dterrick

Hey Chris, I thingk you've already done 'step 1' by posting this. I'm visiting California as I post this and I've had asimilar culture shock going from a 6 month/year Cessna DZ to a year round Kingair/206 DZ. I can't imagine how big a 'twin twatters' must feel. Doa 'skydiver search' from the main page using Crosskeys as your criteria - see if you recognize any of the screen names. post something generally with 'crosskeys' in the headerand state your position and goals ... those who are interested in welcoming you in will only be your 'first' contacts. If my experience is anything like what you'll have, soon the only "problem" you'll have is time and money to do all the cool things skydivers do these days

you do cockney rhyme dude? Alligator, I'm off to DZ -Dave PS: can you advise on the proper use of "NEEH!!"?? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Viking's a true original - I could NEVER compete with that... . Actually, it's a photo of a generally accepted "skydiving related" activity practised after sunset ... let's just say I had a 'very early start' ... I'll work on the daemon MSN 8 issue after a solid day of jumping with Sebazz and the rest of the Rogue's Gallery - Hollister to start but titaniumlegs was taunting me with the Monterey Otter - I'm not sure I should believe the part about the lava lamps but I understand the sound system rocks! Later, gotta go get high (15 grand should do it) -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

[Deleted] ...because I can't figure out the "MSN 8 NAZI" on me bro's computer and all the directories are "blacked out" when I go to the upload screen . Since I can't upload and attach what I can't identify you're all safe ... for now Just wait till I get back home tho There might even be some new skydiving pix... -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Nice...my list includes "The Door". But, it also includes (wow, this will be eclectic...): Alphone Mouson - Mind Transplant 'Cannonball' Adderley - Spontaneous Combustion Most of the Beatles ("you two" keep it down, I can play too!) Bach's "inventions" as played by Glenn Gould and attempted by me on the saxophone Beethoven's 3rd, 5th, and 9th symphonies (various 'artists') Tommy Bolin - Teaser Dave Brubeck - time out and Time Further Out (so far I can play about 1/3 of Paul Desomond's solos - badly unless I'm "in a state" and then I THINK they sound better ) John Coltrane - a Love Supreme Ornette Coleman - Free Jazz Miles Davis - Bitches' Brew Doors - Strange Days Faith No More - The Real Thing (from an 'angry' time) Genesis - Selling Englnad by the Pound Peter Gabriel - So Harlequin - Love Crimes (first album I ever bought) J. Geils - Freeze Frame Nirvana - Nevermind (bought before it was popular) Mile Oldfield- Tubular Bells (only the original) Alan Parsons - Tales of Mystery and Imagination- Edgar Allen Poe Pearl Jam - '10' Police - most all, especially Zenyatta Mondatta and Synchronicity Rush - 2112, Moving Pictures(Red Barchetta is an Anthem for me), Fly by night Styx - Paradise Theatre Ted Nugent - Wango Tango, Cat Scratch Fever Telephone - une autre monde, au coueur de la nuit Tom Waits - Rain Dogs Uriah Heep - Magician's Birthday (how can I not mention the Kazoo solo?) XTC - Oranges and Lemons Yes - 90125 YIKES- what a Horribly Incomplete list. Considering my album collection is 2500 miles away I can't even rummage through the vinyl to include the ones that got away. My 'pop' music taste is firmly stuck in the late 70's / early 80's, my jazz taste somewhere in the late 50'sand my classical tastes somewhere in the early 1800's. Most of the 90's and beyond seems like 'commercial drivel' and I've found myself tuning into the college radio staions and internet broadcasts favouring Drum 'n Bass, house, and trance. Most often I don't know who the artists are. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Must have been the Beer Or maybe the boobie fest Last night at Rudy's It sure worked for me So far away from my home yet with my 'family' The house is now clean Soon the fuel'd Subaru Drives me to blue skies Air conditioned sky My friend for but a minute Who can stop the clock? -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

WOW Bill, that's quite a statement about our government... That siad, I was among the first graduating class of the new French Immersion program offered in Fort Garry (Winnipeg, MB) - and among the first in the province. I started that schooling in 1980 - shortly after "the Metric System" was foisted upon us. Man was I one screwed up kid - and look how I turned out, jumping out of planes and all Seriously, we "Westerners" have long had a bone to pick with the Feds and it has NOTHING to do with the Official Languages Act. Well, maybe one thing... Ontario, "the Centre of the Universe" has a sufficiently large legeslative population to all but ENSURE that the political flavour of the day in that province is what we get across the entire country. And, as you corectly point out, when the fabric of the Federal Liberal party is largely composed of francophones and businessmen with ties to the french (and international) community a la PowerCorp, Bombarider, etc ... we're unlikely to get anything different anytime soon. Never do I expect that French will become 'the' dominant language in Canada. I'd argue, though, that if they let the language evolve to include modern 'international' vocabulary what would eventually evolve would be the equivalent of modern versus Olde Englishe (read any original print copies of 18th Century English Literature lately?). The evolutionary process of language and technology today is such that in a decade or 2 - not a century or 2 - the "new generation" could be functionally illeterate in the "old language". If you need 'police' to enforce your culture then you have a very VERY large problem, agreed. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

VIBES!! I hope you have an understanding insurance agent and suitable coverage. I had a friend go through a similar disaster so I feel your pain. While you likely will never be able to replace your entire collection, a 'reasonable' cheque will allow you to seek out that which you miss most and move ahead with whatever presently consumes you. Good luck. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

No, I was only a flight officer Seriously, apart from the stuff I've on TV, I've never even seen a Concorde in person. For some reason, the bustling metropolis of Winnipeg, Manitoba was not a stop on it's regular route. On the other hand, The Gimli Glider http://www.wadenelson.com/gimli.html had only ONE scheduled stop and it was on runway 32L (where I race cars) .... 32R is our DZ!! -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Seb I thought you said you had WORK to do today... Are you secretly on HH's payroll as an instigator, or is this a "research project" for your HR department?? As for our question, it depends on the grade of fuel I've been running on. Becks is pretty pure stuff (Reinheitsgebot and all) so I'm OK today. Corona and mexican food can cause severe internal damage and environmental pollution -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

WHAT ABOUT MEEEEE?? I owed BEER for my first drunk dial, and I wasn't even drunk. must....try....harderrrrr....... ... -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...well... 100, but very VERY comfortably. The REAL question to be asked is "What is stall speed for jumprun purposes" -Dave PS: if you think the Concorde's fate is sad, watch or read the "Avro Arrow" story. Canadians designed a mach 2+ fighter interceptor (airframe, engine AND avionics) in the mid 50's but the frady cat 'merican miltary of the time (cold war and nukes doncha know) and the newly installed Conservative government in Canada saw the project scrapped. I think 6 were built and only two ever flew. Chopped to bits, stillborn. PPS: many of the engineers went on to design the Space Shuttle... Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Show airing now, narrated by Stacy Keach, and guess what they opened it up with? Yup, a bad AFF dive. Lots of camera geeking, dude's stable until pull time and then it appears as if he cuts away his main and goes into a tumblefuq on his back and pulls reserve. (I'm confused enough already but the 'reserve' is multi coloured to add to it) ...then flys it into high tension powerlines and gets dropped after the flash and spark of contacting the wires (must have melted his lines). Did I miss something on the incidents forum? Did "they" just make this up for shock TV (pun intended)? -Dave off to kill brain cells at Rudy' pub Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

who, me?? sounds like far too much fun... promise not to let me get arrested?? -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Once upon a time I'd have agreed with you about the DelSol but now I'm not so sure. I 'fly' an 89 Civic Si at home. sunroof and all, which is really a long wheelbase CRX. Three windows open and no lid beats a CRX anyday except for competition. The S5 chassis appears to be far more solid than the S4 but between the extra weight and the wide ratio 'economy' gearbox you gotta pedal it hard. Of course, once it's on the boil, all 102 screamin' ponies do show up ... and THAT's where it lived for most of the drive. B16, hell there's lots of room for a B-18. Mate that to a ZC close ratio gearbox and an Si final drive and you'd have something that would scare even me! Shoudda done that when the tranny was out. Oh well. -Dave ...Now what ashphalt shall I tear up today? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Yee hah!! California mountains ROCK!! I blew 2 1/2 hours this afternoon 'racing' through the giant redwoods along Skyline Drive, Hwy 9 and Hwy 236 (Big Basin State Park) in my sister's Honda Del Sol this afternoon. Pity it isn't shod with sticky rubber or I might have been able to use 3rd gear more. Seriously, for all those gearheads out there, this is Mecca. I've been a racing driver by hobby since 1987 and a competition instructor since 1993. Sadly, these twisty roads have taught me that there is FAR more to fast driving on mountain roads than one from the flatlands could imagine. No, there's not a scratch on the car or on me but I was as tired after this 110 mile sojurn as I was after the the last 2 hour endurance race in which I competed .. but on this trip I was lucky to make 60 mph in the twisties. Yikes!! Of course I COULD have travelleld faster, but after all these are "2 lane" roads though from where I come they'd be considered narrow back lanes from hell. Rock cliffs on one side, The Abyss on the other (no guardrail on "Old LaHonda Road" he he) - I was sooo in my element...(and yes, I was staying within my lane) For the first time since I started skydiving I had some of the same feelings behingd the wheel as I get when I'm trying something new in the air. This may mark a turning point in my racing career since what I was doing was more like Rally than circuit racing... and I really REALLY liked it. I also have to credit my skydiving 'emergency training' for saving me at least twice - "mere mortals" who were oncoming traffic had decided that I didn't deserve all of "my lane" and in a flury of footwork and fancy steering later I was able to keep it on the hard surface with the paint intact. The DelSol, after all, is a convertible and I doubt putting it on its' roof in a canyon - or into an unyielding redwood - would have been any fun at all. Seriously, in all my (not so) many demos on HP canopies I have instinctively used a 'cross-draw' technique to counter 'toggle oversteer'. I've only been able to equate this to throttle on countersteering in flatland racing until now (and of course nobody else on my DZ has auto racing experience so the simile is moot) but today was a real eye opener. Damnit, it's so close as to be the same thing but in 2-D !! I could continue into a discussion of where my eyes were focused and how I always planned to have 'something in reserve' (pun intended) but man, this was REAL ... and it was soooo cool. Me likes. And the cooler thing was that these roads were so challenging that ther was no place for a CHP to hide - and if there was I'd not have been doing much more than 10 over the 'posted' limit (which would have been virtual suicide in the dark) Skydiving has made me a better driver... and California's Highways department have given me one more reason to seek a Green Card . I strongly recommend a visit (...in either a sports car you know well or a rental car with full insurance coverage ) Who else out there catches this vibe and what roads do 'it' for you??? -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Ya can't copyright an "idea" and I agree that is a bizare read, Dave... Anyone know who owns "bar chords" so I can send them some $'s?? Waitaminute, saxophones don' play chords so I guess I'm safe ... until the ghosts of the great horn players (or their estates) sue me not only for copyright infringement but also mutilation of their musical ideas . The world is truly doomed ... of course McDonalds already paid a whack o cash out for the 'hot coffee' incident ... (well Duuuuuhhhhh) so maybe the music industry is just catching up. Metallica were among the first hot bands of their genre .... this stinks of a fee-eating lawyer somewhere... (CALL ME 1 800 546 77777 THAT'S RIGHT 1 800 546 77777 I'M MIKE 'THE HAMMER' SHAPIRO AND I'VE GOT MONEY WAITING FOR YOU) -Dave PS: Mike, my 'fee' for this shameless plug from the bowels of my mind is a jump ticket (...in Hawaii, return trip included) Life must be rough Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hi Bill! Wouldn't it be nice if people could 'just downsize' on a whim like I imagine you're imagining it? I'm irked because it was only a few yers after G.W.I (GWB ) that Detroit started building the behemoths we now see on the roads known as 'sport utes' ... most containing one human and little cargo. Of course, kajillion dollarses were spent on making the engines more efficient so they could power larger and larger vehicles at higher and higher speeds... and Madison avenue 'convinced' people that these 'rolling boxcars' were necessary AND desirable. Then, 'they' started making parking spaces smaller so those who have not already rolled over a Honda en route to the mall park alongside one and crease them when opening their yaught's doors 'be feel'. Now we have 'expensive' oil and the owners of said 'utility' cehicles find they are "useful" at draining the wallet too. Ironic. Not seen in Asia... Not seen in Europe... (both with yet far more expensive fuel) once again people are the victims of their own free will. Bill may I modify your comment to read " when gas prices go up, those who truly care will reconsider their need for large inefficient vehicles"? (the TRULY brilliant among us will drive a 45 MPG Honda to the dropzone and then blow a year's worth of fuel saving on jump tickets- much of which is ... ummm... shit!... fuel) Dave PS: The optimist says the glass is half full; the pessimist says the glass is half empty; the engineer says the glass is twice as big as required; the ad exec is so good at his(/her) job that you are convinced to buy six of whatever's available anyway Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

[translation deleted in the interest of decency and the fact that Sinker "pulled it"]. "It is a far far better thing that I do..." (anyone,... Bueller? Bueller?) -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

I hear ya (well, figuratively anyway) It's about the music and not the horn. But both came to me in a neat way ... I'm the second owner of the Selmer - an Air Command Band Colonel retired and let the horn sit for years before he replied to an ad my dad put in the paper - I was in grade 7 and had just taken up sax. It was well into high school before I really understood what I had and I almost feel guilty being the caretaker of such a fine horn. The alto was an auction sale bargain for $95 if I recall. Unplayable at the time but very cool. It came with a WOOD mouthpiece which, when played, gives the horn that eerie tone that evokes a depression era recording... It was deemed NOT suitable to play in the wind ensemble and I wound up renting a Yamaha pro horn. Now and again I still wail on the Whaley but with no alternate fingering mechanisms it's a bit like driving a model T on the interstate - doable but barely. In some ways that antique tinny "no-name" horn is more valuable to be for what it isn't . Music is ALL about vibes (...literally). Now all we need is bass, drums, piano and we could cyber-jam... Miles Davis quintet anyone? -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

1958 Selmer Mk. VI Tenor Saxophone (gold plate laquer) and a 1920's Whaley& Royce (non-modern fingering) silver plate alto sax - only played solo right now but as there have been some threats about a few of us at DZ jammin' someday... 1965 Triumph TR4a IRS (no, not THEM, stands for independent suspension model) with a Judson supercharger... currently under suspended restoration for the same reason Dave's not Beetling around... 1946 bungalow with finished basement, not so much a toy as an obligation... but so long as I need to live somewhere I'd rather it be in a character home than a flat. Of course, if I sold the home I could boast about a fresh custom rig . I WANT to build a Vans RV-6/7/8 with aerobatic capability and that brings this post to a new twist... who else is / wants to be a pilot of powered aircraft ? Who dares fly what they've built Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

All I want, Bang Bang Bang (sorry, couldn't resist for those who recognize the reference) Seriously, it's not worth the trouble to regerster and permit a handgun in Canada and it's been five years since my Dad sold his high Standard 22 long rifle target pistol to a client of mine. Since then, I've had a chance to go to the range all of ONCE, and I thought that someone out there in dropzone.com land might have a favourite range to suggest. Quite apart from dog-sitting I have little to do here (well, except save my pennies for a jump day). Anyone care to suggest if this is even feasable? PM is fine, general jokes about a 'pacifist Canadian' with a gun who's will be tolerated so long as I know where you live . I'm in Belmont (a 'good' neighborhood) and I've already heard the sound of one large caliber firearm discharged someplace nearby. (that's not quite what I had in mind by 'public' range, though) -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hey Pop! Welcome.... I'm just visiting in Belmont and will likely catch up with you and the crowd at the next bar-hopping beer-fest later this week. I gotta agree with you that the relative lack of humidity is a godsend- back home when we hit the 80's the humidex is often over 100. Here, I just quitely and not-so-slowly fried myself in the UV's in blissful ignorance to how hot it "really" is. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hmmm, a prototype 8 cell variable lift canopy?? - I think there's a reason that hasn't been marketed - nice reaction, glad all but your main is OK. Now, go find your duct tape... -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Congrats 'Zee... ...my beer cutaway was a high speed mal. No time to play or assess jump #20) but everything else was the same down to the radio. After I dropped my "single parachute rig" back in the loft (my ride was a 24 foot ROUND reserve!!), I drove to the offsale, bought the 24, and returned to find out I had been manifested forthe next load. Did a hop n pop from 5k with the DZO ( that was actually a treat as Hutch was breaking in a fresh kidney and was told 'not' to jump). Then we drank the beer.... and actually had to buy more butthis time someone else treated