NickDG

Why I vacated the BASE Zone . . . NickD

You must have served your sentence, but you're probably on probation now, LOL . . . NickD

Oh! You're one of those guys! You were probably on Meg Whitman's shit list! And she, it is said, never forgets her enemies. Now just wait'll she becomes Governor! Start buying ammo, bro . . . (I got a copy of the e-mail I sent the seller in my own e-mail box so I know he got it.) NickD

Yes, I hit send, and it went, and then it said my message to him had been sent. NickD

Are you sure about that? I just clicked on "Ask Seller a Question" and it still works. I asked him if he was open to offers. I could have just as easily made him an offer and did the deal off Ebay. I was at a bike show a year ago and saw two of those Antique Motorcycle Club of America guys almost came to blows over a very slight deviation in a paint scheme . . . NickD

I'll bet he got some low-ball offers after the auction closed via e-mail . . . I don't care for reserve auctions. Put the minimum price you're willing to take and let it fly. But, it could be he was just testing the waters. The reserve price might have been something insane but now there's a lot of folks who know about this motor who didn't before. I'd wait a few weeks and let the idea circulate among the collector community then put it up again. I don't know what they're called exactly but there's a certain class of motorcycle restorer, they belong to some organization I can't recall the name of, who are fanatical about everything being original down to the last nut, washer, and bolt. I can't believe those guys weren't all over this deal. Maybe there is something fishy going on . . . NickD

Wow, didn't budge off $3550! No sale! NickD

It would hurt if I won. I'd have to run out and stick up a few liquor stores toot sweet . . . NickD

Yeah, I thought of that too. But I later read on another forum that this was on display at a Harley dealer for many years in Tennessee. And the consensus is it's real. The MOCO was pressuring that particular dealer to move out of the traditional one story red brick building he'd been in for sixty years and build one of the glass and steel multi-million dollar bike/boutique monstrosities. He finally told the MOCO to go to hell and liquidated everything, including this motor . . . Fifteen minutes left . . . Man, should I take a chance and hit it for 4 grand? NickD

That Flathead is sitting at $3550 with an hour to go. (Reserve not me.) Either the economy is killing it or there will be a flurry of last second bidding . . . NickD

It doesn't entirely sound like the seller knows what he has there. Although I'm sure he knows it's valuable. I wonder what his reserve price is? This one will be interesting to watch . . . Man, that would look so great on display next to the bar in my game room. Of course first off I'd have to build a bar and a game room . . . NickD

Hey, check this out on Ebay . . . A Harley 45 motor in its original crate!!! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ANTIQUE-HARLEY-DAVIDSON-MOTOR-BRAND-NEW-ORIG-CRATE-/280516260470?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4150127276 NickD

>>I had to use a remote tank

Yup, I haven't had her on the freeway, or even out of fourth gear yet, so there's that. Plus the fear of a high speed tank slapping death wobble. But she seems pretty solid so far. But I've known plenty of woman that seemed that way too . . . So I'll be careful . . . NickD

I received the GoPro HD video camera yesterday and spent last night playing with it . . . So far I'm very impressed. I purchased one of the first consumer video cameras back in 1983, a JVC, for skydiving and I paid through the nose for it. But even then they weren't true "camcorders" and while the camera was small and light for the time it still had a separate recording deck you had to wear in a pouch on your chest. But the deck was smaller than anything else available at the time, about the size of a thick cigar box, and I was styling at the DZ with that thing. It was really the first affordable setup where you didn't have to modify your harness to get to your handles. So when I look and play around with this GoPro I can't help but be amazed. It comes with a couple types of mounts including a seemingly bullet proof suction device mount. I stuck that on my helmet and for a few horrifying seconds thought I'd never get it off again. But that mount raises the camera level pretty high. So I opted for the 3M sticky mount. I put that one on the helmet last evening and let it cure overnight. I also just today ordered the chest mount for it, as I think that will give more of a cockpit view, but I won't have that for a few days yet. I was just going to build one, but that means breaking out the sewing machine which is packed away, so what the heck, it was only $35. The camera has five different shooting modes so I'm not sure I'm using the best one, and each mode also changes the field of view. I shot this first vid at 960p and 30 frames a second which is the default for the camera. It's a bit cloudy and overcast here today, but it looks all right to me. Not quite as good as the original but YouTube down compresses it I guess. It looks beautiful on my TV. Switch to 720P when you get to Youtube and crank up the speakers . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0d6Umunr5Y Julia's gonna crap when I come to bed tonight wearing my helmet . . . LOL! NickD

Whatever . . . NickD

When all I ever did was be on the DZ and hang with jumpers day and night I naturally thought "we" were kinda special too. But I never gave voice to it. One day I was teaching in an instructor seminar thing and one of the speakers went on about how unique and special jumpers are and it struck me how ridiculous he sounded. Since then I've learned this "group think" affects many people. I've seen it in sailors, bikers, and medics. And I dare say you'll find it in truckers, moonshiners, and those guys who dig holes in the ground in Idaho to await the apocalypse. The truth is fun, interesting, and warm people who are a joy to be around exist everywhere, even on your local bowling team! NickD

I conked out last night but what great news to wake up to! The Airbus crew spotted her boat "Wild Eyes" in an upright position but her rig is gone (she's demasted.) Abby reported (via radio) her supply of food and water is intact and she's now just waiting for the French to reach her. Now that that's been established we can start in on her jackass parents, two holey rollers, who believed less in proper planning and more in the Lord looking after her. NickD

In this case that argument doesn't work. You're in Nzed so you know it's winter in the southern hemisphere. Hell, not even the U.S. Navy sends capital ships into those waters this time of year. And sure, you jump, you like the adventure, but when the wind is blowing like stink you're on the ground drinking Black Mac like everyone else . . . NickD

Here's the latest: I didn't figure the time right in my first post so the Qantas jet (an A330) has just taken off and will be over her position in 4 to 5 hours. Her two EPIRB signals are showing a 1 knot drift. If her boat was upright (in the current WX conditions) she'd be going faster. If she was in her inflatable lifeboat she'd be going faster. If she was in the water (she has a full on survival suit) she'd be going faster. The thinking is she has lost the keel and the boat is laying on it's side with its mast and sails in the water. Or she's completely inverted. It's the only thing that accounts for the one knot speed. The crews in the A330 are going to have a tough time spotting her, as visibility (looking downward) would be inadequate and they will have to stand off to really see anything. But there is also a low solid cloud deck in the area. The do have marine VHF radio aboard so they may be able to make contact with her. The nearest ship is now reported to be a French fishing vessel which is steaming towards her position. But it is 30 hours away. If she's laying on her side, or inverted, in the current winds and sea state it will be absolute hell on earth inside that boat for the next 30 hours. And over the roar of the conditions there's a good chance she'd never even hear the aircraft fly over. Whoever thought tackling the Roaring 40s in June was a good idea is out of their minds. One saving grace is she's on a good boat, an Open 40. It's got plenty of flotation built in and it would seriously have to almost disintegrate before it would sink. But its cold too. If the boat's not upright it's going to be watering, and even in a survival suit hypothermia is really a matter of time not temperature. If I figured it right we should hear something from the aircraft tonight about midnight pacific time . . . NickD

She's in the middle of nowhere too. About 2000 NM from Perth in Southern Ocean. I've been following her on another forum and what they know so far is two of her three EPIRBs were activated (those are emergency locater beacons similar to the ELTs you might be more familiar with on aircraft.) One EPIRB that activated was her personal one, the other a hand held. The third one is connected to the boat and needs to be submerged to activate. and so far it hasn't so there is some hope the boat is still afloat. A aircraft has been charted from Quantis and will do a fly over at first light, which actually should be anytime about now. The WX and sea state in her area is not good. I'll not comment on how I feel about these types of endeavors involving young children and just hope to hell they find her safe. The nearest ships (two of them) are 40 and 48 hours away from her position. NickD

You're blaming the wrong people. I'd direct my angst at Mirage Systems for requiring a signature in the first place. They do that to try and protect themselves (not you.) I worked for major rig manufacturer for many years and if they aren't big enough to eat a very seldom genuinely lost in transit rig you're dealing with the wrong folks. Besides it costs them a third (or less) of the $2600 they charge you for a container to just build you another one. (And they could build that rig in a day or two if they don't pretend it's not their fault and put you back in the rear of the queue.) NickD

Happy BD! NickD

Show up in the Ghetto (across the street from the Perris DZ) with some beer and pharmaceuticals. I'm sure you'll wind up with a place to crash, and probably a couple of woman too . . . NickD

A friend of mine, a B.A.S.E. jumper, was traveling through King's Cross in the 80s when some "zipper ripper" copped 1600 bucks out of his back pack. He went to the station master to report it and all they did was announce, "Attention, pick pockets are operating in the station!" Over the loud speakers. "Is that all you're going to do?" My buddy asked in disbelief and they replied, "This ain't America, mate. Everybody here rows their own boat!" Ya gotta hand it to the limeys sometimes . . . NickD