NickDG

>>Stowed is just mental.

One thing I'll hand to Tony Blair is he stands up in front of his people and takes the heat. He does it both in the House of Commons and in what we'd call town meetings. You can't say that about the other guy, er chickenhawk, punk, deserter . . . NickD

I'm with you . . . Everytime I see Marine One lift off, and in defference to my brother Marines on board who sign up to die for a good cause, I hope it slings a blade. And, of course, that blade cuts Channey in two too . . . NickD

This is an old one, but I know Dennis M. nailed it when he said, "Risking it all, for nothing . . ." NickD

I got my one and only tat in 1972, long after the WWII fad was over. My advice would be if everyone is doing it, don't . . . NickD

>>4 of us who have recently purchased gear and will be making our first jumps at bridge day.< While it may not seem like it right now, the above is going to solve all your problems . . . Enjoy . . . NickD

Russel, If you don't shop that wheeler launch photo out to all the various magazines devoted to the subject like, http://www.ablemagazine.co.uk/this_issue/default.asp, and while I know how humble you are, you're messing up. That's a cover shot . . . NickD

Just to round out for perspective BASE jumpers reading all this . . . The days of going it alone are long gone, take a course, any course . . . and take comfort in the fact that if any of the above mentioned courses were "in doubt" you'd be hearing about here . . . NickD

>>BASE would cost a shit load if it were sold by the gram....

Very cool, Brother . . . Beer, BASE videos, and free advice are all yours if you ever hit So Cal . . . NickD

Hi Darin, Although you can get a different slant by reading some of the stuff posted on this board, in my opinion and in general (because I don't you and there are exceptions) 50 jumps aren't enough to consider BASE jumping. BASE hasn't yet (thank goodness) reached the point where you can crack open the yellow pages and pay to play. The first hurdle almost all past and future BASE jumpers overcome is finding other BASE jumpers, and then convincing those BASE jumpers that they are ready. Once you have a couple hundred skydives the commercial courses like Apex's, Johnny Utah's, and the free courses offered by Tom Aiello, will become available to you. As a practical suggestion Bridge Day in West Virginia is a little more than a month away. I'd say drive or fly up there and spend the weekend. You'll be able to see more BASE jumps and talk to more BASE jumpers then anywhere else in a short of period of time. You could even volunteer to help out and this would help make the connections you need for later. Heck, after Bridge Day you may even decide BASE isn't your cup of tea . . . Go here http://www.bridgeday.info/ for more info on Bridge Day, but also let me say this. The current rules for first time jumpers at the event stands at 50 jumps. I know that isn't jibing with what I said earlier but it’s a matter of understanding the history and nature of this unique event which is nothing like the rest of the sport. NickD

Cornered on the 64th floor by a police helicopter and flashlights coming up the stairs we thought all was lost. Then a booming amplified voice pointed the way for us. "Don't jump cause we'll catch ya!" They caught none of us . . . NickD

I often feel braver alone as I feel more in control of events to come. It's the doubts expressed by others that sometimes spooks me. I'm screwed as soon as someone says, "It don't feel right." I took to jumping alone quite a bit, and thought I had fear thing licked, until one night I was on the 40th floor and looking over the edge. There is no wind, no traffic, and the big empty parking lot across the street is massive. There is nothing at all to stop me from going. But, I just couldn't do it . . . Ever feel like that . . . ? I was in a fight with my inner man and I lost. I climbed that building twice more and the same thing happened and I walked back down both times. The fourth time I did just as you said, I just went. However, later I realized I didn’t win that game, I just choose not to play . . . NickD

Both Moe Viletto and I, and I've heard of several others, have cutaway security guards in tow. Mine had me by the bridle and was reeling me in. I chopped him and he fell right on his ass . . . Another time I functioned off a really low bridge and while I creamed into the rocks my canopy fell into a rushing river. Had I not been able to cutaway I probably would have been pulled into the river and drowned, as I doubt I would have stayed afloat for long with two broken legs . . . NickD

We once thought a pistol deployed reserve would be the hot ticket in BASE jumping. But, then we realized it was just better to do everything right the first time. BASE rigs tend to work more often that not by virtue of their simplicity. Sometimes the reason you need two canopies is because you have two canopies. Not only is a two canopy rig more complicated, it lends itself to sloppy packing, deferred maintenance, and in general the taking of unnecessary chances because, "I have a reserve." There is, however, still a use for a pistol deployed reserve in BASE jumping. When all is lost and you are passing through that last fifty feet over downtown, you can pull it out, point it at your head, and pull the trigger . . . NickD

I'm in, and bought two tickets . . . Thanks, Martin . . . NickD

Gee Russel, you're re-defining Rock & Roll! NickD

I agree with Jimbo. Pilots treat parachutes horribly and most consider them just a nuisance. You see rigs years out of date, you see them hanging from nails on hangar walls or piled in a heap in the corner. They often get drenched in sweat and left inside aircraft to bake on the flight line. I remember one pilot rig years ago that passed from pilot to pilot for a few years without benefit of rigger intervention before a glider pilot was forced to use it. He died as the rig was essentially field packed with the lines daisy chained. Yes, they should up the repack cycle on sport rigs, but pilot rigs should probably go back to 60 days . . . NickD

Keely, I think what most are talking about is their own experience. It's like when I hear a first time tandem come down and breathlessly exclaim, "Man, I could have never done that on my own," when I know they could have, just like so many did and still do, when they aren’t presented with tandem as the only way to go. NickD

Here in San Diego when we had the big fires many people who evacuated their homes gathered in the local football stadium. They were attended to by plain old volunteers who appeared out of nowhere. I was one of those volunteers and we made sure all had water and something to eat. When the smoke got worse I went around and talked local hotels into giving up whatever rooms they had to get the older and younger people indoors. When we moved the whole operation to Balboa Park it was the first time in three days I ran into anyone from the Red Cross. Unlike the grass roots effort that actually did something here was the Red Cross, the first people I saw sitting down. They were spending more time filling out paperwork than actually helping anyone . . . In this case the Red Cross was a bloated bureaucratic joke . . . NickD

What a relief, I thought this was about something happening to the bridge of the same name . . . ! NickD

>Outlaw drugs, sex and rock & roll. Hell no. How can we as a society help people from hurting themselves and the ones they loved. Reality we can't

The BASE number list is "confidential" as Carl Boenish promised it would be, and in that respect a glance at the list shows an asterisk (meaning confidential) after quite a few names. I don’t think any of us have the right to renege on that, at least not for another fifty years or so . . . and yes while a lot of us have seen it, no one has published it . . . What is it that you "don't get " about that? NickD

At fifty years old I think alcohol and drugs brings people face to face with their inner self, and "that's" what they don't handle well. So, they just say no. You might as well say no to life. A drug free society is intolerable and counterproductive in the long run, Shakespeare was a marijuana smoker, and so was Louie Armstrong, as was A. Conan Doyle, and in terms of what's real the only thing that doesn't make sense is intolerance . . . and it's a juxtaposition of what we really are capable of . . . Hello, is anyone out there? . . . I think totally sober people suck. Just Say Yes . . . NickD

Agreed, every newbie loves the person who didn't kill them, be it BASE, or be it skydiving. It's why in the ranks of those who teach, even if some won’t admit it, what your student says means squat. It's what your peer instructors say about you that counts and those who hide behind their students are, well, people who hide behind their students . . . NickD