NickDG

Keyhole software (in conjunction with Google) has a new satellite mapping program out. It's like the terra server only a million time better. It's simply incredible, search for BASE sites almost anywhere in the world. It's payware, but there's a 7-day free trial. http://www.keyhole.com Enjoy! NickD

We made that freefall chart back in the early 90s. So no, it doesn't take into account all the advancements made since. I created that website, and to say the least it needs updating. But, I don't work there anymore, and I'm sure after all the merger biz is over, the website will get a face lift in content and presentation. Nick

Before you do anything else determine if this is an AM or FM tower. If its AM, and its in operation you need to make a decision. There is some risk in climbing live AM towers because you are being dosed with mega amounts of Electro Magnetic Radiation. Doctors believe we all have a cancer switch inside our bodies, but they say what flips that switch is different for different people. AM towers sit on big glass insulators and the guy wires are also so insulated. The entire AM structure is radiating a signal. Touch the tower itself while standing on the ground, or somehow being grounded while in contact with the tower, or if the tower should somehow shorts itself out while you are on it, and it's the electric chair. FM towers just stand to hold up smaller radiators that are insulated from the tower itself and the current advise is just stay away from these smaller radiators. Of course, in either case the safest tower is a non-operational one. Check with the FCC and you may be able to find out if this tower is in operation. (Tell them you're looking at some property in the area). Every BASE jumper should be buying satellite radio. The sooner Sat Radio takes off, the sooner the over the air stations will start going out of business. Someday the world is going to be full of non-operational radio towers. NickD

Hi Gerald, Long time no see . . . I don't think I've ever heard of an "actual save" on a Sorcerer. If there has been one (or more) please let me know. (I'd want to get that right in the book). I have, of course, seen many funaways on the system, and I've came to the conclusion that basically, that's the niche that rig fit into. Mark, however, does have countless saves to his credit since he showed us the line mod back in the day. I was jumping a bagged sail slider deployed, steering lines through everything Cruiselite from a local tower when I met Mark for the first time in 1985. He walked up to me, looked at my set-up and said, "You're an asshole." It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship . . . NickD

This has certainly happened to other manufacturers, so I'm not singling them out, but once years ago, we received a Tempo for installation in a customer's new rig. When I opened the box it looked like a hundred other new reserves I've seen and then I hung it up. I'm just about to begin a continuity check and standing at the link end talking to the customer. The canopy is clean and white and all pretty looking and the customer is beaming. We walked up to the canopy and he touched it, caressed it really, and he's drinking in that sweet scent of new canopy. I picked up the steering lines. The attachment between the line and the attachment tab is loose, but that's normal for a new canopy as they haven't taken a set yet. But there's something else going on here and I looked closer. It's then I notice there's no bar tack in the line or on the attachment tab. The finger trap in the line is all that's holding them in place. Opps! The moral dilemma is do I mention this to the customer? If it's the only problem with the canopy it's easily remedied. But, I'm in the rigger/instructor dilemma. As his rigger I should tell him. As his Instructor I don't want to saddle him with the unnecessary gear fear he might feel toward that canopy. I won't say which I did. All new gear needs to be inspected inside and out . . . NickD

I especially like watching it with someone who's never seen it, and love that point where they finally get it. There are more good lines and context in this film than almost any other I've seen . . . "Let's go, mime is money!" "It's time to kick arse!" "That's from Spinal Tap, currently residing in the where are they now file." NickD

Crime in some form, will touch all of us at one time or another. However, the chances something violent will occur is not as probable as it seems in this "we hear about everything scary" media age. I'll guess it's a doper looking for your TV in order to score another baggie, or whatever the modern equivalent of that is . . . Or, if you just moved in, they may have thought the apartment still unoccupied and are just looking for a place to crash. Of course you need to be a "bit" careful, but move through life like you own it (you do after all) and chances are nothing bad will happen to you. And get a dog. With the other option, and a little paranoia, the chances of a dead cable guy in your hallway goes way up . . . Nick

I'm not at all religious, nor do I know many BASE jumper who are. However, I've heard more than one BASE jumper climbing a ladder, or darkened stairwell, muttering, "Okay, God, just one more time . . ." If there is a God, I'm sure when he looks down on us BASE jumpers, he gives Mary the elbow and says proudly, "look at that, the thing I made them the most afraid of, they went and turned into a sport . . . !" Nick

From :http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11229960%5E2702,00.html NickD BASE 194 Jumper dies on way to funeral by Natasha Robinson October 30, 2004 THEY gathered yesterday to bury one of the heroes of their sport. But at the Canberra funeral of the man they called "Slim", a BASE jumper who packed more into one short life than most would in 10, news was breaking in the jumping community that just 100km away, another of their own was lying dead at the bottom of a gorge. Roland "Slim" Simpson died last Friday in a Canberra hospital from injuries suffered when he slammed into the roof of a Shanghai building after jumping from the 421m-high Jinmao Tower on October 5. Yesterday, one of Slim's mates was on the way to Canberra to bid him farewell. He had travelled from Brisbane for Slim's funeral, and stopped off at a cliff jump-site bordering the Morton National Park, near Goulburn, for a dawn plunge. He never made it to the funeral. At 7.16am, an anonymous 000 call was logged: something had gone terribly wrong at Slot Canyon. Three hours later, after calling in the police helicopter and rescue squad, Goulburn police made the grisly find. The body was so badly injured that they did not expect to be able to positively identify the man for several days. The BASE jumping community was doing all it could last night to assist police, who are preparing a report for the coroner. It was the third such tragedy in a month, with another BASE jumper severely injuring himself after jumping from Sydney's North Head on October 13. Yesterday's death might have shocked BASE jumping enthusiasts, but it could hardly have surprised them. The highly experienced Brisbane jumper in his late 20s, also a gymnast and springboard diver, was known for his dangerous manoeuvres. During yesterday's tragic final jump from the canyon -- which has walls that tower 275m above the scrub below -- the somersault he attempted proved too difficult even for the most agile of men. "He was a very, very experienced BASE jumper who was trying something very advanced, a very difficult, tricky, advanced move, and unfortunately he hit the cliff," friend Glenn Singleman said. But Mr Singleman had no doubt his mate died doing something he loved. Yesterday's death, the North Head accident and Simpson's funeral follow the death of Australian Dwain Weston a year ago in Colorado, in the US, when attempting a complex jump from a plane. Although illegal in Australia, BASE jumpers insist their sport is legitimate, and should command respect. "We see ourselves as people passionate about pushing our own boundaries, discovering what is possible," Mr Singleman said. At the funeral yesterday, many jumpers were asking "Why do we do this?", Mr Singleman said. Eulogies on Simpson's fearless spirit provided one answer. "In a way, it's sort of a statement of the human condition," Mr Singleman said.

Since I wasn't checking anything in, a week prior I made a mental note to remove the hook knife from the BASE rig I intended to carry aboard the flight to Bridge Day. I figured I could purchase another knife at the BASE trade show. When I opened my gear bag at Bridge Day there it was, still sitting on the chest strap. (And it was one of those big honking ones too.) It sailed right by the screener and the x-ray machine at San Diego Airport. They did look in my boots, though . . . NickD

>>I took the boy to my room

>>Do you think the 50 jump rule is not enough? If so, then what would be a good number?

>>Dick DG by far does the best job responding to the "what are we going to do about all these newbies" threads.

Tom has made this point and maybe better than I can, but Bridge Day is a stand alone event. It has a history, traditions, a life of it's own really, and certainly it can be viewed separately from the rest of the sport. A person making a first BASE jump with only 50 skydives at Bridge Day will have a very different experience than the person who does the same thing in a more traditional BASE environment. And anyway, when I think of hard numbers, in terms of when to begin BASE jumping, I temper my thoughts with the memory of my own first BASE jump. I had 650 skydives at the time and the whole thing was still a big scary blur that ended in a dodgy landing. There is something else about Bridge Day and it's something we noticed years ago, and something jumpers still remark about today. You can stand by the rail for a few hours, and see almost every conceivable parachuting mistake that's possible to make, yet the parachutes still seem to work. No, we aren't kidding ourselves. I realize if it was the New River Gorge Building, instead of Bridge, we'd need industrial size squeegees to scrap them off. However, training, especially with all the advances that have occurred in that area, is steadily closing the gap from when we all thought you needed at least 500 skydives to make a first BASE jump. In fact, there was no number then, it is just understood that you should be an "experienced" jumper. The first time anyone said you needed 150 to 200 skydives prior to BASE is when the BASE gear manufacturers did it. This was in response to some people buying BASE rigs over the phone and making BASE jumps on their own with no prior parachuting experience. Two or three of these folks are on the list. Will the training level ever get to the point that a BASE jump can routinely be a very first jump? I don't know. But, I wouldn't bet against it. Someone up-board mentioned old timers with attitudes. I can't say (as I'm barely an old timer myself

You are only behind the person in front of you. Nick

Cool meeting you Donk, and the I don't know how many others. Many intro'd themselves by saying, "Hi Nick, I'm a friend of Rayman." (Hey Ray, there's people living in your building now.) I made my jump at 9:30 at Bridge Day as I thought the WX might get worse. By the time I realized it was actually getting better it is too late for me from a sobriety standpoint . . . The VideoFest, I'm pretty sure, was a hoot. Russel, pBASE #1, was awesome. And the opportunity to present his award an honor. I also gave the BASE Fellowship Award to Joy Harrison and Tom Aiello. Joy for getting the BASE numbers back on track, and Tom for just being Tom. I wonder how long it will be before anyone asks Russel, "So what'd you do, take a leak on all four objects . . . ? NickD

Simon Jakeman wrote this of people looking over the edge in his book Groundrush. "Sometimes people stare too long and the madness takes them." NickD BASE 194

>>Today I made my 27th jump, and met the last of the A license requirements.

With BD-2004, my 50th B-Day, and seeing so many old and so many new friends I wanted to mention that October 22nd is five years since we said goodbye to Jan Davis. She was a wonderful person and I miss her . . . I've also updated the List to include Slim. One relief death will bring me is not having to add names to that List anymore . . . NickD BASE 194

>>Just being there that day was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I showed that video and the first stowed jump video to a friend last night, and he was very impressed by both. He asked "Why did he land in the water both times?" And I replied, "Oh, because he's a paraplegic." He had no idea.

My excuses (in no particular order) . . . - I never was a good writer. - I'm working on a new secret BASE code. - Don't read Italian, eh? - I was drunk. - I was at Bridge Day. - It was my birthday. NickD

Thanks, Jason, I had a blast . . . you and your staff did a wonderful job. But, enough of that crap. Here's a photo of me. And, it was my 50th birthday . . . ! NickD

From: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11051143%5E1702,00.html NickD BASE 194 Base jumper critical, parachute fails October 12, 2004 A BASE jumper was critically injured when his parachute malfunctioned during a leap off Sydney's North Head today. A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said the man, in his 20s, was attempting the jump at North Head lookout near Manly, shortly before 1.30pm (AEST) when his parachute failed. He landed at the bottom of a cliff and suffered head and multiple other injuries, the spokeswoman said. "Two rock climbers nearby assisted in the rescue," she said. Ambulance rescue officers called the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue helicopter to the scene, and the man was airlifted to Royal North Shore Hospital for treatment.

Hi Robin, Gee, brother, what was that all about? Oh, never mind, you've been on the edge of the edge for as long as I've known you. Are you going to rehab at Moms or back in Perris? If Perris, you'll be in the very same abode where I spent a year in plaster. That's why all those ramps are there when you moved in. When you took them up to build that beautiful wooden deck I remember Al Frisby muttering, "eh . . . that's a mistake."