Leaderboard

About 35 years ago I was a new skydiver, jumping at a tiny DZ on Long Island and dreaming about moving somewhere new. I spent some of my free time at work posting on rec.skydiving - a Usenet group that catered to skydivers. It was a different time back then. To be able to get to Usenet at all means you needed a modem and a computer, both pricey purchases, and you needed to be able to get them to work together, which meant you needed some tech experience. As a result, not many people were on Usenet - just me and a few other tech nerds. And there was hardly any spam! Slowly over the years more people figured it out and started joining. I remember TooyT, Barry Brumitt (wrote the first skydiving FAQ!) Lance Kirwin, Kevin O'Connell, Dave Appel and Jerry Sobieski. I also met Amy on there, which changed the course of my life in a big way. I moved to California in '94 both to escape a bad relationship and to skydive. And of course because I found a great company - Qualcomm - in San Diego. By that point Usenet was becoming a cesspool of Viagra ads and foreign bride offers, and filters had not gotten good enough yet to remove all that, so browsing it was painful. So when Willem announced he was starting DZ.com I felt a big sense of relief. He got in touch with me to see if I wanted to moderate S+T and Incidents, which I said yes to. We started with a complement of about a dozen moderators, some of which I got to know really well. I spent a day in San Diego with Andrea watching whales swim by the gliderport, and I spent a few days with Chuck and Katie at Raeford jumping. Derek once built me a tersh just because I was talking about how I needed one (thanks again Derek) and Remi, Karen and I would meet up whenever we were out at Eloy. Seven of us once got together at Eloy and did the now-infamous moderator jump, angled carefully so no one could see Willem's face on camera. I think Eric and Scott were on that one as well. I also met a bunch of other people from DZ.com in real life - Lisa, Keely, Gary, Winsor - and saw them at Perris and at boogies all the time. It grew my circle of friends from Socal jumpers to jumpers all over the US. And even the world; I met some people from the Irish Parachute Club and made a trip out there to jump with them. I recall a lot of drinking. Over time as moderators changed I took on moderation of a few more forums, but to me the S+T and Incidents forum were always the important ones. I got some sort of award - a "skydivers hall of fame" or something from Parachutist for running that, and got on a few podcasts talking about safety and incidents. One of my proudest moments during that time was reading an incident by a newer jumper flying a too-small canopy. He had read one of my many diatribes on "LEARN FLAT TURNS!" and had tried them once or twice. Then one day he found himself flying downwind by accident, and he tried to turn into the wind at 50 feet. He tried that flat turn he had heard about, but there was something off about it (he explained) because he landed hard, tore his jumpsuit and sprained his ankle. The fact that he was complaining about a sprained ankle after a turn at 50 feet under a heavily loaded canopy made me think that maybe this forum was actually doing some good. I learned a lot, too, mainly from the forums I wasn't moderating - forums like General and Gear and Rigging. Based on what I learned about wingsuiting here, for example, I bought a small wingsuit, taught myself how to fly it, started moving up in wingsuit sizes - then met Jari and became one of the first Birdman wingsuit instructors in the US. And over the years we lost people here too, of course. In some ways this place served as a memorial; you could go back and read what Shannon or Taz had posted while they were still alive, and remember them that way. Over the years traffic has started to fall off as people find more social-media options for skydiving, which is a natural evolution. I'm sorry that it will be disappearing sooner rather than later, but nothing lasts forever. It will be interesting to see what happens to the database; all these incident reports and threads on canopy flight have a lot of value (IMO) and I hope we can save some of it. Thanks to everyone who participated on this site over the decades it has been running, and thanks especially to all the moderators who I've worked with - Wendy, Lisa, Andrea, Chuck, Eric, Remi, Meso and all the others. And of course thanks to Willem for doing all the work to set up and maintain this site. See you out there.

Hard to believe I’ve been coming here to Speaker’s Corner for 20 years for my daily dose of enlightenment and aggravation. It’s really been the best place to hear a diversity of opinions from real people, a diversity I can’t encounter at work or the drop zone where it would be inappropriate to talk about so many of the topics we can kick around here. I’ve learned something from all of you, and I’ll really miss getting perspective from you even if sometimes it makes me gnash my teeth. So I’d like to wish all of you fair winds and following seas. Don

A good man. Maybe not the greatest president, but a good man who lived a good life.

About 35 years ago I was a new skydiver, jumping at a tiny DZ on Long Island and dreaming about moving somewhere new. I spent some of my free time at work posting on rec.skydiving - a Usenet group that catered to skydivers. It was a different time back then. To be able to get to Usenet at all means you needed a modem and a computer, both pricey purchases, and you needed to be able to get them to work together, which meant you needed some tech experience. As a result, not many people were on Usenet - just me and a few other tech nerds. And there was hardly any spam! Slowly over the years more people figured it out and started joining. I remember TooyT, Barry Brumitt (wrote the first skydiving FAQ!) Lance Kirwin, Kevin O'Connell, Dave Appel and Jerry Sobieski. I also met Amy on there, which changed the course of my life in a big way. I moved to California in '94 both to escape a bad relationship and to skydive. And of course because I found a great company - Qualcomm - in San Diego. By that point Usenet was becoming a cesspool of Viagra ads and foreign bride offers, and filters had not gotten good enough yet to remove all that, so browsing it was painful. So when Willem announced he was starting DZ.com I felt a big sense of relief. He got in touch with me to see if I wanted to moderate S+T and Incidents, which I said yes to. We started with a complement of about a dozen moderators, some of which I got to know really well. I spent a day in San Diego with Andrea watching whales swim by the gliderport, and I spent a few days with Chuck and Katie at Raeford jumping. Derek once built me a tersh just because I was talking about how I needed one (thanks again Derek) and Remi, Karen and I would meet up whenever we were out at Eloy. Seven of us once got together at Eloy and did the now-infamous moderator jump, angled carefully so no one could see Willem's face on camera. I think Eric and Scott were on that one as well. I also met a bunch of other people from DZ.com in real life - Lisa, Keely, Gary, Winsor - and saw them at Perris and at boogies all the time. It grew my circle of friends from Socal jumpers to jumpers all over the US. And even the world; I met some people from the Irish Parachute Club and made a trip out there to jump with them. I recall a lot of drinking. Over time as moderators changed I took on moderation of a few more forums, but to me the S+T and Incidents forum were always the important ones. I got some sort of award - a "skydivers hall of fame" or something from Parachutist for running that, and got on a few podcasts talking about safety and incidents. One of my proudest moments during that time was reading an incident by a newer jumper flying a too-small canopy. He had read one of my many diatribes on "LEARN FLAT TURNS!" and had tried them once or twice. Then one day he found himself flying downwind by accident, and he tried to turn into the wind at 50 feet. He tried that flat turn he had heard about, but there was something off about it (he explained) because he landed hard, tore his jumpsuit and sprained his ankle. The fact that he was complaining about a sprained ankle after a turn at 50 feet under a heavily loaded canopy made me think that maybe this forum was actually doing some good. I learned a lot, too, mainly from the forums I wasn't moderating - forums like General and Gear and Rigging. Based on what I learned about wingsuiting here, for example, I bought a small wingsuit, taught myself how to fly it, started moving up in wingsuit sizes - then met Jari and became one of the first Birdman wingsuit instructors in the US. And over the years we lost people here too, of course. In some ways this place served as a memorial; you could go back and read what Shannon or Taz had posted while they were still alive, and remember them that way. Over the years traffic has started to fall off as people find more social-media options for skydiving, which is a natural evolution. I'm sorry that it will be disappearing sooner rather than later, but nothing lasts forever. It will be interesting to see what happens to the database; all these incident reports and threads on canopy flight have a lot of value (IMO) and I hope we can save some of it. Thanks to everyone who participated on this site over the decades it has been running, and thanks especially to all the moderators who I've worked with - Wendy, Lisa, Andrea, Chuck, Eric, Remi, Meso and all the others. And of course thanks to Willem for doing all the work to set up and maintain this site. See you out there.

What surprises me is that there hasn’t been much coverage of how Trump’s hotel was taken by the courts due to tax fraud. The timing of Trump’s statements seems to be more about personal grievances at being held accountable than any altruistic concern for Americans

Actually there are people who have different views to the majority and are not trolls. They are sincere in their beliefs and disagree strongly while still being able to hold a rational conversation and make a point (people like Bigun etc). The childish trolling adds no value and is frankly not entertaining after you’ve left kindergarten.

Definitely. It's not you; you are a lone voice of reason crying out against a biased woke system. You are the victim here!

And now, the end is near And so I face the final curtain My friend, I'll say it clear I'll state my case, of which I'm certain I've lived a life that's full I traveled each and every highway And more, much more than this I did it my way Regrets, I've had a few But then again, too few to mention I did what I had to do And saw it through without exemption I planned each charted course Each careful step along the byway And more, much more than this I did it my way Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew When I bit off more than I could chew But through it all, when there was doubt I ate it up and spit it out I faced it all, and I stood tall And did it my way I've loved, I've laughed and cried I've had my fill, my share of losing And now, as tears subside I find it all so amusing To think I did all that And may I say, not in a shy way Oh, no, oh, no, not me I did it my way For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught To say the things he truly feels And not the words of one who kneels The record shows I took the blows And did it my way

You're a fucking loon.

Again? When was that lying piece of shit EVER right? He can't. It doesn't exist. All the 'facts' reported by the FBI, or the "Main Stream Media" are lies (because he doesn't like them). Yet he won't (or can't) provide any actual data to back up his claims.

Hi Keith, Not being that great of a computer type, let's see. Jerry Baumchen PS) How about that?

Apparently, Meso is runnning it, based on his post in reddit, "I used to run the site for a decade" [paraphrase]. and announcing the new domain name. Sometimes, it's an IT/IP timing issue. He couldn't do anything until everything was finalized. My suspicion is, he put it back mostly as a legacy informational site and for that - my thanks.

Admit it: you won’t ever be able to climax again without thinking of SkyDekker.

Every time a gun MOVES, background check. Dad died and left you his guns? Background check.

I'll never forget chatting with you at Eloy one year, Bill. I was there judging a competition -- can't recall if it was Nationals or Collegiates. Met Mark at a civilian demo my teammates were jumping, then met Andrea with him at Fitz. They were kind enough to put me up for a night another time when I was taking the LSAT at Stetson. Super awesome people. Robert (TheOnlySki) hooked me up with VPNs before they were easily available commercially for my times living abroad. Big thanks to David (Kasch) coming out to Turkey with his spirit of adventure. We did some great scuba diving and I gained some great ideas for where to take my family when they eventually came out as well. If not for COVID, I believe Kasch would have found a way also to explore Papua New Guinea during my last post. Though no longer jumping, I am still judging (and much more available for that since I retired from the Marine Corps), so competitors should keep an eye on the CF judge lists internationally, and both CF and FS/VFS (indoor and outdoor) judge lists within the US. I would love to continue connecting. Also, I plan to get my account going on Bluesky within the month. My profile name likely will be different, but I still connect my actual name to my accounts. Thanks everyone for the political (domestic and international) discourse and for giving me a way to stay even more connected to skydiving when I had to stop. Tanya Murnock

First POTUS in MANY years to bring decency to the White House. Something we may not see again for awhile. At least 4 years anyway.

Apparently, I'm from Ecuador.

One of the reasons he wasn't a very good President was because he was such a good man. He didn't seem to grasp how evil some people could be. His work worldwide with election monitoring, and here in the US with Habitat for Humanity were both excellent examples (and not the only ones) of his genuine goodness. He was a much better 'former President' than actual President.

Nope, it's Obummer's fault all the way. Apparently the worst president in history, according to my reliable MAGA sources. Top men, y'know Wendy P.

Just so you know, there is life beyond dizzy.com

You never said anything about the most common weapons, you said you don’t know anyone who wants to carry a stinger, but all you want is to be able to carry whatever weapon you want… So if someone like you wants to carry a stinger… Is that OK or not? Stop acting like a fucking gun nut. or is it just all about you?

I thought I could get through to the end without adding to my ignore list. I was wrong.

There you go with FACTS again.

Well, they can under the NFA. So, if we agree the NFA is necessary for those weapons, why not an "NFA" for other weapons? That is the battle cry, but was not the original premise. First, it wasn't until recently the 20th century that someone tied the the 2A to the "goverment that turned tyrannical." and told people that Jefferson said it. What Jefferson was speaking about was the Public School Act. " . . . perverted it into tyranny; and it is believed that the most effectual means of preventing this would be, to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large . . ." https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/bill-more-general-diffusion-knowledge/ EDIT: Found it. https://www.cnn.com/2013/01/11/opinion/jefferson-fake-gun-quotation/index.html

I must admit I had originally misread the title of the other threat and thought it was a feel good thread! Being holiday season and time with friends and family, hopefully everyone can appreciate the people in their lives that they love and care for. It’s been a good year, got to tick over to 50. Went back to the US for the first time in years and got to fly in a helicopter for the first time and jump out of it. Even more touching was that someone I didn’t know put in an enormous amount of effort to make that happen after a mix up with aircraft. Not being a Christian I prefer celebrating the Solstice with the kids and we had an amazing day. It has the bonus of never causing conflict with my ex and so today I have the gift of peace and quiet and the home alone for a couple of days! Love my son and his girlfriend, but having them out the house for a couple of days is a good holiday :)

Oh, you won't be rid of me that easily. Bill, thank you kindly for all of the knowledge and wisdom you've shared here, and, too often in my case, extreme forbearance. Truly, it is the irony of my life that someone who has such a difficult time following simple rules would end up being a DZO in charge of making others follow simple rules, but there it is. I think now is the time to say goodbye to so many of you, along with a huge thank you for all of the interesting conversations, thoughts and mostly, the opportunities to question my own held views. That is truly a valuable gift and one worth acknowledging on this, the eve before the day of gift giving. If anything I've had to say here had any more than comedic value to anyone, be assured that in exchange I most certainly received the better end of the trade. I wish everyone here without exception the happiest of holidays and that safety and good fortune are your rewards to come. Thanks for the good times, Joe

It's more paranoid than selfish, but to some degree it is selfish IMO. It's also a HUGE responsibility, one that's often forgotten or ignored.

Not here as long as Bill but I have jumped over the years with a bunch of former and current members, and some of the old Usenet folks too. This includes a 100+ way at Perris with Billvon, and a fancy jump at Quincy with Winsor (we also gave an evening presentation on exit separation one year). Also jumped with Wendy and Andrea at one time or another. And , of course, TK at Z-Hills.

Why oh Why is everyone avoiding the punch bowl I just shat in???!? This is the worst party ever!

We minions will adjust and adapt, I'm sure. It's you Mod's I worry about. Maybe you could get a dog to train. Should be a no brainer after this.

Ask me how I knew you were talking about the 15 minute city conspiracy theory, not the actual 15 minute city planning concept? Ah you don't need to ask - because it's you. It's always going to be the stupidest possible option with you.

As with so many other things in life, you get out of it exactly what you put into it. Good summation of your contributions though.

So Scumbag Gaetz, (R, and a favorite of Trump) sought a restraining order today against the House Ethics Committee in an effort to halt the panel's release of its final report summarizing his gross moral turpitude. Appears to be moot.

I don't understand why these people keep up with the lame excuses. Why can't they just admit that having the right to play with and own killing machines is more important to them than lessening the death and mayhem that results is? Seriously, man up.

Hey everyone, Dropzone.com has been acquired by a non-skydiving party. The site will remain active and available in its current format until the end of the year. Please back up your DMs and data before December 31, 2024. Some of you have been asking about the data: As part of the deal, I will retain all the data and content. We'll explore options to see whether it's viable to make it available in some format again. That being said, there may very well be a period where nothing is available. Ultimately we may not find a solution to put it online again without just returning to the same cost and support issues that brought us to this point int the first place. That's quite likely. If we bring any of the data online again, you should expect it to be different... Go follow Dropzone.com on Facebook, instagram or X. (links in the site footer) If there are any developments or updates, we will use those platforms to announce it. Safe swoops Sangiro

Someone I worked with went to Uni with a Nigerian who qualified as a software engineer. Everyone else got jobs apparently, but this guy wasn’t even getting interviews. The guy changed his legal name to Bill Gates and was employed soon afterwards. Of course, I’m sure there is a novelty factor in being able to say Bill Gates is one of your software engineers, but the only thing that changed was his name.

A handsome man in a suit approached a young woman at a bar and asked if he could buy her a drink. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?" she asked. "Guys like you always have girlfriends.” He looked downcast, "No, we broke up just over a month ago." "Oh I'm sorry to hear that," she said. “OK then, I'll have a white wine please." One glass of wine led to a second. A few drinks later after a kiss & a cuddle they headed off back to her place for some wild uninhibited sex. While he was getting dressed, she said, "So, you're good looking, a nice guy and amazing in bed. Can I ask why on earth you split with your girlfriend?" “My wife found out,” he answered.

There have been worse - in my lifetime.

Having run a business while I had a wife and kids at home, that is a good reason NOT TO work from home :) Seriously, a partner and kids don’t tend to ‘get’ that you’re working and will ask for odd jobs and interruptions. We ended up renting office space about a mile from home to fix that problem (and I got to see the wife and kids at lunch).

He did not prioiritize humanites over engineering - in addiiton to. My suspicion is Kallend being a well-read scholar found Aristotle's model of liberal arts to be of value. To be more well-rounded in many subjects other than their major - For what is an engineer that cannot speak/present to a group other than engineers?

Hey! Be careful how you use that term "trailer trash." I was proud to become "trailer trash" when I moved out of my Volkswagen van and into a 30-year-old trailer in the Perris Valley "Ghetto" trailer park. A drug-dealer lived across the dirt street from me and another drug dealer lived behind me. It was the quietest and safest neighborhood I ever lived in. If you want to know more about how the USA oppresses poor white folks, read the book "White Trash, the 400 untold story about class in America" written by Nancy Isenberg. In short, the book tells us that American elite enjoy oppressing and exploiting the poorest and care little about the colour of their skin. The most perverse part of that is the thousands of poor whites who died defending the Confederacy only to find them competing economically with recently released black slaves after the American Civil War.

I finally understand why I’ve been so warmly received as an immigrant.

Funnily enough my daughter is a child protection case worker and she now avoids working with whites due to their attitudes. She loves working with the remote communities and the indigenous people.

The actual issue becomes…. To which country do you deport US born citizens? Why would those countries accept people who are citizens of another country? the fall of birth right citizenship is not going to happen because it is unenforceable at any level just another trump lie and failed campaign promise that he can blame on the deep state

Of course he's lying. Lies are all those folks have.

You're a bit new here and the plug is about to be pulled. I wore the uniform for twenty years. I spent a lot of time in other countries doing just that. From when I came home, I never felt the need to _have_ to wear a gun or even keep one in reach until ten years ago. In fact, ten years ago, one could not have a gun on their person or in their vehicle unless the person was registered. As to concealed carry - all for the training and registering the person. But, not every swinging Richard should have a gun so readily available as to have a rage moment and wipe out a whole block (or school).

The well regulated part could really use a bit more attention. At least some of the recent shooting have held the "responsible" gun owner partly responsible for their careless ownership and easy access to the weapons. We need more of that IMO. Someone steals or accesses a weapon not securely stored? 10 years minimum. Death as a result of said access to weapon, 20 years. We have way too many irresponsible gun owners.

1 Cor 2:1-5,14 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. IYKYK MERRY CHRISTMAS

You sound like a toddler caught in the driver's seat of an articulated lorry. If you were qualified to have a weapon, you'd have nothing to fear. But it looks like you need weapons as a crutch for more deep-seated psychological issues.

It's abundantly clear that the GOP & MAGA have no concerns about what their candidates have actually done. They only care about what they can and will do when in office. Their nominees for various positions are exactly the same. You know, like for the Supreme Court.