TomAiello

Belgians are nutz. I've officially decided that the Belgians are the "Australians of Europe". -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've found that looking at the horizon gives me the best body position on cutaway. My procedure is generally to locate my handles, arch, focus on the horizon, cutaway, and pull. I'm not sure how hard this would be to do on a skydive, or even if my experience has any relevance at all. All of my cutaways (around 30) have been intentionals on BASE jumps, and none have been over 1000'. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Dude, if you blow your yonkles, how are you going to schlare the tarp? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm fairly certain that the harness will restrict the airflow and reduce their effectiveness. So, yeah, I guess they work. But they don't work as well as they were designed to, or as well as they will if you put the harness inside. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I will begin accepting students for this course on June 15th, so applying early is to your advantage. I will hold some slots open until August 1st, when I will admit the final applicants, in order to allow people who aren't sure what their schedules will be like that far in advance a fair shot at the course. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Ok, this announcement is back up. Note that I have altered the course dates slightly, so that it ends on the Friday before the Labor Day weekend. This will allow students to meet and jump with other jumpers during the Labor Day weekend, when there are usually many jumpers visiting Twin Falls. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Leaving the exit facing forward, but then rotating backward. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Wow. The pillars are just under/over 400 ft. I have no idea how he got up there with testicles that large. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

i'd like to hear this story sometime. Read Number 28. Keith is a great guy. First jump the last day that the NPS allowed jumping, from the captain. Still sticking in there with us youngsters. Still having fun. He told me a really funny story about applying for a concealed carry permit one time--the punch line was "and then all the reviewer asked me was "what is 'air delivery'?" -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If you want, I'll repost that. Here's the situation, for those who don't know it. Tom Aiello is cooking dinner for some friends at his house. Folks show up around 8pm, they eat around 8:30 or so, and are hanging out afterward, doing whatever BASE jumpers do. Johnny and five or six of his students crash Tom's little gathering around 10pm. Tom scrambles frantically to try to provide food and drink for all these extra people, who he didn't expect, and who have arrived late. He plays host to the best of his ability. A few weeks later, Tom hears from a friend that Johnny had told that friend that Tom was "very unwelcoming" and "quite rude" when Johnny came to his house. Tom is understandably quite upset. He has always shown hospitality to other jumpers in town. He discussed this with his wife, who mentions that Johnny offended her while he was in the house. Tom has had enough. He tells Johnny that if Johnny ever sets foot on his property again, he will call the police and have Johnny removed. I wish I was a bit calmer about this, but the fact is that I'm not. Johnny, this still stands. If you set foot in my house, or anywhere on my property, ever again, I will call the police and have you removed. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Since this is unrelated to the ABP, I've removed this discussion from that thread. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hmmm. Who is this mystery person? Can you prove your claim? Or are you just making that up? Just for factual info, the only person who has approached law enforcement on this issue is (drum roll, please), Miles Daisher. Nice lies, Johnny. I love you too. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd exit running and hand held. You want to be able to pitch as soon as you clear the ledge, but you don't want to pitch before that, since quick inflation could start to kill your forward speed (and sling you back into the ledge). As long as you take the necessary delay (to allow yourself to clear the ledge), I think it ought to be possible. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The legal reasoning is that the Commerce Clause carries a "penumbra" like the First Amendment. The 1st's penumbra is used to justify things like the right to an abortion. The CC's penumbra justifies the regulation of commerce interior to the states on the grounds that it effects the whole of commerce between the states. I don't think I really agree on either one, but I guess that's the strict constructionist in me coming out. I'd rather see the abortion rights grounded firmly in equal protection, rather than on some hazy penumbra of unnamed attachments. And I'd rather that you actually had to carry something across state lines before the feds got to invoke the CC. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I guess that, in theory, you could increase your max forward speed with weights. But I don't know anyone who's flying for max forward speed yet, so I'm with Chuck, at least so far. I don't really see the point. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Well, yes. But did you read Scalia's opinion? He was trying soooo hard to stay "conservative" (i.e. concur in the decision) without actually saying that the commerce clause allowed the feds to regulate matters internal to the states. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Did anyone else see this? It's interesting to me that the three dissenting justices included two of the most conservative members of the court. The Commerce Clause arguments are pretty reminiscent of some gun control debates, too. Conservatives for medical marijuana, anyone? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yep. That's the one. It's #54 on the list. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I believe you may be thinking of a fatality here a few years back. If I recall correctly, the jumper had a 3 ring system. He just spent too long (in this case that may only have been a few seconds) trying to recover the canopy rather than just cutting it away and letting the river have it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Post it? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

A good way to do this, that I've seen on other forums, is to put a "sponsor directory" link right below the banner ad. Clicking it takes you to a page with all the current ads. I bet advertisers would like it, too. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Have you considered jumping as a way to feel closer to him? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hey, I want one. I BASE jump because I want to keep my name on this forum at least 2.44765 times per day. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've got it. Plus a pro-tec and a shirt that I think are also yours. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm pretty sure the military doesn't make the decisions about when and where to go to war. That's congress' job. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to direct the suffering toward the actual decisionmakers? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com