kimemerson

Potato Head? Are you out there? Tell them about landing a Mr. Bill. Now that's where the oversized testicular function comes into play.

BOCs showed up in about 1990-'91. At first people just had their rigs modified but soon enough they became standard, maybe by 1995 or so. Why? Well, the position creates a natural throw; With ROL you would have to pull the PC forward to get it out of the pocket, then toss it behind you a bit. BOC is all one, clean direction. You extract and release right where the PC belongs. (I'm not describing this well). Also, there's nothing to twist up. The pocket stays right where it belongs so there's no chance of locking up the PC or its pocket, like you could with the belly band. There's also no Velcro or exposed bridle.

"Pericolo caduta pazzi " Danger, crazy faller?"

A friend in the '60's used to say, "If some is good, more is better." And though he was talking about hallucinogenics, I believe it applies here as well.

Ok, someone help me with this. The gesture of the TI, as of now, is not certain. So far it's all speculation. We can see it's not the finger. But if it's the "You're #!", that's considered unprofessional? That's taboo? What if it were a thumbs up? What about a high five on the ground captured for posterity? You're saying that,in effect, whenever a TM gesticulates in any fashion it is unprofessional and to be avoided and not shown to the student? Or just certain gestures? Like ones that essentially say "Good job" "Yahoo" "Isn't this fun?" "Welcome to skydiving"...? Am I to believe a TI is expected to remain a button down, conservative, emotion-free, expressionless android who is not allowed to engage with a student? I can see this being a matter of individual choice. But unprofessional? I also note that a disproportionate amount of the postings here are by people reacting to hearsay and have not actually seen the photo. And much of that hearsay is guessing at what the gesture in question is or means. How can anyone offer an opinion based on ignorance and speculation and without a shred of evidence? Remember when Senator Bill Frist diagnosed Terri Schaivo after watching her on video? People. relax. I find it at once interesting and disturbing that judgement is being passed while no one knows diddly about any of it. No one so far knows the TI. No one so far knows the relationship between the TI & student. No one so far knows what they talked about before. And no one seems capable of allowing a simple, non-threatening, non-vulgar, culturally accepted gesture of goodwill. We came here to have fun people. Let's.

If I'm not mistaken, the beer-for-firsts tradition has to do with surviving the sport and celebrating that fact. So beer firsts were for accomplishments of a certain value rather than just every little milestone. So going from 2 way to three way to four way would not really qualify as I see it. Getting to 100 jumps, a first malfunction/reserve ride, instructional ratings... these carry more weight and so are celebrated with the beer. Otherwise it could all be trivialized and beer firsts could be for absolutely anything. First pack job, first stand up landing, first new main, new container, new jumpsuit, new gear bag, first time going low, first time floating, first every damn plane we can get under your ass... I'm much more in favor of reserving the beer-for-firsts for something of real merit. Then again, just nailing some poor unsuspecting tyro is also worth the laugh just to watch their faces and see them trot of to the deli. And just to clear things up on one issue: If you owe beer - for whatever reason - and you don't drink yourself, keep in mind the beer if for distribution to others and not necessarily about what you drink. And as long as we are making our own versions of traditions (is that oxymoronic?), why must it be beer? Let's get some variety here, folks.

In deLand in about '92 when the South African (can't remember if it was 4 or 8 way) team was training, they all had Pintails. We used to make it a point to be out of the packing hangar as the Otter came around on jump run so we could catch the mals as they happened. It was a regular event, no fewer than one a load. Sometimes more. Mike in manifest would announce it. Ah, Pintails. Thanks for the memory jog.

Does this help?

(Warning: Newbie Question) Can someone help me understand WHY the camera guy in this video, would deliberately fly into the cutaway canopy? It doesn't make much sense to me? Sure it was an interesting video, but I am at a loss for what the cmaera guy was thinking!! I'd guess he just had poor aim. He was likely trying to be higher than he was and to try to snag the main in his feet, not in is own main. It's a good example of how it can go wrong right from the get go.

I mean "ignorant" only in the sense that one has no knowledge of something. I don't mean it as a derogatory comment at all. If someone doesn't know something, they are, simply stated, ignorant. If all anyone has seen is people using milk jugs with rocks in them, they are likely ignorant to the fact that people before them did not use weights. No fault. No blame. Just ignorant of the fact. I apologize if I was taken as saying anything harsh. Keeping risers even is a matter of how one lays out the container. Tying them together is unnecessary. To the other post (can't remember who) about using weights on the canopy in the wind in the old days: I think we're talking something different here. Weighting down the canopy against the wind is one thing. Weighting the container end so it doesn't slip is another.

Generally, a sliding container should not pose a problem. Unless space is severely limited, what does it matter if you move a bit? Also, insisting on tight lines while packing is more or less a throwback to rounds. Packing a square can be done is less space than the container and lines will take. In other words, you can pack a square main in a closet if you have to and all will be fine. It's been done. Racers were always very light and did indeed slide several feet. Packing a Racer on a tarp - as opposed to carpet or grass - meant you needed about 50 yards of packing space.But a packer can learn how not to just keep sliding right out the door without the use of a weight. First step is not being intimidated by lines that are not stretched out as you pack. You can recover the tautness as you stow. Easy, really. Gus Wing, famous for his packing, would actually put a single coil in his lines after he laid down the canopy. I never knew why, and it was always taken out before he stowed his lines. But Gus is dead so we'll have to wait for his answer on that. Container sliding generally only happens before the canopy is laid down. So why the weight after that? My whole thing in this is that I love efficiency. I will always try to find a way to eliminate steps of a process without sacrificing quality. I try never to allow extra steps to be introduced if I can help it. And after packing probably over 20,000 pack jobs in my time as a packer, not once with a weight, I just see the use of a weight as primarily one of ignorance and of the packer coming along well after the practice had been established. How many times have I seen a packer scurry about to find some sort of weight as the as yet touched canopy lies in wait, untouched? If making $$ as a packer is your task, best to make up the loss of time looking for and caring for and using a weight when it is largely an extra step which eats away at efficiency. No team member wants to hear any shit about not making a load because the packer couldn't find a weight. Or couldn't pack without it. As Gus would say, "Give me hope." If I could be there with you I could show you. It's hard in writing. Bottom line: Weights are not a necessity for any aspect of packing. Not the lines, not the risers... nothing. But when you are starting out as a packer and all you see is packers lugging weights around from canopy to canopy, what else are you to assume unless you ask? Even then... Anyone who uses weights has not been shown how packing can be done without them, subscribes wholeheartedly to the notion that packing cannot be done without them, and has never thought to question the efficacy of their use. But why can't a tandem four line check be done without weights? That one has me fairly confused. Tandems are the heaviest of all rigs. they ARE weights!

weighting the container for packing is for people who have no clue what they are doing. They are unnecessary and are a burden. Don't get one. As the use is ubiquitous nowadays there are probably no packers left anymore who don't use them, so I know someone is going to come on here and defend the use. But they are all wrong. Give me one good reason why you need to weight the container and I'll show you why it just isn't true or necessary. Again, it is for the ignorant.

Ok, a guy who not only jumps at the Ranch but quotes Jacques Brel gets both respect and a reply. 1st, it's ok to say the word fuck, as in"fuck them". No harm done. 2nd: Years ago in DeLand, they used to have a ditch which separated the manifest/hangar/packing area from the landing area. The only way back was to cross a wooden bridge, and, naturally, a lot of people tried to land as near as possible to that bridge, in order to avoid the stress of a walk, I suppose. Then one day we had a canopy collision when there were not more than ten canopies in the air and it was because both pilots had initiated their turns into one another as they were setting up to land near the bridge. One of those two died at the scene (and in my arms). It became very apparent that Newton was correct in asserting that two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time without killing one of them. After this tragic day, Jack Jeffries, who was a local at the time, declared he was not going to land anywhere near that bridge again, that he would land farther out and walk, and more or less "fuck them" who say anything to him which might be taken as giving him shit. Well, Peter, if it's good enough for Jack it's good enough for the entire rest of the skydiving community and you just tell them so. So you land where you feel safest and fuck them. You make sure you stay safe and comfortable within your skills and fuck them. You walk if you want to and fuck them. Besides, this overweight American culture we thrive in could use the walk. So fuck them. Find me and say hello some weekend. Good for you.

Try posting on the Ranch forum, under "carpooling" here

well, I once bought a double cassette - two album's worth of Madness. And I found I could only tolerate the one song, "One Step Beyond", which seems to me to be quite a departure from "Our House". "One Step Beyond" was the only one i could listen to, and I honestly loved that song still. If I can find that tape, would you like to own it? More:(Don't you love youtube?) Asia: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-6GhodMhcik Cars:And this is just the one I chose. http://youtube.com/watch?v=ltoo2YLMri8 And who can forget (though that might be a desirable thing to do)http://youtube.com/watch?v=adaYUM5wl7c There are probably better videos, but... Loverboy:http://youtube.com/watch?v=IOciHcMWVT4&feature=related

Thank you!

Madness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIdfiCybLAE&feature=related One hit wonders. By that I mean one hit worth listening to. Flock of Seagulls if for no reason other than the absolutely brilliant fingering of the keyboardist. Stunning work, really. And such a looker! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUjIA3Rt7gk Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark. A lot of good tunes. Take your pick. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig2Q4Ub4TnM&feature=related Simply Red. Not a better known cover of a great Cole Porter song, but a good cover nevertheless. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig2Q4Ub4TnM&feature=related Violent Femmes: an inspiration to any would be vocalist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra8VTlXVqUQ

Because of the "force along the body's long axis"... wouldn't this phenomenon have a greater chance of causing the "...stomach in your throat' feeling on a roller-coaster...'"? on divers and freeflyers than on floaters?

yes. was. I glued it back. Arabic was one of my guesses. But I have no idea.

A friend gave this to me a few years ago and neither of us had a clue what it is. The image is cut into and painted on a stone-like material which is about 3/16" (10cm) thick x 2.5" (55cm) in diameter. Look at it at different angles and see if any makes sense. To me it looks like a signature, Fred Flinstone with a spliff, a caricature...

#5: Shotgun is responsible for the DRIVER'S decisions on climate, audio nav. etc. In all cases, Driver Rules. Shotgun is the driver's right hand and not a final decision maker.

yes. http://www.historyingranite.org/

Yeah, I'd like to see that video as well. Mike is a real character. That old Italian lady scenario just fits his general m.o. I'd love to catch up with him again someday.

I believe you are correct about the ESB as opposed to WTC. I knew Mike back in '90 or '91 and I heard a lot of his tales, which are well worth the listen, but I just didn't remember which NYC landmark he'd jumped. I believe he's also done the Eiffel Tower. Mike talked about how after doing the ESB he heard from Phillipe Pettit (?) and that they both had instant celebrity status in New York: Talk shows, free dining & hotel, they couldn't pay for anything. Any idea where Mike is and what he's up to these days? Also, I didn't know Sergio didn't jump after he snapped that famous shot. Thanks for the clarification.

I'm not sure about dates, but Mike McCarthy, a Brit, jumped it as did Van Rafuse. Both likely between Owen Quinn & Sergio and John Vincent. (I think I might have been John Vincent's JM for AFF at the Ranch. I know I worked with him and I think he may have had a BASE jump even before AFF. Not sure though.)