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wwarped,

Are you suggesting that people in internet forums are more real and show more of themselves than in their actual lives? You know it’s usually a mistake to take your own introspection and use it as a general guideline.

But if you really want to talk about projecting a false persona, let’s take the moderator of this forum as a prime example.

Tom Aiello is a mediocre BASE jumper at the very best, yet he wants to be known as a BASE authority, even if it’s a virtual one.

Tom Aiello claims to have over 1000 BASE jumps which in all actuality he has less than half that number.

Tom Aiello is oftentimes wrong on technical aspects of the sport and yet he would argue with people with much more knowledge and experience to a point of banning them. Yes my dear friend, Tom Aiello has banned people in the past, and possibly future, not because of juvenile personal attacks, not because of reference to pedophilia, but because those much more informed and educated (in the BASE contest) jumpers just did not agree with him.

What Tom Aiello did though is to win the BASE award for the most hospitalizations and severe injuries sustained while practicing the sport of BASE jumping. Bad luck you might say. Not so my dear virtual BASE analyzers holder of the BASE truth. Tom Aiello once forgot to throw a pilot chute, and twice he showed very poor judgment despite the rightful advices much more experienced jumpers had given him. He refused to listen because Tom in the end always knows best.

Tom Aiello wants to reserve himself a spot in the history of BASE jumping as a BASE authority, as an outstanding BASE jumper. We all know what kind of person Tom Aiello is and what is more pertinent to this discussion, what kind of BASE jumper Tom Aiello is.

So wwarped, if you want to be of some use, please apply your immense training in internet psychology to the dropzone.com Tom Aiello persona.

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Tom Aiello has banned people in the past ... because those much more informed and educated (in the BASE contest) jumpers just did not agree with him.



Citations?

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What Tom Aiello did though is to win the BASE award for the most hospitalizations and severe injuries sustained while practicing the sport of BASE jumping.



I thought John Agnos held that award.

Lots of people have gotten busted up doing BASE (some insist that all those that haven't, will do so in the future). Injuries, on their own, are not the mark of a bad BASE jumper. Nor are fatalities, although there are lessons to be learned from every one of both sorts.
Looking for newbie rig, all components...

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I don't believe I've ever claimed any particular skill or expertise at BASE jumping. Can you find somewhere that I've (your words) "proclaimed" myself to be a BASE "god" ?

It's interesting that this discussion of your forum has come back to a discussion of me personally. I wonder why that is?


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Tom Aiello is oftentimes wrong on technical aspects of the sport and yet he would argue with people with much more knowledge and experience to a point of banning them.



You're more than welcome to point out a technical discussion in which you disagree with me. Then we can discuss that specific technical point, and you, me, and everyone else can decide for themselves what they think.

I strongly disagree with your contention that I've banned people who simply disagree with me on a technical point, and I challenge you to point out any posts where that was the case. Can you?


Again, I find it interesting that you are so obsessed with me. I will, again, point out that your obsession began immediately after a post I made here.

In that post, I analyzed an incident which resulted when you tried to repeat a jump that I had first conceived and performed. Unfortunately, you failed to understand the basic technical points necessary for the performance of the jump (the underlying importance of maintaining line tension during deployments of all kinds, and the importance of practicing the launch to achieve minimal separation during the freefall), and as a result, a serious injury resulted.

I tried very hard not to cast blame, or name names, in that post, and I find it quite indicative of your personality, and your underlying feelings of guilt, that you took it so personally, and began lashing out at me.


I've said this before, but I'll say it again.

Nick, I am not your enemy. You are lashing out at me because you blame yourself for what happened. Let go of that guilt. In BASE, accidents happen. The best thing we can do is to learn from them, and be thankful when those involved are able to recover.
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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Are you suggesting that people in internet forums are more real and show more of themselves than in their actual lives?


no, I'm not suggesting people are more real on the internet, but an online persona isn't normally completely fabricated either. people may think it is a complete fabrication, but it comes from a place within.

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Tom Aiello is a mediocre BASE jumper at the very best, yet he wants to be known as a BASE authority, even if it’s a virtual one.


aviation has a saying, "those who can, do. those who can't, teach." it doesn't always apply, and may or may not here. it remains a fact that being good at something and teaching it are two entirely different skill sets.

from what I've seen here, Tom would welcome sound advice from others. he appears to object when it can be taken recklessly. one problem is the internet demands general, not specific advice (or at least conservative). if not, facts can be taken entirely out of context, especially when viewed months later.
(edited to add: by general, I mean NOT necessarily geared to an individual. enough information must be included to establish context.)

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Tom Aiello is oftentimes wrong on technical aspects of the sport and yet he would argue with people with much more knowledge and experience to a point of banning them. Yes my dear friend, Tom Aiello has banned people in the past, and possibly future, not because of juvenile personal attacks, not because of reference to pedophilia, but because those much more informed and educated (in the BASE contest) jumpers just did not agree with him.


what I have witnessed to date is NOT banning jumpers for disagreeing with him, but arguing in a childish, immature manner.

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So wwarped, if you want to be of some use, please apply your immense training in internet psychology to the dropzone.com Tom Aiello persona.


well, I'm not trying to be of use. I offer observations that may be inaccurate. like BASE itself, you get to decide if it is right for you.

Tom attempts to help and keep people safe. many things he does appear constructive. as I do not stalk him, he may very well do non-constructive things as well.

how do you plan on being of use?
do you intend to act constructively?

is the signal/noise ratio any better on the new forum?
or does it continue to be a "victim's lounge," full of pissing and moaning?
DON'T PANIC
The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

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On a positive note...watching someone with the whole Taxi Driver complex thing has allowed me to learn ad infinitum the proper way to execute a rollover.

Without a single lesson! :D

- Harvey, BASE 1232
TAN-I, IAD-I, S&TA

BLiNC Magazine Team Member

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Tom,

You are right there is no contradiction on this site on technical aspects you were completely off.

Remember the thread on slider up jumps with differential stow?

here is the thread name:

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Without looking to Google or other websites, just your knowledge, - who knows what this is?



People, go ahead and do a search on it.

Oh you cannot find it!

Tom Aiello had deleted this thread from the BASE zone to save his own virtual fake reputation.

Here you have it people.

No seaw Tom, I got you covered:

Here is what you said:

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Because there is no tailgate on many slider up packjobs, and line overs have been observed despite the slider. The differential stow, in theory, ought to help the canopy to achieve nose first expansion.




How can anyone who claims to be so technically knowledgeable being completely off on an actually pretty simple rigging task? How can anyone who BASE jumps and TEACHES how to BASE jump not having the common rigging sense not to put slack in the lines during a slider up jumps? This is not even rigging common sense, it is plain and simple common sense.

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here is the thread name:

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Without looking to Google or other websites, just your knowledge, - who knows what this is?




And here is the thread, right there in this forum.

If you want to revive the discussion, you're welcome to do so. In all honesty, I can't really understand the point you are trying to make here, but if you'd like to continue that technical discussion, have at it.



The reason the search function doesn't find this thread is because there was a problem with indexing the forums into the search results that caused search results to be "lost" for all threads (in all forums) between roughly January 17th 2006 and May 26th 2006. This thread was posted on April 27, 2006, which is in the middle of that time period. This is currently the subject of the top thread in the Error and Bug Reports Forum. If you look at the post history for any user, or at the results of any forum search, you will notice that there is a gap during these dates.

If you would like to discuss the search index error, I encourage you to do so in the Error and Bug Reports forum (the active thread is linked above).
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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Hadn't this already been covered in a previous outburst of constructive criticism though?

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It constantly amazes me how often individuals feel a need to proclaim judgement on someone else's jumping abilities and talents.

There's a significant correlation between negative comments and commnication via internet posts. Many are brave in cyberspace, hiding behind monitors and typing mean things on keyboards, although rarely can they reconcile those hositilities with who they really are.

If you have something to talk to Tom about, perhaps you should do just that, talk to Tom about it, versus ranting on forums. If you don't have something to talk to Tom about, and you spend your time focussing on the scorn you have for him, perhaps you should seek counseling. The animosity you carry around can't be good for your soul.

In general it's surprising how petty people can be, however its even more surprising with those who look over the edge of an object knowing their life may end in the next few seconds can be even more petty than the general populus. The risks of BASE jumping are such that one should feel comfortable with the sum total of their life when they leap forward from the exit point. If you know you may leave all opportunities to reconcile that which is unfinished in your life, perhaps you shouldn't be jumping... perhaps you should be reconciling the things in your life.

...Or perhaps that's a lesson learned only when you've lost someone and come to terms with what that means.

In any case, you may want to consider that the words you speak today are how you will be remembered.
find / -name jumpers -print; cat jumpers $USER > manifest; cd /dev/airplane; more altitude; make jump; cd /pub; more beer;



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I'll admit that I have a personal bias on this subject, but I'm more than a little sick of the Tom-bashing, and so I'll step into the fray.

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Tom Aiello wants to reserve himself a spot in the history of BASE jumping as a BASE authority, as an outstanding BASE jumper.



In the four years that Tom and I have been together, I have never heard him claim to be an outstanding BASE jumper. In fact, I've heard him discuss his BASE errors many times with his students and other jumpers. His injury history is no secret and he makes no attempt to hide it--he uses it as a teaching point in hopes of keeping others from making some of the same mistakes. Admitting one's screw-ups and trying to keep them from happening again is certainly better than ignoring or minimizing them, don't you think?

As far as being an "authority", I don't think he'd describe himself as such, but he does take BASE instruction and safety very seriously.

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We all know what kind of person Tom Aiello is and what is more pertinent to this discussion, what kind of BASE jumper Tom Aiello is.



Yes, Nick, I do know what "kind of person" he is. A lot better than you do. He's a good person, a good friend, and an amazing husband and father.

Now please, learn to play nice.

Cheri

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In any case, you may want to consider that the words you speak today are how you will be remembered.



Worth repeating.

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Here's a solution:

Fist fight on the parking lot at the bridge (no weapons).
Beat the crap out of each other.
Have a cry, have a laugh.
Go for a beer.

Solved!
The bums will never win Lebowski, the bums will never win!
Enfin j'ai trouvé:
Bieeeen

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Here's a solution:

Fist fight on the parking lot at the bridge (no weapons).
Beat the crap out of each other.
Have a cry, have a laugh.
Go for a beer.

Solved!



HOLA.....i think it`s a good solution! Less is more..:|

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do you think the really big dude that turns up to fight tom would actually be the real nick.
my hovercraft is full of eels.

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Hmmm, depends on the point of view;

Less (jumps, beer, etc...) is a bore
The bums will never win Lebowski, the bums will never win!
Enfin j'ai trouvé:
Bieeeen

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Ok, see what you mean.
If there is a difference in size, the bigger guy can only use one arm.
How's that?

The point is not the fight. The point is for Nick or whoever he is to get the rage out, it could be chess for all I care. The point is for him to be able to realize how ridiculous the situation is and be able to laugh about it once he has gotten rid of the rage. Like when a girl you really love dumps you (well I am married now so hopefully that's over); don't stay at home and get all depressed about it; go out and have a beer with your buddies. Whether one believes in God or not, the simple truth is that in the end there is nothing we will take with us. Wether people remember you for 100 000 years or whether you're a nobody, you both end up a small pile of dust, for the rest of time (and that's a long time). There's too little time sit sit and ponder over menial stuff.
Justadude or whoever you are, go to Tom, have a chat, a fight, whatever you want, but be sure to have a beer afterwards because really, all this means absolutely nothing.
The bums will never win Lebowski, the bums will never win!
Enfin j'ai trouvé:
Bieeeen

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The risks of BASE jumping are such that one should feel comfortable with the sum total of their life when they leap forward from the exit point.



Man, that is it right there - well put Raistlin.

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"You have given your life to become the person you are today....

was it worth it?"

-Richard Bach,


possibly the best aviation writer of our time. i suggest you all read him at some point. 'Johnothan livingston seagul' and 'illusions' are my favorite, this quote is from 'ONE' (thanks wing warper....)

...my answer has been yes so far...

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Here's a solution:

Fist fight on the parking lot at the bridge (no weapons).
Beat the crap out of each other.
Have a cry, have a laugh.
Go for a beer.

Solved!



People these days have no idea how relevant that statement is. It's fantastic therapy.

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I agree. I think it would be great, and really fucking entertaining to pack every BASE jumper in these forums into a big room for a week. and see what happens.

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I agree. I think it would be great, and really fucking entertaining to pack every BASE jumper in these forums into a big room for a week. and see what happens.



I think I hear the beginnings of a reality TV show... somebody call discovery channel!!!!!!

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Tom Aiello
Tom Aiello
Tom Aiello
Tom Aiello
Tom Aiello
Tom Aiello
Tom
Tom Aiello
Tom Aiello
Tom Aiello
Tom Aiello



Uh...
If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

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hehe true!
Much better and shorter than the: "I'm gonna sue your ass!"
The bums will never win Lebowski, the bums will never win!
Enfin j'ai trouvé:
Bieeeen

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***
The risks of BASE jumping are such that one should feel comfortable with the sum total of their life when they leap forward from the exit point. If you know you may leave all opportunities to reconcile that which is unfinished in your life, perhaps you shouldn't be jumping... perhaps you should be reconciling the things in your life.


well said! :)(the rest was a great read as well...)

BTW
moderators are human. they will make mistakes. some users will use these mistakes as justification to give moderators grief. I sometimes wonder who would volunteer for such a thankless job. (any moderator)

Tom: thank you for trying to provide some order to this forum.

Sangiro: thank you for giving us this space.
DON'T PANIC
The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

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The risks of BASE jumping are such that one should feel comfortable with the sum total of their life when they leap forward from the exit point.



wow. Very apt. cool.

I like it.

_justin

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