TomAiello

Yeah right. That's just an excuse 'cause your team didn't make the short list. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

She was a bisexual heroine addict who dropped out of high school. She ended up dumping me for her (female) roommate. Although, the three of us did have a bit of fun for a while. Ah, the things we do when we're 17...and 27...and 37... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Oh, you mean the team that Jerry Rice plays for? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Here's just the sign, so the attachment is work safe. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Don't you mean "smuggling Israeli hot dogs"? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Fortunately, the Raiders don't! The real Bay Area team won today! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hey Petur, Who's that guy standing over the sleeping bag in the "sleepy" picture? Looks a lot like a Swede I know. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Tony DiCola, aka Donk. I've got his phone number, if you want it. But you'll have to armwrestle his girlfriend--or go for a threesome... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hey! Lay off Athens. I had a great time when I lived there. Hmmm. Wait, maybe the Devil is loose in Athens... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

"...he came across this young man, playing a trumpet and faking a seizure..." Isn't that how it goes? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

None of those cases involved jumpers wearing restrictive protective gear. I'm a big believer in protective gear. I wear it on practically every jump (and after two weeks in the tropics, it gets pretty miserable). That said, I have made jumps without protective gear when there was no chance of object strike (i.e. bridge jump) and I was planning on a water landing. When I intend to land on land (even if water is a possibility), or where object strike is possible (even if the landing is in water), I generally wear the armor. In my opinion (and I believe, in his) one of the world's best, and most experienced, jumpers would no longer be with us had he not been wearing body armor at his last accident. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yes. I just cut the toggle off. If I saw this on a skydiving main, I'd go to the reserve. I am not aware of any published list. The most common emergency is off-heading opening, and the established procedures for that aren't really relevant to skydiving. The procedure for other malfunctions is basically "be on your sh@t." It's not real helpful, but that's basically what you hear. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Using an oversized PC with a freepacked canopy can cause center cell strip, badly distorting the pack job during the opening sequence. This is generally felt in inconsistent openings (more often slow, but sometimes very fast or hard) and off-headings. In extreme cases, oversized PC's can generate so much snatch force and center cell strip that they can induce line over malfunctions. Since you have plenty of altitude to spare, your best bet is probably to go smaller for better openings. I'd check with a good CRW jumper, though, for other considerations. I don't do CRW. Heck, I don't even skydive. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Here are some photos from a malfunction I had. Video is on the same web site. You may have to photoshop out the background, if the IPA feels the same way about my parachuting discipline that the USPA does. Malfunction occured in September 2002 in Switzerland. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I usually think: "Get me away from that freakin' cliff! Get away from the cliff!" Seriously, I'm usually thinking about maxing out the track to gain maximum separation. Tracking is a serious part of most of my jumps, and I try really hard to get moving (of course, I fail miserably most of the time), so I'm pretty focused on the track itself. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yeah, I lost about 1/4". The neurosurgeon said he made me about 1/16" taller, but I rushed the rehab, and ended up with a slight curvature in my spine that lost me some overall height. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If I had to peg a number at which you have "a lot" of jumps, I'd say 1000. That puts you in company with around a dozen jumpers, worldwide. If you bump the jump number down to 500, you're probably looking at 50 jumpers. I really think that two other numbers are more important, though. Those are number of objects jumped and number of objects opened. If I had to put numbers on it, I'd say that (very roughly) I get 10 times the value from a new object as an old one, and 10 times that value for opening a new one. So, something like 100 jumps=10 new to me objects=1 new to everyone object. So, on this scale, someone with 100 jumps, but who has opened 30 objects is far more experienced than someone with 700 jumps from that bridge in the potato state. Truthfully, I've yet to see someone who is exclusively a potato state jumper rack up more than 100 or so jumps. It just starts to get boring, and they either lose interest or start hopping off other stuff and gaining more, different, experience. In general, 500 jumps usually equates to around 100 objects (I know 3 people who hit 100 objects in the last year, and they all did it around 500 or 600 jumps). I know that for me, personally, this was the point at which I started to feel like I had some idea of what I didn't know. So, quick answer, in my (quite debatable--and varied by jumper) opinion: 1000 jumps (200 objects) is an expert. 500 jumps (100 objects) is advanced. 200 jumps (40 objects) is experienced. Jumpers vary widely. So will your mileage. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've seen you both pack. You both do the same thing (the standard CR method used by 90% of jumpers) with the lines. I think you might just be having some communication confusion. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I swear, it was the Accutane...er...um...I mean, it was the Twinkies...er...the Devil...and the witches... It can't possibly be my fault...can it? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Unfortunately, the ACLU's "big picture" is significantly different from mine. In addition to free speech, the ACLU supports a grab bag of generally leftist political views on issues ranging from affirmative action to welfare. Their idea of the "big picture" involves compromising their free speech roots in favor of these other issues. I refuse to accept compromise on free speech, which is probably the political issue dearest to my heart. I certainly reject compromising it in favor of other political issues, and I am sickened by compromising it in favor of other positions that I do not share. If the ACLU goes back to it's roots (free speech), I'll go back to the ACLU. So long as they continue to support a wide set of positions (with freedom of expression increasingly marginalized in their hierarchy), I will continue to support other free speech advocates. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It's around 2000 feet to standard impact (no suit, average track), and around 4000 feet (a little more, I think) to landing/wingsuit impact. So, both numbers get thrown around. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I doubt it. F-111 PC's tend to dampen oscillation far better than ZP (even vented ZP) PC's. If I wanted to choose a PC for minimum heading degradation, I'd use a smallish (30" or so, but I'm probably pitching a tad bit lower than y'all) F-111 PC. If I wanted to get all techy, I'd add circumference vents (far better, in my opinion, than the apex vents on most vented BASE PC's), but that's really probably overkill with an F-111 PC. For stock gear, though, I think a small F-111 PC is going to serve you better than a vented ZP PC, especially as the smallest size currently available is CR's 32" ZP apex vent. As an aside, the thing that generates more PC induced BASE off-headings than any other is assymetric attachment, not oscillation. I'm not sure if it's possible to assymetrically attach a skydiving PC, but if it is, I'd check that long before investing in a new PC. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've attached a photo of my spine. I'm jumping with it just fine. It gives me trouble packing, but jumping has been no problem, and I frequently have very hard openings. I was jumping again about eight months after that injury (yes, it was a jumping injury). I consulted with several doctors (two of them jumpers) and started out with super-soft openings, then worked back up to normal openings. I bet you could start jumping now. You should be fine by spring. Disclaimer: everyone's body is different, so be sure to talk to your doctor. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

From the ACLU Position Paper... Interesting that your idea of being "informed" about the ACLU means reading their position paper and agreeing with them. Have you read any independent (i.e. not written by the ACLU) information about them? Their record on protecting "politically incorrect" speech is incredibly poor. I quit the ACLU after they supported speech codes on campus at my college. The university expelled a student (for hanging a confederate flag), and the ACLU filed a brief in support of the university. Go ACLU! Free speech for all who are politically correct and agree with us! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

This bears repeating: Never let someone tell you that you are packing too slow, or too carefully. Never let people hurry you. Never feel insecure or uncool about packing too slow. If you aren't comfortable with your pack job, then, by definition, it is a bad pack job. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com