Douva

I've been told that GPS can now track a small chip--It no longer has to be a bulky homing device. Does anybody know if this is accurate? A chip could be sewn into clothing or even attached to a molar or something. Again, I don't know if the "chip" thing really works or if the person who told me this was confusing reality with sci-fi. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

This is a little off-topic, but I opened after a jump the other day (I was first out) and saw a small Cessna flying on-level with me, BETWEEN other canopies and me. It was close enough that I could actually see the pilot and read the tail number. This plane had basically come out of nowhere and flown through our jump run at opening altitude. What is the legal responsibility of a private pilot flying VFR, in relation to jump operations? Is he required to verify his flight path on a sectional or maintain radio contact with the controlling ATC? ATC didn't notify our pilot that we had traffic until we had exited, and because of his approach direction, we couldn't see him from the door. We're at a private airport that is currently only used for jump operations, but we sometimes get traffic from pilots trying to use our airport as a vector. What I want to know is if the pilot of that Cessna did anything legally wrong or if it was just dumb bad luck. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

The trick would be keeping the media from finding out about the homing devices--As soon as the media knows, the terrorists know. The military would have to work closely with the American companies to keep the use of these devices under wraps and attribute all rescues to "anonymous tips." Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if something like this is already in the works. I'll just shut up now. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

With all of these civilian contractors being kidnapped and executed in the Middle East, I wonder if any of the major employers of civilian contractors over there have considered or are considering hidden GPS trackable homing devices for their employers. If I were working over there, I'd certainly be in favor of something like that. Lowjacked cars often lead police to chop shops; a lowjacked hostage might lead military officials to terrorist groups. I seem to recall some small homing devices being developed for children to be worn in case of kidnapping. I'm sure something like that would work. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

When I was in Russia last summer, I sometimes found myself walking down the wrong street because I had followed a pair of jeans past my turn. I believe they have strict "tight pants" laws in certain cities. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

I was just on Southwest Airlines' website looking at their regulations about carry-on items, and for some reason, the following line struck me as very funny: "Parachutes are allowed in checked or carryon baggage, but may not be worn in flight." And here I was planning on saving time by just gearing up on the plane and driving straight from the terminal to the drop zone. I bet you could keep the other passengers on pins and needles if you just sat in your seat with your rig on, looking around nervously and standing up every few minutes like you're fixing to go somewhere then sitting back down like you changed your mind. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

I think it was before he got the nomination, but I really don't recall. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

"It was a bit of a drunken dare by some of his mates at the local Holloways Beach football club. He said: 'Sure, I'll go jump out of an airplane...'" I hope I'm still taking drunken dares at 101. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

So what happened???? I just caught a blurb for tonight's news--They only showed him doing a tandem and didn't say anything about an AFF jump. Did the AFF jump get scrapped? How was the event? What was the crowd like? Was there any non-ex-presidential jumping going on? Curious minds want to know. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

When I was in roughly the 100-300 jump range, I was the guy at the drop zone who would try anything (and I mean ANYTHING). From a no-moon night cross country with less than 100 jumps to skysurfing out of a Cessna on a homemade board with about 150 jumps and no formal training to jumping a Korean War vintage "sport" rig to a "Double Mr. Bill" (I was actually prevented from doing this one by the DZO), I was ready to do it. I was jumping at an old school drop zone (which I still have a strong fondness for, so if anyone from there is reading this, don't take it the wrong way) that still operated under the notion that anybody with 100 jumps was an experienced skydiver who could do pretty much whatever they wanted, so there weren't many times when I was told I couldn't do something. Some of the stuff I tried worked out really well, and other stuff less well. Fortunately, nothing turned out really bad. I think things started turning around for me when I came a hair's breadth away from femuring on a 180 degree hook turn under a Sabre 150 on my 249th jump (whatever brains I had were hanging between my legs). I hobbled away from that on a sprained ankle, and a month later I moved to a new city and a new DZ. When my old friends jump with me now, they always comment on how much less gung-ho I am. The added responsibility of instructional ratings, plus the memory of almost becoming a statistic, plus the few times since then that somebody has had to call me on a bad idea (building a big round around my skysurfing board with 100-jump wonders probably wasn't the best idea), has really brought me into touch with reality. This is a serious sport. There seems to be a gap between the time we loose the initial fear of it and the time when we gain a real respect for it. That's the danger zone. That's where so many of us make really bad decisions. It's doubly bad for younger jumpers who may not yet grasp the whole "decisions have consequences" aspect of life. Sometimes a few private words is all it takes to set somebody on the right path, and sometimes it requires a swift kick in the pants or a rap on the back of the head. Just do whatever it takes. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Dave, You guys have fun playing with the former leader of the free world. The rest of us will be expecting a full report on Monday. --Douva

Glenn Bangs has a variation on that altimeter (as, I believe, do the other instructors who jumped with GHB). It's a cool looking altimeter. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Both of his other sport skydives were AFF jumps. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

As always, if it's forwarded from a friend, it must be true. I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Does this incident remind anybody else of this bad 80's movie with James Garner? I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

The ex-president is not doing a solo jump. The ex-president is not skipping any levels. He's doing a Category A (Level 1) AFF jump, just like the last two jumps. The Golden Knights will act as his AFF Instructors. The term "solo," was used in the article to indicate that this will not be a tandem jump. George H. Bush's last jump wasn't a serious disaster from an AFF standpoint, but it didn't allow for the photo-ops everybody wanted. If you take the AFF Instructor course from Glenn Bangs, you get to see the video of the jump. Blue skies, Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

All of these events have spectators that line the paths of the athletes. You may not see them on every given camera angle, and for long distances (running, biking), they are spread out at check stations. But they are there. You can't have spectators line the path of the freefall. Yes, but the point is that each spectator only sees a few seconds of the event. Likewise, spectators at skydiving events would only see the landings. The Olympics are more media event than live event. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

I like it no expectations, we are already LAST See you Cali peeps for Nationals. Exactly--It works on multiple levels. There's got to be something kind of surreal about looking at the last place on the scoreboard and seeing "L.A.S.T." I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

And finally.. in first place: L.A.S.T. That sounds too cool, go for it! Iwan I just came back to the board to ask what y'all think of using "LAST" as an acronym, and apparently some of you had already thought of it. I kind of like it. I'll see what Brains thinks about it. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

Brains and I have started training as a skysurfing team--I'm surfing; he's flying camera. Right now we're having trouble coming up with a team name, so I thought I'd see if anyone here has any USEFUL suggestions. I kind of like "The Last American Skysurfing Team," since we seem to be setting sail on a sinking ship of a sport, but Brains thinks that name may be a little long. So, if you've got any ideas, let us know. Blue skies, Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

I think what a lot of you don't realize is that many Olympic sports (long distance running, cycling, snow skiing, bob sledding) are not great spectator sports in a live venue, but they look good on TV, where the majority of the Olympic audience watches them. I'm pretty sure the Olympic committee is much more concerned with TV viewer interest than the handful of people who actually show up to watch the games in person. --Douva I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

A guy walks into a bar with a dog. The guy sits on a barstool, and the dog climbs up on a barstool. The bartender comes over and asks, "What'll you have?" The guy says, "I'll have a beer, and my dog will have a beer." Annoyed, the bartender asks the guy, "Will you take your dog down off the barstool and quit fooling around, please, sir?" "You don't understand; this is a talking dog," replies the guy. "If he's a talking dog, why didn't he order the beer himself?" "Okay," says the guy, "ask the dog what he wants." Skeptical, the bartender asks the dog, "What'll you have?" The dog immediately replies, "I'll have a beer." "Look," says the bartender, "if you're going to do some dumb ventriloquist act, just get out of here." "Fine," says the guy, "I'll go lock myself in the bathroom; you ask the dog what he wants." Reluctantly, the bartender agrees. The guy goes and locks himself in the bathroom. The bartender looks at the dog and asks sarcastically, "What'll you have?" "I'll have a beer," replies the dog. The bartender is blown away. "This is amazing! Who's ever heard of a talking dog? Alright, here's ten dollars. Go across the street, and ask for a beer. When they give it to you, spit it out, and tell them you like our beer better." The dog agrees, takes the money, and leaves. A few minutes later, the guy comes back from the bathroom. "Where's my dog?" "I sent him across the street to play a practical joke," explains the bartender. "I really wish you hadn't done that." The guy walks out of the bar to find his dog, and there in the middle of the street is his dog humping away at another dog. The guy exclaims in disgust, "I've never seen you do that before!" To which the dog replies, "I've never had ten bucks before." I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

"It wasn't easy, but I won this time. You are player number 2 to have chosen Ripcord. Ripcord was a tough one, but I've had a lot of practice. Thanks for giving me something to do. Please visit again soon." I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

"It wasn't easy, but I won this time. You are player number 133 to have chosen Cool Hand Luke. Cool Hand Luke was a tough one, but I've had a lot of practice. Thanks for giving me something to do. Please visit again soon." I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

10 days...Is it wrong to be flattered? I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.