tbrown

I couldn't watch more than a few minutes of the first installment, I just don't feel like ruining my morning coffee. But this above quote is most interesting and worthy of some comment. I don't know a whole lot about Jewish history, but the intersection of the Pharisees with the early Christians and what became of them both is fascinating, and the portrayal of Pharisees in Christian scripture and literature not altogether accurate, even though it has become part of our usage in modern English. As I understand it, the Pharisees came about as a sect of devoted Jews who sought to turn the nation of Israel, under Roman occupation at the time, back to God by observing scriptural law. They were very devoted to this and dedicated their lives to it, often at great personal expense. There is the New Testament story of the Pharisee and the Publican praying in the Temple, and we've always been taught that the Pharisee was this fat rich dude in silk robes, sort of a "Jerry Fallwellstein" character, while the Publican was this poor wretched little schlub. In historic fact, the Publican tax collector would've been the fat rich dude and the Pharisee more likely to be a the poor, ragged, starved looking guy. We also read about frequent confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees, where Jesus lashes into the Pharisees as hypocrites and "sepulchres" who look good on the outside, but are dead within. Two points about this are 1.) The Pharisees and early Christians were two competing Jewish sects and the debate between them was often brutal, as the Christians were one of the millenarian sects who wanted to rise up, drive the Romans out and establish God's Kingdom on earth. They were one of the active ingredients in the rebellions against Rome that brought about the destruction of Jerusalem and wholesale slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Jews in A.D. 70. Point 2.) is that the Gospels were written AFTER the rebellion of A.D. 70 and the destruction of Jerusalem. The Gospel's authors by then were truly Christian, in that they no longer identified with ever having been Jewish. In fact many of them were former pagan Gentiles from all over the Roman Empire, and some of them, especially John, were Greeks, who did not like the Jews at all for whatever reason. So it more than suited their agenda to defame the Pharisees in whatever terms they chose. And what became of the Pharisees ? After the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, Judaism as a state religion, with animal sacrifice, came to an end and has never returned. The Pharisees "re-invented" Judaism and took it all over the world as they were forced out of the Holy Land. Modern Judaism as we know it is descended from the Pharisees. And so it's quite understandable why Jews would take offense at the Christian portrayal of Pharisees as religious hypocrites. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

They are behaving just the way the Jews of old did when they did the crucifixion. Now you've gone and done it.....been out drinkin' with Mel gibson again ?? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Used to hear an apocryphal tale at Boeing (home of the world's best airplanes and FILTHIEST jokes), about a gentleman who showed up at an ER in need of having a hamster removed from his rectum. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Happy birthday Jeanne ! Big hug.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Sure! Sell it right away. How can you have something uncool and outdated stuff? You have to be cool! Its fashion not flying... That's not what she's getting at. If PD canopies are what the "in crowd" is jumping at er DZ, then she might have trouble getting a good price for another brand. You've been beating up on newbies lately, why don't you just knock it off, or go pick a fight with a cop or something ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

What, the Iraqis and Afhgani Taliban aren't keeping you busy enough already ? How many of THEM have you shot anyway ? Are you even in the service ? And if so, why not ? I'd call your local recruiter if I wuz you, they'll be more than happy to talk to you. They might not take you though, if they think you're maladjusted. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I object to this direct personal attack against Darius. I've got plenty to say about Iran seizing the Brits on the high seas, including the BIG question, which is why the Royal Navy didn't just shoot back and sink them, or hang the survivors from a yardarm for piracy, as they did in days of olde. I have often disagreed with Darius, sometimes rather sharply. And yet he is a dot.commer, a skydiver, and speaks with the perspective of people from his part of the world. So leave him the fuck alone. Where the hell are the fucking moderators anyway ?? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

So in other words it's dangerous and not recommended ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Keep the Pilot, they're wonderful. 1.07 really is a conservative wingload, though anything under a 150 will fly hot just because it's a small wing with shorter lines. You've done a smart thing getting an older Sabre in the meantime, that's an economical way to get more canopy experience. TAKE A CANOPY COURSE, in fact when you take the course, explain the situation to the instructor and tell him/her that you will be wanting more follow up coaching afterwards. You're new at this and developing a mentor relation with a canopy coach will help you immensely. As a Pilot owner myself, I have to tell you, the Pilot is one of the most mellow, best behaved 9 cells you can possibly own. Keep your Pilot and concentrate on learning your canopy skills. Most people don't work very hard on their canopy flying, but if you do, you will not only be able to handle your Pilot, you'll really stand out and shine as the "new chick who really knows what she's doing". By the way, have you jumped a demo version of your reserve ? It's a rectangular 7 cell and very much like a Triathalon, but it's a good idea to know what your reserve flies - and flares - like before you ever need it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'm afraid I will never air out my Piglet in the Streamlite container again, in this lifetime. But check it out, you CAN take it with you AND jump it again if you have the rig tossed on top of your funeral pyre. Then if your friends take you up for an ash dive, they'd be releasing you WITH a rig - and how many people even think about that ? The fact that it's a vintage Piglet in a Streamlite only makes the whole thing more profound. I think we're onto something here....(and no, I'm not ON anything, but thanks for the concern). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

JP, have you heard anything about Velocity Sports getting licensed to install Skyhooks ? That would really be da' bom ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Hillary - I got to listen to her at length and up close on a symposium on health care issues. She is the consumate politician; evasive, not worthy of trust, sneaky, etc. She's not very polished, but compared to Bush she is slicker than a slippery eel. A fucking chimpanzee can speak better English than Bush. But Bush isn't running (thank God almighty), so that means two candidates who can string an intelligible sentence together - and how long has it been since we've had THAT ? I won't be voting for Hillary in the primaries. I will vote for her in the general election if I have to. I don't think McCain's going to get the nod either, he's had his best days, will be older than Reagan was, is in questionable health and has offended the Aryans (oops...). Anybody willing to consider Bill Richardson ? Governor of New Mexico, re-elected with a substantial portion of the Republican vote. Former Energy Sec'y, and a very down to earth negotiator with everyone from Saddam Hussein to the North Koreans. He's worth a listen, I think we could use the guy. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If your friend relapses it's not your fault, it's his. And quite often people will relapse along the way before they finally break free of a serious habit. They just need to not let the guilt get to them, as long as they can pick themselves back up keep trying. And Darius, you've opened up a good discussion here, that even has you thinking about your own beliefs, which you're apparently open minded enough to be able to question. We all need that. So thanks. Uh-oh, that makes for 3 posts in a row. I'm outta here ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

According to the episode Penn & Teller's "Bullshit" show did on 12-step programs: No. Penn & Teller's "Bullshit" is one of the most intellectually dishonest shows I've ever seen. It's just an excuse for Penn Gillette to run around yelling "bullshit" and the "F" word at the top of his lungs about anything and everything, while Teller does cute and funny things in the background. I have yet to see that bigmouth fucker offer a single constructive alternative to ANYTHING he attacks. And yes, I've watched the show, I even bought my daughter an entire season of them on DVD for a Xmas present - something I now regret having done. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

There's been a lot of criticism of 12 Step programs, but I haven't really seen the critics offer anything better. There was one lady up in Washington state who started a program for alcoholics to "drink responsibly". Then she got blind drunk and killed a father and child in a head on collision, driving down the wrong side of the freeway. She went to prison for that and since her release has determined to never drive a vehicle again for the rest of her life. Whether there is a God or not, or whether you choose to believe in one or not, addictions are so powerful that people need to find strength outside of themselves to break their habit. It may just be a psychological trick to tap a hidden reserve of strength inside yourself, but then what's wrong with that ? What most of these people have in common is that they've hit bottom and everything else they've tried has failed, often repeatedly. They've been fired from jobs, divorced, gone to jail, had the shit beat out of them, and ended up in emergency rooms. They've come to a realization that they have to change or die. If nothing else, a 12 Step program offers them two very real things, structure and support. Addicts and alcoholics have no structure left in their life, it's all gone and they haven't got a clue how to get it back. And everybody hates their guts because they've become disgusting people. But a 12 Step program offers them structure and the support of other people around them who understand because they've been just as bad and are now struggling to deal with it themselves. I don't see anything wrong with that either. It still works better than anything else. And calling it a "religious crutch" is just a cheap shot from outsiders who don't need that kind of help in the first place. So Darius, if your friend's in a 12 Step program, and it's working for him, then it's a good thing. Be happy for him. And give him a ride to a meeting if he needs one. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

A lot of religious fanatics use pain to trigger mystical emotional experiences. The American Indian's Sun Dance involves piercing your chest with bone hooks and dancing and tugging against the hooks until you rip them right out of your flesh, as well as cutting yourself up and down the arms. Sitting Bull did a Sun Dance to make a pwerful vision before the Little Big Horn (in fact he didn't fight in the battle because he was still recovering from his Sun Dance). he had a vision of upside down cavalry men falling out of the sky (no parachutes either). Guess his vision worked, judging by what they did to Custer. In medieval Europe during the Black Death you had processions of Penitents who wandered around flogging themselves in hopes it would make the plague go away. And of course in Iraq and Iran, the Shiites have an annual festival where the men gash their own heads with razors, the more blood the better. That kind of fervor, with enough blood loss, would give anybody visions, it's part of our collective human heritage. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Some Brit friends have told me they learned that the Colonies were ungrateful for all the benefits of British rule and that they were well rid of us because we were such a rude and violent bunch. Sounds like sour grapes to me. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Does it still illicit emotion from people (outside of New Yorkers, who understandably will always have a firmer attachment)? Haven't been to NYC since '98, so I couldn't say for sure. But I have stood out on Lexington Green, where the Brits opened fire on the Minute Men. And I've stood on top of Cemetary Ridge at Gettysburg and looked down the long hillside General Pickett's division tried to march up as they were cut to pieces. They were both very sobering, even after a century or two. In Europe people still visit places like Dachau and Auschwitz. And don't forget the Arizona Monument at Pearl Harbor. I don't know if I believe in people's spirits hanging around these places, but most of them - including Ground Zero - very definitely have a lot of human remains that have never been recovered beneath their peaceful surfaces. History changed all of these places, and when they became part of our history, they became part of us. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Thank you for that. It's funny, when I was a suburban white kid I really didn't go for soul music, not at all. Didn't even appreciate the blues (guess I didn't even have a clue about Cream, Janis, or Johnny Winter being blues players). I was just all caught up in white psychedelia, not that there was anything wrong with that. But nowadays I love hearing Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Smoky Robinson & the Miracles (isn't "My Girl" just one of the BEST songs ever written ?). Never like diana Ross though. Still don't. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

You are more then welcome to ask the forums but people like Bonnie from GravityGear do nothing but deal in gear everyday of the week and they know if its a good deal or not a heck of a lot more then most people that only have bought one rig in their life. Bonnie helped me with buying my rig after I returned to the sport. She really deeply cares about fixing people up with the right gear, new or used. She just opened a Gravity Gear 2 near San Diego last year, so you should PM her too, 77r. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Cream and Blind Faith, both with Eric Clapton. The Beatles, and I guess The Rolling Stones. Good old Grateful Dead, and of course Janis (I even saw her once). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The USPA website has the complete Skydivers' Competition Manual. Sec. 5-3.2 shows the diagrams for blocks & randoms in the 4, 8, 10, and 16 Way events. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Fifteen second delays is where we started using altimeters too (upstate NY dropzones, 1975). We had two women students at Seneca Falls, Lynn and Linda, who earned the nicknames "Low Pull" & "No Pull", after Lynn smoked it down a few times and Linda had a Sentinel fire her reserve at a grand. They were great fun & we all loved them. Linda didn't jump very much after her Sentinel adventure, but I ran into "Low Pull" Lynn at Perris in '79. Caught her bridle line wrapped around her belly band on a jump run pin check once, and then another time she pulled around a grand waiting for her altimeter to get unstuck and go into the red. Fortunately she married some guy and quit jumping. Best of all though was this little maniac at Otay Lake back in '79 named Jimmy Kiesel. After a bunch of low pulls, the DZO (Jim McDonald, this was the old Borderland Air Sports DZ) demanded that Jimmy start wearing an altimeter. So he got an old broken one and GLUED a needle on it, then replaced the crystal and showed it to Mac, who bought it hook, line & sinker. We all knew it was busted and thought it was just funnier than hell (it was, of course...). A good friend of mine still remembers the time he had a low reserve pull after a total mal and was shocked to see Jimmy screaming past him pulling his main (a round Piglet). Jimmy had mistaken what was going on and thought he'd been challenged to a low pull contest. Needless to say he won, hands down. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well it might just give her a little chuckle, I mean she was famous for it thirty years ago. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Oh Gawrshhhh.... (looks at ground, shuffles feet) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !