tbrown

because SKYDIVERS don't sue Well, that plus in the People's Soviet of Kalifornia there are "public interest" laws that say "the people" cannot be coerced into signing away their legal rights. And of course in Kalifornia you simply must have a right to sue your dropzone anyway, because if you don't they'll legislate one for you. I don't know what current case law is in Kali, whether anyone has tried to sue a DZ lately or not. And case law is what makes or breaks it, since actual cases interpret the statutes, our system doesn't carve statutes in stone. There will always be some shitbag lawyer willing to give it a shot, so I have only the highest respect for the "fuck you" attitude behind not having a waiver at all, especially since they're literally next to Hwy 99. I'll have to get up there and make a few dives sometime. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Doesn't exactly match what she said in the videos that were released while she was being held captive. I could swear she said more than once things to the effect of "just give them what they want or they'll kill me." I've been hopeful they'd let her go after they daid they'd kill her and let a couple deadlines pass with no word or body. As to whether or not this is suspicious, her translator, who she'd worked with for quite some time, was killed in the initial abduction. There are some details that don't seem to add up, but I'm not about to jump on the lady and accuse her of creating a hoax. Leave it to this crowd for that kind of thing. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

We kept both of our kids in bed with us for their first year. Helped my wife a lot with feeding, she could just "plug them in" and doze off. I don't remember any real problems with moving them out of the bed either. But anything past a year is getting into dangerous territory. Parents cannot let kids rule the roost, the marriage is the primary relationship. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

As a parent of two girls in the 17 - 21 age group, stories like this scare me. The older one is pretty wise to the ways of the world by now, but the younger one is more naieve. I've told her anytime she EVER sees a gun come out at a party, she is to leave immediately. Not the gun so much as the irresponsible and possibly loaded people handling it. I tell her to leave if she has to drop out a 2nd story window in the rain,jsut get out and call home, we'll be there to get her pronto. And any of her friends who bail out with her. A nutcase like this though obviously calls for some creative escape & evasion. If it means going out a whatever story building and lying quietly on the ground with a broken leg biting one's lip until the cops show (and they sure will), then that's what it takes. And that's what I tell her. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Forty wasn't bad. Anything that will emphasize his virility should go over really well. Fifty was a much scarier number, way scarier... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Your parents must've had a real sense of humor to name you Bozo.....anyway, are you an Outlaw ? Are you a cop ? bozo Outlaw # 81 a dieing breed. I knew you'd say that. Hope retirement's agreeing with you. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It beats punching a crater, but you can still spend a few months in hospital after breaking every bone in your body. The people who fly these tiny reserves usually have thousands of jumps and are highly skilled canopy pilots. And since we're talking about the future as well, there should soon (next couple years) be reserves coming out made with new fabrics that pack down ridiculously small, while opening into big canopies. If you have to use your reserve, it's not a sport anymore, you just want the canopy that works the best for you. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Availability of used gear is a lot better for those who want a 175 than those who want a 210 or 230. Quality difference is huge too. Some of those "big boy" rigs are a bit on the ancient side. If you're really big or really small, you may have to look long & hard to find a rig that fits. I know of one little lady whose small used rig still had loose leg straps and she finally ordered a custom rig that fits her small body so she doesn't have to worry about falling through the harness anymore. Myself, I'm a big guy (6'4", 230 lbs). I was lucky to find a real beauty of a used rig from an owner about the same size as me (haven't actually met the guy, but the rig fits just great). Most used rigs are just too small for me though. Your first reserve should be the right size to get your weight down safely. Period. A main container that can downsize one size is probably a good idea. Buying a brand new main for your first canopy is a waste of money that could be spent on jumps or tunnel time. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Maybe they just want to be here and never really become an American. Maybe they want to take it back. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Your parents must've had a real sense of humor to name you Bozo.....anyway, are you an Outlaw ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I was 18, her name was Pia and we were in my college dormitory room. It was a Friday night and we'd both got trashed in town. Actually, it was her idea, her first time too. We liked it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Can anyone enlighten me as to the pro's vs con's of having two sights? I may very well be missing the obvious here and I apologise in advance if that is the case. Well, free market competition IS the American way. People are going to log on to the site they like best, or sometimes maybe both, or more. The good ones will stick around, the ones with something missing fade away. But the competition is good, it means nobody can afford to fat & sassy (that's not a PA, I hope). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

This is NOT going to go as far as the "Christian and Proud of It" thread. Nice try though.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well, I can think of all kinds of funny stuff I could say about a lot of people who post stuff I don't like. I guess it comes down to whether or not you'd think it was funny if it was you. Some people have amazingly thin skins. If it's really original and not too terribly heinous, I suppose being let off with a warning might be okay. But then again, I don't own this website, I'm just allowed to post here so long as I mind my manners. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well happy birfday, I had no idea (honestly). Happy 48th ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Or maybe when's the last time you had any ? You might be excused for considering paying for some, in your case it could help. But what about you, do you know it all ? (NOT you Krisanne, I'm agreeing with you so much I'm quoting you. Other people might get the wrong idea, hence the clarification.....) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Fuck him, he's never once started a positive thread or had anything good to say about anything, or anyone. An asshole by any other name is still just an asshole. And that's not what these forums are about. It's about time the monitors got rid of the people who are just shitting up the place. So am I right ? Or am I right. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Depleted uranium is used in shells because it is extremely dense and it does not have the radioactive characteristics of non-depleted uranium. The Navy uses it for ammo on a gun system to fire at incoming hostile missiles, is that the Phalanx system ? I'm thinking about the "accidental" attack on an American ship in the Persian Gulf in 1987 by an Iraqi jet that fired a missile and hit the American ship with the loss of a dozen or so American lives. The ship either didn't have a Phalanx, or it was not operational for some lameass reason. (This was during the years that Iraq was still our ally, Saddam was still our buddy, and we were sending Iraq arms to fight their war with Iran). Anyway, that incredible density also makes it ideal for those counterweights I was talking about on jets, as they provide a lot of weight in a very small package. You know how you can guess what a certain chunk of stell might weigh before you pick it up ? I sort of "guessed" something like steel and picked up a chunk about 3 x 8 x 1 in. and it was like trying to lift a big garden size rock - just incredible. Oh, also it was covered with a coating of your standard green aircraft structural primer. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

"Fuck sake" is a nice one I picked up from some Brits at Elsinore. Also the Russian equivalent of "fuck you" is "yobe tvoyu matz" (that's the best I can transliterate it from the Cyrillic alphabet). It literally means "I fucked your mother". Also some guy I knew who spent a short time in a Russian jail said the other prisoners were calling a Chinese inmate "Suy Khuy B'Chai", which means "stir your dick in the tea". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'll drink to that! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I would have liked to have had a marriage that actually lasted forever. My marriage is one of the few things I've done right. I'd have worked harder in school, gone into law or journalism. Only thing about college I wouldn't change is that I started skydiving as a freshman, I'd still do that exactly the same. It helped me with a lot of self confidence issues in other areas of my life. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Sounds just like the Hanbury rig I had, a 1978 model. I actually used the reserve more than once, the ripcord also functioned as a "Jesus string" when it stopped against the grommet on the soft housing (you couldn't actually pull the ripcord OUT, it was designed so the pins would hit the grommet and pull the upper container flap open). HOWEVER, returning to the main subject, I'm not really refering to the many free pack and free line stows that were quite common in the late seventies and early eighties. The great majority of them still used a pilot chute to get the show started, whether a throwaway or a pullout. I'm specifically asking about the method where a few brave (or crazy) souls did away with the pilot chute altogether and used a pullout method to pull the center cell of the canopy itself into the airstream to initiate deployment. And yeah, I also remember that Racer ad, "The last thing you need at 2 grand is pretty gear", and hearing somewhere that it was a shot of Nick Lucas direct deploying his Flyer canopy. A real pity that it was just a black & white shot, it would've been amazing in color. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I was implying that the spring loaded main pilot chutes are more subject to wear and tear. As they age, they loose performance. On the other hand, the reserve PC is NOT subject to the same wear and tear. And, as you state, it's maintained by your rigger. That's not to say that it may not hesitate. At terminal in a good arch, I've felt that ever so slight hesitation, and it felt like minutes! That'll make you clear that burble in a hurry. Bonnie, how true, they can hesitate and do all kinds of naughty things. On my first cutaway, the pilot chute bounced off my foot, and that was on a round reserve, so the p/c was attached. I thought I could feel my hair turning white for one very long moment! Also, Sparky thanks. Your answer provides a much more precise definition and more complete information (as always). I was less precise but intended to convey the same concept, more or less, but not as well as you. And to both of you, my remarks were only made in the interest of trying to help answer this guy's understandable question. (Rest assured fella, it's something on ALL of our minds.) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I came up through static line, but failed all kinds of "levels" too. (If we did well, we'd get to go higher for longer freefall delays, starting with simple hop & pops, then going to 5 second delays, 10 seconds, 15 seconds & so on.) I was stuck on hop & pops and 5 second delays for about 2 months and my logbook is full of instructor's comments like, "stable by coincidence only". This is NOT an easy or natural thing you're learning and all your instincts are telling you not to do it at all. But there will come a jump when it works. After that some will still be better than others and some worse, but by and large you will have turned the corner on it. The fear will get a lot more manageable too. Right now your rational mind is trying to tell you you've gone crazy. Every now and then you'll continue to get that no matter how many jumps you make. But you can learn to understand your fears and you'll learn A LOT about the stuff you're made of and how to use your honest fears to keep you sharp and honest in the sky. If you ever lose all your fears, then you've got a real problem. But you last jump sounds very encouraging, so just stick with it, don't let anything discourage you and just keep jumping. You'll be fine. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I've handled the stuff at Boeing a couple times, they use it for counterweights on flap assemblies in commercial jets. The stuff is UNBELIEVABLY heavy ! Only messed with it 2 - 3 times, had a really healthy kid after that, so far 18 years later everybody's just fine. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !