tbrown

The king is a constitutional monarch, who wields no actual power over his country. He is in fact the king, whose restoration helped pave the transition from the fascist Franco dictatorship to Spain's democracy. You would know that if you bothered to read a little history, but as you are all knowing, I won't trouble you with the facts. Chavez's remarks were aimed at a former Prime Minister of Spain, who was democratically elected by the Spanish people, and who Chavez apparently finds not to his personal likeing because this former PM is a conservative. The king reminded Chavez that this ex-PM had been democratically elected and asked him to shut the fuck up. Chavez apparently thinks he can go anywhere and insult his hosts in their own country. I think the king should have detailed a few of his security thugs to drag Chavez out into an alley and beat the living shit out of him,and then deported his rude ass. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Thanks for the reminder, I need to get one. Been getting them for the last 12 years and haven't been sick once during winter ever since. Every year somebody at work is out for a week, then comes back with a horror story about how they were blowing it out both ends with a throbbing headache and they just wanted to die and get it over with (which is also possible). I suggest they might consider getting a flu shot next year, and they say something like, "Oh I NEVER get a flu shot". And all I can say is, "WELL APPARENTLY NOT !!". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

So true. Rigs nowadays are basically standardized, with the exceptions of pull out deploy and the occasional older rigs with ROL p/c pouches like the one you jumped. Back thirty years ago, when all the experimenting with hand deploy and single point cutaway systems was going on, every make and model of gear was different and it was worth a person's life to jump with borrowed gear. A Frenchman named Roche Charmet, who had over 16,000 jumps went in jumping on borrowed gear with a pilot chute located in a different place than he was used to. In 1980 I witnessed somebody go in on borrowed gear. And indeed the year before, a friend of mine almost went in jumping MY rig because he didn't quite "get" the way my pilot chute worked. Watching him open the reserve at 100 ft and then land in a filthy muddy marsh made a lasting impression on me (I stopped lending out my rig after that). More recently, this same BOC vs borrowed gear with an ROL killed that Jan Davis on a BASE jump in Yosemite and just two years ago it caused a Cypres fire at Perris - on Safety Day, no less. At 35 jumps, you have way too much going on to be messing around with gear that's not configured like the gear you normally use. If this kills even experienced jumpers, you have especially no business messing around with it, though I admit there's nothing I can do to make you stop. But stick with the gear you've been trained on and live to be an old man, you'll even enjoy this sport a lot more. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

***Are you serious? That sounds like a comment from someone that has'nt worked with students. You can tell them to look up at the plane till you're blue in the face, but the fact is that just as many 1st FF students look down as up, probably more, and when they freak out and try to get stable before pulling, I'd like them to have a little cushion. The same thing applies to AFF students doing their first low jump. I can't speak for everyone, but I don't know any instructors anywhere that would put students out at 2500 ft. Be careful what you say here, some may take you seriously. 1.) Am I serious ? No. this is dropzone.com, not a real skydiving school. Do I have to pass some kind of sincerety test to express an OPINION ? I hope so, not. 2.) I'm not an instructor and have not worked with students. So sue me. Although in fact on the ride up we often encounter nervous, or even scared first time hop & poppers (we're Relative Workers, so we sit to the back near the door). I try to reassure them that they'll be just fine and better than that, they'll actually enjoy their jump. I do not laugh at them, nor do I tell them they're going to die. I'm actually a rather nice person. As for higher jump and pull altitudes, I'm generally in favor, though I have an often stated opinion that the one thing wrong with AFF is that it inadvertently teaches newbies an irrational fear of being in freefall below 5 grand. And I will hold to that opinion, thank you. Just because I started with H&P's at 3200 ft doesn't mean anyone else has to, but USPA is as guilty as anyone else for blurring the distinction. A hop & pop is just that. You hop and you pop. I will be gracious and allow that 5 seconds can still be considered a hop & pop, as well as conceding that cross braced canopies (which were nonexistent 30 years ago) may well need a good 10 seconds worth of speed on them to open properly (I wouldn't know, I've never jumped one). But a hop & pop by definition means a freefall of SHORT duration, in order to clear the aircraft, it is not as some people think, any kind of a freefall undertaken at or below 5 grand. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Parachutist has a lot of potential, it always has. Some years it's better than others. One thing for sure is that it's not the main source of info that it used to be. With all the websites and videos available online, Parachutist has to find where its niche is and make itself stand out. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Maybe this 4000 ft or higher bullshit has blurred the distinction. Put 'em out at 2500 ft and tell them to look up at the plane as they leave instead of down. they'll clear and pull, don't you worry. In 1974 I made my first freefall as a clear & pull from 3200 ft. The drill was "arch, look, reach, pull", for a ripcord pull, with the handle mounted on my right main lift web, approx where the cutaway handle is now mounted. After two good C&P's, we'd move up to a 5 second delay, counting, "Arch thousand, two thousand, three thousand, look, reach, pull." Given that a lot of students will now reach for a BOC without looking, there's still no reason why they can't do an honest clear and pull from ANY altitude. It's still the way I make a hop & pop even now, after all if I'm making one I'm going for the canopy flight and not some short freefall that does nothing but rob me of canopy time. Looks like USPA has blurred the distinction by trying to make all the people happy all the time. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Another example of the democratic majority having absolutely no balls...they even had help from republicans to make the discussion a reality. A debate on impeachment would have been entirely appropriate, and called for. Bravo to Kucinich for introducing the measure. Damn straight ! Between this and Di Feinstein voting to support this Mucousy guy for Attny Gen'l, I wonder why the fuck I even bother voting for Democrats. At least the Republicans are arrogant enough to behave like Nazis, but the Dems are a gutless disgrace. Right now I'm not registered as a member of either party, but I'm considering registering as a Republican in order to vote for some of the more moderate and intelligent moderates in the party, i.e. Giuliani and his kind. It's why I've voted for Arnold the Governator twice now, in hopes that moderate leaders will bring this party of white supremacy to its senses before they start goose stepping in public. I really don't give a fuck anymore who the Dems run for President, they've already lost the election. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Interesting to see Aerodyne's Vision canopy advertised once again at their website and in this month's Parachutist. It sort of disappeared a few years back when the Mamba was introduced. At the time, the guy at the Aerodyne tent at a boogie told me the Vision hadn't been discontinued, and was still a very popular canopy in Europe. I had some friends who were jumping the Vision and were very pleased with the way it flew. So I'm just curious about the eclipsing and recent return of the Vision to the American market. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I've been jumping with a PD193 (WL 1.25) in my rig for over 3 years and had never seen my canopy outside of a rigger's loft at repack time. Until last summer, when a slammer opening blew my main canopy to pieces. With my 9 cell suddenly reduced to a 7 cell with no steering lines and blue sky visible through several holes and tears, I bid my main farewell and went to my handles. Although I did pull silver, my RSL beat me to the punch. This was a subterminal opening, so no surprise that it was soft. But it was very quick and on heading (thanks also to my rigger). But only then did I discover what a joy this canopy is to fly, and not just because it was an open reserve that was saving my life. It wasn't sporty or zippy, but it was just the seetest ride. It handled so nicely and responded wonderfully to the toggles. I was able to put down on the the grassy strip at Perris, which is rather small compared to dropzones in the grassier parts of the country. And the landing was a very comfy standup. And I'd even forgotten to make a practice flare on the way down. I love this reserve ! P.S. Some 3 1/2 years later I've now experienced a terminal opening on my PD, after a pilot chute in tow malfunction. The opening couldn't have been better - it was quick, clean, on heading, and surprisingly soft. After all the horror stories I've heard about terminal reserve openings, I thumb my nose and say "Not with a PD !". It's everything a reserve could be - right when you need it the most. Eventually I'll replace it with an Optimum, but for now I'm in no hurry.

Never jumped one, but I remember seeing the Visions 8 Way and 10 Way team jump them at Perris in 1980. Visions (who later became the Coors team) went on to win National and World championships in the 8 Way, though not just yet in 1980. But they were training hard and jumping all day long and I can only remember occasional cutaways from their Double Keel Dactyls, nothing unusual or frequent. They only jumped them for one year, then in 1981 they switched to squares from Pioneer (Merlins and Viking Superlite II's) in SST Racers. But in 1980 they jumped Double Keel Dac's in Hanbury rigs, with Hanbury's Preserve round reserve. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

So then...he is by inference likening himself to Winston Churchill. This poor excuse for a president is and has always been over his head and is completely unfit to run this war, let alone this country. Two points on the positive side of the coin anymore though. One is nobody believes a word he says anymore. I mean NOBODY. If he said the sky was blue, even the fucking Republicans would think it was yellow. Second happy thought is there are only 445 days left until the asshole retires. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Paul Tibbetts, pilot of the Enola Gay B-29, who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, has died at age 92. His health had been in a steady decline for the last two months. RIP Colonel, and thanks for shortening the War by several years. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Aside from not wanting to get the front of the house egged, it's only once a year. The spirit of giving out candy is to give out candy. Yeah, I'd rather give it to kids in costumes, especially the little shavers who need some agging on by their parents to step up to the door. But my light is on, I'm giving away candy and I'll give it away to anyone who knocks. Because it's Halloween. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I think you're the one that misunderstands. Free speech is that - it doesn't mean all speech that doesn't make anyone feel bad. The baseball example fails muster - heckling an ump isn't political speech. Whereas the Westboro fucks are engaging in that. Not really. Nobody from the Westboro Church was arrested or jailed for their despicable protest. The government didn't try to move them along, or harass them for trespassing, or assembling without a permit. So as far as that goes, their right to free speech was protected, and as much as I hate to admit it, rightly so. But that doesn't mean that the Snyder family or the congregation of their Catholic church had to put up with any of it. This lawsuit was not a criminal proceeding, it was a civil case for the harm inflicted. And it only had to be decided by a majority of the jurors, on a preponderance of the evidence. So the Westboro Church and it's members might be bankrupted by the judgement, but not a one of them is sitting behind bars. Their freedom of speech is protected, but they're NOT immune to the consequences of their reprehensible act. Nor should they be. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Plus $6 million punitive damages, plus another $2 million for inflicting emotional distress. Good job, I'd like to see those fuckers try to even buy a tank of gas now. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

First off, the right to free speech is grossly misunderstood. It means that the GOVERNMENT may not arrest, imprison, torture or execute you for what you say. It doesn't say you're allowed to harass a grieving family at their son's funeral. Then there's the freedom to practice their religion. Well, if they want to hold church services where they get up and say that God hates fags, I suppose that would be their constitutionally protected business. But they seem to prefer saying those sorts of things outside other people's churches, where the congregations don't share the same set of beliefs. Does this mean I can stand outside a synagogue and denounce the Jewish congregation as "Christ killers" ? I don't think so, and I would certainly hope not. It's essentially the same kind of harassment, and in some states would even be considered a hate crime. I hope the family wins big and bleeds those assholes dry. Lawsuits were very effective against the Klan and the neo-Nazis and might just be the most effective way of finally shutting these shitbags down. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Unfortunately, Garnerin was also the first skydiver to go in, which he did some time later after making several jumps with his WOODEN parachute. That's right folks, there was a time they actually built the things outta wood.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Actually, Dumbledore is dead, Rowling is saying he WAS gay. I'm disappointed. This was a stunt for the benefit of a trendy audience who couldn't wait to get on their feet with a standing ovation, and what for ? I really don't care if Dumbledore WAS ever gay, anymore than I care about my real fleah & blood friends who are. But there was never a word about it in any of the books, and it was never made an issue in any of the stories. The series is now complete, so why this post script, unless it's to generate some "buzz" and a few more sales. These are supposed to be children's books. I don't object to portraying a gay teacher as a positive role model to children, but Rowling never did that in any of the books. Just in front of a trendy PC audience in NYC, Very disappointing.... And NO, I'm not a homophobe either, so don't even start. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Nothing like a nice hammer blow to the heart on a Sunday afternoon. What a sad shame. When I came back to the sport four years ago, I learned how to pro pack at Perris from Raoul Gravell, who was one of Tonto's students back home in SA. This is the part of the sport I hate, the part I didn't miss for a moment all the years I was away, and the part that is the hardest to come back to. The part we have to make up our minds to live with if we want to keep on doing this. Farewell Tonto, and thanks for the comments and PMs you sent my way too. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

So we've got one last Saturday of DST for skydiving until next spring. Better get busy... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Sounds remarkably similar, in many ways, to citizens who might be spotted carrying a parachute through an airport. A good friend of ours up near Stockton is a lady realtor who often shows houses by herself in out ot the way locations. She also has a permit to carry and it makes perfect sense to us, though it apparently scared off a new jogging partner who freaked out about it when she asked about the bulge in her sweats one morning. (One would think any woman jogging that early in the morning might welcome running with an armed partner). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Something catchy about going to work in the morning... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

How far is too far? Not pulling far enough could pose a problem. Like "dying", which a very experience jumper in Arizona did two years ago. Or surviving a harrowing main/reserve entanglement with serious injuries, like a first jump student did this summer in Illinois. Pull 'em out, pull 'em out, pull 'em out-out-out ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Have you had a look at your pilot chute lately ? If you're using a kill line, you need to know that the constant friction of all the openings is causing your kill line to shrink, just like your suspension and brake lines. You may quite simply not be getting enough puff into your pilot chute to extract the bag off your back to line stretch. Even when people completely forget to set their kill line, they will often still get a very slow, thousand or so foot opening. When a p/c starts to go, I've been told it will exhibit warning signs like flaky slow openings a couple times before it quits on you altogether. Ask a rigger to have a look at your p/c. Look for damage to the stitching at the tapes at the base of the mesh, where it meets the bridle. A good p/c should still have some kill line between the apex and the base, even in the collapsed condition. My own rigger showed me all this stuff last year when he told me I needed to replace my kill line or there would soon be trouble at opening time. You might just need a new kill line and if that's the case, you'll be delighted at how much nicer your openings will be. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I wouldn't call JP macho either, it's his choice and I respect it. There ARE some non-AAD jumpers who are particularly, even loathesomely, obnoxious about it, but they're that way about everything else and everyone knows it. Thirty years ago, even twenty years ago, nobody off student status used AADs and nobody was particularly concerned about it. Nowadays AADs have come far enough that most people want them and use them, myself included. And some American dropzones require them, which I suppose is the DZO's business. But Al Kreuger's recent accident also serves to remind us that it doesn't matter how many jumps you have or how good you are - you never know when you'll need oneand the decision to jump without one is a serious choice. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !