dterrick

That GNR tune always evoked a both the feelings of morosity and that shivering-up-the-neck feeling that makes you know there is "something" to this folly we call life (it's on my MP3 right now as a mater of fact). I never met Roger. As a skidiver though, I still feel the disturbance in the Force. Moments like this make me wonder who has been looking after me during my various fuckups and near misses in the air. It can't be just me, and it sounds like those of us still relying on wingsuits and parachutes to fly have a stronger Force guiding us with the addition of Roger. Ours is not to reason why... BSBD. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

0:0:0 Weekend off. Today I did the Airshow and saw F 14, F-16 F-18 (even numbers only, please?) in action including the real cool "cloud puffies" that surround those planes when they aproach supersonic (we had about a 1,000 ft cieling). B-25 "Miss Mitchell", CF-5, C-115 Buffalo (Skyhawks parachute demo team declined to do CReW due to said 1,000 ft cieling ). Refueling demo by a C-130 Herc, aerobatics by a T-34 trainer and a Pitts Special, etc. On the ground we got to see all the above as well as KC-10 (DC-10)refueller and a KC-135 refueller/troop ship, Tiger Moth, 727 (yes, I could jump one of those), Lougheed Electra T-10 (first passenger ship in Canada circa 1937), C-130 set up as an arial hospital, etc. there wee the regular small fry (too small to jump club planes, models, etc) and the typical military demos. "They" also sacraficed a Skoda (dropped by a Griffon Helo). Oh yes, the 9 plane Snowbirds team (best in the world... they say) finished the show. Apparently the DZ was weathered out for most of the day (...I had to phone to find out what I missed). Tomorow I build ear protection in preparation for the Ozzy Osbourne concert hitting the 'peg tomorrow night. Besides that, my Racer is in the rigging shop being "freefly miodified" so I wouldn't be jumping anyway. Since it's not jump related I don't owe beer for the first airshow I've paid to see damn skydiving addiction is spreading to jumpships now Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hah! "you got away with one" ... as have I. I'm only a hundred jumps or so ahead of you and while I can;t say that your attitude will remain vigilant "forever" I know you will remember this jump-from-hell for a LONG time and you WON't make those mistakes again. Yes, after 144 jumps "I've seen it all" but I have to agree with those who have said decision altitude is decision altitude. Something that I think we in Cesna land get hung up on is taking our deployment down to the legal limit (I often do) which then leaves little time under canopy to deal with problems or emergencies. It leaves even less time if you have a total or a high speed mal. I'm impressed with your recall and critique of the incident - but you forgot the main problem.... you skipped out of work early and the labour gods gave you a warning. I wonder what I did to earn a hoerseshoe malfunction on a hop n pop last month? (trust me, you don't want to try THAT one) Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Sorry to bum you all out on a Friday night but I just received the word on the CSPA chat list that the a/c and pilot found in the British Columbia woods were confirmed as those of Pilot Craig Turner and the Abbotsford jump plane. See the incidents list for the full story - not that there's much to say. Vibes to Craig's family and all who knew and flew with him. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Bummer! When I read the header I immediately thought "that lucky BASTARD got to throw a car out of a big plane for his 100th" ... and then I read the rest. Silver lining indeed that just sucks. Hopefully you have decent insurance. Dave PS: now is a good time to buy a beater and use the rest of the insurance money to buy new gear Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

0:1:1 Believe it or not I was within the wind cone of our DZ from Thrusday night before sunset till sunset Sunday and did only one jump. Most of the time I spent officiating at a sports car race but since it's based on the OTHER runway of an old WWII airbase I got to see all the fun. The Beer light for sports car racers hits far too soon and I voluntarily grounded myself on both Friday and Saturday. Sunday, though, I skipped the track as soon as racing was done (carefully weighing the probability of my NOT drinking during teardown as exactly ZERO) and made DZ at about 4:20 PM Believe it or not I had a hard time getting a load together!! There were at least five jumpable hours left and everybody was too burnt to fly or had gone home. Fine by me as I was too broke but couldn't miss a weekend entirely. We moved a hide-a-bed instead.... Too burnt to jump indeed.... Talk about addictions Dave T PS: Sebazz are you gonna organize a Minnesota boogie? We could have a Northern Record attempt ... I bet I could organize a carload of .commers down to Minnesota to help out. Fargo ND would be almost a sure thing for more people but they only have a Cessna there. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Yaaaaay Hollister! Sounds consistent with what I know of the DZ - shitty you found the 'only' gopher hole on the LZ Simon ... coudda been worse - you coudda found a cow pie and wound up with a busted butt annnnd a shitty landing (pun intended) Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Ditto to what phreezone said - Nero kicks! My Dad just bought a burner that came with Nero on the disc. I've had a burner for 3 years; the 'old' software is just not as advanced but it will do the job if you learn it right. Dare I mention "Kazaa" and "search" (without prejudice, of course)? Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...what a waste of two toally hot (..if miniature) skychicks

A unique situation, Jason. I envy you, me being a poor skydiver who can only afford one rig and an old one at that. Maybe I should dispense with the jump tickets and join you in BASE (I know, you pay "REAL" airlines to get to the cool places...) But, not to hijack your thread, an overweight aircraft has NOTHING to do with the feds - at the heart of the matter -and EVERYTHING to do with the airlines trying to squeeze the last dollar out of each run. If Boeing, for example, says plane X is good for Y thousand pounds and the airlines have been exceeding these limits in the past I would put it to you that we have been "lucky" (in more ways than one) to have had the generaous allowances in the past. Maybe "we" are all getting fat(ter?) and the airlines are allowed to work with a fixed 'pounds per seat' allowance hence the problem? Perhaps at some time they will start weighing us? Something tells me that at the heart of your comment about the feds (of which I was unaware) that there is an inherent flaw in the system dating back to the days when seats were large enough that you did not need to know your seat-mate on an intimate basis . I'm not a "big" guy, but at 5'11" 180 +/- I gotta tell you that I'm only "just" comfortable on a modern jet. Seomwhere, somehow, there's 25-50 lbs per seat for which the airline is trying to account. I'd agree that you have as much right to a 'total onboard weight' as anyone else ... and ultimately that is the factor that most determines ticket prices. I'm also guessing that my 'onboard weight including passenger' theory would be challenged in the Supreme court as discrimination against "large people" so I doubt you'll ever see it happen. I wish you the best of luck in your search for a light gear bag and suitable baggage insurance coverage (another 'problem' I had with international travel) Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Sorry I missed that bit Jason. I DO know however that a "big" Samsonite is nearly 25 pounds also. I wound up carrying my gear onboard (a different sort of hassle). I presume three smaller cases (and the extra piece fee) is also out of the question? Dave PS: I'm not convinced that the feds have anything to do with the weight restrictions. We all know from jumping that weight in the plane = fuel cost and with the airline industry collectively on the verge of bankrupcy I doubt that they're going to reverse their positions anytime soon. The option might be higher fares for everyone. Just something to consider. Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hi Teresa! My advice might be a longshot for your purposes but as a Canadian jumping a USPA DZ, I was subject to their rules. They acknowledged my "B" license, but not the fact that it's the equivalent to your C license (regarding currency). At this stage of your training you will be earning licenses similar to ours - and international standards (ie no more 200 jump D license holders after this fall). I'd believe that if you did your AFF with a USPA rated instructor that they wouldn't care where you did the actual training. Similarily, I know of Canadians who did their training in the states with CSPA instructor and it didn;t matter that they jumped in a "foreign country". Short of the imminent replies from this list, why not email USPA and ask? Welcome to the sky Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

The weight limit, as far as I know (travelled in March) is only the maximum "free" weight. Individual airlines have different policies on overweight goods - NW will take up to 100 lb pieces ($$$$) or 75 lb pieces for only extra ($$) You could also UPS your stuff Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...geez I feel like a Bowling whuffo poseur all of a sudden... WOW!! 435 out of 450? Was that a gutterball on your very last delivery? Heartbraking. I know my 278 would have been oh-so-close to a 300 game (total fluke, BTW) but I did just that... amazing what happens when the rookie has a hot game and you're the last teams to finish ... no pressure at all . I hadn't bowled since I was a kid at birthday parties (like 25 years ago ). I was totally ignorant to the nuances of the game and how hard it is to be consistent. Sorta like in skydiving it's easy to fall, but not to fall relative. Dave PS: Skydiving and sports car racing are the only 2 sports I enjoy where you can't include drinking as part of the sport Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Yes, it does. Congratulations. It only gets better as you get into bigger formations (not like I have a whole lot of experience) and soon you'll think of the freedom of a solo / freestyle dive as a treat as well. As for me, I recently did my first 'proximity ride under canopy ... and I bet I view CReW with the same enthusiasm I know you're feeling now about RW. It's gonna suck when I run out of new things to do in the sky ... may that be many many years from now Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Gotcha Chris - my high game is a 278 ...except that's in 5 pin (a Can-EH-dian game) where a perfect game is 400!! Nice one though. Perfectus Illusivii (Wyle E) or "Missed it by thaaaaat much" (Agent 86 aka Mr. Smart) Dave "And in today's Gulf Coast Classic, chy-chy rod-ri-gweez scored a 12 under par. Hopefully next time Mr. rod-ri-gweez will play UP to par" (....anyone, anyone .... Bueller?...) Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

I SAW that piss-pot It's on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art... as is the Warhol (Brillo) ...and the Michael Jackson "thing". (THAT one is really scary). They had a chair that looked very much like the "yoyo stand" (whathehellisayoyostand?"). An Airstream trailer is also featured. the SFMOMA is a day long wander through the esoteric, the eclectic, and "the excrement". Had I been smart enough to bring a notepad I would have done researtch on some of the "artists" afterword but now, months later, most are just nameless images in my mind. Some are brilliant, some are bullshit. Dave Brubeck lovers (the jazz dude, and "artist" without question) will enjoy some of the abstract expressionist/surrealist/cubist gallery that includes works by Joan Miro and Picasso. An entire gallery is devoted to post modernist stuff by the likes of Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol. This gallery, in particular, taught me how even ones proximity to the piece can change its appearance and meaning. Leaving this gallery, we are confronted by "that Michael Jackson piece" - and it's as garish and gawdy as it appears. Suits the entertainer very well, I thought. There's a gallery of nothing but architecture with the theme of integrating water into design (a structure in England that is entirely engulfed in a "water cloud", manmade, intentionally. Then comes the Airstream trailer, the chair carved out of a block of foam and covered in something you might wear to a rubber-fetish party , and a plain canvas of heat-sensitive paint with the demand "TOUCH ME !!" Perhaps the most dramatic exhibit occupied almost al of the top floor - photographs by Andreras Gursky. Most of his works would not fit in a Twin Otter - how he does this with film is beyond me. WHAT he does beyond huge renderings of events like the May Day parade, a Madonna concert, a World Cup football match, the NY Stock Exchange, the Bundesbank, etc. is beyond description. Some are so lifelike and accurate they may as well be a window on the world. And some have "alterations" that 'cannot' be described. Is it art or is it crap? For twelve bucks I saw both and would go again. Dave PS: the outstanding piece of 'crap' was not the porcelain urinal. It was a three panel "painting", each measuring about three by six feet. They were painted alright, with pure, solid white. In fact, the description of the piece was to the effect of "the intention is to create a pure vision of white... the artist instructed the curators to repaint the piece in pure white should it ever become soiled ... this has been done three times since 1958" WTF???? Perhaps he would like to paint the white trim on my HOUSE for me Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

you forgotto mention the ass-gas they will produce ... hope you're not flying with 'friends' tomorrow ...mmmmmm, pepperoncini Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Tom Waits...(Rain Dogs,9th & Hennepin) Green Jello...(obey the cowgod) King Crimson ("Catfood") Less than Jake (damn near anything) Phish (again, most anything) There's more but that's a start. Also try: Tommy Bolin (any solo stuff, 70's classics) Herbalizer (Mission Improbable

Yup... been there... 'fat' (well, non-thin anyway) guy struck by a Sabre ...gonna be a while before I'm a Jedi (sic) Pilot Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

..was it THIS one: Here's to you and Here's to me Skydiving friends we'll always be And if by chance we disagree well F#$k you and here's to me Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Actually Pete, it's beginning to sound like she might have made 'one' jump at Steinbach... a bad one at that. ("Not Gimli, like we might say "Not Steinbach") ... or maybe she did her jump in the late 70's under hand-deployed rounds? As for hard pulls, we've had those on DZ recently (Dr. mike had an equipment issue that has since been fixed). "so, ummm, my parachure didnt open so I just pull the red one right? hmmm still not working what if I try 'the shiny one' " (hehe...) @#$#$%'n posers Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

ooooohhhhh, time to find another Subway ... or drag her out to the DZ to "teach you" on that AFF dive you were taking about. And, a "lady" wouldn't lie to you about such a serious issue Dave PS: I'd say this is a worse-than-whuffo case. A Whuffo will ASK why we jump. We need a new term for people like this Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

The fifth is a "bottle of choice" to your rigger. on your first reserve ride you owe beer - but you ALWAYS owe your rigger a tip (aka the bottle). Our rigger/DZO has had a kidney transplane and instead of a bottle he asks us to make a donation to the Kidney Foundation - glad to do so Dave PS: soon he starts to teach me CReW - THAT should be good for a donation or 2 Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

HAH!! My Racer dates to '82 (older than some "seniors" on our DZ) before squares were invented (...I think). So the Stellar has the world's shortest risers and it's a bit smaller than I'd like but it beats the terminal reservie I had on a 24 foot lopo .. that was the ka-boom!! Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)