NickDG

There's nothing new under the sun . . . Back in the early 90s USPA (on the sly) proposed just such a thing. And I got an invitation to sign up for it. And I did. I was going to go around to USPA group member DZ's and pose as a first jump student for AFF courses. But once we sat down to work out the nuts and bolts of it I realized I was going to probably get punched in the nose a lot. Plus I'd have to subject myself to jumping all the crap student gear in the world. (The kind of gear that would probably save a student, but kill me). We all, USPA, me, and a few others involved, came to our senses and realized it was a stupid idea . . . NickD

In our pop culture society we sometimes miss someone we should all know and remember. And he also died this week . . . Norman Borlaug . . . He discovered a way to grow dwarf wheat. And it allowed people all of the word to feed themselves . . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug NickD

I never met Pat, but I knew his brother Don pretty well. He's an accomplished actor, skydiver, and B.A.S.E. jumper. Sweet dreams Patrick . . . Don's on the left in the attached photograph. And here's his filmography . . . http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0842023/ NickD

Judging from his other current auctions he sounds like a non-jumping pilot/mechanic who either worked for or had a small jump operation going that's now defunct. The passenger harness, helmet, and jumpsuits just look like stuff that was left behind. You might be surprised to see the amount of abandoned stuff a DZ collects. Anyway, I don't think it sounds at all fishy. It is fishy when someone is selling a complete rig in a gearbag with alti, jumpsuit, and helmet (like it would be if stolen from a car or home) and then doesn't seem to know what they are talking about . . . NickD

Season doesn't really start until tomorrow night . . . San Diego @ Oakland! Go Bolts - Die Faders . . . NickD

I'm incredibly shocked to hear things have gone so far downhill in NZed. When I was there in the early 90s it was beer night every night . . . NickD

Plus, Julia is in Boston today and flying back to LA on United . . . I told her if anyone stands up to asks for more peanuts tackle their asses . . NickD

I'm not frightened either. In fact the most scary thing I've seen since 9/11 was Congress members running for their lives down the street when some stray Cessna 172 wandered into their airspace. We need to send folks other than punks to Congress. I mean, come on people, die at your post if that's what it takes. You sent us to war and we didn't run . . . NickD

I wrote about Rubert in the BASE magazine I published back in the late 1980s. And yes I'm fairly sure it was the first ever indoor jump. He dropped a weighted dummy a few times until he was sure it would work and then made the leap himself. Although, in an interview I read, he said he landed very hard. I also know he was contacted by the old TV show "You Asked For It" in the late 1950s or early 1960s and they asked him to make the jump again for the cameras but he said no way . . . He was a pretty accomplished guy! NickD

Thanks for coming! NickD

Officials are now calling the cause of the Station fire arson . . . And due to the two firefighter deaths it's also now a homicide investigation. NickD

Heaven has another Marine guard on duty . . . Rest in peace my friend! NickD

Blue sky over my house! First time since Wednesday of last week . . . NickD

Here's a link to stunning time lapse movie of the fire right behind JPL where Julia works . . . http://vimeo.com/6325431 NickD

We unloaded the cars today and it looks like the worst is over where we are. However, folks in other areas are still at risk. Overall, the Station Fire is 22% contained . . . NickD

>Wait, mud-slides then.

Yeah, right. I was in San Diego for that fire and worked three days at the evac center at Qualcom Stadium. This fire is definitively worse than that . . . I just went down to the local evacuation center at the local high school and it's overrun. I was hoping I could get a few bottles of O2 for some folks on my block, it's the one drug I need right now. The Red Cross is useless. They sit on their fat asses and ask for donations. Just on my own block I've got nothing but respiratory issues. NickD

Okay - now they are officially calling this the "Fire of the Century" in California. I was just in the garage loading up as many of Nina's parts that I could fit into the truck. The smoke and ash is so bad here I started out wearing a N95 mask (the paper one) but had to switch to the hard respirator I use when painting parts. Everyone on my block knows I'm an EMT and so far I've been called out to help several of the more elderly in the neighborhood. But, it's getting real bad here, this is getting Katrina bad. We are at the point where we need the National Guard! We desperately need another few thousand guys with shovels . . . NickD

Day seven of the Station Fire and sans the sulfur smell we've been fully indoctrinated into Hell . . . Coming home from work last night, I could see the mountains behind us were ablaze with backfires. And the smoke this morning is the worst its been so far. Julia's at work today so I get to stand the firewatch. So far 75 homes have been destroyed . . . NickD Here's the latest from official sources: "Speaking a press conference at 5 p.m. tonight, officials described the Station Fire as "erratic." "This is a very angry fire that we're fighting right now," a spokesman said. "Until we get a change in weather conditions, I'm not overly optimistic, yet at the same time, our firefighters will be taking every action they can in order to keep this fire from burning more structures... I wish I could be more optimistic." The blaze, which began Wednesday, has burned 105,296 acres with 75 miles of fire line left for firefighters to build. Approximately 3,670 personnel are assigned with various helicopters and planes. Mount Wilson was unharmed as of 4:55 p.m., but two other communication sites had been destroyed in the last two days--Mount Lukens and Mount Desperation. Around 75 homes have been destroyed mostly in the foothills area, on the southern end of the Angeles National Forest. 7,000 homes are evacuated with 12,000 homes threatened. On the northside along the 14 Freeway, flames are about five miles away from Santa Clarita, Agua Dulce, Little Rock and Juniper. Although the fire is burning in every direction it can, the current concern is on and in between the East and North flanks."

I first met Eli in '93 @ Perris when FF first started. Some of us AFF Instructors used to take Eli's FF vids and show them to AFF students durning their pre-jump briefings. And we'd say, "Okay here's the dive flow for level six." What was amazing is only about one in ten would say, "No way, I can't do that!" The rest was mix of "I'm ready, let's do it," and, "Gee, we're gonna practice that on the ground first, right?" RIP Eli . . . NickD

The Station Fire has now grown to 85,000 acres. And from last night to this morning things have taken a turn for the worse. We got a phone call at five in the morning telling us again about possible evacuations and also about a plan to ignite back fires a few blocks above us. RIP to the two firefighters, Captain Tedmund “Ted” Hall, 47, and 35-year-old Firefighter Arnaldo ”Arnie” Quinones. The latest news is they were over run by flames while pulling back from the fire. The Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) where Julia works is closed today due to the fire so she has the day off. But I have to work this evening. We were going to unpack the vehicles today and I guess that's not happening. Hang onto your hats, ladies and gentleman, this thing's not over by a longshot . . . NickD

Acton is on the Northwestern front of the fire, we are on the other side, the Southwestern side. It's better here today although there is still a lot of fire both east and west of us, including on Mt. Wilson which is almost directly behind us. If Mt. Wilson gets over run with fire it will mean big trouble for the entire LA basin as cell phones, over the air TV broadcasts, commercial radio broadcasts, and emergency radio traffic (EMS, Police, and Fire have all their repeaters up there) will be shutdown. Man, it's been five days of this (fire started Wednesday afternoon) so we are more than ready for it to be over . . . NickD

Still here! Six in the morning now and we made it through the night. Julia let me sleep all night because I have to work today. She's a trooper! But this thing is no where near over yet . . . NickD

They haven't called for our evacuation yet so Julia and I are going to take turns standing fire watch tonight. And I get the first sleep period. So I'm going to turn in for awhile . . . NickD

Don't worry, the kids are all right. Bakersfield is 100 miles from where I am. NickD