jimmytavino

all four of my grandparents were born in Italy... between the 1890's and 1910 they all came to America in their late teens or early twenties, and lived good hard working lives, raising their families, and learning the language and ways of the new country, while retaining the customs, and character of the 'old country'.. they ALL live in Heaven now... i hope that i can get to Heaven myself,,,someday, if for No other reason, than to see each of them once again,,,,,shake my grandpa(s) hand(s) and give my grandma(s) a big hug...

oh no..... it's the "poor old sot".* who has the bad intent..... for sure... not the little girls..... at least that is the way i always interpreted it... * sot.....habitual drunkard... Merriam Webster Dictionary 2004 edition jmy

Great album.... interesting lyrics..... saw Jethro Tull live, twice... absolutely great music..... ALL their work... many of the more obscure tracks, have become favorites... Living in the Past double album , Thick as a brick, one song both sides of the LP. Aqualung, L Breath , Cross eyed mary..... They did some nice acoustic rock, as well...."lifes a long song"... I got a two disc set a while ago....play the hell out of it.... and in fact , Ian A. is in the cassette player of my work truck, as we speak..... Always liked the sound of the flute... especially when it is incorporated into rock music... Ray Thomas is good too. But Jethro Tull is my favorite now please excuse me, i'll be off,,, 'sitting on a park bench'........ ..but without...... any "bad intent" jimmy tull

All the way..... ... 72 miles. but only on the weekends when i GO there... (NOT every weekend....) jmy

57 years as well....... and JUNE as well.... the 23rd to be specific.....

...absolutely always thought that a TEACHER was a great job to have, if you also skydived... for just the reasons you've mentioned... thanks for rubbing it in... Sadly I am not a teacher... I am self employed however and that means a few things... First of all,,, " i work for an idiot " Second.... i don't mean, to run a "not for profit " business, but the last few years,,, it seems like that's what i'm doing... BUT third 4th and 5th..... it means that my schedule can be as flexible as I need it to be... Want to take a friday afternoon OFF????? sure thing,,, I can be at the DZ at 2 o'clock if I want...used to go on wednesdays too... Of course i have to Get ALL the weeks work finished before grabbing my gear... "No work. No play" has to be a part of the deal... So if that means working til 7 or 8 pm on tuesday or thurs, I'll do that... When the work hours can be more extensive than with a 9 to 5 job, the self employed person can take advantage of that ( or at least should ) by starting early and ending late when necessary... Fortunately i don't have to ASK for time off or for vacation days, yet i take them sparingly.... and mostly when they coincide with jumping events, i'd like to attend..or important family get togethers... once in a while i'll try for a 3 or 4 day weekend ... Living in an area that gets cold in winter, does allow me some "off-season" from jumping during which i do try to ramp up my work efforts..... So self employment of all kinds is a good 'profession' to have...if you like to skydive. jmy

regarding: "Fast is Fun"....... well i sure NEVER got into this sport... looking for FAST..... especially under canopy... I go plenty fast enought while i'm in freefall.... I sure do NOT have any sort of itch or drive, to go FAST under canopy..... Fast...never worked very well for me with women...or when i am tackling a tough task, or when i am working on something important, and I do NOT prefer it when i am under canopy. I am looking for directional controlability, decent toggle response, and good flares... i am not interested in flying fast.... close to the ground, or near any other canopies... While i admire swoopers and what they can do,,, it's not for me... so please do not think that fast = fun has relevance for all of us... safe landings... "right where i wanna BE "... that to me is fun. Landing ON the disc, in the pea gravel, and not just stabbing at it mid swoop, while flying tens of meteres PAST the target, to some sort of surf landing,,,, ANYwhere...is FUN... those whose parachuting experiences are with nothing but ram airs,,, either large OR small, seem to be unable to appreciate the agonizing slowness which preceeded todays rockets... Round cheapos, Para Commanders, Papillons, etc ... gave us a healthy sense of the need for control, and good canopy flying decision making.... I've had nothing BUT fun under canopy, and at NO time was it because i was going fast..... but hey... to each his own... let's be careful out there... upsize downsize, let's just stick with the right size..... jmy

If it was to be a full out shopping spree.. as much as i could put in a cart in a set amount of time... .....then Cartiers Diamonds......are they still on Fifth Avenue??? second choice... Para-Gear... Skokie Ill. j

..... for that price, he should be able to send TEN... and three of them,,, should be able to know how to pack my parachute!!!..... and be willing to do it for the next 5 years...

Exactly !!!!! Very VERY well said... jmy

i was just wondering,,, whose money was he spending???? if it's out of his own pocket... then he's a jerk if it's out of the pocket of N Y State taxpayers...i . e. "expense account money"... then he's a scoundrel...AND a jerk WHY do these guys do SUCH things... High political office... certainly under the microscope of scrutiny,, and you arrange for a lady to come to your Hotel room... while in D. C. for business...???? that's basic stupidity and sure fire political suicide... I was also wondering ,,, doesn't he have aides and other staff members,, whose OWN lives, and even jobs, hinge on this guys' behavior.??? don't THEY see what was going on,,, and put a stop to it.????? or is it a case of "don't ask Don't tell"...what a mess. as a new yorker ,, i am damn sure mad...,,, 5,500 bucks?????..... for sex ??? man I just paid my local NY state income and property taxes,,,,in roughly that same amount... and if this is what those hard earned dollars were spent on... then i want a refund!!!!! jmy

I was really impressed in how they finish walls in the UK (well, everytime I saw it done anyways). They will plaster the whole surface of the wall, not just the joints. It gives such a nice, smooth surface when done right. true to both comments... stipple, stucco, popcorn, even the swirl ceiling, which is done on wet joint compound, with a twist of a specialty finishing brush, are all less attractive, IMHO than a smooth flat ceiling. and the problem with any surface like that is..... once it's done, it's pretty much permanent... plus any future repairs will face the very issues that simplyputsi is asking about... still, repairs can be done.. as for true plaster well that is a lost art, at least in the USA... it was employed and prefected by many of the old timers... My grandfather was very adept at it. So was my father...Might be an Italian thing

it looks like drywall joint compound... applied with a very " large nap" paint roller... a bit of water is added to the 'mud' and then it is all mixed thoroughly , using a drill and a mixing paddle/bit, made for that purpose...in a pinch, it can be done with a large mixing stick and some elbow grease.... a paint roller with a long broom handle extension allows you to reach the ceiling, or wall, easily. load the roller heavily, sometimes the mixture is poured right into a paint pan... and then lay it on the surface... use just enough pressure to allow the roller to "roll" instead of slide.....it might take a time or two to get the hang of it. it can be messy, dripping, etc so use drop cloths, and mask any areas you want to remain undisturbed... It will dry very white... it can be painted, just like regular drywall , after it has fully dried...or left as is... good luck. jmy

i did see alot of my friends get hurt when the ram airs started getting popular..... many people who had to have 'the latest and greatest' found out the hard way,,, that ram air technology had a loooong way to go..... lots of low turn injuries, some cutaways of mains with "ropes and rings", resulting in a 24 ft or 26 ft. round reserve deployment,,, waaay low, and waaay upwind...( since they were "spotting long, cause of the squares' longer range".) so some people got hurt from off field reserve landings...many of the injuries were serious, and many of the injured re-thought their involvement with the sport... I just kept jumping my French Papillon, spotting sensibly, pulling high, and standing most of the landings... waited a long time til finally transitioning to a para Flite cloud..... NO 5 cell, for this kid. gear was cheaper, lifts were cheaper, hell even beers were cheaper..... sadly, as all the costs associated w ith this sport went UP,,, some of the active participants, stood down..... factor in outside influences like family, work, and spouses,,,,, and attrition took it's share of the 'regulars'....... many "flashes in the pan"... lots of jumpers who were there one year and gone the next,,, ( my log book is Full with the names of these long ago jumping buddies ) they may still be pals,,, but likely no longer Jump..... so some injuries, some fear, some financial reasons, some loss of interest.....all these things have made it tough for lots of the Old crowd to stick with it... In the 80's and 90's we saw the rise of the "credit card carrying skydiver".. deficit spending was rampant for some... we also saw the rise in what i call the "mountaindew generation".... the go go go crowd,,, looking for speed, and flash and admiration of their peers..... sadly, speed can gettcha..... and slow and steady will often win the race, before... hurry hurry hurry....... as for returning to the sport today????? i bet many would just rather re-live "past glories", with their feet firmly on the ground,,, than to go through the entire 'indoctrination" period all over again.... cheaper, and safer...Plus most of their jumps stories have seasoned with time, and are even More glorious Now... so why push it????? still plodding along, after all these years, jimmy

depends which one of them is "on steroids" " ADRIENNE!!!!! " " Johnny Johnny,,, come in Johnny,,,!" jmy

According to the article, GW Bush calls waterboarding a useful tool... WHAT!!!????? the real....."Tool", in the 'war on terror'...? ... the President himself...and his VP who is so deep into financial holdings which benefit from WAR,, that it is a Sin..... i wonder if G W B ever heard of the phrase... "walk a mile in his shoes"...? If he is willing to condone such "interrogation tactics'... then he should face that technique himself,,,, .. If slots were auctioned off, to see who could be the one to administer the waterboarding procedure to Bush and all like him who find this acceptable,,,,, you could raise enough money to eliminate the federal deficit... Given the fact that many who are " in custody" as "terrorists",, know Nothing about such things... and may have been 'captured' in an unfair, and even illegal way,,,how in the world can we justify torturing them, in order to extract "information"...? these victims, would likely say ANYthing,, truthful or not, accurate or not, useful or not... just to end the 'session'... Then our "intelligence community' ( there's an oxymoron for you,, ) can chase down all those dead ends, and fringe statements, and maybe even useless "leads". like some collective barn yard full of headless chickens, running around... What has the U S A come to.??? This guy is going out, leaving as big a mess as possible.. for some other poor bastard, to deal with....... And not just regarding this issue tool.... indeed jmy

Pacific Coast Highway is a beautiful drive...Rt 1 We did that years and years ago... However it 's like 6 hours or so , from San Fransisco to L A .... and the road is more like a two-lane, than a High way..... But there is a lot to see, besides the amazing ocean view... Carmel Coos Bay, San Luis Obispo Monterey which has quite a huge Aquarium.. ( it's where the star trek movie, with the whales, was filmed , some time ago...) and Cannery Row San Simeon, home of the Hearst Castle Santa Barbara... Los Padres national forest..... could be best to make the drive with an overnight stay , planned somewhere... along the route... Best accomplished, in a Convertible !!!!! with the top down,,,, if the weather allows for it...

who??? just some guessing here... but Maybe garrett Dolan,,, dean richardson... tex mcKinney??? and /or some other guys from looong ago.. They built the first biplane diamond i think.....not sure of the team name ,, dead reckoning????? maybe... the pic looks like a demo quadra plane... BUT out of an aircraft... Near the bridge, but not OFF the bridge..... Verrazanno Narrows??? NYC????? as for the When???? early 80's or else Late 70's .... but I could be wrong!!! jmy

yes... I have a Nikon D 70S . i use a bonehead BatRak helmet. it has an eight and a half inch wide base plate. the Nikon sits over my right eye and a Sony HDR HC-3 sits over my left eye. They are both mounted with Manfrotto quick releases... the sony is slightly forward of the Nikon, which allows for good alignment of the port on the Nikon, which accepts the shutter release jack... ( It's a "square" 'Laszlo' adapter) the remote for the Nikon goes into it , right near the point where the control switches for the camcorder are located... however they are NOT in the way of each other. in fact the plug for the nikon remote, helps to steer my finger to the place where the On/Off switch for the camcorder is...and then just below the remote plug, is the standby /record button...see picture DSC04435~1 i do use a cam eye. but do not turn the camera on and off with it...I use the camcorder switches... This set up works, only if the still camera is mounted on the right side of the base plate... If the Nikon were all by itself,, then yes, maybe the remote plug WOULD be hanging out there... but with this configuration, the Sony , somewhat shields the remote from exposure to lines, or risers... ps. hc3 shown with raynox 5050 lens... perfectly fine camera... though it is a few years old now. D 80 is a great one too... no so sure about the less costly D 40 package...\ good luck jimmy a3914 d12122

so????? are you On commission or something???? i keep DZ dot com on my favorites list... but not as my homepage........ though it would be a good choice j

well, when i open my internet explorer it always opens to MSN. com... a bunch of news stories, and various links to various topics..... it sort of bores me, and so I am wondering what would be a good replacement for it... i am sure that there are hundreds to consider.... ... i am looking for one, with news, information, humor, etc... any ideas??? thanx jimmy

that is some Scarey stuff, right there...... suspension lines showing,,, both below the side flaps, AND from under the riser covers...YIKES!!! the main risers look awfully tight, and if this rig is anything like others of it's type, which i have seen,,, those riser covers will be peeled open waaaay before this jumper gets out the door.... incompatible mains being packed in a too small container, could be asking for trouble... the cap on the reserve P C also needs some attention,, very sloppy... jt

we have soldiers in IRAN ????? ... my concern is for all these children,,, (where ever they may be in that part of the world) who are growing up with poverty, destruction, shacks for homes, frightened, and likely poorly educated Parents and grandparents, who see soldiers carrying automatic weapons...and who are geared with allll the latest in night vision equipment, high tech communication devices, ultra costly vehicles, and armaments..... patroling the streets of these FOREIGN places, and Killing people when forced to... Sure many men and women who are thrust into that chaos are able to remain charitable, and try to do whats right... and who could resist the sad and scared faces of these little kids...and in some way try to bring assurance and some kind of stabilty into their lives??? but it still IS and shall remain a bad bad situation, no matter how much we try to sugar coat it... Nice pictures... but what a shame, that our brave enlistees and the soldiers of our "allies" need be faced with this dilemma , in the first place... again i ask.. is this iraq or iran??? jmy

....ALWAYS try to help..... ....Never get discouraged if it's misunderstood, OR misinterpreted........ that sort of shit, ( see above) happens all the time, in this crazy world... keep on, keepin' On.... this place is supposed to be for Fun..... and for sharing ideas, opinions, and points of view... so stay forward thinking and far sighted.... PS.... "illigitimi Non carborundum"....'don't let the bastards wear you down.' capice'????? jmy

always liked baseball played for a team in the Local "over 50 " Softball League, a couple of years ago..... would like very much to do That again,,,, we played on Artif. Turf Fields... with lights... there's something about a night game, in the summer,,, after a hot hot day, when the temperature is dropping, and the sun isn't scorching anymore... and the light is good, and the fields are like carpets..... I loved running on them... I can still chase down a fly ball, with the best of them....