NickDG

The Earth is 4.55 billion years old and we humans have walked it for 200,000 years. What's the chances it'll all end on your watch? Stop watching TV . . . NickD

Doug Fieger, The Knack lead singer, died today of Cancer in Woodland Hills, California, he was 57. "My Sharona" Live, 1979 . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5yWDPGfbUc&feature=player_embedded NickD

>>Anyone else notice that ski jumping looks a lot like tracking with skis on your feet?

I don't know if the skis are holding them back at all. I'd bet when the jumper places them correctly into the relative wind they do generate a lot of lift. I'm not sure what the drag co-efficient is but I'll guess if somehow the skis dropped off right at take-of the jumpers wouldn't fly as far. Or be able to make another jump . . . NickD

Warning: This is a critique so expect it to be critical! I don't want to get on the Canadians too much due to the fact if Sarah Palin somehow becomes President in 2012 I'll be moving there . . . But the Olympic opening ceremony, after they had four years to prepare for it, blew chunks. I like Bob Costas as a sports announcer when he's doing baseball, he's about my age, grew up in the same area as me so I get how he thinks, but the Olympics are too big for him and it was painfully obvious. Listening to him read off his sheet of pithy "color" comments during the parade of athletes, where silence would have served better, just didn't work. It was more painful than those two nimrods that do the Rose Bowl Parade. And that's going some. Iran marching in separated (my eyes were already glazing over so I’ve forgotten by which country?) from Israel (don’t accuse me of politicizing the games, as that ship sailed long ago) was more telling of our failure as human beings rather than fostering any Olympic ideal. Just once I like to see the kids from those two countries break their protocol of hate, clasp hands, throw their flags together, and march out as one. I guess I’ll have to wait for a generation of young people with more balls. And oh my, the Indian thing? First off those hideous and phallic looking statues were anything but welcoming. And I feared one, or more, of the many overweight dancers would keel over being made to dance all through the parade of athletes. In some of the cutaway shots you could really see their fatigue. And something someone watching with me said made sense. “If I was an aboriginal I’d want to showcase my people’s progress, not look like I’m performing for tourist coins tossed into a hat.” If I can digress, prior to the opening ceremony itself NBC dwelled on the death of the slider too much. Sure it had to be acknowledged but to me it seemed they were trying to boost viewership for the Luge events. Where I’m sure advertisers are clamoring to have their adverts placed. And that bit about the Georgians not competing, let alone not marching, might have been true for a moment or two of discussion, but how could they not? I’m loath to say it, but the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, the thing I actually tuned in to see I missed because I fell asleep! But in reading around the net this morning it sounds like it was "sort" of a mechanical flop. I keep trying to catch it on Youtube but NBC is pulling the links as fast as people are posting them. And NBC TV news this morning seems to be skirting it alltogether. But it sounds like Gretsky’s big moment turned sour and awkward. To be fair lots of folks are saying the ceremonies were great, terrific, wonderful, even the best ever (?) and yes, it had its moments. The Mounties marching in with the Canadian flag was very moving. The guy who boarded through the rings was good too, but they screwed that up when he spoke to welcome everyone. By that point we’d already been welcomed ad nauseam. The woman that sang the Canadian National Anthem, while a good singer, made is sound almost unrecognizable. It was way too R&B sounding. And “We are the World” in the post-show? There’s a moldy oldie long past retirement age. I liked the narration that Donald Sutherland did. And it’s amazing how some people’s voices are so instantly recognizable. So overall I give the whole shebang (shedud?) a mark of C+. Now let the games begin! NickD

Some are the saying the course is built backwards to the usual ones. The hardest part is at the bottom instead of the top. Just a thought, maybe they should scrap whom ever they chose to light the flame. Then get four guys and this guy's sled, fasten the torch to the sled, and then carry it up to the flame. It would bring down the house . . . NickD

IAD (always sounds like a form of birth control to me) has it's own horror stories . . . NickD

Anyone can get a truncated version of someone's military records. The more detailed versions are reserved for the veteran themselves and next of kin. You need to d/l the form, fill it out and mail it to: The National Personnel Records Center 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, Missouri 63132 There's no online way to do this, it must be in writing. The form you need is here: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html NickD

I put up my hillbilly paint booth up today so primer, sand, and paint in the morning . . . I also finally found a decent oil tank. I'm running my battery in a box that sits behind the transmission so I needed a round oil tank (not partial to the horseshoe ones) without a battery box built in. And decent ones are hard to find at good prices. I found an outfit that builds good ones and sells them for $114. They are 4 quart and have the proper standoffs inside. But they had an internet auction and I got one for 69.99! When I got it and saw how well it was built I almost wanted to send them another fifty bucks out of guilt. It's a raw steel tank so I'm thinking polishing it might look all right. NickD

I saw one of the past Olympic ski-jump venues in Innsbruck. I wouldn't have the cods to make it down the ramp, never mind the other part . . . Always been my favorite event though. NickD

I always look forward to seeing who the final torch bearer will be. What I'm hearing now is it's between Wayne Gretzky and Lady GaGa . . . NickD

Ok, here's how I feel about that. Sealers are almost a must with aftermarket tanks, the ones most likely to have or develop pinhole leaks in or around bad welds. Nina's tanks are real MoCo ones. And I already pressure checked them and they are fine. I've also read too many horror stories about these sealers peeling and making a bit mess. If anything gets into the carb, I don't want it to be that stuff. Lastly, I've never run it in any bike I've had in the past, and in general people have been using un-coated tanks for a hundred years, so why all of a sudden do you need a sealer? Naw, too new newfangled to me . . . NickD

That's one I never would have thought of . . . Thanks, NickD

That photo was in that book we all read. And that's why we where (are) so anal about handles . . . NickD

Yes, you can get a petcock that fits into the tank with a filter above and inside the tank. Plus like I said I'll run another one inline below that and before the fuel hits the carb . . . NickD

And OMG what am I doing here . . . RRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP !!! NickD

Wow! That photo rocks! Thanks . . . NickD

The rain stymied my painting plans, but I've got a week ahead that looks like sunshine and 70 degrees (boy, I love California) so I was on rust busting duty today. Nina's fatbobs, which were rusty inside when I bought them two years ago at the Long Beach Cycle swap meet, took some effort to clean up. I put some gravel I bought at that local OSH store inside and tumbled them in the clothes dryer covered in old rugs. (I hope Julia never finds this thread as she told me not to do that in "her" dryer.) I actually made an attempt to shake them manually but when the man boobs started jiggling I gave up. I couldn't seem to get them 100% clean but I'll run double filters, one above the petcock, and one in-line to catch what's left. And I'm sure what gets through Nina will eat like an in-between meal snack. She's all broke down for paint now and looking kinda sad . . . NickD

Damn! I was wasting my time posting in "Speaker's Corner" and missed it . . . NickD

>>"Mission Accomplished"

>>Should make for some"interesting" times.

On the subject of "coddling" which someone mentioned upboard in relation to using the word "failed." Point taken, it is a small thing. But it was (is?) something we taught new instructors to get them into a better mindset for becoming effective teachers. If you want to talk "coddling" the biggest coddle in skydiving right now is tandem jumping. You all share the sky with mostly people who didn't have the "cods" to take a class and go it alone. The way hundreds of thousands did it before the early 80s and the advent of tandem. But don't get me started on that . . . The biggest reason I've always advocated a warmer fuzzier approach to skydiving instruction is not for student retention, not for good business practice, and not just because I'm a very nice guy. It's because a lot of us who started in the 1970s where basically treated as dog shit as students. Training in those days still had a slight military edge to it where lots of yelling and screaming and being called stupid wasn't too uncommon. But that wasn't the worse part. Sometimes today I read about new jumpers asking how to make friends on the DZ and saying how cold experienced jumpers seem to be. And I can't help but laugh. They don't know what "cold" is . . . Students (in my day) weren't the life blood of a DZ as they are now. So we were bumped for ordinary RW loads. But the worst of it was, until you proved yourself as a competent jumper, someone who wouldn't screw up other people's jumps, you were just a non-person. And I mean to the point people wouldn't just not talk to you, they'd walk away to avoid even getting close to you. "Maybe it was just you, Nick." No, they did it to everyone. To the skygods of the day, and that was pretty much anybody with more jumps than you, skydiving was a exclusive club and this "silent treatment" was part, they all thought, of the initiation. Two exceptions were being a woman, or connected by blood or strong friendship to an experienced jumper. There were some others too, some jumpers would engage you proving it's just not possible for everyone to be a prick, but more than not they were. On the plus side it made us, students up through hundred jump wonders, (where the ice finally began thawing) very self sufficient. BTW, that's where the phrase, "hundred jump wonder" really comes from. We were treated so badly it was a "wonder" anybody stuck it out to reach a hundred jumps. Out of desperation beginning jumpers formed strong bonds with each other, bonds that lasted a lifetime in some cases. I would have given anything for an internet in those days - somewhere to ask the questions I wasn't getting answers to on the DZ. I even tried other DZs in other states figuring this can't be how it is, but it was the same all over. And then one day when I had about 150 jumps, mostly solos or with my fellow beginners, out of the blue I got the nod! They needed someone to fill out a six way and I was the only one sitting around. I was so nervous I couldn't even speak. And you guessed it - I buggered up the exit, took the wrong slot, and then finally funneled the whole damn thing. The walk in was, to this day, the longest of my entire life. And then it began. The stink eye. I was getting it from Larry Fatinio, from Al Frisby, from Jerry Myers, from all the big guns of the day. (If you're guessing this is Elsinore around 1978 you'd be right.) I started to pack but my heart wasn't in it. I wanted to go drown myself in the lake. And then someone came up behind me, another guy on the load I’d just hammered. I think it was Tom Start, but I'm not sure as I just stared down at his shoes and waited for another put down. "You know, guy," he began," you need more practice, why don't you go over the hill, you know, to Perris, and make another hundred jumps. And then you can come back here and maybe get on the hot loads." And he walked away. The hot loads. That phrase was now burned into my brain. "I wasn't good enough for the hot loads." For me there was no use hanging around Elsinore anymore. I was done. I'd never be asked on a jump again. I thought about quitting altogether, like I did a hundred times already, but that was out of the question. I wanted it too badly; I guess in a perverted way, although I hated them all, I wanted to be one of those guys. So I sucked it up, loaded up my car, and went over the hill to Perris. I had to stop twice and ask directions as I didn’t even know where it was. When I got there I decided to be more forceful, to come on a bit stronger, to make them like me. I pulled into the Perris parking lot. And “Gee, not much here,” is what I remember thinking. But I threw my kit bag over my shoulder and took a deep breath. There was a bunch of jumpers sitting around a picnic table so I put my head up straight and strode purposefully right up to them. One of them looked up, it was Alan Richter. I stuck out my hand and said, “Hi, my name is Nick.” And he said, “So what?” I didn't know what to say so I mentioned coming over from Elsinore and got, “Great, another fucking turkey from ElllSeeNore!” So I started all over again. But Tom was right, all I needed was more practice, and it took a while but I made good this time. Even before that time I already knew I wanted to be a skydiving instructor and nothing else. And I promised myself when I became one I’d do everything I could to change things in favor of treating beginners better. I didn’t change things alone, of course. But I think my student generation, the ones who would become the next generation of instructors, mostly experienced the same bad treatment, so collectively, and without any interaction, we all changed it. And that is why, to this day, I get up when I see beginners being short changed in any way. And it’s why I offer students not only my knowledge, but my hand, and my heart too. If you want to call that coddling you can go right ahead . . . NickD

I'm not sure as I was rushing to put up the OP thinking it was on a short four minute call. I believe launch is now set for 8:26 PST . . . Their wind limit is set at 20, but they are getting higher gusts at the moment. NickD

T-0 bumped to 26 minutes after the hour for winds . . . NickD

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html T-4 minutes (and holding) right now . . . NickD