Jumpervint

1966 Saab 96. 3 cylinder 2-stroke engine. Had to add oil to the gas when I filled it up. Front wheel drive before it became popular after the oil crisis of the 70s. Sold it to buy a Honda Accord when they were first introduced in 76 - bought one of the first 21 in Seattle.Both of them were great cars. I liked that Saab so much, that's what I drive now, a 91 9000. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Anyone know who may have jumped into the Fiesta Bowl for a demo? A co-worker stopped me and said his parents had attended the game, and that a jumper from Spokane was named as they were landing. Since I'm a Spokane jumper, they assume I know all jumpers and the schedule they keep. Anyone have any names to go with the demo? TIA Vint edited for spelling . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

But it sure was nice down there in Eloy.. they were acting like it was winter or sumthin...... Kinda like a Seattle Summer I thought What? The rain was warm? (I lived in Seattle for 16 years. I know the two seasons and how to predict the weather there.) Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

I just had to go shovel out the end of the driveway. A snowplow left a berm in the middle of the night. And it's -19 degress. The high is only supposed to be about 5 degrees. I'm glad I work inside. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

For Christmas I bought my daughter a Teen Girl Squad t-shirt and a Strongbad Sings cd. She was very pleased. Fortunately, Homestar Runner is one of the sites that we can get through the firewall at work. Makes loading the vids so much easier than the 56k modem at home. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Only make 'em full screen. please. . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Here's a quote from the original message to which this video was attached. (It's my wife's neon tube bending group.) >...this link is for an mpg file that shows a 500kV >substation with a motorised circuit isolation system opening under load. > >It's not supposed to open under load, but the switching device on one >leg of the supply fails. They had apparently set up a camera each time >it opened, just in case it did it's little stunt. > >As you'll see from the video, they caught it! I particulary like the sound. And can't you just smell the ozone? Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Well, I always thought we wore helmets so we would be conscious for the aircraft fire when it crashes on take-off. 70s skydiving humor. BSBD. Thank you Marc Mechling. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Well, this isn't a skydiver landing in lines, but the sheer power of it all scares me enough that I will do anything to avoid power lines. Oh, and especially substations. http://www.landlocker.com/homeMovies/LugoSWR.mpeg Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Well, I'd gladly take $81,000 a year to teach. But who would pay for all that other stuff? The standardized tests we must give? The administrators? The custodians and support staff? Busing? Buildings? Would I have to kick back part of my pay to make everything work? Yep, I'm contracted for 180 days. Which means that even though I do get two weeks at Christmas and one week in the spring, oh, and all that time in the summer, I'm not paid for that. Just the days I work, but not the evenings I correct papers and the weekends I go in to do the extra that I don't have time to do during the week, and the ... oh, you've probably heard it before. If you think it's so easy and cushy, go get your credentials and find a job. Anyone can do it. I would suggest a week's observation of a teacher's job first. Not just an hour or two, but the whole thing. Just as there are jobs I'd never consider, and for which people are vastly underpaid, until you've really looked at teaching and its myriad of responsibilities, don't knock it. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

I missed the part about how USC got hosed and despite being #1 in the AP and coaches polls, won't be playing in the Sugar Bowl. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

PETA has sponsored this billboard in Spokane. http://www.goveg.com/feat/Santa/santa.html It's the only place in the US where they could find to put it up, so to speak. There are a lot of letters to the editor of the local paper deploring the desecration of Christmas and Santa. For me, it's making for an amusing holiday season. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Well, that's all well and good, but since my wife makes neon for a living, LEDs have cut into the business. I'm all for saving energy on things like Christmas lights, but I think we should have way more neon signs. Do you think she'd be angry if I bought a string of LED Christmas lights? Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

I received a nice large envelope from the USPS today. On the back in large letters are "We Care" followed by "Dear Postal customer". Did you know that "the USPS handles over 202 billion pieces of mail each year and while each employee makes a concerted effort to process, without damage, each piece of mail, an occasioanl mishap does happen?" I opened up the envelope and inside is the back cover of this month's Parachutist. I have exactly one page of the magazine - Cummin's back page ad and the inside back cover tribute to Fred Faas. Did I miss anything important? My wife said that my brother, who is a postal carrier, did it on purpose. Must have been all the jokes about going postal. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Has anyone jumped with a Nikon N60? Any comments or suggestions? Thanks, Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Amerikanets, no govoryu po-ruskii. Moi glavnii predmet v universitetye. Seichas rabotayu v shkolye. Rabotayu c russkimi imigrantimi uchnikami. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

That happened to me last year. I was interpreting parent/teacher conferences (Russian speaking mom) and the baby was acting up. So, mom starts breast feeding right there while the teacher is discussing the 2nd grader's work in class. Afterwards, mom just walks out like nothing had happened and the teacher and I just looked at one another. It was by far the weirdest interpreting I had ever done. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Our Turbine 207 has flown south for the winter. You can see it here: http://www.geocities.com/wpskydiving/ Until spring, we have a 182. Word is we may have a Caravan next year. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

. 5. 1 The Northwest is great. Yesterday the temps were a very unseasonable 75 degrees. The uppers were indeed cooking; we were getting 40 knots groundspeed on jumprun. The spot all day was go long, and then some. Today it is raining. One of my best days ever jumping. Got the following: 1 point 3-way 10 point 4-way 5 point 6-way 8 point 4-way and a 12 point 3-way with all different points, not just cycling through. The beer is for just about any of the above, but I'll buy it for most points turned in a day. Our turbine 207 did 14 loads without a shutdown; I was on the first and the last. It was the last day it was here for the season before heading away for the winter. And maybe forever. The DZO's birthday coincided with this last day of great jumping for the season, and they announced they're looking for a Caravan for next year. Until then, it's the 182. But what dreams we'll have this winter! Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Unless they're Russian immigrants where the boys have to be macho and wrestle and punch and such to show how tough they are, and the girls sulk and mumble incoherently when you ask them why they are slumped on the floor crying. Oh, and forget trying to learn English, they're all going back to their own country just as soon as they graduate from h.s. I love my job too. Really. I have time off in the summer to jump. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

How do you get an odd number of boobies? Oh... it's results. Strange pic there for a moment. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Do they burn them? Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

How YOU doing? I wear an XL. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Grapes spark when they blow up in a microwave. You can do this one, and compare to other fruit. there's the experiment, and you can make graphs and charts galore. Look here: http://www.pmichaud.com/grape/ Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

Dammit, y'all, now you're making me feel guilty. My brother-in-law died this summer w/o a will, and my sister-in-law has cancer and won't be around long. I've seen what happens when you don't have a will and the spouse is in no shape to take care of things. Their finaces and wishes have been destroyed. I've talked to a lawyer (a friend, who is married to a lawyer, so they have lots of ideas) about getting a will done. Now I have to get my lazy ass in gear and get somehing down on paper and I'm here reading Talkback. Grrrrr... now I have to go be responsible. So much for a quiet Friday evening sipping beer and reading about skydiving. Vint . . . . . "Make it hard again." Doc Ed “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis