peacefuljeffrey

Well, hey, I guess we're always learnin'... I read this thread and discovered that I guess I haven't truly "stalled" my canopy even though yes, I've held the brakes for a good long time and felt my forward speed dwindle to nothing. I did not hold so long that everything collapsed on me, or did these spins people are talking about. And it's funny, because I've stalled CESSNAS fully, but not my parachute! I will be asking around now about this, and about the particulars of how my airlocked Lotus will perform in a stall. Any comments here about this question would be appreciated.

Congratulations! May you have many safe and fun jumps with your Lotus. I bought mine several months ago and have about 50 jumps on it. I like the airlock a lot and I'm glad that I let Michelle Germain talk me into it. I have a lot of faith in the concept, and she told me a story about flying through a dust-devil that did not manage to deflate her canopy -- credited to the airlock -- when having that happen would have been disastrous. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I think that when people talk about the "chances of" a given thing happening, they oversimplify "probability" greatly. Take, for instance, crossing the street. If 100,000 people cross a given street in a year, and five of them get hit by cars doing so, the "chance of getting hit by a car crossing that street" would be said (by some) to be 5/100,000 or .005 percent. But is that REALLY your "chance" of being hit by a car crossing that street? After all, success at crossing the street is not as simple as throwing a ball into a roulette wheel! No, I can say with virtual certainty that my chances of crossing that street successfully are virtually 100%, because I CONTROL most of the factors that govern whether I will do so safely or not. I control whether I look both ways, whether I run or walk, whether I look where I'm going and don't trip, whether I try to rush ahead of a car or wait for it to pass, whether I do it at the corner or in the middle... Likewise, with skydiving. Just because out of X number of jumps done, there are Y number of malfunctions/cutaways/injuries/deaths, does not mean that each of us shares an equal exposure (the value Y over X) to having those things happen to us. Take a look at the Fatality summary in this month's Parachutist: 72% of the deaths (by experience level) were of D-license holders! Just as the street-crosser who takes care when crossing does not expose himself to nearly the "average" risk of injury, neither does the cautious and conservative skydiver expose himself to ALL of the average risk of malfunction/injury. It's virtually unknowable just how much user-responsibility is behind the typical cutaway. The majority of cutaways, I'm going to assume, end up in successful reserve deployments and no harm done. I can't say how much one can do to decrease, much less eliminate the chances of having to do a cutaway, but I'm sure that careful attention to packing, doing your own (knowledgeable) packing, being well-trained and always on the hunt for more learning and experience, and frequent inspection of your gear can help greatly. I jump a Lotus (not elliptical) and most of the people I hear talk about cutaways are people who jump high performance elliptical canopies, and they tell me about how much worse line-twist ends up being under them as opposed to squares. I guess jumping squares is yet another way to decrease the potential to have to cut away... But many are not willing to make that sacrifice. I guess I remain open to the possibility that circumstances beyond my control -- or circumstances that I fail to control -- may one day require me to do a cutaway. In fact, two nights ago I had a dream in which I looked up to see a bag-lock malfunction and I was in the process or grabbing for my cutaway handle when I woke up. (It was scary, because as I've read so many times, handle and harness positions had shifted during the deployment and I was burning altitude as I tried to get the handle, which was not exactly where it normally is...!) - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Come on, I jumped some ridiculous-looking student gear in a ridiculous-looking borrowed tandem jumpsuit for months before I got my own rig. Obviously, I could not insist on looking cool! I came near to buying a used rig that was green and orange and yellow -- definitely not my preference -- but circumstances prevented me from obtaining that rig anyway. My core intent was always to get equipment that fit and worked right for me -- but I was going to wait until that kind of rig came around in my colors. Eventually, one crossed my path that I liked, I tried it on and it fit, and I bought it. I would never have bought an ill-fitting, inappropriate rig just because it looked way cool, and I would not have bought a well-fitting rig that looked awful. I had to be patient, and I knew that eventually I would find a rig that reasonably met both sets of criteria. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I have been packing for all of my jumps since I learned how -- I guess it's around the last 50something of my 78 jumps. To me, it's not a matter of being able to afford to pay a packer. If I could, I still would not. I prefer to maintain that intimate link with my gear, and I prefer to have no cause to wonder about the way it was packed. It's mine, I jump it, I should be the one who packed it. That's my personal philosophy about it. No one could ever possibly care as much about a pack job as the one who will jump it. That's not meant to disparage the integrity of packers in the slightest. I simply mean that it cannot be asked of a packer to care as much as the jumper does. It'd be like expecting a bodyguard to fight as hard for your life as YOU would fight for your life. I don't know anything about packing other rigs: I simply know how to pack my Lotus/Javelin. Oh, and I guess I could still pack a Triathlon, which is what I learned on.

Yeah, same here. Fortunately I'm not in the situation where I would need to scrape to get jumps, but at this point (with only 78 jumps) I can't see why I would not do things like video or tandem if it got me flying. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Since I've been on a trip to NY all week beginning on 3/25, I haven't been in the loop with developments at SoBe. I knew before I left last week that the Otter would be heading north soon, I just didn't realize how soon! Will it be gone before I get back to jump on Sunday 4/4?! OMG that will suck. I remember being told (by Ron, actually) that people would kill him if it got nice enough to jump back in Tecumseh and he didn't have the plane there... but... what are we going to have to jump from at SoBe now?? PMs welcome for information. Thanks. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

I've seen a bunch of posts here that fall into the "others were doing it, so I did too" category. I'm glad to say that there have been plenty of times at SOBE when I was standing around considering whether I was going to jump with given wind conditions and I heard others around me -- others with several thousand jumps -- saying that they were not jumping. It helps a newbie to make good decisions that are sort of ego-diminishing ("Gee, I'd better not jump in this -- I'm not that good") when he sees that really good skydivers are making the same decision! My thanks go to people like Dave Cole and J.C. Perren who function very well as my surrogate sense of safety and judgment.

Exactly! Especially since I'm a new-ish skydiver, I kind of promised myself that I would not rush and get on a load if I had not had time to do my gear check and other preparation at a leisurely pace. I know what can happen when you rush. I did rush one time and was on takeoff roll when I realized that I had never turned on my CYPRES. Scolded myself for being a doofus and have not forgotten that since. Even though I continue to do thorough checks and I take them seriously, I still have some exits that give me the "I-feel-like-I-forgot-to-put-my-rig-on!" feeling. EEEEEeeeew that's creepy. It's like one of those bad dreams where you get to school and realize you have no clothes on. I'm not the only one that happens to, am I? - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Sheez! I go away to New York for my brother's wedding and suddenly while I'm away from any computers they start talking about SOBE closing?! What the hay?! I'm still in NY but will be leaving on Friday, arriving back in FL on Saturday night probably, and I plan to come out and jump on Sunday (and my dad may come do another tandem!). I missed coming out to jump on the weekend of the 20th because of other stuff and now it feels like I've been away for a lonnng time! (I hate that feeling!) Jim or Angela, could either or both of you PM me and catch me up on whatever is the accurate story about what's gone on, please? I'd appreciate knowing what the truth is instead of becoming the victim of rumor-perpetuators. This is my home DZ, after all. Thanks, people. See you in Pahokee soon! - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Sounds like they got a squad full of cops so immature and disrespectful of the public and their duty that they need to be fired immediately. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

It's OK for cops to kill unarmed civilians, at least in New York City. Google on Amadou Diallo, Ousmane Zongo, and Alberta Spruill for some recent examples. Diallo, who was unarmed and had committed no crime, was shot 41 times by NYPD cops in 1999. Actually, the cops fired 41 times. They hit him only 19 times. That's what I recall. And all because they thought he had a gun, which turned out to be his WALLET. I don't recall if they were ever convicted of anything, or lost their jobs or whatever. What usually happens is the DA doesn't charge them because he and the police brass get behind the cops involved using the "police have to make snap judgments with their lives at stake" excuse. To a degree that's true, but it should never be used to excuse gross negligence or incompetence, or trigger-happiness. It's funny, WE the PEOPLE are required to STOP SHOOTING when the threat is neutralized -- i.e. if they can show that the last 13 rounds of the 15-round-magazine you emptied at a guy were superfluous, you will be convicted of murder/manslaughter/take your pick, even if those first two rounds were justified lethal force. But COPS... NOOOO, COPS never seem to catch any shit for emptying their mags into a guy and asking questions later. Sickening. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

They are. You have to register walking sticks?! They are. You have to register kitchen knives?! They are. You have to register rolling pins?! Somehow, I don't believe any of it. Actually, knife wounds are statistically FAR LESS SURVIVABLE than gunshot wounds. I wish I had the link to post but I know I have read that knife wounds result in death far more often than gunshot wounds do. JohnRich, can you help find data on that? Mine's who-knows-where. If the majority wanted it banned - then yeah. Its called living in a democracy. If I don't like what the majority wants I can campaign to change their mind or move. That is [B]SUCH UTTER BULLSHIT[/B]!!! Living in a democracy means that anything not popular enough to end up with a majority backing it is subject to capricious and arbitrary BANNING and you think that there is no legitimate reason to oppose that?! You think it is just something you should have to accept from the majority, even if what you do harms no one and is part of your personal pursuit of happiness? Man, that is some twisted damned logic! In my view, anyone wishing to ban something must be required to present a compelling case. Simply having a majority desire the ban is not enough, if the ban will infringe on what should be the rights of others -- even if those others are a tiny minority (like skydivers are). Don't you know that the U.S. has a Constitution to protect the minority from being trampled by the majority? Let's say tomorrow the majority supported the idea of rounding up all Asian people (a minority in this country) and enslaving them. According to you, even though this is an obvious infringement on their rights, it is allowable and must be tolerated "because the majority wills it." Yes, an extreme example, but rights are rights, and freedom is freedom. If you can tell me why the logic does not apply evenly, I wish you would attempt to do so. Peace, -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Used improperly a canopy will injure its user, used improperly a gun will injure others… I don’t know why, but I think that’s important to remember when looking at your analogy Used improperly, ANYTHING can injure ANYBODY. Therefore, that is not a reason to BAN the things that have the potential to be misused or abused. Baseball bats, kitchen knives, automobiles, pipe wrenches, rat poison... ALL of these things can be abused, but they serve a useful purpose and the bad does not outweigh the good. Neither does the bad outweigh the good with firearms. So unless you want people to demand that we ban cars because some people abuse them (driving drunk, or even deliberately running people down), don't go suggesting that guns be banned. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

He should make that clearer. And "taking the piss" may not be clear to many readers here. It sounds like someone's pilfering a urine sample. I know what it means because I spent a semester in London studying back in '92. You know, before your crime wave. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Well, here's a stab back at ya from a native English speaker: When you say "height record" I am thinking about how tall the actual balloon is... Don't you mean "altitude record"? -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Right away this smacks of condescension, but let's proceed... So how many times has that happened in the U.S.? After all, we're talking about banning them in the U.S., aren't we? How would that stop anyone elsewhere in the world from acquiring them? So, then, it's not as dangerous as others that are available and would still be available? Can I assume that your point is that the terrorists would prefer a larger round for more damage? If you meant it the other way around, I can still offer that the smallest .50 I know of is still impossible to conceal on one's person, and weighs in excess of at least 20 pounds, and is single shot. Forgive me if I must insist that before I go believing a claim like this, you provide me the tiniest shred or iota of EVIDENCE? I mean, um, that's quite a supposition, there. And again I ask you, what bearing does a domestic ban on these weapons have on people supplied by the government of Libya or what's that other one, Jordan or something? I really don't believe for one moment that Habib is buying his Barrett .50 cals over here and smuggling them across 8,000 miles to practice with them in the desert. Goddamned glad you at least disavow meaning that last one in earnest, but for the life of me can't understand why you'd include it since it actually works against your justification for .50 cal paranoia. Fuckin' A! Peace, -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

That's something I meant to address in my post. I work with a bunch of people, and several of them are known for sneezing and being sick a lot -- and these are the assholes who fucking sneeze as though they're out in a 500 acre meadow with no one else around for miles! They just let all that atomized fuckin' snot blast out of their ugly faces for everyone else to breathe! When I worked as a waiter, I realized that if I sneezed and did the common thing of catching it in my hands, that would gross out customers, so I decided to wrap both arms around my face so that the sneeze is quite well contained in the crooks of the elbows. It ain't goin' nowhere. And I don't pick things up or serve food with my elbows -- so my hands remain sneeze/snot/germ-free. I've done this in front of these same inconsiderate oblivious people and still they don't take the goddamned clue. So "Damn You!" would be a good one to use. That captures how I feel. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

It's not confusing if you just blow it off. I myself would prefer if people would just friggin' drop it, already. Once in a while, I sneeze at work, and three people nearby all feel the need to say "bless you." If I have my headphones on and can't hear them, I sit and wonder, "Am I being rude for not sayiing 'thank you' back since I can't be sure if they said 'bless you' on account of my loud music? Do I say 'thank you' just in case, and risk sounding stupid thanking someone for a courtesy they didn't provide?" Look, no one blesses you if your stomach gurgles or if you cough or burp. What the hell is so special NOWADAYS about a stupid sneeze?! I'm with you -- don't say "bless you." It's pointless. If you want to be polite to someone, greet them with a smile and say, "I hope you're having a nice day." - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

"I can't believe you don't know this" -- it's "ring around the rosy," (meaning what you said), and it's "potpourri," not "pot puree" (which might appeal to some around here...). And the way it's taught "over here," it's "ashes, ashes, we all fall down." -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

My night currency has lapsed too. Actually, I prefer the more moon-less nights. If I wanted things bright I'd fly in the day. I like a stark contrast between the lights of buildings and the dark of the land and the sky. Did you ever read the Stephen King story "The Night Flyer"? It's about a vampire who flies around in a black/red Cessna Skymaster, killing people at small airports! Good story, actually! - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

That sounds really enjoyable. Can I come wi-... Oh, wait... - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Beautiful, isn't. I can't get over how much Quieter is seems in the starry night sky..... I love the lights and the dark. Since there's so much less to see out near the horizon, if gives me a comfortable, surrounded feeling, kind of like I'm cocooned in cozy darkness. That and the fact that the world seems to be at rest and at peace, make night flying much more calming for me than day flying. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

Aren't we overdue for some anti-gunner to pop in here just to tell us we discuss guns too much, or that he doesn't give a shit about this subject? - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

If any of you go to a rally or press conference where anti-gun people are speaking against .50 cal., please be sure to ask the question, "So, Representative, um, how many crimes were committed with .50 caliber weapons in the last twenty years?" Watch as they change the subject to what the weapons could do (if someone wanted to tote around a 30-50 pound rifle for use in crime) -- because the answer to the question, I believe, is ZERO. - -Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"