steve1

I'm venturing into the world of freefall photography, but know very little. I rigged up an old protec helmet with a video camera on top. I've made a few jumps with it and I think I can make it work with a little more practice. I'm also thinking of using a still camera on the front. I bought a bite switch. It won't fit my other camera. I know you can get a different plug and adapt it, but I needed an excuse to get a different camera anyhow. I'm thinking of getting a Cannon Rebel TI camera body which the bite switch will fit. I thought I'd use the manual focus and tape the lens in place. I also needed advice on what type of wide angle lense to put on this. The camera shop I called recommended a 28 MM. wide angle lens which sells for around $169. I'd sure appreciate any advice on this. I've got a lot to learn....Steve1

Wanna borrow one of my wife's nighties....!? Oh no, I have my own!.....

I've got to get a PRO rating some day. I'm an exhibitionist at heart.....Steve1

We used to static line out of a similiar chopper in the military during the 70's. The one we jumped was called an H-34 Choctaw (If I remember right). It had one small door on the right side. It even saw service in Vietnam, before hueys became the main helicopter over there. I think the Marines were about the last units to have it...Steve1

I wasn't aware of this. Kimber firearms are now being manufactured in Stevensville, Mt. (where I jump). Sounds like a good law to me....Steve1 Actually I was off some on the name of the company in Stevensville. Actually it is Cooper firearms. He makes custom rifles. I think he did work for Kimber for many years prior to opening his own company in Montana....Steve1

I wasn't aware of this. Kimber firearms are now being manufactured in Stevensville, Mt. (where I jump). Sounds like a good law to me....Steve1

I'm wondering about why the chest strap was hitting you under the chin. Did your leg straps loosen up after opening? Or were they too loose to begin with. Even the new thread-thru leg straps are adjustable. If they are slipping something is wrong. Have a rigger check this out. If the leg strap material is worn too thin, they can slip, and this needs to be fixed. I quit for 25 years and came back. (Welcome back!) Personally, I always liked the old b-12 snaps and even the old quick ejectors. (Maybe the newer hardware is safer, depending on the situation.) Once you get used to the new thread thru type leg straps, you'll probably like them. Have someone show you how to put your rig on. I usually let my rig slip down to my elbows, grab the side of a leg loop in my hand, and step through. Or you can set your rig on a bench and step through. I've even seen some people step through with their rig on their shoulders, and just grap a foot and pull it through there. I still haven't figured that one out. Maybe part of the problem is that I'm not very limber anymore....Steve1

This situation has been a nightmare over the past few days. Social services showed up and questioned this girl in my office. When the social worker was done she said it was legal for a guardian to spank their kids in Montana. My first reaction was, "Jesus Christ" "SPANK!" this girl was hit five times with a belt and some of the hits were in the upper body. When I discussed the mental abuse the social worker said this was unsubstantiated. In other words she believed the aunts story and not this girls story. So instead of being placed in another family, the girl was ordered to return to the aunt's house that night. At that point I had some heated words with this social worker. Both this girl and I were sick. I felt really bad for turning this situation into social services. About all that was accomplished was that I had made life for this girl worse, and it was my fault. Later this day, I could tell the girl was desperate. Finally this girl asked, "Mr. Anders I was wondering if I could stay at your house a while?" Gee whiz, I felt rotten at the moment. I told her it would be fine with me, and I'd talk to my wife about it, but it might not be possible. So, I started racking my brain, as to what I could do next. The system seldom works in this town. I knew of a woman who sometimes took in homeless kids. I've known her for over 20 years and knew she would be perfect for a new home for this girl. I called this lady up and she agreed to meet with us the next day. I also called up this girls grandparents in Oregon. They had legal custody and had no idea what was going on at the Aunt's house. They felt bad, but they really didn't want this girl to live with them either. At any rate, this girl was scared to go home to the aunt's, and she didn't. She stayed with some friends that night, and was safe. A police report was made by the aunt. The next day the girl returned to school. She had no other safe place to go. I called the grandparents again and they said they wanted her to live with the woman I had in mind, if I could arrange it. In other words I had verbal permission from the legal guardian. I called the woman whose home might be available, and she agreed to take this girl in. This girl was starting to feel good for the first time in weeks. Then I called the social worker and she said we couldn't do things like that. She suggested a long drawn out legal process, and that this little girl had to return to her aunt's abusive home right away. This led to some more heated words, and I ended up hanging up on the social worker. Not very professional on my part, but it felt like the right thing to do at the time. I talked to this girls psychologist and he said it would be fine for this girl to go to this new home, and it would be perfectly legal. Everything was looking up and we were all happy. Everything was arranged and we were going to go through with it, even if the social worker didn't like it. About an hour later I noticed a police officer escourting this girl out of the school. I caught up with him and he had said he had no choice, but to arrest this girl. An arrest warrant was still out on her since she hadn't come home last night. So, the girl was hauled off to a juvenile detention center in tears. I was just sick. She was kept there until this morning when she went to court. We tried to get her out last night, but they wouldn't let her out. This was the Aunt's one last chance to hurt this girl. She still had temporary custody. I'm sure she felt great that this girl was now locked up. This morning this girl went to court. She ended up being placed with the woman I had called earlier. YIPPEEE! It's a great feeling knowing that this girl is now safe and in a good home, and that I was the one who made it happen. I talked to this girl a little this afternoon and could tell she was drained by the ordeal she had just been through. So, anyhow tonight life is looking great from my side of the fence! I think I'll get in the hot tub and drink a cold one.....Steve1

Back in the 70's it wasn't unusual to have over 20 students in a first jump class. Back then you paid $50. for the course, and this included all your training and your first static line jump. Jumps after that were about $5.00 until you got into freefall. Experienced jumpers paid $3.50 per jump. At any rate it wasn't unusual to have a couple broken legs in a class this size. In almost every class this happened, and this didn't include sprained ankles. On one of the larger classes I taught the P.L. F. part of the course. No, I've never had an instructor rating. In fact, I only had about 40 skydives at the time (which was a fair number for that time period), but I also had about 25 army jumps. If I knew nothing else, I knew how to do a good P.L.F. Many of the less experienced jumpers in our club helped out with part of the training (which may not have been a good idea). It was a great feeling thoughto see the entire class make their first one, without a single injury. I felt like I had really accomplished something good. I imagine it could also have been a real bummer if someone was busted up on landing. It's easy to put a guilt trip on yourself, and it's easy to beat yourself up when something terrible goes wrong. The old guy, making this jump, knew the risks. Maybe it was worth it to him to make that jump even though he was hurt. If he only broke one leg at that age, maybe he didn't do so bad after all....Steve1

You might contact Bill Newell. He's very knowlegeable on the history of our sport, and he enjoys sharing what he knows with others.....Steve1

AMax...rather than beat a dead horse to death, I'm out of here. Cuss me all you like, call my ideas B.S. The fact is you have a right to your beliefs as I have to mine. Neither of us are changing each others mind. It's been fun, but you still aren't making any sense to me. If you rattle on long enough maybe someone will agree with you. Good luck....Steve1

Call these words shaky if you like. I'll bet it kind of ruffles your feathers knowing that our arguments are based on fact....Steve1

We should also add, that this was back in the days of market hunting when there were no regulations on hunting. Since hunting has become a regulated sport (since about 1900) no game animal has been placed on the endangered list because of hunting in the U.S.....Steve1

Sorry for your loss! I recall seeing some S.F. people who had thin, round, copper bracelets in the 70's. I'm not sure if those were representing missing P.O.W.'s or maybe they were from the Hmong Mountainyard people they advised in Vietnam. At any rate this seems like a very worthy cause. I always looked up to Golden Knights, and I'm sorry to hear of any soldier's death....Steve1

I am afraid you do not really understand the caliber of Nature magazine. A study published in Nature makes a career in science. Unlike the stuff you get from mass media, every article published in magazines like Nature is being revised by several experts in that particular field. Only after revision very insignificant % gets accepted for publication based on importance and quality of the study. It is too bad that you and Kennedy do not find it convincing. It's not easy getting any article published these days in a national magazine. I suppose there are some good articles in it. It doesn't mean they are all entirely true. As I said I am a hunter and I care a lot about nature. Maybe, I'll read this magazine some time. But then again if it is bashing hunters and printing false hoods I may just throw it in the trash. Did you know that I too am a published author, in a national magazine. Read "Ordeal for a Record Goat" in Bowhunter magazine back in 75 or so(maybe 74). I'm sure I really messed up the gene pool when I stuck an arrow into that old boy. Some of the best jerky I ever ate....Steve1

Thanks for the kind words Windy. You know boarding school might be a good option compared to the hell hole she lives in now. I know we have all heard horror stories from the old days, about Indian boarding schools, but most of the ones today are okay and this may be a better option. I have parents of some of my students who grew up in boarding school and liked it, (believe it or not). There are almost no other placements available in this area. Often times kids are placed with other relatives who are sometimes worse than the home they were taken out of. I've honestly given thought to trying to adopt this one myself. I know my wife will be against it, but it's worth a shot. Maybe I'm not thinking very rationally right now....Steve1

Oh I do realize that they kill animals for the meat we get in supermarkets. But what about trophy hunting? You do not always kill for meat, do you? Of course it is not. If you chase a deer with camera you cannot kill it >If I'm trophy hunting it doesn't mean that I'm still not after the meat, or that I plan on wasting any of it. I have often got a big set of horns and a freezer full of meat at the same time. It's also illegal to waste meat from any game animal, even by a trophy hunter. >Oh sure, I could take up photography or knitting for that matter. But like I said it's not the same thing as hunting.....Steve1

QuoteQuote There is however a danger of negative influence on genetic pool because elimination by hunting is SELECTIVE. The negative changes may not be obvious immediately but there no guarantee that genetic pool will not be altered in a long term scale. reply] I think this argument is a weak one. I'd like to read some conclusive proof that this is going on, because I don't think it is. There are still many predators around in most cases to cull the sick and weak. Winter weather is another factor that culls the weaker animals. Who's to say the human hunters aren't culling out the stupider ones of the species. The more intelligent animals often don't get shot, and are able to outwit hunters. I've heard this gene pool argument before in terms of trophy hunting, and frankly I don't think it holds water. Just because some hunters choose to shoot an older bigger animal instead of a young one doesn't mean it is messing up the gene pool in the least. I think the evolutionary process is still alive and well in our present day game herds. Just because someone wrote an opinion article with some weak statistics to go along with it, doesn't make it a fact.....Steve1

That’s exactly my point and that's exactly why I stopped. Edit to add. "Connection to nature" sounds like a plain BS to me. Want to be connected? Go hiking or chase that deer with a camera. Or is it killing that makes people feel conencted? The thing is Amax is the killing still going on as long as you are eating meat. You are just paying someone else to do it for you when you buy it at the store. It seems very hippocritical to me if a person says they think killing animals is wrong, yet they continue to buy meat. In my mind wildlife photography will never replace hunting because it's not the same thing. I find hunting to feed my family, extremely rewarding, even if I don't relish the thought of pulling the trigger any more....Steve1

I figure maybe it would be therapeutic to vent a little. I hope I don't drag anyone else down, but here goes. I work as a middle school counselor on an Indian Reservation in Montana. I've been here about 21 years, mostly as a teacher. I now work as a counselor. Since I started counseling kids about five years ago, I have gained a lot of insight on what life here entails. There a lot of great people here, but there are also tons of dysfunctional families. I meet with their kids each week to try to help them any way I can. I end up calling Social Services on a regular basis for child abuse, and neglect. The only problem is this agency is so overwhelmed themselves, that little or nothing is done to help most of these trouble kids. If a case is ever brought to Tribabl Court it is usually thrown out. The Tribal Court system leaves a lot to be desired. So each day I listen to these kids tell me how terrible things are at home, and there is little I can do to help, (other than be a good listener, and try to let them know I care.) A lot of the kids I work with are suicidal. Many are cutting and scarring themselves as a means of stress reduction. There are few clinical psychologists that I can refer these kids to so I often end up trying to help them myself. Our town does have a couple psychologists on staff, but they are so overwhelmed that they are only skimming the surface of the problem. This morning I had a girl crying in my office, and she was suicidal. She said she wanted to be with her parents in Heaven. She said that she would give anything to hear her fathers voice again, and even blames herself for his death. She lost her Mom in a car wreck, a few years ago. She too was in this wreck and traumatized by it all. Her dad broke his back. I think he was paralyzed from the neck down. Anyhow her Dad froze to death last winter. He went outside in his wheelchair and couldn't get back inside. This girl blames herself for not being there to help him. So, this beautiful, intelligent, 14 year old girl is without a decent home. She has been placed in several foster homes and lately has been living with an aunt who hates her guts. Her aunt is often mentally abusive, and came right out and told her that she wants her gone. She even beat her with a belt the other day. I just turned all this in to social services, but I doubt seriously if much will come of it. At any rate this girl is actively talking about killing herself. I spent the entire morning with her. I took her to Indian Health Service for an evaluation from a psychologist. I then ate lunch with her and another counselor because she was too upset to eat in the lunch room with the other kids. Then I sent her home to the same dysfunctional place where her witch of an aunt lives. Sometimes it gets to be too much. I guess what keeps me going though is knowing I am helping some of these kids. I'd like to take a lot of them home with me, including this girl. Part of my problem is that I too grew up in an abusive alcoholic home. Some of this crap really triggers a lot of my own issues. I doubt if I would have stayed this long in a place like this, if I didn't understand what these kids are going through, and think that somehow I could help. Right now I really feel drained! Tonight I'll spend time with my wife, and this will help me recharge. Tomorrow, I'll be ready to return to the same old grind. Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy my job, even though it takes a lot out of me. It does have it's rewards. If I had to make the choice of professions over again, it would probably be the same one....Steve1

Quote the blood is flowing and it's just an awesome feeling. reply] I've hunted all my life, probably killed way more than I needed to, but these words kind of make me sick. Maybe it is the wrong choice of words. Your other comments made sense to me, but not this. I sure don't feel good about spilling another animals blood. If I did I'd go to work in a slaughter house. To tell you the truth I now usually let my wife or daughters pull the trigger because I don't enjoy that part of the hunt anymore.....Steve1

There's no doubt about it, you definitely do get wiser with age. When I look back at all the foolhardy, crazy stuff I did in my youth, I have to shake my head. I'm definitely lucky to still be here. Experienced Instructors probably become aware of this when working with younger students....Steve1

I don't think there is much evidence to support the argument that game management is an evil thing. I think if one were to really research this topic you would find one success story after another. Here in Eastern Montana you can see a drastic change for the better. About 80 years ago deer and antelope were nearly extinct here. Homesteaders had been poaching them off. I've talked to old timers who grew up here, who said they didn't have a clue what a deer looked like, when they were young, because they had never seen one. If you go to Eastern Montana today there are litterally thousands of deer and antelope. This is proper game management in action (paid for by Sportsman's dollars). About 30 years ago there were very few turkeys in Eastern Montana. Now there are few places (where the proper habitat exists) that does not have turkeys. The Fish & Game planted them all over the state, and their numbers are doing quite well. Some places that held no Mountain Sheep, or elk now have huntable populations in those areas. Again this was due to transplanting efforts by the Fish & Game. (This agency is funding almost entirely through money from license sales to Sportsmen.) At one time wolves were extinct in Montana. Thirty years ago their were absolutely none. Now there are hundreds if not thousands. Again they were transplanted. Some of this was financed and controlled by the Feds. I don't know if this is really a success story or not. They are now beginning to cause all sorts of problems, and still no legal hunting of them is allowed. Wolves don't always stay where they are supposed to and often develop a taste for sheep, beef, and family pets.....Steve1

In my first jump course, back in 1972, there was an old guy signed up. He was only about 60 or so, but he had no buisness skydiving. I mean it was a pretty rough sport back in those days. He had a young wife and a whole passel of kids. We all admired this gutsy old fart, but he should have chosen another sport. Anyhow he shattered his leg under a 28 ft. round canopy. He worked as a welder and was off work for months. I'll bet his family had a tough time of it too. I later worked at a job with this guy. You could tell he wanted to jump again, but I think he learned his lesson. He shouldn't have let his courage outweigh good sense. But then again if we all played it safe none of us would probably be jumping today....Steve1

Bill, In some cases you are correct. Man messing with nature sometimes does make it worse. I've looked at cycles with rabbits and predators before and this does result in a wild oscillating cycle. For a while there are a lot of rabbits, then the predators increase greatly. Then there aren't many rabbits and a lot of predators. Then the predators die out, and on and on. This up and down cycle can also be present with big game herds. Usually it isn't nearly as extreme though if proper game management is allowed. All game management is doing is allowing hunters to harvest some of the surplus. None of us are going out there trying to save the world by killing off the surplus of animals. Game management isn't perfect, but it works quite well. Leaving everything the hell alone is not the answer. They tried that prior to the 1900's. Without proper wildlife management and game laws, entire species were nearly slaughtered off. At present our game laws are enforced by game wardens paid for with Sportsman's dollars. Can you imagine how much poaching would go on if hunting were not allowed. Don't you think Wildlife Refuges are a good deal for Migratory water foul and other critters. Without them the number of duck and geese would be considerably less. Again these refuges are being paid for almost entirely with sportsman's dollars. I think the real enemy of wildlife is not hunters. The real enemy is the loss of their habitat. Every year our population is increasing at a tremendous rate. Cities, suburbs, and highways are eating up land and wetlands where birds, fish, and game animals once lived. So, no matter what plan we come up with, the future doesn't look real bright for wildlife in my opinion ....Steve1