tbrown

I'll be there, Perris is my home DZ anyway. I'm just starting to meet some real dot.commies in person too and would love to make some dives with a bunch of us. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I want to see the film, just like I wanted to see the "Last Passion" film with Willem Dafoe ten years ago. Why ? Because I want to make up my own mind about it, after hearing so much about it. I'm an ex-Catholic who firmly believes by now that Jesus really exited, but was only a man, and that the whole "God made man" and virgin birth thing were add-ons that pagan Greeks and Romans brought to the party. The original "Christians" were a Jewish sect, one of many. And they were all wiped out by the Romans in the AD 70 uprising, so Christianity was re-invented by its non-Jewish believers. The survivors get to write the history. Anyway, it sounds like it could be a good flick... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If he didn't have his arm around her, a hand on her tit, or his tongue down her throat, they weren't together. They were sitting near each other in a crowd. What you're suggesting has a name, it's called "guilt by association". I could probably come up with some doctored pictures of Bush sucking J. Edgar Hovver's dick as far as that shit goes, but we'll just let it go at that. I think John Kerry's 3 Purple Hearts and Silver Star speak for themselves. Meanwhile the Bushmeister is using his dental records to prove he wasn't AWOL from the Guard..... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Get a really aggressive one, ask your local NRA to recommend one by name. Some twenty years back, a gang of druggies tried to kick down my brother's door in San Diego. He opened fire with a HK-91. So guess who got arrested and had all his guns confiscated ? The NRA put him onto a bellicose attny who got all charges dropped and weapons returned in about two weeks. In the meantime, his friends loaned him a few in case the lowlifes returned (they didn't). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

No, not yet anyway. It isn't necessary, but would be helpful I'm told that a rigger can whip one out in a couple minutes for about $5, so I plan on getting one next time out. I like the psycho pack enough that I'm sticking with it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Since we've had such an uproar on the forums about people not wanting their rigs touched without permission, I made sure to tap him on the shoulder to tell him about it and then I fixed it. He was most appreciative. Time was when people giving each other gear checks before exit was much more common. Nowadays there isn't much of it, maybe people think it's not "hip". Or maybe we think that the gear is a lot simpler and more foolproof than it used to be - which is true to some extent, thankfully. We used to find all kinds of bridle twists around belly bands and that sort of thing. I have to admit I'm not really fond of having a stranger rummaging around with my closing flaps just before exit. I definitely feel better if they're a friend I jump with a lot, and especially if they jump the same kind of rig and know how the flaps close. If we're jumping with our friends anyway, we should agree to be uncool enough to look each other over. "Friends don't let friends jump without gear checks". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

First, you did the right thing going for your handles. You were thinking and not panicking, and evidently were very well trained if you found your hands on your handles and aren't sure how they got there. That's what all the training & drills are for. And you sound like you maintained your altitude awareness, so good for you again ! You most definitely did not have a soft opening, as you yourself describe the eventual opening as a violent one. Sounds like your canopy didn't want to come out and play. The Sabre2 isn't known for being snivelly, I've tried them a few times and found them to be rather quick but comfy openings. Now some canopies do snivel a lot and are well known for it. Especially the Spectre, if you jump one of them you should expect a lengthy, but SOFT opening. And after a few jumps on a snivelly canopy, you can learn to identify things going on with your opening, like the center cells inflated with slider plastered to the bottom of the canopy and end cells "struggling" to get free. There's some order to it, it doesn't all look like crap. An opening that really looks like crap probably is and that's what yours sounds like. You don't HAVE TO take it down to your hard deck either. If it looks that bad, lose it. Your hard deck is your LIMIT, you absolutely go to handles immediately if you're not happy by your hard deck. It's not uncommon for a ball of crap to change it's mind and stage a sudden, funky or violent opening. But you can't wait for it to happen, you're burning up altitude much too fast. You did well, you had a valuable experience. You lived and you learned. Bravo ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I've wanted to skydive ever since I was six years old. Well, jump with a parachute anyway. I got clued onto skydiving watching "Ripcord" - religiously - every Friday night when I was seven. I knew I'd found something I really wanted to do. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'm surprised nobody's invented a cash register with a built in Claymore mine yet. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I just started pscho packing and love it. Openings are same-same as pro packing, but psycho is easier and quicker. And I can't believe how much nicer it fits into the bag and how much easier it is to close the bag up in the container. Anytime you start using a new packing method, it's not a bad idea to pack it and unpack it a few times at home. It just gets you more used to what you're doing, whether it's figuring out the mess of lines while learning to pro pack, rolling a psycho, or anything else. It's going to open anyway, but the practice will help you do it better and feel more confident in your own packing abilities. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Or as Yoda would say to Luke, "you will be". I can understand your lack of fear with your background. But we have a saying, that "shit happens". You'll see it happen. It can - and sooner or later will - happen to you. Maybe fear isn't what you need. Just respect. Respect the sport, respect the sky, respect yourself and the jumpers you share the sky with. One of these days it will save your life. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Square One's got an interesting ad on their website. Check out the Icon rig, under "Containers" to find it. They're offering a complete all Aerodyne rig, with main & reserve canopies, for "under $3300". Offer does not include an AAD. Check it out. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I will vote for ANYBODY who runs against Bush. John Kerry, Jonathan Edwards, Howard Dean, Al Sharpton.......Michael Jackson...... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I was struck, even surprised by the poetic beauty of Thin Red Line. By the way guys, it's Stalag 17, not 13. That was Hogan's Heroes... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

San Miguel, not that iz anybuddy's fuggin' bizness... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Its a nice plane... and I love getting my morning wake up in it at WFFC every day, but I like larger doors if I'm flying with others. Well it takes me back to the old days when we used to "fly" to each other without carrying a piece out the door, or off a tailgate ramp. I enjoy launching pieces, but there's nothing like a good old flying base/pin hookup to get things started. Especially from 14 grand, it's not like you don't have the time or altitude for it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

"Kitty kitty bang bang, kitty kitty bang bang, kitty kitty bang bang, we luv you.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I know a jumper at Taft who teaches 8th grade. I don't give out names without asking first. Also, long ago in the seventies I jumped with a guy who taught 3rd grade in San Diego. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

In the early 1980's, the TSO C-23 revision finally rolled brom Rev B to Rev C. Nowadays it's rolled again to Rev D. If I recall, Skydiving Magazine reported back in the 80's that not only did most round reserves fail the newer and tougher test under Rev C, but some of the square reserves currently on the market as well. Those canopies were "grandfathered", insofar as they could be used only with Rev B approved harness/container systems. You were not allowed to pack a Rev B reserve into a Rev C container, not a Rev C reserve into a Rev B container. Now 20 years later, reserves and systems approved under Rev C are still widely in use, while the newest stuff is Rev D approved (tougher still - up to 300 lbs). So why on earth use a reserve so old that it may have failed test standards twenty friggin' years ago ? I mean if you want to save a few bucks, buy a Strato Star for $30, but your reserve ??? I'm not a rigger, but I am a QA Inspector in the aerospace industry and I know what a stamp means. It means civil and/or criminal liability for messing up. There are zillions of good reserves less than 5 years old. Hell, you can get a brand spanking new Smart reserve (Rev D approved) online for as little as $764. You're bf's life has to be worth that much, doesn't it ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'm going to give this thread a bump because it deserves it. Went out to Taft today and made four dives for the princely sum of $52. That's three dives at $14 and the $10 morning load. All from 14 grand. That little plane of his really does get there in 6-7 minutes, and it does it so smoothly. And best of all, you know it's time to exit when Mike lifts you off the floor at zero-g (a really weird feeling, at least the first time) and tells you to exit. I know Taft is a long drive, I put on over 300 miles myself today. But It's a wonderful DZ with a small DZ vibe, an excellent loft, some wonderful people, and Mike's incredible plane. This isn't going to last forever, and frankly I think if more people got up there and gave it a go, there's certainly room to run a lot more loads on that King Air. There's just another month or two, if you haven't been up to Taft, you ARE definitely missing out on the fun! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

You're just lucky you had the problem at 3000 ft and not 300, or you might've made the Incidents page. I'd tell your dealer loud and clear that this is a safety concern. Or maybe to be more diplomatic, I'd talk to the S&TA about it first and enlist their aid, because you need to do this. Pulling your slider down should be a choice and not a necessity. Especially at your experience level. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'm always rarin' to go after a day on the dropzone. I think it's the adrenaline and abundance of so many healthy bodies sharing the excitement. I used to get the same way at Grateful Dead shows, with all the hippie women floating around. My wife thinks it's funny. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I had pretty much the same problem a couple weeks back with my 190 Spectre. basically, I SCREWED UP stowing my right brake above the ring and not below it. The opening was a magnificent spinner and a blown out elastic toggle keeper. I was able to cure the situation by simply pulling both toggles down, and once the left brake was released, everything was fine. However, this was on my 602nd jump. And even though I toss it out around 2800'ish, I was below 2 grand when it cleared. Yes, a spinner is something an EXPERIENCED jumper can mess around with for a very short time and hopefully clear with a few tricks like staying loose and pulling the toggles down. But even an experienced jumper doesn't have much time for fooling around with it. There are too many experienced jumpers who spiral in and bounce because they failed to cuataway, or did so too low to do any good. So this was your 50th jump ? I'd say you did the right thing. It was YOUR CALL. You made the decision, you acted, and you lived (ain't it great to be alive ?). Now next time you'll know, you'll think "but wait, I'll try pulling my toggles down first, and if that don't work, I go for the handles". Believe me, that's what I was thinking. But you did just fine. Congratulations and don't take any crap about it from anyone! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

In England maybe not. He might be locked into some paltry salary with the National Health. A year or two back some college girl here in the States did the same thing. A lady doctor stepped in, placed the winning bid and told the girl to hit the books. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

That's wonderful Dave. No matter how much they love you, it's a real heart stopper to ask THE question. I'm very very happy for you and Morgan both. After 23 years (in April) I'm still married to the same woman and consider all of those years the best of my life. You just need to find the right woman (just like she needs to find the right man) and you will have to work at it, but it's a GOOD way to live. Congratulations & God bless you both. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !