MakeItHappen

This is true, but WFFC does not implement or enforce well known procedures for enhancing the safety of people in the air and on the ground. - beer line about 50 ft. from the obstacles - no over-fly obstacles below 500 ft - ban swoop landings from the general landing area WFFC convention also attracts a predominately low-experienced group of jumpers, many who have never been in the air simultaneously with many other canopies. I think the average jump numbers of WFFC participants is in the 200-300 jump range. This is distinctly different than the population at other large DZs or on WR dives. WFFC also has a reputation of being a party. Jumpers should expect to be in the air with hung-over jumpers or perhaps even intoxicated jumpers, at a much higher rate than you'd find at any other DZ. WFFC also brings out the 'boogie-fever' phenomena in jumpers. That's when jumpers do things at the WFFC that they would never do at their home DZ. Sometimes that's jumping hung-over, sometimes doing more radical swoops, sometimes getting on loads way over their head or sometimes trying to jump BASE rigs from balloons. Personally, it is not the number of canopies in the air there, it is who is under them that keeps me away. I've been in the air simultaneously with hundreds of other jumpers. On some +100-ways at Perris and Eloy, we have ~80 people landing in the tiny grass area. Those are much safer and controlled than what happens at WFFC. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That no doubt works for YOU, but how many of the rest of the jumpers on that load (probably) already have THEIR seatbelts off/REMOVED anyway, WHILE you are doing this? Don't know. Maybe they might start paying more attention to the more experienced jumpers. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Well, I'm not going to speak for every jumper out at Perris. Some of them realize this, some of them don't. Sometimes the people in the back of the bus do not pay attention to TO direction. So what I do, when I am up front, is delaying tactics. This is much easier than trying to explain everything in a noisy AC. You just take your sweet time moving to the floor off the aft end of the left bench. You just take your sweet time opening the door. If you do it right, you'll be 1000 ft AGL by the time you open the door. What I have noticed, is that the newer jumpers that 'automatically' open the door at 1000 ft by altimeter, look out the plane and realize they are only 500 ft AGL and then tend to 'delay' on subsequent loads. The visual is the better teacher perhaps??? The Perris Otter doors used to have stickers saying 2000 ft before opening door. Most of those placards (in you will) have been torn off by wear. No it does not make sense to have your seatbelt on until 3-4K, even if the door is closed. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Rising terrain should influence when you open the door or remove your seatbelt. For instance, at Perris, a TO to the South and climbout to the SW will place the AC ~500-1000 ft AGL until your altimeter reads almost 2K. The door should only be opened after people have removed their seatbelts. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

This is what ADI used to have on its website. Base Price Only $245.00 for top or side mounts and standard chin cup. $293 for top and side mount and standard chin cup Ratchet Chin Cup $40.00 C bracket $42.00 L bracket $29.00 Box $72.00 . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Yeah, yeah I know Zing too. And what he says is to be taken seriously. Zing flew at Ghoulidge, I mean Coolidge. But I wonder why Mike has not gotten on your case for not filling out your profile??? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Try DiveMaker.com It has the formations, plus tests to help you learn the names and a basic explanation of the grips that all other formations are built upon. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I had not thought of that. That may be an option. The problem is the tax rate at the time of sale, not what to do with the money or how to defer interest/taxes from it. Barry, I am really, really old now. I turn 50 this year. I'm not a 20 yo with great ambitions anymore. But maybe there is something that I can do new for the world???? Hello? Hello? Anyone there? (never did understand what a 'Hello?' answer meant. Someone please explain it to me.) Is that something that you can legally do? How would you go about setting up that type of arrangement? How would you know that you are getting the proper cut?\ That sounds like a great idea. Yeah and maybe one day, I'll be able to be in that position. Sounds like fun anyway. .............. I should also mention that their first offer was $30k, about two weeks ago. It's up to almost $100K now and stated as their 'final' offer. I don't know who the customer is. I'm working thru a negotiator. If I tried to sell this on ebay, I wonder what I'd get? Sales has never been my strong point. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I'll admit that this problem I have is a bit out of the ordinary and is a problem people would wish they had. But I need some ideas and alternative paths. So I thought the ever, vocal population here would speak up. [snip] . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Thanks. I'm glad people are using it. I have the backend requirements written and the DB schema planned out. Now, to find the time to implement it. It'll happen in two stages. One to just save all the data and the second to extract data and create graphs. I don't want to give away the feature set yet, but it'll have cool stuff. Also busts will be another key press. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I'd say that puppy looks like a 'Barb' to me or maybe 'Duke'. Right now I'm partial to Max. I named my Max after Gawain, even tho she's female. And Max is probably the name of the dog Barbara Duke is saving. I would not have known that if I didn't name my Max, Max. Barb's Mom called me today and said she missed Little Max so much, she wants him back asap! She said Little Max reminded her so much of Barb and it was keeping her connected to Barb. She said it with tears in her voice. Little Max goes back on Tuesday or Wednesday to his new found home with Barb's parents. He needs to bond more with my Max. I was able to clip his nails. So he's coming along ok. He's bonded very well with RePete. He runs on all four legs too. His pelvis noticably sticks out tho. Pretty amazing. I think 'Barb' or 'Duke' would be good names for your new puppy. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I have two dogs named Max and one named RePete. Now, it was not a planned thing to have two dogs named Max. My Max is a currently almost 5 month old female named after Gawain. The Little Max is the Little Guy I found a month ago. Little Max perked up when I was asking my Max to stay or sit while tending to the Little Guy. To me it seemed his name was Max. Then Barb's parents took in Little Max for a week. They tried various names and said that Max was the one he responded to. His head picks up and his eyes meet yours. It's almost a sure thing that his name is Max. He does not respond to other names that way. Little Max is with me for two more weeks to socialize with my dogs. He is approaching RePete on his own. RePete is 9 yo. He sniffs her paws, back and saunters around RePete. RePete is ho-hum about the whole thing. My Max is a bit too inquisitive for the little guy. She is not aggressive, but is a bit intimidating to the little guy. My Max is 40 lbs already and the little guy is only 10 lbs tops. My Max, being a puppy, does not know the dog-protocol yet, as RePete does. Anyway, the little guy has Lola's bed, collar, leash, neckerchief and Barb's parents to take him. I think Rola and Dick will eventually adopt the little guy. That will be good. He's here at my place for some dog socialization. He does not snip anymore. He does not cower or duck out of the way when I want to pet him. All 3 dogs have not had any aggression issues. It's all been mellow, sniff, sniff. The little guy is still timid. A few more days and he should start coming out of his shell. We think this little guy was abused and hit as opposed to being hit by a car. He didn't have any road rash injuries on him. This morning he wagged his tail vigorously while approaching RePete. Previously, he hardly raised his tail or wagged it. He just needs some confidence building. In the meantime, I'm touching his paws to get used to being touched, so we can clip his LONG nails. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That's their problem. ;) I just wouldn't waste my time on that idea because it doesn't tell you whether they are members or not. I did try that to determine whether Washington, DC was in my Region or not and it was confusing. It looks split !!! I still don't know. Just look at the list of zip codes for your region. For you it's 201, 220-246, 270-299 Look at the states that are split: CA, NV, TX, ID, FL Do you really think that map can tell you what region someone is in? It's the zip codes that are important. That is what it is based on. If you want to know if someone is a member, just ask to see their USPA card. Of course, if you are at a GM dz, they have to be a USPA member (in theory anyway). Ask a person what their zip code is. If you asked me and I said 92546, you'd know right away that my signature would not count as valid for you. My point gets missed here a lot. It doesn't matter that the playing field is level. (It isn't, because the database is available to some and not others. We just disagree on its value.) The point is that people will not even attempt to run because it is too difficult. We have to deal with things that can be changed to lessen the problem. If the secrecy were lifted, it would be so much easier and others might offer. That is just one thing that could be done !!! With all of this said, I am opposed to complete elimination of the petitions. Thanks for your posts on this and many other subjects. They are appreciated. Ed The value of the DB can work against you. During the last election a RD candidate checked his sigs from members in it. He counted up the required sigs. But, his count did not account for the 'be a member as of June 1' rule. The DB does not tell you that. The DB check he did gave him a false positive and led him to believe he had enough sigs. That's why you should get +20% or more sigs than actually required. The thing you should keep in mind is that you can change things easier if you are on the BOD. And to get on the BOD you have to jump thru hoops. None of those hoops will change once an election has started. They are fixed rules for this election. The secrecy that you allude to is that no one validates the signatures until after the Monday following Labor Day. No one knows if you have valid signatures until after that date. BTW from your page at http://home.earthlink.net/~uspaelection/ you say: "No opposition has ever been able to get on the ballot in the Mid-Atlantic Region (until now). For proof and to see the problems with the system, click the link below.. http://www.parachutehistory.com/skydive/uspa/elections/eleccandidates.html" This is not correct. The incumbent for most of those years was Gene Paul Thacker. No one in their right mind would think that they could defeat Gene Paul. It wasn't that no one could get on the ballot, it was that no one thought they could beat Gene Paul and did not run. Then there was the pass-off to Tony. Tony got on the ballot by collecting sigs. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

I wish you success in obtaining signatures and during the election. RD candidates actually collected enough signatures before the USPA DB was available. I did it myself back in the 80's sometime. Remember that the Gov. Man says that the member has to be a member on June 1, 2006. That means that members joining for the first time after June 1 are not considered valid signatures. It also means that someone who is a member on June 1 and then lets his membership expire after June 30 is a valid signature. I know it is strange. The one who's signature is not valid can actually vote for you and the one who's signature is valid won't be able to vote for you. Don't blame me - I didn't make the rules. The USPA DB does not say whether a member was a member on June 1. So it would not help you that much anyway. Remember to collect about 20% more signatures than required. This protects you from the invalid or out of region signatures. A quick way to test for 'in-region' is to ask someone what their zip code is. Then cross check that for your region's zip code list. You don't need any DB for that. Proxies are only needed to change things pertaining to the size, composition and election of the USPA BOD. Well, the hurdles are the same for everyone. I wish we did not have the signature thing. USPA has tried to do away with it, but it requires 10% of the membership voicing an opinion on it and a majority to change it. Good on you. We need more RDs like you. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Jan, I must be getting old, ... I can't remember what the up-roar in 2000 may have been to get that turn-out... can you refresh my memory?? Thanks in advance. That was when the rules said only 20 people could be on the ballot for ND and 22 people applied. USPA cut two people and there was an uproar over the people that were cut. Really it was an uproar over one of the persons cut. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

There were two separate proxy votes. The first one was the one that essentially put all the power in the hands of the BOD. That one failed and I was definitely against that one. Search rec.skydiving for details on that. The second one was for specific changes. That one failed also for several reasons that I won't go into. This one I was definitely in favor of and so was Mike Mullins. Search rec.skydiving for that one too. Future proxy votes would have to have the proper education/explanation well in advance. It would also require 10% of the membership to cast votes on it. Some sort of online voting system is being looked into by the Elections Comm. that could increase voter turnout. But - don't hold your breath on that. The 'other' way to get 10% or more of the membership to vote in an election is to have a BIG controversy of some sort. In 2000 USPA had 5000 ballots cast. That was almost 15% of the membership. PS - I am doing my part as an average weekend jumper getting elected to the BOD with your help. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

See Where To Jump . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

The Little Guy is officially 'in' the NCHS loop and will be placed for surgery as soon as possible. The holiday is delaying that. Info on where to send donations is now up on Barbara Duke.com Barb is saving the life of a dog, even tho she is not with us. Please help with any size donation you can. Thank-you. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Here's the latest update. It's a mix of good news and bad news. First off, this is a holiday weekend that has added time delays into everything. I took the dog to a local vet for an opinion. He said that this was not something anything any local vet would touch. It's way too complicated. Apparently, both sides of the pelvis are broken and displaced -one more than the other. He referred me to a place in SD. They wouldn't be able to see the dog until after the 5th. He also mentioned the Murietta vet specialists place. That comes with a $3500 price tag. I said I already had a tenative appt for the 6th with them. That was for the initial visit, not the surgery. Working with Rola, Barbara Duke's mother, we can take this dog to the North County HS. They have a liability requirement that the owner of the dog was sought after for at least 5 days. I double checked with the Ramona HS to verify that they had my report from Wednesday. They did. They can issue a statement saying that we tried in good faith to find the owner for 5 days on Monday, July 3. So now, we wait for Monday to see if a qualified vet can do surgery on this little one or will he have to wait to after the 5th. I will take care of him until he can get into surgery. The little one is gaining strength and attitude. This morning he snipped at me. But he is standing on 3 legs and doing his duty. He eats ok. I can get refills of pain meds from the vets I've been too already. So the plan is to go to the NCHS and get this guy fixed up, but it probably won't be until the 5th or 6th. For donations pledged, I'll send you an email on where to send a check. The online donation site does take a cut of your donation. Barb's fund is up to $2365 now. That's the total from online and direct checks. It is specifically targeted to rescues, like this little one. Stay tuned, I'll give you exact donation info on Monday, late in the day or on July 5th. In the meantime, please visit Barb Duke Everytime I look at this dog, I see Barb and ask what would Barb do? His pic is attached. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

That's cuz I don't log in all the time. You can email me at Aerosoftware_AT_MakeItHappen.com replace _AT_ with @. The vet just let the dog find a comfortable position. She also said better views would be needed. She just did that to get some idea on how bad the injury was. She said some heal on the own too, but this one didn't look like one of those. This is getting harder by the day. The little guy was alert this morning. He actually ate and drank on his own too. The pain meds seem to also knock him out a bit. His muscle tone is very tense. I would not call his life 'resting comfortably'. He's got to be miserable. I've had two people look at the dog, but it wasn't theirs. I've called and emailed tons of places all over SoCal. The Animal Assistance League of Orange County has pledged $100. Other rescue places are out of funds and can't help. But I do have leads for other contributions. We are trying to get some of the North County Humane Society & SPCA contributions made in Barbara Duke's name. She specifically wanted the funds to go towards rescue dogs. I've received emails with lists of other places that may help. A local vet will look at the x-ray later this afternoon and let me know if they do that kind of surgery. A place in Murietta said it would run around $3500 and they can't take him in until July 6th. But they specialize in this stuff. This isn't like Katie who had lymphosarcoma. It would have been $5000 to give her the full chemo treatment, but she would have been in the hospital most of the time and still only had a life expectancy of 6 months. For her, I opted for the reduce pain with meds and give her quality life. She died, in my arms, a month later. This little guy can be as good as new with surgery. Katie got hit by a car and had a rod in her leg. She was good as new after that. I paid for that. This is just a matter of money. Then again it's just a damn dog. My dog sitter told me you can't save them all. I'm strongly leaning to the just get him repaired and worry about the money later. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Wow I didn't know there was a vaccine. RePete got bit by a baby rattlesnake a few years back when I was living in Poway. Baby rattlesnakes bites are worst because they do not know how to control the venom. RePete could not even walk down the hill back to our house. I had to carry her. It took +$1000 to get her back to heath and an over night stay at an emergency clinic. The anti-venom was around $800 and had to brought in from some other city. It was it short supply - even for humans. Then I had a couple of people tell me that dogs can 'suffer through' a bite and recover on their own. Dunno if that's true, but the suffering that RePete went through with treatment was bad. Betsy - do you want another miniature? I have one. Needs lots of TLC. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Well, the little guy is doing well. He's alert with big brown eyes, but still looks like he's in pain. Chihuahua's have eyes that seem too big for their head. He's getting pain meds and antibiotics. I'm feeding him water via a syringe. I called vets this morning. I have one lead on someone that lost a similar dog, but the color description was slightly different. I'm waiting for a call back. I asked if they could do pro-bono surgery. After asking what 'pro-bono' meant, they all said no. If nothing else can you go to Hemet Animal Rescue and click on some google ads? or buy a dog book from Amazon? I put up this site when I took Cleo in a couple of years ago. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

So there I was... wondering what Max and RePete were barking at though the fence. Turns out there was a dog on the other side who was in really bad shape. He was found by my neighbors and was placed out in the parking lot - in the shade on a cushion. He had water and food but looked really, really sick or injured. I took him to the vet - emergency care. The vet gave him a free x-ray. Still the visit cost $98.00. He has a dislocated hip. The scan of the x-ray is not too good, so you may not be able to see it. It's displaced about the distance of one vertebrea (sp?) and tweaked (rotated). Tomorrow I'll put up signs near where he was found to try and locate the owner. The vet said the best thing was to have surgery. That costs around $1500. This is not my dog, so I really don't want to spend that kind of money on someone else's dog and a dog I won't keep. I already have two dogs. The vet said this little guy might recover ok, but will be in a lot a pain as he does. The vet prescribed meds for pain and stool softners to ease the defecation process. The little guy is sleeping in the bathtub right now. Max and RePete smelled him and didn't put up any fuss. So if anyone in southern California wants a male Chihuahua, maybe a year old, and with a major medical of hip surgery, please let me know. In the meantime, I'll keep him, try and find the owner and see what else I can do. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

How does the new wholesale price scheme and the 'do not display discounted prices' policy change this? People are still going to call/email and play one dealer against the other. Dealers will still cut their profit a tiny bit to make a sale. Some dealers will go down to zero profit. Ed Cummings did that with Cypres sales, just to get people to use an AAD. In return, he had customers for the future for rigging work. Of course, I believe he's not in the parachute biz anymore, but I don't think it was from selling a cypres at cost. That reminds me. Airtec at one time said 'do not display discounted prices' to its dealers. Now they compete with other AAD brands. It's not the dealer-dealer competition that PD should worry about, it's the competition from other canopy manufacturers. How are they better equipped? Let's say a dealer makes $200 per canopy under the new system, whereas they could make more than that under the old system because of volume discounts. How does taking away income provide for more support & service? To me, it looks like it'll be more profitable to sell or push other brands of canopies as opposed to PD. Maybe PD's return or exchange policy is where the problem is? By inference from other posts, PD raised wholesale prices for some dealers and lowered them for other dealers. To me, that implies PD cut out the volume discounts on wholesale prices. In the book industry the large retailers get discounts for volume. They may lack in service compared to the tiny Mom & Pop bookstore. In the skydiving industry, the large retailers are still Mom & Pop sized and provide excellent service. PD implemented a policy to get rid of the 'riff-raff' 'trunk' dealers. That really sounds more of an internal problem between PD and their dealers. Amazon.com does not walk a customer over to a shelf and hand a customer a book, as a small retailer would. Yet they have deep discounts over their competitors and sell a lot of products. Aren't they PD's customers too? It's only a matter of time for someone to create a 100% online store with no brick and mortar store. No questions asked, here's your parachute. I would not want to see that happen, but it will. I think that maybe a liability issue is also driving this policy change. Are there any lawsuits out there saying 'you sold me a canopy that I hurt/killed myself on. The dealer did not warn me.'? . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker

Square1 Parachute Sales and Service implemented both of these techniques last Friday. Other online stores either still have their old retail prices up (that they have to take down), suggested mfg retail price or ask a customer to call. Over the weekend, when Square1 was closed, we had many customers requesting price quotes, including people from France and Denmark. In contrast, all of Square1's retail prices for PD canopies went up, some as much as 19%. PD has rewarded it's high volume dealers, such as Square1, in other ways. PD and Square1 set up an infrastructure that allows PD stock canopies to be automatically added to the Square1 online catalog. Any time PD has a new canopy in stock you can BUY IT NOW from Square1. Square1 allows you to check the price via an email request or just add it to the cart, as well as, calling them on their toll free number 1-800-877-7191 (US Only) or 951-657-8260. PD has great products and I jump a PD reserve. This request to not advertise discounted prices is annoying to a customer. Thank-you anyway, PD, for putting several hundred dollars in my pocket. . . Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker