TomAiello

I don't know the eMac specifically, but I have a lot of experience hooking other macs (and other computers) up to a whole slew of projectors. It's pretty darn easy, and it's easier with the macs than the PC's. But, in your budget range, you're going to have trouble finding a good projector. If I was looking for an easy, kid friendly editing solution, I'd get eMacs or iMacs (I tend toward iMacs, because there are more of them so free support and knowledge are easier to come by, but it's not that big a thing), and just use the free software (iMovie). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

actually i would think the legal reasons would only keep the names out of the incident. The details should be public knowledge. I don't think it would be too hard to pick the names up and add them. Did you notice how long it took for someone to add names to the story about the femur? 28 minutes, I believe. There just aren't enough accidents (especially fatal ones) to make it feasible to hide the names, if you give details. Give me the details of any fatality this year, and I bet I can add the names to it in less than 24 hours. Give me the details of any BASE fatality in the last three years, and I can probably add the names from memory. Recounting details and leaving names out isn't going to hold up very long in a legal proceeding. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That's ok. I know a guy from your DZ who drove something like 10 hours and slept in a car, just to get off one stupid, dodgy low static line, with a water landing. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Just had a look at my Blackjack and my Stiletto. Both match the BR style (larkshead on non-control lines, loops on control lines). Thanks Karen! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I just sent an email to BR, referencing this thread and asking them to respond. Hopefully, we'll hear back from them in the next week or so. If not, I'll try to pin down some other folks who might have an idea why you'd want to do it that way. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I have yet to see an accident that was unavoidable. I wasn't referring to an unavoidable accident. I was thinking of an accident we all already know how to avoid. For example, it is common knowledge that throwing an untrained whuffo out of a jet at 40,000 feet with no oxygen, on a VX 69, will create an accident. If this incident occured, would it be necessary to "analyze" it and "learn" from it? Not really, that's a lesson we have all already learned. I've seen equivalent situations several times, in BASE jumping. Is it a bad idea to buy a BASE rig off e-bay, then drive out and find a bridge that might be ok, and chuck yourself off it for your first BASE jump? Yep. Do we need to "analyze" this accident any more? Nope. The lesson is clear, and was already well understood. If there are no legal consequences to be faced, then sure, let's talk about it. But what if the (non-)jumpers family now wants to sue the gear manufacturer (even thought the rig was bought second hand)? Would it be ok for us to refuse to identify the rig, in order to protect the rig manufacturer from a frivolous lawsuit (which, given the size of our manufacturers, might well put them out of business, despite being groundless, and thereby deprive our sport of much needed competition and innovation)? No new lessons to learn. A lot to lose. Cost/benefit analysis suggests to me that non-disclosure might be the best course in this instance. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

This is not intended as a stupid one liner. It really is something maybe we ought to think about. Really? I thought that safety was #1 priority in skydiving. Not feelings. "We are not here to be safe. We are here to have fun." - Yuri Kuznetsov "The reason we jump is to feel feelings. That's it. That's the whole thing." - Scratch Garrison If the accident analysis destroys the feelings that were the primary motivator for engaging in the activity in the first place, are we defeating the whole purpose of jumping? While safety is important, it can't be the #1 priority in skydiving, BASE jumping, wake boarding, or even extreme bass fishing. If safety were our number one priority, we'd all be at home, sitting on the couch. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What do you get when you marry a nun? None in the morning and none at night. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In this case, Kevin was wearing a wing suit. Bird-man cautions against using pull-out PC's with wing suits, because there is a greater chance of the PC being caught in the burble. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Why do we park on driveways, and drive on parkways? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What about ramifications for family and friends? I can think of several fatal accidents in which the full facts have not been disclosed due to either (a) pending legal action, (b) serious problems/accusations between the family and friends and a desire not to fuel them, or (c) a desire to protect the estate of the deceased from potential legal action. In my mind these are all laudable goals, and might outweight the learning aspects, particularly if there are no new lessons to be learned from the accident. If the cause was an error that everyone was already on the lookout for (mis-routed bridle, tools left on the pack job, or something similar), and the potential consequences of disclosure were huge (family suing the DZ for not having a gear check policy, and getting the only DZ in the state shut down, for example), then I can see arguments for non-disclosure. I don't have a right to know about other people's mistakes. When they share them with me, they are giving you a gift (which hopefully I will learn from). In some cases, we may all have a need to know (a previously unheard of malfunction, for example). In that case, saving the lives of others would probably, in my mind, mandate full disclosure. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

When I had this situation, I reached back and grabbed the PC, and just held it, then fired the reserve with the other hand. During the reserve inflation, the pin pulled, and I ended up reeling the bag in and stuffing it down my shirt. I tend to think that the movement of my body in response to opening shock (arms getting thrown forward) of the reserve actually extracted the pin. If I was in the same situation again, i think I'd just re-toss the PC. If it was my case, then I think that would probably get the PC out of the burble, and give me a my main canopy. In the case of a really locked pin, it might actually make things worse (costing time, and leaving the PC waving around where it might entangle the reserve deployment). In either case, it sounds like your strategy (manually pulling the pin) would be the way to go. How do you think it would cause a horseshoe? Wouldn't the PC already be out, eliminating the potential for a horseshoe? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You may be right. I'm not sure, and I think it's a difficult line. Here's a bit of my reasoning: I still think there are good, solid, safety reasons for not giving site names in a public forum. For me, at least, it's quite a bit more about safety than legality. I'll see if I can organize some thoughts, and start a separate thread to discuss the naming of names in this forum. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I had a reserve ride on my first wingsuit flight, in a very similar circumstance (my PC caught in my burble, and I flailed a bit but couldn't get it out). I was quite concerned about the entanglement possibility (one of my friends once broke his pelvis in 11 places like that), so I grabbed the PC with my hand, then fired the reserve (while holding the PC) with my other hand. If I had more time to think, I probably would have tried re-pitching the PC. But, we all make mistakes, and I'm still around to try and get it right the next time. Thanks for posting your story. Lots of stuff to think about here. In a sport where a simple rigging error can create a total malfunction, thank god you had a reserve. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There have been several, more modern BASE jumps done inside buildings. See Doug Blane, for example. I heard that some guys down near SkyMonkey country did an indoor jump fairly recently. I know of at least two others done in the last five years. Must be interesting winds... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't think it matters if the jumps were done legally or not. Many sites that have been jumped once (or more) legally have also been jumped many times illegally. I realize that in this case (and some others) many people will think I am over-reacting. I guess I'll just have to live with that. Please refrain from naming sites on this forum, legally jumped or otherwise, published in Skydiving or otherwise. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

How about Extreme Bass Fishing? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Shouldn't that be the five mainstream extreme sports? "...just another pastime, like golf or bowling." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I heard that the line attachment points (the actual tape that sticks off the canopy) on reserves can be made from a couple of different materials. I also heard that there are stronger, and weaker materials for this attachment point. One of my friends (who is a rigger in Germany) told me that there have been recorded cases of the line attachment failing on overloaded reserves in German skydiving rigs. (He also pointed out that the attachments on BASE canopies are the same as the ones that failed on the reserve--which is really why I am interested). Does anyone know anything about this? Or any place I could look for more information on it? Thanks, -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Last time I was there, hop and pops (3k) were $5 at Lodi. Is that the kind of thing you were looking for? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That's funny. When I was in a Mexican prison, I'm pretty sure it wasn't for renouncing the worldly. Quite the opposite, actually. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I know a highly lucrative, and semi-legal use for them. PM me if you want details. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yeah, but I figured that once she posted the picture on the internet, it became fair game. Plus, there's a certain amount of jealousy in our drooling. Aside from her skills as ground crew, you may have found the perfect woman (please don't tell her about that ground crew crack). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Careful, there. That's BASE587's wife you're talking about. Ooops, sorry. Did I just post a topless picture of your wife on the internet? I guess the question is valid, though--got any freefall pics to share? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I heard a rumor that a certain Aussie made nearly 300, during just the summer months (June-October). I guess that's what happens when you take a starving man (i.e. Aussie BASE jumper) to a feast (i.e. working in Idaho). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com