questions, as far as I'm concerned. Her campaign's reply was to compare Obama with Kenneth Starr, a real first rate asshole. I think there's a world of difference between a political oponent challenging her record in an open election and some prick trying to impeach her husband for a blowjob in the Oval Orifice. McCain stands for the same old shit & so does Hillary. Vote for Obama or else stay home (thus re-electing the same old shit). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Time for helmets & earplugs. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Not a bad idea, if it would get any real information out of him. Problem is, waterboarding is a tool for extracting confessions and not information. Waterboarding could make YOU confess to kidnapping the Lindbergh baby or to being the real Jack the Ripper, never mind that you weren't born yet. I think the last al Qaeda dude to get the waterboard confessed to shooting Liberty Valance..... Not that I wouldn't mind plucking the fucker's eyes out with toenail clippers. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

First of all, don't worry about it. Very few people nail their AFF without repeating at least some of the levels. Exiting an airplane is a very new and strange thing your body's doing and your mind hasn't got comfortable with it yet. It will eventually happen, but you have to stick with it. this is only the first of a number of "ugly ducking" phases you'll have to pass through, along with others like your landings, flying to and docking with other jumpers, sitflying, etc, etc. If anyone at all could do this the first time, what would be the point of it anyway ? One question though is whether or not you have a static line alternative. In the old days static line was the only way to learn, with five S/L jumps, including three "dummy" ripcord pulls (a ripcord handle with a bright orange ribbon tied on), before the student was turned loose to make a hop & pop on their sixth (or so) jump. From there, students gradually moved up to higher altitudes for 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 second delays, learning their turns and backloops as they progressed. Students were turned loose after demonstrating full turns and backloops to an instructor on a 30 second delay (this was at a small Cessna dropzone, where 7500 ft was the norm and 10,500 ft was a special treat). I do know a friend who had a lot of trouble with AFF and then progressed marvelously after she switched over to a static line program, she now has a few hundred jumps and is "one of the gang". About the only shortcoming I see to static line is that you don't get immediate exposure to long terminal velocity freefalls. AFF is by far the norm for training students these days, but in a lot of people's opinions it has definite shortcomings compared to the old S/L approach. AFF can make a student "instructor dependent", whereas even an actual static line jump leaves the instructor in the plane and puts you out on your own. Also, the origianl 5000 ft deployment altitude of AFF makes too many new jumpers absolutely paranoid about going any lower in freefall, when you're really perfectly fine down to the legal 3 grand. S/L also teaches you to feel comfy with hop & pops, as that's what you start off with (you have NO idea how many students confess to feeling terrified about their first hop & pop after having made half a dozen or so AFF jumps). Static line may not be the answer for you, or sadly, even available. But it's worth considering and asking around about. And it's usually CHEAPER as well, meaning more jumps for your precious dollars. You may not get as much freefall time to start, but every jump you make is more learning and more practice, and better skills, even if the freefall is only 5 or 10 seconds. Check it out. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Diverdriver flies for SW & so does Cheryl Stearns. Would be great to hear their input on this, though I'd quite understand if they'd rather not rock the boat or jeopardize their jobs. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

And maybe, just maybe, the realization that a vote for McCain, honorable though he may be, is a vote for another 4 years of the same old shit. Got any teenage kids ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Tarnishing? The wonderful Clinton reputation? They've tried the race card, the religion card, the Hillary victim... They are almost out of negativity, so the race card got repeated. She just comes across as weak and a hater. Amen to that. I'm fucking sick of the Clintons and I even voted for Bill both times. She can't open her mouth without sounding shrill. Her attempts at sounding "just human" are as real as a standup cardboard picture and THEY keep reverting to type every time the chips are down. When the people in Texas weren't voting the way they were told to vote, the Clintons started making noise about legal challenges to the way Texas conducts its caucuses. Typical arrogant lawyer think, that you can sue your way out of any situation. I can't vote for McCain. I can't vote for another 8 years, or even another 4 years of the same old shit. But by now, if only by default, I'm rootin' for Obama. That's right folks, today Senator Obama picked up tbrown's endorsement (shucks, I feel so important...). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

You forgot about the Dems all dying of laughter after watching 3 months of the "Hillary & Obama Boffo Punching Bag" show..... Those two had better straighten up & fly right if either one of them has any hope of winning at all. (Hint: Hillary hasn't got a chance, Obama just might pull it off.) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well Bill, have YOU ever been to a Catholic church ? I mean I honestly don't know whether you've had a religious upbringing or not. But as an ex-Catholic and survivor of six years of Catholic education (grades K - 5), I haven't really seen any great differences between the way Catholics hit their flock up for money and any other church or denomination. I mean all you have to do is drive down the 405 in Orange County to pass by that marble whorehouse of the Trinity Broadcast Network. Churches are like anybody else, they need honest amounts of money to operate, but often have ungodly ambitions that go beyond keeping the lights on. The Catholics are no different, other than they've been around longer and had more practice at extracting the moolah (psst - hey buddy, you wanna buy an indulgence ?). That aside, even as a determined ex-Catholic, I find the Church's positions on moral issues to be worth reading and considering, even if I frankly disagree with many of them. When I went to Catholic elementary school, the Civil rights movement was going on in the south and a number of Catholic priests and nuns were attacked and even killed by the Klan. The church was adamant in teaching from the pulpit that "racial prejudice is a SIN". I got a really strong dose of that at school, something I certainly didn't hear in my Italian-Irish working class neighborhood. I'm sure that some of the things we brought home and repeated from school got a "Say WHAT ?!?" reaction from more than a few parents. When Communism fell apart in the early nineties, Pope John Paul warned that the west take care, lest we should repeat the fundamental error of Marxism by regarding human beings in strictly economic terms. I think that's a valid criticism of western culture and a fair warning to us all. I also think bio ethics is a very shady and potentially dangerous area, especially if we get around to designing people. Oh sure, we might create a few gifted children, but they'll be for the ruling class. Genetic engineering for the most part will be to mass produce slaves and soldiers and anyone who doesn't think so is kidding themselves. You don't have to be a Catholic to figure that one out. So for all of their very real faults and silly Monty Pythonesque vestments, the Catholic Church has some real positions that are at least worthy of vigorous debate. And believe me, they've got the rigorous intellect to put their positions forward with. And a little more vigorous and critical intellect is something we could all get jiggy with. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Indeed the facts ARE there. I'm going to be respectful but forceful about this Darius, because I value your steadfast opinions that go against the norm, but which I frankly disagree with. I have often myself thought that Israelis are themselves racist. Former President Jimmy Carter has himself used the word apartheid to describe the current situation. Up in Seattle, I was friends with an Israeli who deserted from the army and came back to the US because he could no longer take part in the nightly raids on civilians in their homes. But WHY, every time some territory is given back to the Palestinians, does Hamas insist on moving right in and laying down a blanket of rocket fire on inhabited civilian areas that have now come within rocket range ? More to the point, WHY was Hamas passing out candies on the street in Gaza to celebrate a suicide bomber who blew himself and several Israeli civilians up in a civil marketplace ? What's to celebrate about that ? And WHY was there dancing and partying in the streets over somebody who walks into a library and starts shooting religious students at their studies ? I could honestly understand some enthusiasm if the attackers had launched a raid against a military outpost, things like that are expected in war and could even be called "fair". What it comes down to is that when people commit acts like suicide bombing or shooting up a library, people have to decide which side they're going to be on. Hamas has created a war of their own chosing, on a playing field of their own choice. And since they will kill anyone, preferably unarmed civilians, they have also set the rules of the game. So if Israel decides to play along and act in kind with a large scale attack against Gaza, where the fuck do Hamas OR the fucking UN get off condemning it ? I'm not Israeli, or even a Jew, but if I were in the Middle East, my American passport would make me a target, no matter that I support Barak Obama, or have been opposed to the war in Iraq and George Bush all the way back to my vote for Al Gore in 2000. It would make no matter, those people would be happy to kill me, my wife, our daughters. So I'm supposed to have an ounce of sympathy for any of them ? The sides have already been chosen for me and I know which side I'm on. So I'm even willing to overlook Israel's MANY AND EGREGIOUS sins, because they have to fight and be assholes. They have no choice and neither does Western civilization in Europe or America. The truth is that Hamas has already stated they're not interested in peace, or co-existence with Israel in any way, shape, or form. They are committed to the destruction of Israel and willing to kill anyone (especially those least likely to shoot back) to pursue that end. That's an ugly and dangerous kind of enemy and there's only one way to fight an enemy like that. Which is what makes war such a terrible thing. Personally I think Gaza has become enough of a vexation that Israel would be justified in annihilating the city with a fire bombing on the scale of Dresden and just be done with it. It would teach Hamas an object lesson as well and perhaps even make remaining Palestinians on the West Bank re-think who they might vote for in the future. Is this a barbaric proposition ? Yes, it is. It's horrible. But the way things are shaping up, it may be the only realistic solution. Leaders who start wars need to consider the consequences they may bring on their own people. Too many of them don't give it a second thought. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Wow, I notice they even quote a price for Perris ! How thoughtful !!! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The thing that really bugs me deeply about the "poor folks" in Gaza is the way they celebrate over these events. The fuckers were out dancing and partying in the streets, into the night, over the killing of these students. Hamas was also standing out in traffic, passing out candies to celebrate a suicide bomber who'd blown up in an israeli marketplace. Then we have to see this boo-hoo propoganda about how miserable they all are in the Gaza dialysis clinic. Fuck these people, they voted for Hamas. Kill 'em all. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

gear was cheaper, lifts were cheaper, hell even beers were cheaper..... Nuh-uh, weren't either.... C'mon James, it's never been cheaper, only in hindsight. When I saw prices like $365 for a Paracommander or $595 for a Para Plane Cloud, all I could think was "My God, I'll NEVER be able to afford this sport !" We were paying $5 to 7500 ft and the rare occasions we could even make ten grand we paid through the nose at $7. Most beers were $1.65'ish a six pack, but if you wanted to go classy and get Molson's it was over $2, but you earned some respect for it. But it's always been a struggle and has never been cheap. Decent altitude has ALWAYS cost a bit more than a GOOD hourly wage. (By the way, Jimmy is one of my oldest friends in this sport and was one of my Jumpmasters way back in '75 at the old Ripcord Skydiving Club, a single Cessna operation in W. Bloomfield, NY.) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I think for what you get, Perris is worth the extra buck. Besides, their overhead has to be higher. Anyway, both Perris and Elsinore have discounted blocks of tickets for $1000. elsinore also offers a $500 package and both DZ's now offer blocks of hop & pop tickets as well (for canopy swoopers, I guess). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I think it's just plain stupid to jump without a hard helmet, I've even been saved by a helmet that shattered right off my head. But I'm not going to make anyone wear one. Besides, if we do that, next thing you know some power hungry state official will start telling me in five different languages that I have to wear a full face helmet because I do RW (I prefer open face, it's whhat I started with waaay back in the old days). And finally, with the possible exception of the Protec, there's not a single skydiving helmet out there that's been tested or approved by any of the various and burdensome safety institutes. Nobody's going to tell me that I can't jump my Bonehead because it's not certified - I already know it isn't anyway. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Fantastic ! Kristy is one of the most real, friendly, and fun people I've ever met, in or out of the sport. I've jumped on a few of her LO dives and been amazed at how easily we did things I'd never done before - and how enjoyable it was. I've also watched her teaching little kids how to fly in the tunnel and the way the kids would crack up while she ran around in circles on the walls, just being silly. This is a well deserved recognition of a somebody I've always been pleased to call a friend. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Alex certainly made a big impression at Perris. We get a lot of teams and tourists who save up their money for dream vacations and serious training camps, but Alex must have broken all the records. I'm sorry I never met him. I think I saw him in Square1 once, it seems appropriate that he was spending more of his dough on another canopy he was ordering. Did anybody know the guy ? I'd hate to think he's only remembered for how rich he was. The guy must have had some kind of heart & soul. Anyway, na zdorovya i sinee neba Alex. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The other interesting thing is Congress, in their writing of the "Buy American" legislation plus other acts, defined various European (and other) countries as fitting into the "Buy American" category including France, Germany, Spain, UK, Turkey, Egypt, Norway etc. So it seems like Congress and Boeing got bit by past ill-conceived congressional legislation. Because of this act, the Airbus is just as American as the Boeing 767. It's been an increasingly common practice in aerospace to buy parts from the countries you're trying to sell planes too. Boeing's been doing it for years, with wings and other whole sub assemblies for their jets being built in Japan, Italy, and other countries. That's how they've always explained their job offloads and their whole new "global" identity. Northrop/Grumman is essentially doing the same thing, only taking it much further with EADS as a partner. N/G is not only buying their parts from the Euros, they're building a Euro airplane with Euro parts, only doing it inside the US. They're not the perfect setup either, EADS has all kinds of problems. the French and Germans are so mistrustful of each other that Airbus has two parallel sets of managers to keep everybody's national pride in joint. It's a system that's designed to fail. N/G should have all kinds of fun working with them on a real airplane. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's an election year, and a contract this size is not going overseas...that's my bet. Not with all of the House, a third of the Senate, and John McCain's bid for the White House on the line, I think you're right. But having worked for Boeing for ten years, I think they've had their long overdue come uppance. First, they blew it the first time they won the tanker deal with enormous, egregious, and criminal ethics violations. Like offering the woman at the Pentagon who was overseeing the bidding a job at Boeing. Which she accepted, and went to prison for (Boeing's always happy to throw some poor bastard to the sharks to protect the truly guilty). Then they hired an engineer from Lockheed, overlooking the fact that he somehow brought over 35,000 stolen documents with him. Folks, that's not a briefcase full, this guy backed a truck up to the loading dock. They were "shocked, shocked and dismayed" to discover he had done this, some years later, after an investigation brought it to light. He got sent off to the slammer as well. The KC-767 is, as the name implies, built on the 767 fuselage, a 1980's era jet, whose orders have been falling off in recent years. Everybody in Seattle knows the 767 line will shut down and that the tanker program has been heavily promoted by congressman Norm Dicks as a way to save the 767 and the jobs that go with it. The Northrop/EADS KC-30 is built on the Airbus A330 fuselage, a nineties design meant to compete with the Boieng 777. It's a BIGGER plane, a whole different class bigger. If you're going to build a bigger gas station, why not use a bigger gas tank ? Why couldn't Boeing get off their fat ass and design a tanker version of the 777, which actually is a WAY better jet than either the A330 or the 767 ? I'll tell you why, because they're cheap and lazy. and because Boeing has a pathetic entitlement culture, all the way down from the boardroom to the union labor force on the floor. Nobody wants to do anything that "isn't their job", they just believe heart & soul that the world owes them a living. And as for being an American company, that may have been true at one time. But Phil Condit made it clear ten years ago that Boeing was "a global company" and we were supposed to stop thinking of ourselves as an "American company". The sonofabitch actually said that, I read it in print in the Boeing News. Except for now of course, when they've lost what was probably a fair competition with those foreigners at Northrop/Grumman and their global Euro partners. Fuck Boeing, they deserve this. I feel sorry for what this will do to Seattle and to people I know personally who will probably get laid off (again) because of this, but Boeing deserves to eat this crow, with all the trimmings. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

i've never really given much thought to how VPs are chosen, but do they seem like a likely pair? (sorry if this was discussed elsewhere) I could see Obama accepting the VP slot on a ticket with Hillary, if she were to offer. Win or lose, it would certainly be a historic ticket. On the other hand, I don't see Hillary accepting the number two slot with anyone. I don't think it's in her nature to do that. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I really couldn't say, not about Ohio either. I am sort of hoping Hillary wins though, BECAUSE even if Obama wins both states, he still doesn't have enough delegates to clinch the nomination. Unlike McCain, who will likely sew it up today on the Republican side. This Democratic nomination is going to be settled at the convention, by the super delegates. And maybe not even on the first ballot. But Hillary's NOT dropping out, you can bet on that. So if they're both going to a brokered convention, I'd like to see them both go with enough delegates to look viable and not piss off the losing camp when the nominee is finally chosen. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The one tax issue I'd like to here ANYBODY comment on is WHY are unemployment benefits taxed ? I've had a couple bouts of unemployment in my life, as I'm sure a lot of people here have. Unemployment benefits are rather decent, not as good as working wages (nor should they be, lest people sit on their elegant posteriors and enjoy themselves too much). But why, oh why, do the Feds tax them ? First of all, the states don't tax them, not even Kalifornia. Secondly, being unemployed and in need of basic necessities, the recipients not only need the money, but are likely to SPEND it, thus injecting their benefits back into the economy, even if it is just for cornflakes & beer (a scrumptious breakfast, by the way). Thirdly, and this is getting admittedly partisan, why should unemployment be taxed when everyone else, the top 5% and the corporations are receiving what amounts to tax WELFARE, if not a fiscal blowjob ? And how come NOBODY ever talks about this, not even the so-called "liberal" media ? I mean WTF ?? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Numero Uno: "The weekend" was invented by organized labor. Before unions, people worked six days a week. You like ? I used to work at Boeing in the Seattle area and was a member of the Machinists' Union, the so called "Fighting Machinists", or as I preferred to think of them, the "Fucking Machinists" (I'd rather fuck than fight anyhow...). The Boeing Machinists were a bunch of corrupt, Neanderthal, neo-Stalinists, who I hated very much. BUT even so, Boeing management were the kind of fucktards who who were constantly even stupider than the union, so I was grateful to have the union, and wouldn't have worked for a fucktard company like Boeing without them. Face it, this is not a perfect world. So as corrupt and fucked up as unions are, they still have their place in the food chain. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It means the guy's got a bald head with pointy hair on the sides and an evil red cat running his HR dept. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !