DSE

I've been in a King that has stalled with 4 outside and 2 waiting to dive, with the others moving towards the tail. I was rear float and found my fingers in the door with my feet towards the tail. Not a pleasant experience. The pilot is exceptionally capable with the aircraft, conditions and weight were more than he could overcome at that moment. We no longer can have 4 out and 2 in the door unless everyone else stays forward til the exit. that said, tail strikes are my biggest fear as well.

Wow...$35.00? We're double that amount. We do NLE editing, put extra into it, most of our guys are HDV, etc...but makes me surprised we're *that* much more. Stills are $25.00 on top of that. I guess this really belongs in the "How much" thread...

Do any of you tip a TI if he makes a special effort to make the skydive more fun, great faces, etc? We've got one guy that busts his ass to really make the video/photos great and today I received a whopping tip from a gentleman that was his student. The gentleman may have tipped the TI too, I dunno. But in any event, I don't want to be out of the "norm" by tipping the TI. I do prefer jumping with this particular guy for this specific reason.

That's not how I interpret the statement, although I can see how one *might* interpret it this way. However at face value, that's not what the sentence implies.

Gotta ask about this one...Talked to a Senior rigger a few mins ago, and tossed this in ans an aside. He thought that was a crazy idea. We *do* jump in a hot, dry area, but his opinion is that risers (unless unduly stressed) are good for several thousand jumps.

Of course it does.

I agree with PLF Expert. She's right - war should be federally funded. Privately funded wars are usually considered to be bad things, as they are best exemplified by terrorists and gang wars. The final scene in Scarface is an example of a privately funded war. The Constitution provides that Congress has the authority "to provide for the common defense and general welfare." Some may say, "See? The general welfare. This is a way that Congress can do this." Dayum; you're right. I forgot it's OK for a federally funded war for the exclusive benefit of private citizens and corporations. Dayum 2; It's incredibly simple. Which is why the country is divided on the subject. Since I pay taxes, I think I've paid for the right to say "I would rather the government spend my tax $$ on finding a cure for AIDS, stupidity, homelessness than spending it on a war so Dick Cheney, George Bush, and their cronies can line their pockets." You have paid for the right to disagree. huh? I thing I don't understand that statement. As far as Article 1, Sec 8? It's about as useful as toilet paper today. Actually, toilet paper is worth more, because I can wipe my ass with it. As I said earlier, I'm on your side in terms of private industry researching this avenue vs government. The problem is that government won't allow it. It's not a question of funding. It's a question of law, and Bush bases his opposition on ridiculous notions of Christianity and fear of cloning.

I give it a score of 8.5. I give Sparky's response a 9.5, points docked cuz he didn't go as far as he could've. I gotta wonder, Sparky...how many folks here really know your background in the air. Given that I fly a piece of your legacy every day...thanks for all the encouragement and advice. Even though I'm from the "entitled" generation.

According to interviews after the death/injury, Dana Bowman claims they usually pass "several" feet away from each other, although it 'appears' to be inches. FWIW, if you ever have the opportunity to hear his motivational presentations, run, don't walk to the ticket office. He presents with an amazing style, and incredible stories, many of which are not related to the GK experiences. FWIW, he's the only double-amputee ever to be re-admitted into the Army.

I'm not hearing this, either. What I am hearing (and agree with), is that we should fund stem-cell research *instead* of the war. Coincidentally, the Salt Lake Tribune, Ultra-conservative newspaper owned by the Mormon Church, had a great cartoon today. When a Mormon newspaper does a cartoon in favor of embryonic stem cell research, you KNOW Bush is F@#$! up. Utah is Bush' biggest supporter, the reddest state in the Union. Even Utah recognizes how moronic his position is with regard to the 'why' he's opposed to funding it.

Interesting theory. Let's fund the military only when we feel like it. "What? We're on red alert? I better go fund the military today." Funding the military and funding a war are the same thing....how?

you just want to let them lie there? rotting? close national cemetaries? .....reducing the military, completely eliminate support of arts and wierd stuff. Those are areas I'd like to see go. Twisted sense of humor, but I like it.... I'd submit that if we weren't funding a war, soldiers wouldn't be dying. If soldiers weren't dying, we wouldn't need to bury them, right?

A friend commented the other day, "There are skydivers who believe in Santa Claus, Jesus, and even delivery dates." I think he's right.

Will it make you feel better if I tell you I ordered a rig on Jan 6th, 2007 and still don't have? I'm told it will "arrive for sure" before the 4th of July. it sucks. I'm frustrated. I'm even a bit angry. But that will all go away when it arrives.

man....thought this was another post about priests and parishoners.

the government also has an interest in supporting and promoting the general welfare of the people. Otherwise, we're "taxed" to death by privateers. As it is, many corporations nickel and dime us to death. One has to wonder what happened to the government's position on controls/regulation of this industry vs that industry. If nothing else, the stem cell aspect of medicine is a pretty good example. If it promotes the general welfare of the public *and* if the public wants to appoint a set budget on the research, there is nothing wrong, IMO, with the government encouraging commercial developement, which in turn means revenues for the private companies that eventually manage/manufacture/monetize the results of the research, which in turn pays back the grant/funding in the form of more tax revenues. Excepting...the big companies already get the tax breaks even after they've received grants/funding/gifts/benefits from the government in some form. By your argument, would you then say that the SBA shouldn't exist? Or student loan programs? Grants to educational development? Yes, I believe private industry should fund the majority of this, but if government can incentivize the program, and the program benefits the general population, it's a win-win. I'd surely rather see my taxes go to freezing embryos than burying soldiers.

You can read the history of the Golden Knights teams on their website. The first team was formed in 1959. The Diamond Track origins aren't found on their website. I'll guess one of the old timers in the History forum would know.

I agree completely. Bush claims it's a moral and ethical morass, however. Couple this BS with his willingness to promote anything that Jerry Falwell and the like want, and it stinks of moralism vs rational thought. The March of Dimes backed Salk, along with other benefactors to find a vaccine against polio, same can be said for most other vaccines. However...There are a lot of taxpayer funds being spent in areas that are equally "immoral" or "unethical" if not moreso, than stem cell research.

Simply by knee-jerk reaction, it makes it untrue from my viewpoint, yes. Am I closeminded? Probably. The minute I see "Christian" and "Ethic" in the same paragraph, I know I'm fu**'d. It's a stereotype and generality, but stereotypes and generalities typically spring from truths at some point. Would you imply that because lives *perhaps* haven't actually been saved, we *shouldn't* research this opportunity as thoroughly as possible? Thiers an entelyjent thot fer ya.

Yeah...Bush makes a lot of sense here. 1-A man masturbates into a cup. 2-Doctor impregnates egg (retrieved surgically retrieved along with a few additional eggs) 3-Egg becomes fertilized 4-Doctors watch eggs for a few days 5-Doctors implant best eggs in womb 6-Left over eggs are left to die in the petri dish or 6a-Eggs are allowed to continue growth and may be of benefit to humanity. There are already laws against cloning in the international and local theatre. Therapeutic cloning is different than reproductive cloning; 10 minutes of study provides a reasonable overview, IMO. Oops...Bush can't even say "nu-klee-ar" let alone read. Wasn't he in reading class on 9/11? Of course the page you link to is biased. It's a predominantly Christian organization that believes that embryonic stem cell research is unethical. It certainly can be. But cells that have pluripotential also can change the world and save thousands of lives. Strict controls on reproductive cloning (which already exist and can be made more punitive if necessary) already prevent ethics and morals from being legally manipulated. What would jeshua do? he'd probably become a bioethicist or regenerative medicine specialist, cuz that's where the money is these days.

Gushing blood? Digital Fusion, Artbeats, AE can easily create gushing blood in post, or it could be done as a practical, just a tube of red-colored Karo syrup. Wanna have fun? Glue a sponge to the side of a very dull knife. Put watered down, red colored Karo on the sponge til it's saturated. Now draw the knife across your wrist. The blade creases the skin enough that it looks like it's cutting, and the syrup being pressed out of the sponge "bleeds" to fill the gap, thus creating a cheapo knife wound. As Quade mentions...this stuff is easy. "Titanic" is hard.

Well...some folks would call me a "wanna-bee" video guy, because I've only got some 200 camera jumps. On the ground, I'm not too bad, in the air, I can see room for a LOT of improvement, I'm not flying as well as my eye can take me, but I'll say that I feel I've got a better eye than many camera guys I've seen. I just can't quite yet get my body where my eye sees the shot as fast as I'd like. To the other side of the argument, I've seen a lot of crap video from camera flyers, too. Yes, it bothers me, because their work is likely seen by many as a reflection of the work of the general group of flyers. Sad...but...I'm trying to do something about it. While I don't mean to push Norman's new DVD set, that's sort of what the second disc is about; making better video, learning the in/outs of the techniques. Hopefully, it'll inspire camera flyers to fly better, to be more interested in their video. Camera flyers, IMO, should overall be bored in flight, but that doesn't mean they can't be inspired. There is always a better angle, always a better exposure, always a better composition waiting around the corner. Once in a while you get that "once in a lifetime" image. Then you get guys like Norman, Laszlo, Mike McGowan...they get those once in a lifetime images every few days. But...even a rock aspires to be better. Didn't mean to go on so long...I love what I'm allowed and inspired to do, and find it such a wonderful extension of my ground work...and in saying that...surely do appreciate this group for the resource it is.

I dunno...seeing fat old guys jumping nude is more embarassing.

Not quite...DV tape, like DLT tape drives for computer, are entirely digital. There is no analog component to the tape system. It's all 1's and 0's. Degradation cannot occur. Corruption (just like on a hard drive) can occur, but that happens with anything digital.

What a protected lil' world I live in. Our DZ; ~At least 10 jumps with tandems that didn't order vid, DZO or DZM review your tapes. (your nickel) ~DZM or DZO flies one/some of those with you to evaluate how you're flying (your nickel) ~TM's talk to DZM or DZO (or both) about how they feel about you flying w/them. Either you're cleared to fly or not. But you still don't get to be in the rotation until you've got a lot of flying under your belt. You've got to be able to demonstrate other skills as well, but there is no formal program. I know of formal programs that have been written but not yet implemented.