jclalor

If you would like a different perspective on GG bridge jumpers, watch "The Bridge" An often hard to watch documentary. The film maker filmed the vast majority of jumpers over a one year period and did interviews with friends and family of the jumpers. he even interviewed one surviving jumper. The film was very controversial as he lied to the bridge authorities and said he was making a film showing the contrast between " nature and the bridge" He also never told the families he had video of their loved ones that jumped while doing the interviews. While it's hard to say if a barrier would prevent people from choosing another method, it would surly reduce the numbers. ( almost one a week)

As I am fairly new to the sport and still in the phase where it's pretty much all I think about, I find it hard that none of my non jumping friends or family ( as I am new I don't really have jump friends away from the DZ) seem even interested in the slightest in what I do. When ever I tell them things like I just finished AFF or just did my A check dive or like today landed 2 miles out, they just look at me, shake their heads and say i'm nuts. I suppose I will learn to just keep it all to my self in time but god its going to be hard to do.

Iran is not an Arab country, it is Persian.

I dont think Israel would hesitate at any time to defend it self regardless of who is in power in Wahsington. While Irans president spews anti semetic crap all the time the real power in Iran does not espouse the same crap. I think Israel knows this. Nick D had a very good thread a few weeks back on Iran.

I cant make the link, sorry. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/10/10/bash.mccain.friday.cnn

It was all over the broadcast news friday niight, I believe CNN did the interview with the lady who thought he was muslim. If you watched any tv friday it was a bit hard to miss. ( perhaps if you were watching faux news you might have missed it)

Friday at a McCain rally when supporters were given the chance to ask questions of the their candidate, one stated she thought Obama was a Arab. McCain quickly pulled her mike while shaking his head no and stating Obama was a good family man ( I guess an Arab man is not capable of being a good family man) The same women when interviewed later stated she thought Obama was also a musllim. When another person stated he would feel very unsafe with Obama as POTUS, McCain stated while he did not agree with Obama's visions for the US, he felt the country would be safe with him in office. This is when the boos and jeers started from his own supporters. McCain looked very uncomfortable, I think he realized what he had started. I think McCain is a fairly descent man but also now a very desperate man. To disagree with Obama on policy is understandable but for those supporters of McCain who think he is a Muslim , a terrorist or any other crazy things the far right (Hannitys and LImbaughs) have tried so hard to convince people of is scary.

Not a cloud in the sky, very little haze and around 1100.

I have been jumping at Hollister CA, although it's a small DZ the people there have been wonderful. Thanks for the support.

After making 40 jumps back in 1983, I started back this last June and finally got my A stamp this afternoon.

If bush is so fucking brilliant why is even the GOP jumping ship? and to compare a blow job to the shit W is doing is just fucking silly. The latest polls show W is hovering around 25% and will surely go down as the worst president of modern times. Nixon might have been a crook but he did do a few good things fot thr country.

This was in hollister CA, so we are about 8 miles from the airport when we jump. I know it is standard procedure for the pilot to radio that a jump is in progress for us, I heard that our pilot was very understandably pissed. The whole situation just drove home the fact that we (I) need to always look left as well as right. After 35 jumps here in the last few months I have never seen another AC within a couple miles of us at altitude.

Last week while at 11k just before the cut in a 182, we had another aircraft pass underneath us from the left side. This other AC was mabe 75 ft directly below us. I was amazed how quickly from the time another jumper spotted it to the point it was underneath us. Another 5 seconds we would have been jumping. As a fairly new jumper I noticed that while spotting out the open door for other AC is always done, it seems not enough attention is paid to the left side of the AC, at least at my small DZ. I was also wondering how common a near miss like this is?

This was the first time landing in a Cesna and knowing what I know now I should have jumped.

Yesterday on the 'Sunset load" With 3 other jumpers, About half way to altitude I decided this one just did not feel right. I do not normally consider my self to be one who is spooked very easy but it seemed way too dark to jump and I opted to sit this one out. (the other 3 jumped) Do I owe beer?

The best thing I ever saw shot off a cat was a ford ranger on the USS constellation (CV 64) when an officer tried to bring one back to San DIego from PI with out permissionf from the Captain.

Just keeping my fingers crossed its Life of Brian funny and not MM style crap. You guys are backwards in the uk, it's 10/03/08 in the states. lol.

Bill Maher's new movie Religulous opens 10/03/08 http://www.lionsgate.com/religulous/

What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? (African)

Current CPR and PALS Yes Yes If you spend alot of time around the DZ, the American Red Cross offers some really good first aid courses. http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/

270 BPM !!!!! Holy shit, thats just llike a hummingbird. I hope every thing works out for ya.

Vineyards? Hmmm, I wonder where this was at?

The supreme leader of Iran is Khamenei and he is a lot less inflammatory than Ahmadinejad. In 2005, Khamenei responded to Ahmadinejad's alleged remark that Israel should be "wiped off the map" by saying that "the Islamic Republic has never threatened and will never threaten any country." Moreover, Khamenei's main adviser in foreign policy, Ali Akbar Velayati, refused to take part in Ahmadinejad's Holocaust conference. In contrast to Ahmadinejad's remarks, Velayati said that the Holocaust was a genocide and a historical reality. In June 2007, Ahmadinejad was criticized by some Iranian parliament members over his remark about Christianity and Judaism. According to Aftab News Agency, Ahmadinejad stated: "In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Christianity and Judaism. Dollars have been devoted to the propagation of these deviations. There are also false claims that these [religions] will save mankind. But Islam is the only religion that [can] save mankind." Some members of Iranian parliament criticized these remarks as being fuels to religious war. His criticism of the West has been controversial among some members of Iranian Parliament, leading to attempts to compel him to go to the parliament to answer questions. Many reformist and independent political parties, including some of those that boycotted the first round of the presidential election, have called for an alliance against Ahmadinejad, calling it "a national alliance against fascism. Critics, including some independent ones, have mentioned that while there are some similarities between the actions and rising of supporters of Ahmadinejad with those of fascism, the movement differs because it is neither nationalistic nor racist and lacks corporatism. Some dissident groups also accused him of being a ruthless interrogator and torturer in the 1980s. On December 11, 2006, some students disrupted a speech by Ahmadinejad at the Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran. According to the Iranian Student News Agency, students set fire to photographs of Ahmadinejad and threw firecrackers. The protesters also chanted "death to the dictator." It was the first major public protest against Ahmadinejad since his election. In a statement carried on the students' Web site, they announced that they had been protesting the growing political pressure under Ahmadinejad, also accusing him of corruption, mismanagement, and discrimination. The statement added that "the students showed that despite vast propaganda, the president has not been able to deceive academia." It was also reported that some students were angry about the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust.

That was a nice essay on Iran, I don't think a lot of Americans know about the real Iran. A couple of years back I spent a month traveling the middle east ( Turkey, Syria, Iran, Lebanon and Egypt) My family and friends all thought I was nuts but it was the trip of a lifetime. I never once felt in danger in Iran, the people were thrilled to meet an American and while they may have not liked our government to much, they were very able to separate the American people from the government. The Iranian people loved everything about America (except the government) and were also very proud of their own culture and their history. Most I met were not to happy with their government but were hopeful things would get better in the near future. I would love to go back but with my new found hobby of jumping it might be a while. If anyone ever gets a chance to visit Iran or any other middle eastern country jump at the chance, you will never look at them the same.

Believe it or not I saw them in Memphis in 1982 while in the navy. It was very strange to see a large red pulsating mass in space, many thought it was perhaps the end of the world.