shall555

Just discovered French (well, French-Canadian ) singer Natasha St-Pier. Currently listening to her CD De l'amour le mieux *Really* like Les Chansons ne Servent a Rien on there.

If he's a fan of old-time ( clawhammer-style ) banjo, this guy is more than worth a look. He has the cleanest, most beautiful technique I've heard. I have one of his instructional DVDs and it's pretty good: David Holt For Scruggs style, I'm sure there are bunches. Check out Musicians Friend for some of theirs.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell The Basic Kafka The Manipulated Man by Esther Vilar Beggars and Choosers by Nancy Kress The Most of P.G. Wodhehouse Not that anyone gives a good gol' darn.

Okay. I'll play.

I enlisted a guy at the dz to wear the rig so I could grab some photos. He didn't tighten the belly band down as tightly as I usually wear it. When I wear it, there is no 'slack' as displayed in the photo. The lower back part of the container winds up snugged into the small of my back. It feels very secure. Under canopy, I can shift the legstraps forward a bit and it's like being in a recliner half a mile up -- completely enclosed. In freefall, in a sit, it doesn't separate from my back in the windstream, as other non-belly band equipped rigs seemed to. I never liked the feel of the newer harnesses without a belly band ( I originally started jumping in the 70s ). I inquired of the Relative Workshop in Deland about whether they could retrofit the belly band to my Vector and they did. They suggested that it may be available as an option in the future.

Belly band on a contemporary Vector III

Hi, I just had the Relative Workshop add a belly band to my Vector III. I really like it. The workmanship was great and the feeling of security in a sit is much better than before. shall Disclaimer: I am an old farp. My first decent new rig was a RWS rig with a belly band ( pilot chute was there ), so I was used to the feel and missed it on newer rigs.

Not that it matters, but: Stock clerk at a dime-store ( remember those ? ) Radio DJ at a 1000 watt AM small-town radio station Photographer / darkroom guy for small-town newspaper News stringer for a mid-market TV station Municipal employee in various capacities Line guy ( gas pump guy ) and gofer at an airport / DZ Color timer for a motion picture post-production lab Big building fire-alarm fixer / installer Minicomputer fixer / installer Software developer - several gigs Team lead / Tech lead - software Program Manager - software Database administrator Self-employed computer consultant VP of Software Engineering Photographer Software developer, yet again I had hoped to add 'Lothario' and 'brewery owner', but it looks like those won't happen in this lifetime! shall555

"Don't you believe in women ?!" And I answer: "I dunno. Maybe I've seen a few around..." shall

I like the kind that tells you how high you are. I tried the other kind and it just was not much fun... shall

No, but I know all about "Troll-a-rama". Wow. 1) Join some web forum. 2) Post your B.S. 3) Profit ! Right ? Sheesh. shall

Drink lots of beer each night. Eat lots of hard-boiled eggs and beef jerky. If you can work some good Mexican food in there, too, that'd be perfect. Then, you can watch as your instructors' eyes get wide. Just tell yourself that they're overwhelmed by your skill. shall

Bill Smith, who taught me how to jump and how to make sane decisions in skydiving. Jerry Bird (though I've never met him). Smith pointed him out in the numerous skydiving films available when I was a fledgling and told me about Jerry Bird. Rudy Krenz. He helped me back into the sport after a 22 year layoff. He's been jumping for over 40 years and is still active -- a true hero. shall

No, no. This is a monster from a video game I saw, one time. Ragnar the Orc. Yep, that's him... shall

So I went to get a haircut today... ...and the barber sent me home and told me to stop wasting his time! shall

What is your name and your nickname? Name: 'Shut up' -- Nickname: 'Shut up *please*' ! When is your birthday? Sometime last year, I think... I lose track. What is your eye color and hair color? Bloodshot: eyes. Missing: hair. Do you drink? Smoke? Drink ? Only the finest mineral water, distilled from antarctic springs and filtered through activated charcoal and added to: hops, barley, etc. Smoke ? I used to smoke it in low, but now I pull around three grand ... What city do you live in? City!? Oh, aidez moi ! What is your occupation, and do you enjoy your job? I try not to occupy. I'm a perennial visitor. Enjoy my job ? That may be too strong a word... How often do you travel? I don't play basketball... How many languages do you speak? Urdu, ancient Flemish and I'm learning English ! What kind of music do you enjoy? Only whaling songs. Oh, and digeridoo sonatas. What is your favorite food? Brown, round things served with that flat, bread-y stuff. Do you have a favorite color? Yes, but it's outside the visual spectrum. Do you have any unusual habits or quirks? Yes. I practice the zither on alternate Thursdays, along with making deep, booming sounds (after 9, 9:30 AM ). What is a talent that you have that most people don't expect from you? Aardvark taming. It's a real kick ! Name something that you are proud of in your life. Well, once I learned the right way to boil bacon, I figured I had it all figured out ! shall

Gee. Post # 1. A plug for a commercial product ! Can you say "troll" ? I knew that you could! shall

Strippers are interested in the contents of your wallet and *only* the contents of your wallet. That's it. Understand it. Know it, grasshopper. shall (who hasn't been in one of those places since he figured this out in his 20s)

I'm guessing that it's an acquired taste. Like, say, haggis ! shall

Scrapple is good. Man, it's been *lotsa* years, though. shall

The FAA already governs us. When farmer McNasty complains about a dropzone, who do they call? The USPA or the FAA. Heh. You have no idea how bad it can get with small-minded bureaucrats. I'd suggest that you look up what happened to Bob Hoover, an unmatched aerobatic pilot and authentic hero when a couple of FAA bureaucrats decided to flex some muscle. I'm sure there's an account you can read on Google somewhere. Again, I'm not saying you may not have a legitimate gripe -- I'm just saying you may not like the alternative. I like your passion. So, run for regional director ( or whatever it's called ). Give 'em hell ! shall

Thrice-boiled bacon. Tepid, weak coffee. Wilted melon in a disappointing bed of old lettuce. Soggy bread-like things that the gum-chewing, near-toothless waitress describes as "biscuits." That's breakfast ! Actually, how about Moravian Sugar Cake, fresh canteloupe, crisp bacon and Sumatra coffee (black, hot and strong) ? Does that work ? shall

Ok, here's a hypothetical situation: You jump. You have a malfunction. You cut away and drop your reserve ripcord handle. It lands and pierces the wing of a brand, new Gulfstream jet ( owned by Brad Pitt, let's say ) that's sitting on the ramp. The owner presents you with a bill for $ 15,000 for repairs to the Gulfstream. Having that USPA insurance is looking pretty good right now, isn't it ? Most jumpers don't realize that even the cheapest, clapped-out Cessna they see at the airport is worth $ 20, 30, 50, 80, or 100 thousand dollars. It seems inconceivable. But if you screw up around a light plane and damage it, you should have really, really deep pockets. USPA dues are *cheap*. Regards, shall

You may not have thought through what would fill the vacuum left by a dismantled USPA. Like, say, the FAA. The USPA, while not perfect, is a great example of an organization that enables us to have a largely unregulated sport. Sure, the FAA sets some basic, sensible rules about reserves, who can pack them, flight operations and airspace, but they're largely uninvolved in the day-to-day operations of most DZs. Now, if the USPA weren't there, could you imagine a bunch of FAA folks at the DZ every weekend ? Issuing tickets for "unsafe activities" when they saw a swoop ? Taking jumpers and pilots to court because they thought they saw someone punch some industrial haze ? Now, my suggestion is that if you're convinced the USPA is badly organized and run, then run for office in the organization. Go for it. Effect change! Read the posts about Don Yahrling if you'd like to see what an involved, no-nonsense guy said about this kind of stuff. If you've got real solutions then, heaven help us, most of us'll listen. But just crying "Tear it all down" is, ummm, not productive. Yer pal, shall

Geez. How much did you pay for that thing ? And when are they going to ship you the motor ? shall