jimjumper

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Everything posted by jimjumper

  1. jimjumper
    I built and maintain 2 websites for a couple of non-profits. I used Sandvox and really like it but it's a MAC only program. It has some quirks but it really makes maintaining a site a breeze.
  2. jimjumper
    I got a 31 but doing some of that stuff with a tandem canopy really scares my students! :)
  3. jimjumper
    Why not just alternate the loads? The video guys are going to need to pack and the TI's gear up and train. The fun jumpers will also need to pack. 20-25 minute turns should keep everybody happy and busy. Thats's assuming they will turn the plane with 6 fun jumpers. You don't say how the groups, tandem and fun jumpers, are mixed so it's also a little hard from just the info presented.
  4. jimjumper
    We put to sleep 3 of our dogs in last year. Yeah, I know that seems like a lot, but we raise service dogs and when they don't graduate we are offered the option of taking them back as a personal pet and we sometimes take them back. Don't worry about the one's we don't take back, there is a 2 year waiting list of prescreened people to adopt them! Anyway, we usually have them cremated and the ashes returned. We then spread the ashes on our ranch so they are always at "home". It is usually $2-300 for the cremation and it's worth it to us. As far as the euthanization, if you want to see what is almost exactly like what actually happens watch the movie "Marley and me". They inject a strong sedative and then inject the euthanization drug when they are ready. It's very quick and you can elect to be there or not. We always are there for them in the end and to say goodbye!
  5. jimjumper
    Best: As strange as it sounds, KODO, a Japanese Taiko Drum team. They create an event not just music. Worst: Either Pat Benatar at the Del Mar Fair in CA, or Molly Hatchet in SLC about '78. Walked out on both.
  6. jimjumper
    Years ago, when the acid mesh problem became known, I know of at least 2 companies that just walked way from the sport market altogether. I have an orphaned 28' National Phantom out in the shed that makes good rigger training but I wouldn't jump it. GQ Security just closed their U.S. facility and went back to Europe. If it's a sport-wide problem that can only be fixed by replacing the item your probably out of luck.
  7. jimjumper
    Surprisingly enough, I have seen Jim turn down a free pizza. Elsinore used to put out pie plates as accuracy targets on the sunset load and if you landed on one you got a free pizza at the local pizza place. Jim won quite a few of them but they were awful, so a lot of times they weren't claimed.
  8. jimjumper
    Oh sure, "Go ahead, make my day"!
  9. jimjumper
    The "Bird Machine" DC3 in the early eighties had a big screen TV in the back for the ride to altitude. We would watch a video on the way up. I got a couple jumps out of it at the '84 Herd Boogie and it took about 50-60 minutes to altitude. If you already saw the in-flight movie a nap was also an option!
  10. jimjumper
    I'd say this is very edgy!
  11. jimjumper
    Try James Swanson. "Manhunt" about the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and "Bloody Crimes" about Lincoln's funeral and the hunt for Jefferson Davis. Very similar style to Manchester.
  12. jimjumper
    Mark Schlater did this for while. He used a bus loaded with gear and traveled around to air shows and such. I think that he had more than one TI that traveled with him for these events. Logistically, I think it would be pretty tough to consistently make a profit. Aircraft and weather problems come to mind plus getting airport permission each time but it's been done.
  13. jimjumper
    Is there an agenda posted yet?
  14. jimjumper
    Me and my wife volunteer with an organization, (Canine Companions for Independence), that provides service dogs to handicapped individuals. We have arranged for a number of them to do tandems and a lot of the CCI staff have also. The amount of positive exposure from these tandems is huge. One of my groomsmen is a paraplegic, from a dive into shallow water, and he currently makes a living as a motivational speaker. One of the most poignant points of his presentation is a video that transitions from him lying in a hospital bed to leaving the plane on a tandem. The video has been seen by hundreds, if not, thousands. Good exposure is good for the sport!
  15. jimjumper
    I was just thinking of "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers" myself. Still have a couple of their comics somewhere...
  16. jimjumper
    Around our place, everybody works for their keep!
  17. jimjumper
    I placed an order with them not knowing that they were closing and they basically sent me what they had left in stock. I think that was in early '85.
  18. jimjumper
    Reminds me of a conversation I once had. 3 of us, all I's/TI's were debating whether the winds were too high. The senior Instructor says "The fact that we are standing here debating it means the winds are too high!" And we stood down. Always consider the worst case scenario and your own comfort and skill level.
  19. jimjumper
    I think this is going to start being a problem in the skydiving industry before long. The CDC estimates that 35% of all Americans are obese and we are going to see this at the dropzone in both Instructors and Students. There is already political movement to classify obesity as a disability. If that happens, you may start seeing unfit/obese students showing up expecting and demanding service under the Americans with Disibilities Act. I do believe we are still a long way from that but in this sport it's pays to be forward thinking and proactive. At the very least we need to start considering equipment changes and evaluating training protocols that take into consideration both the "super sizing " and the greying of the average student.
  20. jimjumper
    "Stealing the General" by Russell Bonds. Historical recount of Andrews Raiders and the attempted theft of the train "The General" during the Civil War.
  21. jimjumper
    When I made my first freefall I was on the same plane with a girl also doing her first freefall. Because I was the big guy, the JM decided to switch the exit order when we got in the Cessna. The girls boyfriend had already gone to the landing area and ended up taking pictures of me by mistake. He still had the photos developed and gave them to me the next weekend! I still have those photos of me under a T10 and a shot in the landing area with the ripcord displayed. I have them in the "I Love Me" book along with my first jump certificate.
  22. jimjumper
    When the placard on the reserve specifically states the total weight limit I wouldn't want to try explaining to a jury that the injury/fatality wasn't caused due to Instructor or DZ negligence. Even if the accident was on the main, a sharp lawyer will still argue that the injury was a direct result of negligence due to the Instructor deliberately ignoring the safety limits of the equipment. The waiver may hold up but you'll still be hit with lawyer and legal fees defending yourself. I hope you made enough money on that tandem to cover those costs!
  23. jimjumper
    I have a redneck version that a rigger friend of mine built me 30 years ago. Bib overalls with working 3-ring shoulder straps and cutaway handle. It even has a "Paraflite Makes It Right" patch on the shoulder strap!
  24. jimjumper
    I totally agree that the medical doesn't serve a purpose anymore. It's a case of its easier to leave antiquated rules in place than go thru the process of eliminating them. I've always thought that anybody running for a Board slot with a platform of reducing regulations and consolidating what is already in place would be an instant winner. We don't need better or more rule writers!
  25. jimjumper
    You might try a product called "Sea Bands". They are small wrist bands with a round button that presses on an acupressure point that helps to control nausea. They are used on the cruise ships a lot. We used to put them on all our passengers and it really helped a lot with the nausea. Also it has the advantage of being non-medicinal.