jimmytavino

it might be best to never get tooo casual about skydiving..... comfortable is one thing, and comfortable is good.... but i always try to keep a small dose of 'scared'... in my back pocket.. i find that it keeps me in line, keeps me on my toes. keeps my EYES open.. and prevents me from doing something impulsively..... that sorta stuff can one into trouble..fast... Sometimes jumpers can become 'performers' and can tend to wanna accomplish certain more difficult and 'bravado-like' techniques..... I'm not sure if they do it, to impress themselves, or to impress those on the dz,,, jumpers and whuffos alike,, who might happen to be 'spectating' that day.... i'm happy,,, inside my cocoon of an envelope , and don't feel the need to push ANYthing..... especially close to the ground, or when IN traffic.... I try to stay predictable, fly the proper pattern, and NOT cut corners going from downwind to base, and base to final... whenever possible, I try to do good strong VISIBLE 90 degree moves,, at each turn,, in my pattern.. Not very Flashy, but also.... Not very Smashy...

nacmacfeegle!!!!! long time, man...!!!!! good to hear from you... how have you been????? as to wendys poll..... my vote would be execution of an innocent.. because each one of the choices can be said to be covered by THAT choice.... since we never know what good or bad a person may do during the course of ones' life... it's difficult to say that one person, or one persons' job, rank, status etc.. is of greater importance than anothers... loss of life , is generally a bad thing.... especially the loss of a GOOD persons' life... jmy

interesting subject... and based on the huge variety of replies,,, one with many angles to be considered.... often the simplest and most straight forward desires of the Wedding Partners, get blown waaay out of proportion... Sometimes it's because of the sudden emergence of an unexpected bride-Zilla... who seems to come from nowhere.....( then i feel bad, for the groom, who is often left bewildered, bothered, and BROKE) but sometimes it is from 'the intrusion of others" and things can get crazy... Others.... include Parents, friends, 'wedding planners' and the perception of the need to include too much in the way of peripherals... ...A lot of the inclusion or not,,, of such things, centers on WHo is gonna foot the bill..... IF it is the parents of the Bride,,,, and If they have any sorta guilt complex about their parental history, or lack thereof,,, sometimes throwing money away on extravagances helps to ease the pain of poor behavior while the child was growing up... pure idiocy.... factor in a Professional planner,, and things ( costs) can get out of control ,, quickly..especially if said planner has a whole stable of others,,, whose very lifeline,, is the saturday afternoon, evening wedding fiasco... brides and groom, who can be easily swayed by others,,, could find themselves with an over the top wedding... when the bride and groom cover the costs themselves, things tend to stay more sensible... It's not about the Wedding,,, it's about the Marriage.... The OP presents his points in a very definate way....we KNOW his feelings on the matter... and others join in with some good comments, and s ome silly ones... skymama saves the day.. by steering us back to the original topic,,,, and many with a long and happy marital track record. prove that a simple yet elegant wedding,, with sensible cost constraints CAN often be the doorway to a long and healthy Marriage.... It's a marathon not a 100 yard dash.... and getting carried away with an outlandish and costly event, may NOT really be "where it's At"... I've been a guest at more than one "abundanza wedding" where all the limits have been ignored,, where the SHOW was the 'thing', where the guest list was more important than the couple, and where the "wedding parties" were so large,,, even a 10 MM wide angle,, couldn't get them all in frame... that kinda nonsense can sorta spoil the couple... can emphasize the less important aspects of the occasion, and can elevate the couples sense of 'what will be affordable " in their lives,, beyond good common sense... My thoughts have shifted over the years,,, from the idea that the wedding is so crucial,,, to the idea that the marriage should be of highest priority... I'd prefer to see a procedure by which we keep the wedding event VERY simple, limiting the guest list and the 'extras'...and emphasizing the exchange of vows ceremony...Not the reception.... THEN if and when, the marriage LASTS,,,, the couple can plan a Follow -up event to celebrate the TEN year, twenty year, thirty year anniversaries,, with a bit more emphasis on the PARTY !!!.... by then the couple might know just WHO the real friends are,,, might best know how to host a gracious and sensible event, and will be able to Include their own KIDS, in the celebration... marriage...?? it's a serious undertaking and we ought to stop short of OVERDOING things on the first DAY of a couples undertaking of the event... let 'em prove over a decade or two,, or three,, that they are deserving of all the hoopla,,, and all the adulation, and all the $$$$$$$ which is often tossed around,, as if it was all just "Monopoly Money".... back in '81 when we stood in front of friends and family to declare our devotion to one another,,, we had No Choice, but to keep it simple... glad we did too... maybe it was the times,, since EVERYTHING has gotten crazy expensive,, maybe it was a level headed approach to the event, maybe it was just US,, being 'cheapskates"... but at the time covering the costs for Nancy's Masters degree ,,,, keeping some $ in the bank... enjoying a simple and sensibly priced honeymoon,,,, having ALL our bills paid and up to date, and maintaining a savings account... was more important.. this summer will be 29 years....we hope to get 29 more... JMY

hahaha Sort of... my first thought WAS.. i do not like..... "them,,,, Sam I Am " but i DO like regular eggs and HAM,,, and eggs and toast, and ( since this past March ) even eggs and GRITS!!!!!!

the minimum... FIVE..... went from "never in an airplane",, to freefall,, over the course of two weeks time.... in the fall of 1972.... the gear was huge. the step was small. BUT my enthusiasm was REAL!!!. our JM's were tough on who got into FF and who needed "to be stable First!!!!" I knew many MANY people who did DOZENS of static line jumps... of course they were ONLY 10 bucks each,, at the time ( i saved up All MY stability issues, till i got into terminal velocity freefall !!!!! ) THEN once in a while things could get Interesting!!! ) jt A 3914

...Your'e jumping at the WRONG place..... Edited to add..... well after looking at your profile.. I MUST say...... you ARE jumping at the Right place!!!!!...... ( i'm envious) jmy A 3914 d 12122

it IS a damn shame that the Loss of Life and now the loss of this drilling platform.. has occured..... Much worse , we Now find,, is the continued flow of oil... from that well... Can't these HUGH cost projects, and drilling system, include some sort of "fail Safe" Valve...... right at the point of the oil flow... I.E. on the floor of the GULF.... where the drill hole, begins .... Such a valve, should be designed, to slam shut,,, in such situations...thereby stopping any uncontrolled flow of oil.....( or to be remotely controlled, to BE slammed shut,, from above ) Is THAT too much to ask??????.... Yes.. i KNOW.. tooo EXPENSIVE!!!! As for this "being Obamas' problem"..... I would dispute THAT.... there is a BIg difference between a weather induced calamity, ( Katrina ) and a man made Mess.. like this ... B P . the world wide conglomerate which has been reaping the Benefits, from this "adventure", are the ones who should NOW shoulder the responsibility to Fix things... Not the federal Govt.... it's always... 'The Feds should stay OUT of my business,, and Out of My Pockets,, and Mind their OWN business"... until the time when something Goes WRONG!!!! then all of a sudden it's " WHERE is the Govt.???? to HELP us,, to UNDO what we fucked up... to Make right,, what we made wrong"???/..... i feel for all those coastal areas in the danger zone... THEY sure didn't deserve this.. British Petroleum owns this issue....... Lock stock and Barrel.... every one of the hundreds of thousands of BARRELS, which are now spewing uncontrolled.....into the Gulf.... i hope that something gets done.... AND Quickly !!! jmy

and all I DID.... was go to work!!! so YOU win!!!! jmy

"Roger, I GOT him " "Contact- 20 Left at 30 miles... 900 Knots closure..."....

Re : flying inverted..... didn't Pete "Maverick " Mitchell do THAT... 20 years ago

should you move along, to pull the toilet , as suggested,,, consider that the "Johnny Bolts" which hold the base to the floor mounted "shoe"... might not JUST Loosen.... if they were long bolts, the original installer could have cut them,, after tightening, in order to put the plastic caps on.... if so. the nut might hang up.. as you're removing it, and start spinning the bolt.... before you start, be sure to have 1. another pair of NEW bolts, 2. either a hacksaw blade or a BIg pair of bolt cutters.....to snap those old bolts off... New ones, Always for the re-Install. good luck. jmy

The lodestar from stormville ny was the first airplane i ever experienced a LANDING in..... I had about 150 jumps... I was never in a plane until i started jumping.....and never rode a plane back down... so i had 150 take offs and Zero Landings while visiting family near Stormville in '73 i headed over there to make some cessna loads...They had a pea gravel target accross the road..... Willy saw a good handful of jumpers were there, that day, and declared... "let's drive over to Poughkeepsie, to the airport, and "get the big plane"...

sounds like a couple of "stubborn drivers"....... but by your explanation, it would seem that Your lane was the continuing lane, and the right lane was the ending lane,,, and SO>>>> the driver in the right lane,,,,, needed to slow HIS pace,,, so as to OOOZE into the driving lane,,, safely... We have all been on a highway where one lane ends,, due to construction etc.. and where traffic stacks up, and most people alter their pace,,, and THEN some one "who is more Important that all the rest of Us "... flies down the ending lane,,, expecting to barge into the line which has been patiently waiting,,,, and allowing others to merge... That burns me UP too... But at some point,, we either need to yield,,,, or we need to eyeball the other driver and indicate that they can "get In"... BEHIND us..... as i say.. stubborn... NOW.. lemme ask you THIS... If you're on final.. 100 feet off the ground, and someone is overtaking you, and maybe even cutting you off... and your canopies flight paths,, are getting WAAAY too close...... Do you slide away,,, yield to him/her... or Hold your ground.....and maybe contact each other...?? just wondering?? jmy A 3914 D 12122 NSCR 1817

or classified as,,, 'creating the circumstances ... by which it's EASIER for shit to happen......' the person operates the tools... if you're letting a tool. operate in any way other than normal... i.e. forcing the work,, through the blade... doing a 2 person job ALONE,,,, letting too much of the work piece hang unsupported off the work bench or off the saw table..... then sorry.... but it's ON you... never wanna see such things happening.. But it akin to thinking,,, 'i'll change that closing loop next time",, or I'll fix that bad velcro,, next time,, or I'll consider replacing my worn out pilot chute,,, next time.... Billy!!!! at least you weren't working with the Bobcat Excavator,, this time... Neosporin the hell outta that bad boy.... jimmytavino

i also, was never in a plane til the day i jumped out of one.... i had 0ver 150 take offs... before i ever landed in any sort of airplane... I hope the O P has a great experience... jt A 3914 D 12122

I had the chance to first meet Burt @ the convention in Quincy in 1994,,, when we were on a 10 way team together...out of the Boeing 727... Really Nice Guy...Never knew his last name... he was reading a BOOK,, while we climbed to altitude...!!!

When it comes to understanding how such inspectors, TSA people, Customs officials etc... are BOUND by their job descriptions, to perform their work.... WE are the whuffos..... Hostility from the traveling public,,, or from skydivers,, whose claim to fame,, is that "THEY have a rig slung over their shoulders,," ( big deal ) , does little to diffuse the situation and to keep things civil... I loved your reply Htiger.... to "leave your rig stashed in a safe".. hahahah... i don't travel by air very much anymore..... and seldom leave the country... so i rarely run into such issues... BUT i DO deal with people everyday, and sometimes when they are not at their best,,, and so rather than pouring gas onto a fire.. I maintain composure, stay patient, comply with requests and direction,,, and everything winds up better,,,, instead of worse.... it is NOT the 'border guards' who are the issue... it is the way that the traveling public chooses to interact with them.... peace. jmy

you need your hands ,, for lots of things....from climb-out, to taking grips, to using Handles.... Nikon is perfectly FINE to use... but best to choose a different MODEL... which has a decent quality remote port... I jump with a D 70s... and THAT port can be a P. I. T . A. ( kinda flimsey and easily loosened...The D200 has a port with a threaded shoulder on it, to accept and HOLD SECURE.. the adapter needed to use a tongue switch.. Your creativity is admirable, but best to use a hard wired set-up... Is it necessary to point the remote at the camera body??? that seems to me, like a recipe for MISSING a lot of shots... jmy

well THAT is some picture!!!!!... seems OK to me,,, Fire up that other engine,,,, we're on a 10 minute calll!!!!!!!! hahahahahhaha we used to have a DC 3 Boogie every year here in Batavia NY.. Before it became a Casa Boogie... we had Mr. douglas we had The bird machine we had Lucaya Air.... (not at the same time of course) Lucaya Air was my favorite,,, cause of the "crew" that traveled with it.....

so you KNOW that you're skyhook equipped ( which is DESIGNED to draw your reserve AWAY ) and you still waste time to shed the helmet..... wouldn't your head be Down ? looking at handles, and as such.. NOT likely to get "tangled" with any of your gear??? yet time gets wasted,,, fussing around to un clip the helmet.... But then NOT shedding the helmet entirely.. SO NOW how about this scenerio??? The now LOOSE helmet, leaves your head..at the moment of main canopy release.... floating UP and behind you,,, and flirting with NOW interfering with the deploying reserve.... You have just Increased the chances of a problem.. NOT decreased... I know of very few camera people who would intentially LOSE their camera helmet,,,,, as a PRELUDE to performing a cutaway.... WTF??? camera people have had tons of safe cutaways... without first dumping thousands of dollars worth of video equipment.. I have always thought that IF something snagged, THEN lose the helmet.. and NOT screw around with the head gear... just "IN CASE"..... you oughtta try to take your time when packing....and not be in such a hurry "to make a call"..... jmy PS vortex.... your "critique" of CandDo.... was waaay off, was rude, and pretty much a Personal Attack... and was indicative of how much Many here still need to learn, when it comes to accepting fair minded criticism. which is intended to save your ass..... when everything hits the fan... jt

excellent set of posts.. thanks aheavenlytiger... now we can see the issue from both sides... i would guess that there is usually NO malice intended from the agents, who are doing their job. and so,,, the "traveler" would do well to exhibit the same sort of respect and patience.. What I have gleaned from this thread.... "if the jumper wants to be belligerent,,, the agent can be the same,,, X 5...." courtesy and cooperation can go a looong way... jt

sure... my P D Spectre came with packing tabs,, and my previous 7 cell mains did also... So i use(d) 'em... I carry a drag mat and a proper sized packing mat,,, and set up somewhere 'out of the way'... no problem.. It's just as fast. i call the technique... "Pre -Pro" Packing If it ain't broke,, don't fix it...have not had a main canopy related mal...,, in over 30 years... jmy scr scs nscr

yes i see what you mean as regards a spending spree. which certainly could occur,, and often does, Although , i try not to think that way... it comes down to the financial discipline of each individual person... years ago before credit cards and the "natural assumption in this country", to " buy now, pay later"...I and lots of folk You probably know,,, went with a "save now, buy later"....sort of a game plan.... want to know why???

re: getting no interest when U sam gives it back... true enough.... But getting that priciple BACK... sure beats spending those dollars on consumable goods, ( which are used and then GONE ) .. interest or no interest... Also when i mentioned using the extra net pay , by spending it on credit card DEBT... I was Unclear... I did not mean using it to "pay down debt".. I was referring to using the $ to create MORE debt... should have said, "credit card purchases" which to me,, are basically the same as saying, spending it on credit card debt...since ANY C C purchase IS a debt,,,, until you make the payment, and If the payment is Not in fulll, then it's even MORE debt...( interest) thanks for helping to clarify. jmy

it's NOT really an interest free loan,,, UNLESS... you PUT the money away and YOU earn the interest instead.. BUT if you're ( or ANYone else is ) spending that $$$$ on credit card debt....THOSE interest Charges can KILL ya' .... Better to be a bit "poorer" during the year.... cause that means you won't HAVE the money... to make frivolous purchases..... ( Not accusing you of doing so,,, but sometimes consumer debt can be tough to avoid ...again,,, good luck.. jmy