tbrown

They can ask all they want, but not force the issue unless they have a warrant. Yeah, and then they come in and smash everything to pieces. Not because they think they'll find anything, but just to get you back for standing up for your right to be secure in your home. Happens all the time. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I think these people should be attacked with wire coat hangars, the symbolism alone would be worth it. And their damn tax free churches should be picketed and their congregations harassed on their way to church on Sundays, just so they can get a taste of their own medicine. Uh-huh. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

This was too fishy right from the start. She was supposedly abducted at gunpoint, or was it at knifepoint, I think I've read it both ways. Then days later she's found in a local marsh no worse for wear and tear than being cold and having "muscle aches". There was never a demand for ransom, she wasn't raped, nor did anyone beat her up ? So, not to suggest anyone should do such a thing to her, but WHAT WAS THE POINT of the abduction. Unless it was a followup to her having been mysteriously hit on the back of the head a month before by some unknown person who also didn't rob, rape, beat, or even apparently abduct her. I figured right then that the bop on the head didn't get her the attention she was seeking, so she had to up the ante. Two years ago there were people mailing themselves talcum powder so they could get attetion during the anthrax scares. It's too bad her mom didn't just go on TV and appeal to her it knock it the hell off and come out of wherever she was hiding... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Just thirty so far, at sunny Perris, Taft & Elsinore. It all comes down to money. When I win the lottery I'll quit my job, buy a dropzone and invite you all to opening day. Until then, I'll hobble along as best I can, which is already better than the 32 I managed all year for '03... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If you cannot explain the sequence of events to this knowledgeable audience, you have a snowball's chance in hell of convincing a judge. Wish I could agree with that, but afraid I can't. The average judge & jury are a bunch of whuffos who think we're all nuts to begin with. They think we pull at 500 ft and wonder why we don't wear reserves anymore, since they don't see anything on our chests. And their heads are full of all kinds of stupid legal notions, like "majesty of the law", which is like their prime directive. George Galloway failed to even show up in court and look what happened to him and PA. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Truly sorry about your wife and I do hope she recovers. BUT skydivers don't sue skydivers. There were two of you, you and your wife, who knew - or should've known - the risks. Which include serious injury and/or death. As tough as things are, your wife is still alive. The guy who got all busted up under the Raven reserve sued and got some obscenely huge judgement, that he'll probably never collect because PA doesn't have that kind of money. But in just one season we could go right down the line and sue all the manufacturers and run this entire sport out of business. Pretty soon all the manufacturrers would fold, or else only build stuff for the military. Sorry , but we all know this game is dangerous. Nobody put a gun to either of your heads and made you jump. and if you think a rig might not be safe, THEN FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T JUMP IT ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I used to be a life insurance agent in California about twenty years ago, but I think most of what I knew then still holds true. First of all, a life insurance policy is a contract between you and the insurance co. So long as you're paying your premiums on time they can't go pulling a bunch of funny shit on you. They will ask you if you participate in "dangerous" activities, i.e. sky or scuba diving, mountaineering, drag racing, hang gliding, etc. Depending on the company, they may decide to rate you, or not to sell the policy at all. But just because one company declines you doesn't mean they all will. Believe me, the top companies will generally cover you. I worked for one of the biggest and at the time all they required was USPA membership "in good standing". The other issue you need to be aware of is INCONTESTABILITY. When you buy life insurance and they ask you all those cute questions about your lifestyle, the company has so many years, usually three years - it's actually fixed by state law - to discover whether or not you lied to them. If in fact you did lie to them, they're free to cancel your policy and return your premiums. But once the three years are up, they've had their chance. As long as you keep your premiums paid up, they're STUCK with you, no matter if you're BASE jumping off eight story buildings. In my own case, I bought a policy about 10 years ago, in the middle of a 22 year layoff. At the time I truthfully answered "no" to the risky business questions and actually did not think I'd ever be jumping again. Last year I started jumping again, so I called my agent, already knowing I'd been incontestable for the last 5 or 6 years. He wasn't real happy to hear the news (typical whuffo...), but admitted that I was damn well incontestable and they were stuck with me. Anybody who jumps should OWN their own life insurance policy. The life insurance they might provide at your job is barely enough to plant or incinerate your ass. If you have a family, you have a serious obligation to provide for them if "shit happens". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The manufacturer designs and tests their reserve canopies until they fully understand their operating limitations. Have you ever read what these people put their products through?? It's amazing! When they put their limitations on the lable, they know what they are talking about. When you decide that it is safe to push a reserve beyond it's manufacturers recomended limits, isn't that the same as saying you know more than the manufacturer , IMHO I was under the impression that manufacturers put recommended weight limits on their main canopies, but that the weight limits on reserves were absolute. Your reserve canopy, its container and your harness system are all TSO'd as an emergency parachute system. I would think that exceeding the weight limits for any given reserve would void the TSO and that you would thus be jumping an illegal rig. Which could not only injure or kill you, but would screw the jump pilot's license as well ? Anyone who knows more about the subject care to address the legality aspect of overloading a reserve ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Nice job Kris, you have an exceptionally cool head and presence of mind to keep an eye on your alti as you worked. Personally, the money or ownership of the canopy wouldn't even occur to me until later, I'd be too busy trying to stay loose and work the problem, or else get rid of it. I would be concerned about where the toggles were before chopping though, you wouldn't want to cutaway with even one hand in a toggle. By the way, did you suggest to the gear shop that they put some elastic stows on the risers ? I've got velcroless toggles myself, also with no designated stow for the excess line. I've figured out a way to do it that's working well, but it's just flat out RIDICULOUS that the best gear makers in the world can create such a dangerous situation and call it an "improvement". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I always jump with them, have never used one. One is on my chest strap, another is in a pocket on the leg of my jumpsuit. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

"Pack a student's rig and he/she can jump it today, Teach a student to pack and they can jump for the rest of their life". Way back when parachutes were still being carved out of wood, we were taught to pack, under close supervision, for our first freefall, which was usually your 6th jump or thereabouts. I was 18 and was sorta trippin' about making my first freefall on my first pack job, but everything turned out just great and the beer tasted wonderful that night. One of the instructors at the large So. Cal. DZ I often jump at told me that "students have enough on their minds, they don't need to stress over packing just yet". Maybe so and maybe not. I think anybody's going to stress over their packing until they see it open a few times. It's confidence builder. Not learning to pack is like not taking the training wheels off your bike. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

We did a 64 way with all local jumper at Perris in 1981. Sparky That was an unofficial world record for awhile if I'm not mistaken. I used to have a jigsaw puzzle of that one, blew me away to see it one day in a game store. Saw you, Al Krueger, Barry Bardack, Rudi, robin, Ed Marsh ( one of my wedding ushers), Glory (RIP), and many others. Bought the sucker then & there. It's long gone now... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If you want a recommendation for a canopy to buy, I'd have to say either a Spectre or a Sabre2. You won't find many/any used Sabre2's on the market - just check the classifieds here at dropzone.com - I haven't found one yet & I take that as a sign of canopy that its owners like. You will find plenty of Spectres, in all sizes if you're patient, because a lot of Spectre owners move on to Stillettos and the like. Both canopies have very nice openings - the Spectre especially so. But on your first snivelly spectre opening, please take a deep breath and repeat after me - "they said it would snivel like this". Then when it finally opens, you'll say, "WOW - that was NICE!". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I started at the Seneca Sport Parachute Club in Seneca Falls, NY back in '74. Between Seneca and the Ripcord Skydiving Club in W. Bloomfield, NY, I worked my way throough the old student progression and learned RW the hard way - 30 seconds at a time, mostly out of Cessnas. Though Seneca did get a DHC-1 Beaver in '76. I moved to the west coast in '78. Ripcord Club went under and Seneca lost their lease at the airport, though the remnants of the old Seneca group have been holding forth as the Finger Lakes Skydivers in Ovid. The Finger Lakes DZO John King was jumping at Seneca when I took my FJC, he was one of the few brave souls to be jumping one of the newfangled squares, a ParaPlane Cloud. There's still a spark of a link in my heart, but I'm really completely transplanted to So. Cal, mostly Perris (1978-80 and 2003 - present) these days. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Packed my main soaking wet and jumped it. It was wintertime at Perris and heavy rains had made the ground soggy everywhere. Actually, it opened just fine, as far as the canopy went. But the right brake line was so waterlogged it jammed and wouldn't release. Tried to fly with just the left toggle, but conditions were very gusty and it was taking an unusual amount of strength to hold the left line to half brakes. Messed with it all the way to 1200' (this just keeps getting dumber...), then finally chopped it - first smart move. My 26' conical opened fast and smooth (this was 1980), but the ground rush directly over the runway was groovy. Touched down on my feet softly enough, but the winds blew me over backwards and I shattered my helmet off my head on some unseen object in a flooded field (wearing a hard hat has been the smartest thing I've ever done more than once). Hurt my shoulder, which was healed by a faith healer (interesting experience), and found my helmet, which was in two pieces held together by the chin strap. Cold, wet, and muddy, but otherwise none the worse for wear & tear. I got off lucky for being such a dumbass. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I owned a Viking Superlite, made of the 1.25 oz lightweight material in use befor F-111 came along. I think there was a final F-111 version of the Superlite, along with the 200 ft Merlin and 260 ft Titan. I really liked my Superlite. It wasn't as fun or zippy as a Cruisair, but it really handled well and the landings were soft. Did a fair amount of CRW with it, including earning my 4 Stack patch (#529). Made my El Cap jump with it too. Finally sold it to some newbie kid at Antioch in '82 after I'd quit jumping. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Good job, were you slicing a bagel ? If it were me, I'd wash it really well, wrap it up tight in a good ole Bandaid and say a few Hail Marys. I sliced the shit out of my thumb once back in the college days whilst cutting up a fresh hot loaf of whole wheat bread (my own, I might add...), on chili night. The Bandaid seemed to do just fine. On the other hand, you probably did this a day or two ago now, so you're either dead or else getting better. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Can't link you up, but there was recently a thread where Skybytch asked the same question. I always recommend Gabriel Garcia Marquez to one & all. His Nobel Prize winning novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is incredible, it's a total flight of fantasy. Also "Love In the Time of Cholera" and his new autobiography "Living to Tell the Tale". If you know Spanish (I don't), try to get the original editions. Otherwise, the English translations will blow you away just the same. Garcia Marquez is Columbian and the greatest living New World Spanish language writer. What's so different about Latin fiction, or so it seems to me, is that it completely dispense with the rules of "reality" as we know it in the English tradition. Things happen that in an English/American novel we'd stop and say, "that would never happen, it's impossible". But apparently in the Latin tradition, the impossible just makes for a better story. Check him out!! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[It's an internship, but could possibly turn into a full time job!!! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA !! I was there for 13 years and after those ASSHOLES laid me off for the second time I actually moved out of state. Fuck them, I'd rather be a gay whore than go back. Anyway, if you're looking for a place to jump, there is Harvey Field in nearby Snohomish, a perpetual Cessna DZ, and then there's Kapowsin, which has an Otter. Boeing DOES have a Skydiving Club, which has a deal with Kapowsin if I'm not mistaken. Soon as they give you a compooter, go to the company's Recreation League site and look up the club. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

And now some big man is calling him sweetie Alright, I'll be your wife. Now get over here and give your wife a blowjob! Nyuk-nyuk. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Fine, more room on the plane, more pig at the roast....probably a better vibe as well, without the incessant whining. I'm throwing my stuff in the car now and hould be there by noon or so. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I often go floater, so I have the decency to wait. Then, when I am standing in the fresh breeze, outside the door, I let it rip madly and sigh with a huge grin. Nobody else even imagines how lucky they are that I'm such a nice guy. Or why I'm wearing such a silly grin. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

God, I feel safer already. Bush might want to visit and pin a medal on somebody. Don't want no fuggin' cohabitators undermining the underpinnings of MY republic, nosiree! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

About a month ago I was glad to have both a helmet and a Cypres. I was just about to enter a slot in a round when someone dropped onto my back. At first I just thought "aw, shit", but then I got a really HARD smack on the back of the head, so hard that I think I said WTF out loud. I just saw a bright green jumpsuit tumble off me and when I saw him get stable I knew at least his lights were still on. The rest of the dive went to hell anyway in a funneled mess, but everybody opened, everyone lived, so it was okay. I had a headache though from the huge smack I'd taken. And I was glad to be wearing both a Bonehead AND a Cypres! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Just to keep the record straight, Jerry did NOT die of an overdose. He was in rehab at the time of his death and died of a heart attack. He'd sludged up his arteries with a diet of ice cream and chili dogs, not to mention chain smoking Camels all his life. He just thought he'd live forever - and he didn't. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !