dterrick

Chris: Nice site! It's been a while since I paid a visit and I've noticed many new goodies (or perhaps my brain has mal'd?) I think it's well worth a jumper's time to look at flight ops from the pilot's perspective - and you will find that on Chris' site! The story of St. Louis just reeks of bad Karma .... freaks me out that so much shiite could happen to one DZ. Coming from a 1 - 182 DZ, even a 'minor' uncontrolled landing would be a disaster! Dave PS: I notice there's no guide on flying the Kingair - I'm curious only because I jumped one on safety day and wonder what the 'issues' are (besides the do NOT sit past here rule) Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Can't we just explode water or something? no more worries about the ice cap melting and flooding the coastline... and it would give explosionologists something to do Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...silly me, I thought #51 was going to be Canada. Maybe we can settle for #52??? I sure hope this war doesn't backfire. Can you imagine what will happen if (when?) the terrorists shut down the North American skies on Memorial Day weekend ... or 4th of July weekend with some "equally justified" (in their minds) attack... gonna make for a whole bunch of pissed off skydivers. Dave PS: I hope you;re not sweating the face that Canada isn't sending any troops in ... the truth is - we don't have any (well, 3 more canoes full and an armoured Cessna) Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...and once I had the skill to sit out of a C-182 and pivot onto the lazy-boy backflyI couldn;t agree more. Just like sitting on the beach on a very sunny day ... except without the beach and a draft up the back . I like un-belly flight dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

I was just on a visit to SF - all I saw in that area were para-gliders ... spooky seeing people stuck "on final" but it lopoked fun just the same. LAter in the trop I saw a troupe of hang gliders 1/2 hour South of Half Moon Bay - even freakier still ... yes it's on my list ... someday Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Well, I'm back in the land of the Frozen; the air in Winnipeg is about as cold as it is at altitude on the coldest of California jump days. So, as I stare at the snow melting ever so slowly, I write a brief story of my trip ... yes there is some skydiving ... The main purpose of my trip was to visit my sister and her husband in the Bay area. I almost didn't bring my rig... and then I almost didn't get it through. The TSA and Northwest Airlines Winnipeg is a fairly small place with a smaller skydiving comunity (maybe 40). Apparently few travel with their rigs because the TSA 'had never seen one'. I, of course, did NOT mention I had a rig to the e-ticket machine, nor to the baggage dude. I'd received a reply from NW air baggage services that "if it's not on OUR list of disallowed goods and not on the TSA's list either then it's OK if it meets weight and size". Well, the TSA called the NW dude over (20 minute delay) and I got the typical questions: "Compressed gasses?", "pyrotechnics or explosives of any kind?". I fear if I had a cypres I may not have been allowed to board. However, as my rig is nothing more than a backpack and 2 canopies they begrudgingly let me through. San Fransisco was a different story. Winnipeg NW suggested I declare my gear before TSA check on my return ... so foolishly I did. The ticket agent replied "y'know Northwest is the only airline to have had a passenger use a parachute to get off ...DB Cooper y'know. don't be surprised if the TSA send you back". As flippantly, I replied, "well you don't fly 727's anymore and I'm surprised you still fly DC 9's". then we starterd talking planes and hush kits and I was on my way. At the safety gate (there was no line) I plunked down my rig bag and declared "just to let you know I'm carrying my sport parachute equipment in this bag and it might look a bit different". "What kind of gear?" says the dude ... "Skydiving gear" I reply. Really? says the guy as he notices my Hollister T shirt. "I live just outside Hollister and I've been thinking of doing a tandem". They yank my bag halfway through the machine. The dude with the wand asks where I normally jump and I tell him Winnipeg and that I was on a visit and to do safety day. More curious questions about 'what it's like' follow (I love talking to curious non-skydiving non-whuffos) as dude #3 opens the bag. They look at the altimeter. They look at the Martin Baker and the 3 rings. I ask if they are looking for something like a 6" coil of metal and explain I would be glad to show them the rig and its parts". "I'm not concerned" says the senior of the guys and I'm gone in less than a minute. TSA 1:1 NW Air 1:1 Dave 2:0 the jump experience With no car except on the weekend and the weekend being the time I planned to visit with my sister, jumping wasn't looking good. Friday evening my bro-in-law Mike says 'yes' to my request for his Del Sol. I was on the road by 7:15 Saturday morning and made the 90 miles to Hollister in 67 minutes. I LOVE FREEWAYS!! Arriving before most was a good plan. Paperwork was set in motion and my credentials and knowledge were examined in a friendly yet professional way. As I was repacking my long-hidden main I was informed that everyone else in the room was a dropzone.com surfer. Good start, I already felt at home. By the time I was repacked, plans of a 206 low load were scrubbed and my initiation to Hollister was an 18k 2 way coach dive with Seb! Yeeeee hah... Simon says... standfly?!? I made 5 jumps that day. Coming from a single 182 DZ that matches my record for a day's jump ... but it beats the altitude record by double. Being part of a hybrid dive and 6 way RW are things I just CANNOT accomplish at home and it's going to make Cessna flying just a wee bit more boring. It was also neat to make all 4 style sets on one dive but I bet the last routine looked more like freefly than style - too many turns make Dave dizzy Safety day was also a treat. Long past sunset when it got underway, we were treated to Jim McCormick's powerpoint presentation on canopy control and landing (not quite as short as the promised 15 minutes). The Hollister LZ looked sooo friendly (cows and all) once I could find it from the air that I was surprised at all the 'frowny faces' Jim put up on the slide... one by one and with graphic description. By the way - Jim if you read this I was the guy you were talking with about landing locations. I was mistaken about the "1st" windsock - I was actually thinking the 2nd windsock ... except for my 1st jump where I landed "on" the very last row of flags just long of the ravine (nice downwind spotting ) By mid-evening I was concened about my family thinking I'd gone AWOL (or worse) so I phoned. The converstaion went "you're home when you're home ... just don't run into the car". I knew what the 'other car' was since Mike and I had been looking at Porsches earlier in the week. The Sunday plan had been to do Napa and I sure wasn't going to miss doing THAT in style. Under any other circumstance I'd have stayed and demonstrated the Canadian drinking (and recovery) technique with all my new friends. Next time, I promise. Hollister was a blast and the highlight of my trip. Almost?!? Some of you may know me as a sports car racer (well, ex-racer since I started jumping) and since I now had wheels at my disposal I decided to take a Monday drive. Rig bag in trunk (of course) I took off Skyline drive and down La Honda road at 10 10ths, then South south to Santa Cruz and Monterey on the Pacific Coast Highway. I found my way to Skydive Monterey Bay but they weren't jumping (well, a few had come and gone but there wasn't even enough to send the 206 up after an hour of loitering). Bummer. I sooo wanted to collect a Twin Otter signature too... On to Laguna Seca I went - how could I not? I found it "closed" except that the Skip Barber driving schools were still in operation. A brief chat with a lovely "California Girl" and I was escorted to the paddock and introduced to an instructor. Promptly I was stuffed in the passenger seat of on of their school race cars and THROWN around the track for 2 laps. Sideways is fun. Sideways and downhill in the corkscrew was as much fun as a skydive. The trip was almost over. the last half had all happened almost by accident and opportunity - the final treat was Tueday morning when Mike let me take the wheel of his new 'baby' through La Honda and Skyline ... in deference to the car being worth as much as my house in Winnipeg I was gentle with it, but at one point I pushed hard into a set of blind ess-bends and came out with the same quivering adrenaline rush as I did on my first jump of the year! ...then I had to go home.... Miss you all, but I'll see you next year (sooner if I can find a way to a green card ) Blue Skies Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

The icy winds blow Grey skies and snow on the ground This is Winnipeg Sunny memory King air shakes me from the door Just a screen saver School is on tonight Learn to judge 4 way and style No winds in the class Next week coach theory Then a rigging seminar April 5 we jump Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hollister kicked ass A cloudless windless sky I wish I could swoop Oxygen is good Not much there is at eighteen Glad I had a mask Safety was the cause So why did we have the talk after jumps were done? Soon I will return Winter here is not the same Igloo is my home Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

1:5:7 One very special day in the air. 5 Jumps at Hollister. Not so special? Well, I'm from Winnipeg, a teeny tiny DZ cloaked in snow and negative temperatures sooooooo... First out of country jump First Kingair jump (and all that goes along with that) First time I've worn a seatbelt First high altitude jump (18k all day on O2!!) First formation bigger than a 4 way First hybrid dive (did it count, Seb?) First skydiving T shirt (really!!) I could throw in a few more but I thought I should stop at "keg" before I implicate myself into "buy brewery" More on Hollister elsewhere. Apart from FJC and graduation day MArch 8 will likely remain among the best skydiving memories of my career. For all those dot.commers who met me this weekend THANKS for a great day. I'll be back (use your best Arnie S voice) Dave T Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

No, The Bay Area San Fransisco seems tropical. It's 6:15 ayem and I'm out the door to Hollister to do 18k jumps on USPA safety day. Beers for DZ, a/c, jumping in foreign country. Damn I'm not looking forward to my return to Winnipeg Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

California bound If I get through T-S-A jumping season starts Sky: -you never said how a 'season' has to be defined. Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Yup, quite agree. Now quit holding out and tell us WHAT album? Cyberchardonnay says it's NOT Bitches' Brew ... that's not homework tunes... Dave Beware, Dave... you're but a baguette, some dry sausage and a few olives from being "French" ... I promise not to tell Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Problem with kernel.exe - "the information at 0x771c7418a could not be read " ... etc. Anybody wknow just whaththehell this means? I'm running a P3 550 w/256k RAM, an ATA 100 controller card (to run the big hard drive under ATA-5 protocol). ATI all-in Wonder radeon video, Audigy sound, etc. XP pro service pack 1. I've always had a bit of a bug in the ATI video where the ATIMMC program would hang on shutdown. I installed the new drivers EXACTLY as stated and I came up with that message. The new drivers went in as OK as normal but the system takes much longer than it used to in bootup (hang is on the welcome screen). Just got a new cordelss optical mouse and went though the install. Same message, same memory address. System info and devicde manager show no " ! " problems and I cannot find a reference to this memory address. Does anyone know if I have a hardware issue or a software issue? The manchine is running OK otherwise. I'd love it if there is a clear cut answer or a way to determine what is using that memory address - but I don't speak hardware, just advanced end-user. Anyone? Thanks in advance Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

"Jimmy O" from Diamond Rio stopped in on our DZ in Gili MB Canada for a tandem promo before their concert in Winnipeg. Amusingly, it was also our Provincial competiton weekend and one of the teams was short (we're small enough that we do a random pick-up competition to keep life fair ) Guess who stepped up? Yup... They placed, too! Not bad for a musician, eh? Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Close enough, Jess. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, as usurped by Alan Parsons on hisc lassic "Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Edgar Allan Poe" The word he (the Raven) quoth.... Nevermore Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

ummm... do you drink it?... no no no no no do you smoke it? Or could it be any of the British Invasion (no name needed) Dave sorry, my brain has gone soft and I'm about done. It's one ayem here and I'm not jumping this weekend. Ugh. Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

duh! Big Bottoms by Spinal Tap (couldn't fund the umlaut on my keyboard ) ... so, when will the actual set be ready? This is it. What do you mean? But, now for some serious poerty.. The clock struck midnight And through my sleeping I heard a tapping at my door I looked but nothing lay in the darkness And so I turned inside once more To my amazement There stood a raven Whose shadow hung above my door Then through the silence It spoke the one word ...so what was that word and who quoth ? Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Kudos on the lyrics Michele... I've always loved Jacob's Ladder for the arpegiated guitar riff and the progressive tension built up to the chorus you quote... Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Zappa. Joe's Garage. A good friend used to live next to a "Joe's Machine Shop" ______ ..All that we have is American made It's very cheesy but it's nicely displayed Name THAT song... (I can't remember) Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

well done. did you know that RUSH have refused and boycotted Winnipeg since their Exit Stage Left tour when some yahoo tossed a beer bottle onstage ?!!? Ruined it for the rest of us ...I strip away the old debris that hides a shiny car...??? Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hey, no fair aasking all the questions...!! But that's Roberta Flack's Killing me softly Try this one The clouds prepare for battle In the dark and brooding silence. Bruised and sullen stormclouds Have the light of day obscured. Looming low and ominous In twilight premature Thunderheads are rumbling In a distant overture... (sad,sad jump day if you ask me) Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

I owned Mind Bomb on cassette once but it was ripped off. Can't even find anything on the KaZaa network. Great album. Thanks for the reminder. I remember the seague to cut #2 is GREAT. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

My plane leaves on Thursday for northern California I hope to jump some Northwest says O.K. T S A does not say no What about the guard? Supposed to visit their work may keep them from me I can skip out too Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

what did YOUR groundhog say, Murray? Manitoba's in for an early spring... right now would be nice. Have you done any winter jumping? We've tried but it's been clouds or frozen avionics .. and now the plane is in pieces being painted. I'm off to NoCal (Bay area) for a family visit in a week. +15 will feel like shorts weather!! Today I'm gonna confirm that my wide-ass racer container can be jammed through all the hoops at the airport. Gear rental + checkout dives in US$'s would turn me into a golfer pdq. Gotta save something for the Local economy in April Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

"touch the blue paper and retire immediately?!?" where's the Ka-BOOM?... there was supposed to be an Earth Shattering Ka-BOOM! As for the keg, what a waste... fill it up again. EVERYBODY knows you're supposed to use a 45 galooon drum (205 l) for a BBQ! Then, 1 grill full of food = 1 keg needed. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)