NickDG

That's good. Judy has been tireless in supporting competition and the sport in general and it's about time she was recognized. But, she better keep that medal locked up or it and Bob will be off to the pawn shop . . . NickD

>>You can just cut it away and reconnect the risers after the repack.

Here's what I've never understood about this site. Why do we get "banned?" Shouldn't we be "grounded." NickD

No way, Sandra Lee might as well be flipping burgers! It's Giada De Laurentiis that really cooks . . . NickD

I can't say much more right now, but the rumors are swirling . . . NickD >The White House has been alerted by NASA about plans to make an announcement soon on major new Phoenix lander discoveries concerning the "potential for life" on Mars, scientists tell Aviation Week & Space Technology. In fact, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory science team for the MECA wet-chemistry instrument that made the findings was kept out of a July 31 news conference at the University of Arizona Phoenix control center. The goal was to prevent them from being asked any questions that could reveal information before NASA is ready to make an announcement, sources say. The Bush Administration's Presidential Science Advisor's office, however, has been briefed on the new information that NASA hopes to release as early as mid August. It is possible an announcement would not come until September, to allow for additional analysis. That will depend upon the latest results still being analyzed from the spacecraft's organic oven and soil chemistry laboratories. Phoenix scientists have said from the start that neither the TEGA organic chemistry lab nor the MECA wet chemistry system could detect current or past life. MECA's two microscopes do, however, have the resolution to detect bacteria--which would be life.

It's more about what can't happen on a jump like I indicated. I won't be killed in the plane on the way up, I won't be freight trained by a bad flyer on their way to a formation. I won't hit a canopy or body that corked below me. I can't be a victim of a bad spot and forced to land in a bad area. I won't be surprised by dust devils or strong winds on landing. And once I land I won't get my clock cleaned by a incautious swooper. On a B.A.S.E. jump like I indicated I'm in complete control of every part rather than getting on a plane and being swept along by events. On a B.A.S.E. jump like I indicated I can launch when I'm completely ready and not just when it's my turn. On the gear side. I've jumped every kind of parachute system there's been since the mid 70s. And I never feel as confident as I do when I'm wearing a simple single container BASE rig. The skydiving rigs of today are so full of gimmicks and gizmos to prevent the inept from dying they are getting further and further away from when they worked okay in the first place. I know it's hard to get away from the reserve mentality, but sometimes the reason you need a reserve is because you have a reserve. B.A.S.E. jumpers tend to be very careful with the one parachute they have while skydivers tend not to worry about that frayed line, or that slammed pack job, and only because they have reserve. What I'm saying is on the B.A.S.E. jump like I indicated it's safer because the gear is simpler, and therefore works better, and you are free of the outside influences that can affect you on a skydive. Now it's easy to increase the danger of a B.A.S.E. jump by making the more technical jumps but on that simple jump from a bridge, if you know what you're doing it's less dangerous, all things considered, than almost any skydive. You mentioned the Potato bridge and how a pilot chute problem can be instant death. But notice I didn't mention the Potato in my example. I actually think that bridge is at a dangerous altitude especially for newbies. At around 600-feet you're suspended right between heaven and hell. A 300 or 400 foot bridge is actually safer for newer jumpers. Six hundred feet gives people time to do tricks and much of the time these are very people who shouldn't be doing tricks at all. There's a lot more to this, but I'm tired right now and maybe not explaining myself properly. We'll take it up again later . . . NickD

I believe what happened in Carl's case is he used recorded music that was so old the copyrights on the particular recorded performance had expired. But, I want to expand on the USPA getting sued idea. I play (and very badly) the bass guitar. And if you're in a band that plays cover songs in a bar or club, to make it legal the owner of the establishment has to have a license from one of the two agencies that offer them. And plenty of owners have been sued for not paying up. What I think could eventually happen is not so much USPA would have to monetarily put out, but a judge could force them to tell its members (us) to cease and desist the practice of using protected music or lose our memberships. Carl also used, mostly in his skydiving movies, original music by a fellow named Mike Curb. You may not know the name, but you know the music. Mike did almost all the music for the early porno industry in Southern California. And there's another angle to all this. We are kind of shooting ourselves in the foot for not allowing "sky music" to become a niche. Does anyone here remember the original music Roger Nelson used on some of his Freak Brothers vids? "Hey, Freak Brother" was a hunk of funk and those tunes hold up to this day. NickD

>> Aren't you suppose to repack the main after a reserve repack anyway?

There was a steep and painful learning curve when B.A.S.E. jumpers first took to wingsuits in large numbers. While we were very used to going low and fast, we weren't so used to going low and slow. And because of that - late deployments - was the reason for many early BASE wingsuit fatalities. We sort of worked that out and beginning wingsuit flyers now know to watch out for that when the earlier folks didn't even realize the phenomena existed. I understand completely you desire to BASE in a wingsuit. Even though I started BASE long before YouTube existed my own desires were definitely fueled by the videos and films that were passed hand to hand inside the BASE community. And I too look at wingsuit BASE nowadays and especially proxy flight as the stuff closest to our original dream of human flight. And I know for a fact that wingsuit BASE has done the best job of broaching the divide between B.A.S.E. jumpers and what the rest of the world thinks of us. But I'll never strap on a wingsuit . . . ever. I'm a fairly experienced B.A.S.E. jumper so why is that? Why is you want to do it so badly when I don't want to do it all? I could oversimplify it by saying I'm an old school fly what God gave you type. Or, I could say I don't need a wingsuit because if I can't out track something below me naked I just won't make the jump. Or I could just shake my head and say, "Oh these kids today with their wingsuits and their music . . ." But it's much more than that. In both skydiving and BASE I can attribute my longevity to a few simple rules. One is I'm a follower, not a leader. I write a lot about the "leaders" in BASE and I have the utmost respect for most of them. The exceptions there would be the boneheads who are just continually and incredibly lucky. And except for a few generic buildings I don't run around trying to open new sites. And even though I'm pretty knowledgeable about gear I won't use anything new for a good long time. (It took me forever to give up my trusty Velcro flap rig). I also think a solo three second delay off a bridge over a good landing area with modern BASE equipment, experience, and knowledge is the safest type of parachute jump anyone can make, and that includes skydiving. So therein lays my main argument. Keep it simple stupid. And while we celebrate our earthly departed and in some cases make legends of them, I think dying with a parachute on your back is the ultimate goofball move you can make. And that applies to all my heroes; it applies to Carl Boenish, Dwayne Weston, and all the rest. I will always cherish the contributions they made, yet at the end of that will always be that big "but" . . . I'm being a bit presumptuous, as I don't know you at all, but here's my fatherly advice, or put another way, if our dead legends had a do-over, here's what I'm sure most would say to you. Go slow, don't chase the numbers, don't look to become someone in BASE, and know that you can spend a long life doing the less technical jumps, with only an occasional bad scare here and there. You'll still feel happy and fulfilled and get laid just as much. For myself I'm in a very comfortable spot. I don’t do buildings or towers anymore as I pushed on that luck button enough in the past. I'm now happy with the occasional trip to the Potato and a Bridge Day once in awhile. Yet, I realize all young B.A.S.E. jumpers have to first make their bones, but the trick is not to do that literally . . . NickD

When Carl Boenish released his El Cap movie in 1978 he was smart enough to use music that was long in the public domain. That film made the rounds of DZs the world over and is what really kick started the sport of B.A.S.E. Today when I show that film to newbie B.A.S.E. jumpers a lot of them say, "That's really cool music, who it it?" I just sigh and say, "That's Ludwig van Beethoven, you moron . . ." NickD

Gee, what is with you new guys? Talking up safety in the proper setting is fine, but the way you are doing it here is, well, kind of jinxy. We had a guy about two months back on the BASE side of the street post, and I'm paraphrasing, "Wow, we haven't had a BASE fatality in close to seven months. We must be doing something right." Then bang, that very weekend we had two. And in general conversation it's best not to tell people to be careful, just tell 'em to have fun. As that basically covers it all without the jinx part . . . NickD

(Unless something changed I'm ignorant of) . . . It's almost the same as a reserve, except for who can do it. The main has to be packed within 120 days of its use and can be packed either by a certified rigger or the person making the jump on that particular rig. And I'll anticipate your next question . . . Yes, it is technically illegal to give your rig to a packer who isn't a certified rigger, or who isn't under the direct supervision of a rated rigger, for a main pack job. However, here's where the big loophole is in the FARs. If you don't have a FAA issued ticket the feds can threaten you over there's only a very small chance anything will happen. They can send anyone a letter that says they are willing to settle the matter for a certain sum of money, but if you ignore it, they'd have to take you to court in order to get an enforceable judgment against you. And only in the most egregious matters will they do that . . . NickD

"Willoughby. The next stop is Willoughby." [Que the Twilight Zone music] NickD

Simmer down, Hoop . . . And don't leave either. There aren't enough of us graybeards here already. Besides, hasn't it been like forever we've been dealing with townies? It's actually sort of realistic they're here. Now all we need is a few virtual Farmer McNastys and this place will be complete . . . NickD

When I lived in downtown San Diego I sometimes used to go to local bookstores when they had an author coming in to talk about their books. These were mostly unknowns doing a first book and I enjoyed hearing about the process. Now I live further north and closer to Hollywood and the local bookstore here attracts mostly celebrities and actor types. I'm not the type to be gaga over movie stars so I never go but tonight I went, I couldn't help it, tonight it was Adrienne Barbeau . . . She talked about her book, a novel about Hollywood Vampires, and her movies like "The Fog" and "Escape from New York." It was an intimate group just her and about twenty of us book buyers and we all had a nice chit chat. I asked her to say it and she looked me right in the eye, and said, "Snake Plissken, I heard you were dead." I'm still weak in the knees. She's as beautiful as ever and I guess I can get gaga over some movie stars . . . NickD

That's earning your money . . . http://www.patricksaviation.com/videos/SUPERGT/3384/ NickD

Parachutist Mag, in the 80s, published an article called, "On the Hill" or something like that. I think before that most of us didn't even realize there was a hill . . . NickD

Don't think on a DZ to DZ basis . . . Think back to the 90s. Then think USA wide. How many tandem vids were sold with "Freefalling" on them. A hundred thousand? Five hundred thousand? A million? That represents a major theft and loss of revenue to old Tommy and the Heartbreakers. I always thought sooner or later USPA would get sued over this as it's their members doing the stealing. Might still happen someday . . . Do Rappers sue? NickD

Sometimes I use a parachute to jump from an airplane, sometimes I use a parachute to jump off a building, sometimes I use a parachute to get towed behind a boat, and sometimes I use a parachute to soar off hills in waves of lift. I guess I'm a Parachutist . . . NickD

I had a meeting with Bill Ottley in DC back in 1989 where we discussed some new ideas for PARACHUTIST. I left him a list that had things like: do interviews with lessor known jumpers, spotlight an Instructor every month, have a regular riggers column, run copies of people's log books; publish an older cover shot in every new issue, and finally, try a crossword puzzle one in a while. Well, somebody found that list as they are now doing all those things LOL. Here's the crossword I published in my BASE magazine that same year in 1989 . . . NickD

I just heard from Julia and she confirmed it. Here's a copy of an e-mail update I just sent out . . . Hi Everyone, I know I haven't send out any updates lately, but frankly, the last month or so has been rather frustrating for Julia and the Phoenix team. They've been dealing with short circuits and balky instruments onboard the spacecraft and they decided to go slow and easy so as not make matters any worse. There biggest issue became actually getting the soil samples out of the scoop and into the oven, called TEGA, for testing. The soil was more clingy than expected. However, they successfully got the sample into TEGA and the results are in. THERE IS WATER ON MARS! Here's the message I received and it's probably the most important message every delivered via e-mail . . . "Water ice confirmed by TEGA in sample with 1-3% water ice (delivered to Oven 0). Heat of melting sublimation at 0 degrees C means it can only be water ice. TEGA analysis of gases also confirmed water. Sample was mostly soil with a bit of ice from ice/soil interface." It's hard to wrap one's mind around what this means, but it means we could live on Mars, we'd have water to drink, and water to grow food. It also means if there's water on Mars then there's water throughout the entire universe. In fact, I'd bet water is as common in the universe as pickpockets are in the London Tube! They have also extended the mission at least another month longer than planned, which is a bummer for me, as it's another month without Julia at home, but now her work turns to looking for any signs of past or present microbial life. Stay tuned . . . Nick

This would open the USPA to all kinds of legal issues and litigation. Plus a defacto DZ EMS service can't operate without being under the medical direction of a local supervising medical doctor. And the scope of practice allowed EMS workers varies by state, and sometimes even by counties within states. This would make USPA coming out with some kind of national program impossible. However, laymen can act under the Good Samaritan Law. Basically that law says you can't be sued for providing emergency care in good faith. However, if you are an off duty EMT or Paramedic there's a gray area there you have to be very careful about. On the other hand the public tends to think taking some quickie first responder course automatically turns you in Randy Rescue. Emergency medical care is a very complicated subject and is best left to the pros. The best course of action when someone biffs is to call 911 and provide shade and verbal assurance . . . NickD

Saw C&C live in the 70s. They were the opening act at a Rolling Stones concert and they absolutely killed! At the end, and before the Stones came out Cheech comes back on stage and says, "Hey, the Stones couldn't make it tonight, but we got a really good band from Fresno that sounds just like them . . . !" NickD

S/L all the way, the other thing is just a ride . . . NickD

Here's two good vids of the earthquake . . . The second one shows the younger kid bailed out the door first and then everyone just followed. http://laist.com/2008/07/29/video_chino_hills_bicycle_shop_duri.php#more NickD