NickDG

I got sidetracked this week as I'm trying to get an EMT job closer to my house. The drive to Santa Monica is epic and as good as that job is I'm done with just getting there . . . I've got an interview on Wednesday with an ambulance company in Glendale (a lot closer) so today I put Nina's motor back in. I also replaced the tube in the front tire that I pinched the first time . And I balanced the wheel too so that's ready to go on. Only issue now is I have to watch every move I make so as not to chip or ding the new paint. Oh well, only the first gouge hurts, the rest just adds character . Nina is pretty much spread all over the garage, but I only need a few more parts, and I'm getting excited . . . P.S. LisaH, not blowing you off, check your PMs. NickD

No, he never sued. He knew he didn't have a case. He was taught the procedure for a total malfunction. Which is basically what he had. Where he says, "They didn't teach me what to do when the "chute" goes away," he's going by video memory not actual memory of the jump. On the actual jump all he knew was he pulled the cord (albeit the wrong one) and nothing happened to arrest his fall. He was taught to go straight to silver which is what he eventually did at Moley's (mainside JM) urging. (I was on the same load and right behind Lutz with another student.) NickD

Yes, she was beautiful in that way all woman were back in the 30s and 40s. I think she was banging Howard Hughes around that time . . . NickD

>>Waiting for a call...

Happy B-Day, Pat . . . Smoke and drink a boat load, Brother! NickD

I remember Tommy in his pre-James Bond days. He set up a wooden booth at Elsinore (which we always had to reinforce when the wind blew) and he advertised 10 dollar black & white 8x10s of static line student jumps. That was about 1978 or so . . . NickD

Guess we all knew it was only a matter of time before this happened . . . A widow files suit against Harley-Davidson, says electronic throttle caused husband's death. http://www.dailyfinance.com/rtn/pr/widow-files-suit-against-harley-davidson/rfid309601950/ NickD

Man, I hate painting . . . It's not so much the amount of preparation, sanding, contouring and feeling up to make sure there's no ridges, potholes or divots, it's just so Navy. When I was in the Marine Corps it seemed like every Swab I ran into spent most of his time sanding and laying on paint. I'll be glad when this part of Nina's build is over. The only thing left to be painted is her lower legs and rear fender! NickD

The 5 Freeway suffered some damage. Cal Trans says there's a pretty large gap that opened up on the roadway in Downy. A good reminder to be careful driving after an earthquake. NickD

Cal Tech is calling it a 4.4 and it hit at 4:04 AM on the Whittier Fault in Pico Rivera. Our house shook for a good 15 seconds (after I woke up) accompanied with a rumbling sound. No reports of damage yet. But News reports are saying it was felt all over Southern California. The Whittier fault (part of the Elsinore Fault) had a 5.9 earthquake back in 1987 that I still remember well . . . NickD

Two good jolts here in California! Big enough it woke us up here (right outside LA) at 4:AM . . . Coffee's on! NickD

I smoked pot with Cosby once (Bill, not Bing) it was at a USO show in the early 70's. I was backstage with him (before he was Dr. Huckstable) taking photographs for the Stars & Stripes Newspaper and he had me frigging rolling on the floor . . . NickD

Really, a week "in the life" back then would have earned us an Amber Alert today . . . NickD

Know what the only thing better than being a kid in the sixties is? Being an old man in the naughts . . . NickD

It's Hot Rod Flatz. So no, no gloss. I hate gloss . . . NickD

>>Anyone old enough may remember this:

Paint Day . . . Finally got a 75 degree day in the garage here in California. I started at 6:AM this morning and shot the last coat at 5:PM. Between the final prep and deciding to quit stalling and go for it (because like welding paint is forever) I finally got Nina's frame painted. She looks sexy . . . I was going to shoot the fatbob tanks too but I noticed a last second ripple (damn swap meet tanks) so I laid on another layer of Bondo. Tomorrow I'll chisel it off. It's easy enough, you just sand off everything that doesn't look like a fatbob. I'll sleep good tonight . . . NickD

Anti-Windblast handles worked fine when you pulled like you're supposed to pull any ripcord handle - in a direction in-line with the ripcord housing. And that was if they were drilled out or not. And for the times they were the most snag resistant type handle available. There were some issues with the non-drilled out blast handles when jumpers tried pulling them at right angles, and a few other early jumpers mistook their open Capewell covers for the blast handle. I think it was the Brits (BPA) who banned them first then USPA followed suit like little ducklings. What was really dangerous was a lot of people switched over to those white plastic reserve handles with the thin center post (because they were cheap) but as soon as the weather turned cold when the handle hit the swedge during a pull they shattered like glass . . . NickD

Peter Graves dead at 83. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/actor-peter-graves-found-dead-at-his-home-in-pacific-palisades.html NickD

Wow, that's a neat looking springer, real old school . . . NickD

I don't get the ambu joke either (oh, those wacky brits) but Nina, or more correctly her license plate will read "9INA" because she's 9-feet long. My last Harley was, "Thirteena" LOL . . . NickD

Larry lived his last years in the Perris Ghetto and he and I played a lot of late night chess games over jugs of cheap wine. I recall one story where he went riding in the local mountains with another jumper who had a 1000 Ninja sport bike while Larry had that old rat Honda Magna of his. After the first few twisties, figuring for sure he'd left Larry in the dust, the other jumper looked in his rear view mirror and there was Larry, peg leg propped up in the wind, and right on his tail. Larry's motorcycle was in a shop in downtown Perris getting worked on the day he died on that demo. A few days later I went down to the shop to make arrangements with the owner about getting the bike for Larry's service. But the guy wasn't there and the shop was closed for the day. But I remember peering in through a dirty back window and seeing Larry''s bike sitting there patiently waiting, like a loyal dog, to be picked up. It was really sad in a way . . . Larry's judgment was a bit on the wain in those days. I know that because I began beating him regularly at chess. And that never happened before. His air skills were also getting a bit thin. By this time he was relegated to only doing reserve side on AFF Level Ones and teaching FJCs and I did a lot of those AFF dives with him. When he started funneling AFF Otter exits (never mind the Skyvan) I had a talk with Melanie about it. Larry was always straight up about saying to students, "Sorry, that exit was my fault." But it was impacting student confidence & enjoyment and getting scary for the rest of us jumping with him. I don't know how many dives went tumbling and I'd see Larry, then sky, then student, then Larry again, with that peg of his whipping by my head. The worse part is Larry was too old school to ever let go in a funnel and if he did you'd never see him again on that particular dive. He was a good friend to me over the years and I'm not disparaging him. The lesson in it for me was the day would come when we'd all have to hang up our AFF spurs. Melanie was sympathetic but told me to deal with it. When she was a little girl waiting out on Goetz Road for the school bus Larry was one of the first few jumpers she ever knew. And I understood how much it all meant to him too. So that's what we did, all of us who worked at Perris during that time, we dealt with it. When I saw the video of the demo I watched it several times wondering how he could have slammed himself into that wall after a low turn like he did. He'd never displayed any problems with canopy control in the past and he'd done probably hundreds of demos. I like to think he was taking evasive action for some unseen reason and I just let it go at that. I still miss our late night chess games . . . NickD

These always remind me of when the late Larry Yohn used to live in an old Twin Beech fuselage at Perris, LOL . . . http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2010/03/plane-obsessed-more-jet-hotels-and.html NickD

She's in Rio . . . ! NickD

It's happening . . . I think I'll be putting on my jumpsuit and gear and going live! http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/30-more-great-chat-roulette-screenshots NickD