skyjames

Prolly do ... james

Should you not own adobe photo shop or any of the other good progs to play with pic file resizing, try this free online one. Using it can allow you to keep the pic size you want while drastically reducing file size. Reduced file size= reduced download time for viewers. Hope this is of some help. http://www.jpegwizard.com "About the Online JPEG Wizard Optimizer The free JPEG Wizard Online Optimizer provides highly optimized JPEG compression. A few seconds after you submit your JPEG image, you will be e-mailed a link to a temporary web page with several optimized and/or "transformed" images including comparison data about size and download time for that image. The settings may be adjusted and we urge you to try various options as a learning experience." "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

QuoteDid you see the underlying reason for the price increase? The USPS has been charged by Congress to provide their share of funding for Vereran's programs I hope this is true. http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=6307&sequence=0 A Major provisions of H.R. 22 would: Transfer from the Postal Service to the Department of the Treasury responsibility for paying pension costs associated with military service credits. In the end, the 3.1 billion will be spent by Congress (yikes) to be decided how at a later date. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

By any chance after walking away and eating food on your own the next morning after a not so pretty landing, have you determined why one 80% toggle use was necessary? "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

It ain't home no more... why they even have a pretty new bldg with running water now. 'cides Marges ain't Marges no more I miss that old gal and her great skydiver burger! "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Quote (except for two guys who were in sore need of intensive psychotherapy) Give it to Mikey, he'll eat it :) "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

I used to smoke 4 packs of cigs a day, yeah count 'em 4! Most of 'em I never finished, or I would have 2 or 3 going at once. Once the beer light came on ('bout 5 pm) I churned them out one after another, often lighting a new one with the fading embers of the last. Keep the eternal flame going. I couldn't stand to smoke 'em befor I ate in the morn, but lived with a few gals that lit 'em up befor setting foot outta the bed in the morn, sheesh ,gag me will ya! Many years ago I quit cold piggy, no one could believe I just up and quit, but I did. A reformed smoker is the worst kinda person to light up around, what a pia I could be toward smokers polluting MY air. Years later I found cigars, I know god invented 'em just for me. Uppity cigar smoker I was. If the cigar didn't cost at least two bucks I wouldn't smoke it. No rhyme to that, it just was. Alas, I quit them also. I spent many hours trolling the deep blue with no action on the lines, that can be boring as hell. I picked up a packet of Backwoods one day on the way to the boat, man, they smelled great and tasted even better, that was maybe 10 years ago. Lots of ppl ask me what I am smoking (yeah even non smokers) and tell me they smell good. I assume "smell good" is a relative term, I still don't like the odor of ciggs, but you will see me at the DZ with a black and sweet Backwoods hanging from my mouth, if I ain't puffing on them, I am chewing the ends off. It's stupid, I smoke 'em like a cigg, I know it's bad, somehow it doesn't phase me. That girl who sings the country song with words sumtin like ,"I can hear you breath" musta sat next to me one time or 'nother. I was at zhills and this girl comes over and asks, "you were at Rantoul yes?" I didn't remember her, but she remembered me riding the golf thingy puffing away drinking my corona. Said she never saw me without one (cigar). Anyhoo, I generally ask if it's ok if I light up when around non-smokers, they can be sooo anal at times. What was your question again? "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Some ppl were just born at the right time :) At 17 I was in Viet Nam, we could drink at the em club, same held true in NC in advanced training. When I returned to the states I was stationed in Cali, 21 was the age. I was discharged just b4 I turned 21, I turn 21 and they lower the age to 18. Drunken brawls never happened in the Marines, we did fall down a lot though. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Both. It also demonstrates a previously unobserved depth of mental sophistication. And Gorillas aren't Chimps. Correct, chimps and gorillas are different species. The question was {supposed} to address Janes observations and studies regarding chimps use of tools and the new info regarding king kong's use of tools. Similarity, evolution..etc. I didn't understand the "questions" were supposed to be about photography Perhaps gaint squids, they are really different. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

800~900 ft T10 water jump z-hills "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

>So does anyone have any questions you want me >to ask her? About chimps in general I assume.. Question: Do recent published findings that gorillas in the wild have been observed using tools (as opposed to in captivity) reflect an evolutionary trait, or just lack of previous observation. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Having lived in hurricane ally most of my life, I can feel the anguish the "home" people are going through, both homes. It is difficult having your lifestyle up ended by no fault of your own, having your city, town or state inundated by displaced recipients of natures wrath, who at best (and generally) only want to survive, and at worst offer more of the bad element existing beforehand. Should all the gas stop to flow, all the food stores close, all health centers and security as we know it cease to exist ... how would YOU survive. but...but...but, that can't happen in America can it! Only the fittest survive. Does this mean a return to the "Wild West", where the fastest gun gets the last say? That said, I have guns, threaten my or my family's life, fastest gun will win. Threatning my cars stereo doesn't qualify. 20/20 hindsight is a great advantage, we can soap box our personal points of view, offer up many suggestions, some constructive, others destructive. Some, destructive to the point that if those words are embraced by the majority, those opinions will etch a different idiom on the fabric of life we clearly cling to. In those carefully chosen destructive words, the foundation that took 200 years to erect, in an instant becomes obsolete. Fact is, even 20/20 hindsight is arguable, history is written by those who win, and argued about by those who survived. Hurricane Andrew took a large chunk of south Florida's homes and reduced them to rubble. I press the issue of "luck" when I say we were lucky. We were lucky water wasn't the major killer part of Andrew, or the aftermath, unlike New Orleans, as reports say is 80% under water. FEMA, the cure all governmental agency responding to any disaster, a hindsight brought upon us by ... uhh guess what? It took FEMA two weeks to arrive in sofl, even then it was ill equipped to handle the demand. If there were any command center handling logistics, certainly it wasn't apparent. I would like to think they learned from the sofl experience, and they did to a point. The next time they were called upon to administer the power they reign, they by-passed many of the major areas hit (central Fla) and dolled out some 30+ million dollars to Miami residents who by most reports (and fact) weren't hit by so much as a fish fart. A few of those people are now wearing fashionable Martha Stewart ankle braclets. The aftermath of Andrew was pure hell, at least for some looters (those after tv's and other non eatables) Damn! they actually got shot AT! Guns are good, in the hands of the good. My neighborhood was without power for 5 days after Andrew visited, we were some lucky people. I have great neighbors, we joined together and had cook outs, shared what we had, told stories, and more than once told ourselves how damn lucky we were to be in Ft. Lauderdale, when just less than 24 hours before, hurricane Andrew was supposed to pay us a visit. Perhaps we weren't worthy, Andrew turned left. I wish this had hapened in this case. Tent cities begin to appear in Miami and Homestead, food, water and medical attention was available, every agency you can name was down here doing what they do best, lending a helping hand where needed. Security was present, curfew was strictly enforced, two weeks AFTER. But we weren't under water. One can say "we knew that was going to happen one day", complain that something should have been done earlier knowing the possible consequences and that is quite right. This doesn't change what is though. I found it quite interesting that government officials said they were staged, poised and ready to administer aid to the devastated areas yet were unable to move quickly due to the roads and that other avenues of approach were unsafe, or impassable with available equipment. This minor issue has never stopped the Red Cross. I have to approve of the governments ambition to rescue those that were still stuck on roof tops and inside buildings. I disapprove of the time it is taking to help those that were already safe and need the basics of life. As skydivers we understand risk (or should), we will help even when one of us take the risk to far. You can say as that German Chancellor did, "they got what they deserved, they knew this would happen," and refuse to help [later recanted]. That will make you a better skydiver, and certainly it will make you a better person. Complain all you want, but ... Cough up the price of one jump ticket, help. ** This is my own personal rant, not directed at any particular post** "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

The way it "used to be": It used to be good, it still is, only the equipment and rules have changed. I heard from a skydiver via email after I made a post to "rs" (going way back): I asked about jumping in the old days in Florida. One of the emails I got recalled: "I remember at [X] DZ, the only rules we had were: pull when you could identify fruit on the trees.. and ... you could drink beer on the way to altitude, but only the pilot was allowed to toss his can out of the plane." "I can't see what they are talking about" They are living the old days now and should enjoy them. Stories for 20 years from now. But maybe I missed the point :) "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

If you jump next to H20 you should have some training regarding water jumps/landings, whether you want the licence or not. Training, it's only required for the licence, but as bill and others will attest to, I tried for a year to get ten people together to do a live water jump, to no avail. Maybe it was the cost: advertised as $200, actual cost was around $125. Maybe just skeerd. They supplied everything. Besides, I got to do a low alt [800ft] round "T6 "something or other jump at a Z-hills area lake, with rubber duckies under each arm. Remind me next time to bring a dry change of cloths. Airborn rocks! Probably a good thing they would not let me do a land jump with the T6, I wudda needed a change of cloths for that also. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

QuoteCould it be true that the following sentence: And once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you long to return is wrongly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci snip If you read any of CL's musings vrs Da Vman, the answer should be clear who to attrib it to. CL wins hands down. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Four other jumpers who didn't really care to make one last jump that day, couldn't split the cost eh? You paid your money and you got what you wanted, end of story. Don't blame the DZO, it's possible he would have gotten on the load even if 6 people paid for slots, or not. Whatta I know, I wasn't there. I paid for two slots once to get in "one more jump" when I had less than 100 jumps, it's been repaid so many times...otter rides with 3 ppl on, porter lifts with two ppl on, solos in a cessna. youz give, youz get. (btw these were n/c jumps) ymmv "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

It really isn't a good moniker, actually it is a bad one. It isn't a SAK, notice that there is no spoon for Pate', no tooth pick or cork screw for those times you are attacked by a rabid wine stewart with a speck of spinach wedged between his front teeth. As far as the "bottle" opener ... any Bic lighter will do the same job quite nicely and still light your favorite smoke after use. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Thx, Next time I will look before asking. Sawatdeeka . "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Any info on the 2004 Thailand world record? "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

-------------------------------------------------------- I would like to know what you all think about this. G. -------------------------------------------------------- Sheesh ... anything for an excuse to buy a new main. So, whatcha getting? . "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Dan is the master of "no shit, there I was" stories. While I have never heard him add the familure "thought I was gonna die" it is possible he has given thought to it. His stories will make you laugh your ass off, and at times mist your eyes. He doesn't consider himself a superman, champion of the blind or crazy. As an engineer one of his proudest accomplishments was having a hand in the design of the space shuttle tiles. As a blind person he has a whole lotta firsts, many he is proud of but will not toot his own horn. As a human, he is one hell of a person. As a wordsmith, he is difficult to match. . "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Friend sent me this, thought I would share with those who do not have an eye on recdot. ------------------------------------------------ james, This was posted on rec.skydiving...I didn't know if you were still reading rec. or not, but I knew you would want to read this. ------------------------------------ Subject: Three minutes. As we all know, time sometimes feels non-constant. Depending on the situation, three minutes can feel as if it went by in the blink of an eye. At other times, three minutes can drag on into an eternity. When, lurking at the end of three minutes is a total unknown, time drags on more slowly than you can possibly imagine. In three minutes you will be on the ground, one way or another. In three minutes you could have an uneventful landing. In three minutes you could break a leg, break your back ... again. You could hit power lines, trees, a building. In three minutes you could be dead. The weight of the unknown is crushing. The panic rises in your chest and into your throat. Your breath rasps but you fight it under control. You try not to think of the possibilities but they keep creeping into your thoughts. You make decisions, trying desperately to not let the panic distract you from thinking clearly. In just three short minutes ... On Thursday September 11th, I had another no radio landing. I had showed up at the drop zone for the 9/11 memorial boogie. It was going to be a big weekend. John "BJ" Fleming and myself were going to become the first blind skydivers to ever jump together. The pressure was on, and the excitement was high. When I heard that there was a sunset load getting ready to go up, I grabbed my gear. Everything was in place. I had a radio man on the ground with people keeping an eye on him. I had my TimeOuts set. I walked through an exit on the Casa, an aircraft that I had never jumped before. Radios were checked, everything was ready to go. We discussed exit order on the way to altitude, not the best time, but we would get it sorted out. I wanted to be in the middle of the pack so that I wouldn't be short or long on the spot. I agreed to follow the first six-way of belly flyers out the door. People commented on how dark it had gotten. I began to think that maybe I should abort. "I'll just walk up, tell the pilots to radio the ground that I am riding the plane down. No problem." Of course, I didn't do that. At 13,000 feet we got ready. The first group went out the door. Someone checked the spot for me and gave me the OK. I grabbed the bar, spun around and stepped backward off the tailgate. The freefall was totally uneventful. I didn't even do style work. I just did some lazy 90 and 180 degree leg-turns. I seemed to be having trouble hearing my left Timeout, my pull side. Not a problem. I heard the 7.5K Timeout on the right side and started counting. If I turned my head to the side so that the wind would push the left side of my helmet against my head, I could hear the left TimeOut. At 4K it went off. I waved off for a couple of seconds and deployed. There was the typical few seconds of silence on the radio, which always makes me a little nervous, and then I could hear Larry. "Dan, I can't tell which canopy is yours. It's too dark. Give me a left turn." I did. I was a little nervous, but figured he would figure out which canopy was mine before too long. "Dan, give me a right turn. Dan, kick your legs. Dan, I can't see you." I turned. I kicked. I began to feel the first twinge of fear. "Dan, give me a left turn. Dan, I still can't find you." Dan, kick your legs." I turned. I kicked like a madman. I thought, "Not again. This cannot be happening again." "Dan, I can't find you. Dan, kick your legs." I now knew that I was in serious trouble. I had been under canopy for a bit shy of a minute. If he hadn't been able to spot me by now, chances are I was off the DZ and he wasn't going to see me. I could feel the panic starting to rise, clawing it's way up from the pit of my stomach. I began the routine. "Ok, half breaks. Slow right spiral. Too fast, slow it down some. Keep it together man. How long has it been. A minute? Longer?? What's that sound? Turbines. That's the Casa. Is he looking for me? Doubt it. He's damn close though. Hope he sees me. How can I use this. He's just above me and a little to the side. He must be in his pattern. Is he down-wind, cross-wind, or on final? If He's down or cross, I'm screwed. I'm way off the wind-line. Assume he's on final. If I turn and head in the same direction, I'll be heading toward the DZ. Is that a help? Don't know. Let's hope for the best. A little right. Straighten her out. Little more right. Hold it there. How long has it been? Bring it down. Half, three quarter breaks. I'm panting, stop it! Get your head together. Where's the goddamn ground!!!! This is it. I've burned my nine lives. I'm not going to make it this time. It's happened one too many times now. We aren't going to make the record jump. I'm gonna get hurt bad this time. Where's the fucking ground!!! COME ON!! COME ON!! Just let it be over already. No ground sounds. No crickets. I've got to be close though. PLEEEEEEZZ. Just don't let me hit anything. Then .... I'm laying face down on the ground. My mouth is full of dirt. It's absolutely quiet. The landing wasn't bad at all. Nothing hurt. I didn't even knock the wind out of myself. I just lay there for a while. I didn't know whether I wanted to cry or laugh. I started flexing muscles to see if anything was broken or out of place. Everything felt fine. I got to my hands and knees, spitting out clods of dirt. I stood. Nothing hurt. "Where the hell am I? The swamp? No, too firm. It's damn quiet. There are tall weeds, but it doesn't feel like corn stalks." I gather up my gear. "Well, what now? Which way do I go. They have no idea of where I am." Larry was talking for most of the time. He said they were out looking for me before I even got down. I hadn't heard anything from him for the last 20 seconds or so, so he either stopped transmitting or we went out of range. I heard a car behind me. Must have been 150 or 200 yards away. I waved, but didn't expect much. I started walking in that direction. I definitely seemed to be in a field of some kind. I didn't encounter any trees on the way to the road. One or two more cars drove by but I figured it was probably too dark to see me yet. They weren't driving slow so didn't think they were from the DZ looking for me. I slipped down a steep embankment and quickly crawled back up the side. I realized that it must be the drainage ditch on the side of the road. I scrambled back down the side, across and up the other side. I was on blacktop. "Well, it should be a lot easier to find me now. I wonder which way I should walk." A car approached. I held up my hand and waved, thinking I might here one of my friends. The car stopped near me and a voice I didn't recognize said, "Hey, looks like you missed the target a bit." I snorted and said, "Yeah, can you give me a lift back to the drop zone?" He replied, "Sorry man, I've really got to get home. Sorry." And he drove off. I could hear the Cessna up now. It was circling but he was well short of me. He'd never see me. I started walking down the roadside. Another car passed but didn't stop. Finally, a third car stopped. "Hey there, you are a bit far from where you need to be, aren't you?" "Yeah, can you give me a lift back?" "Sure, hop in." I easily found the door, opened it, and piled in with my gear. I explained that I really needed to get back quickly as since I was totally blind, the folks back on the drop zone would be going crazy trying to find me. I don't think he really knew what to say at that point. He asked some of the usual questions but I wasn't all that talkative at the moment. A van passed us going slow and we thought it might be someone from the DZ. He stopped and got out to talk to the other driver. It was just a concerned DZ neighbor out looking for a skydiver they thought they saw go down near by. Trent, my savior, got back in and we continued to the DZ. WHEN WE PULLED IN< I hopped out and was immediately greeted by a few tearful friends. I managed to shake Trent's hand and thank him for the lift, and quickly headed into the building to drop my gear. After dropping my gear and answering the obligatory questions, I went down stairs to the bathroom. I rinsed out my mouth, splashed some water on my face, and stood there trying to pull myself together. As I exited the bathroom Larry was there. It was an emotional moment. I know how frustrated I was during the descent. I can only imagine how frustrated he must have felt, knowing that I was out there heading for God knows what, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. It turns out that the winds aloft had really picked up and the pilots realized it when they saw their drift after the first couple of groups went out. They tried to compensate for the later groups, but it was too late for me. When I spoke to the pilot the next morning, he put the pieces together and realized that he had seen me during his pattern. He was on his cross-wind and had no idea that it was me. I don't know if he even realized that there was a blind jumper on the lift, a definite mistake on my part. It looks like my days of solo jumps are pretty much over. I don't think I will get back in the air without another skydiver with an air-to-air radio on, to talk me down if we are off DZ. I am getting too old for this shit. I can't imagine that my luck will hold out through another no-radio landing. I will get back into doing RW and will always have one jumper with air-to-air. It might limit my jumps a bit, but I'd rather not have to go through this again. Flare when you hear the crickets. Dan Rossi --------------------------------------- . "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

In my 1st log book (the one they give students) The 1st jump was marked "cleared to level 2" The 2nd was was marked "needs to relax more" The 3rd was marked "Relax!" The 4th (which I failed) had RELAX RELAX RELAX written in bold letters, along with the sad words "repeat level 4" Relaxing will come to you and when it does you will wonder why it took so long. Even after you "get" the relaxing mode you will tense up at times until relaxing becomes 2nd nature. The thing is though you will know you aren't relaxed and correct it. good luck . "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

That was not nice ! Phutth~ . "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Random thoughts during freefall in (...) star (cool, we all made it) compressed accordian (why am I reaching for grip) some odd flake formation(who the hell designed this formation) star (we are all still here, good,good) (uhh...what's the next point?) (Why are all the other jumpers in the wrong slots?) . "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james