jlkskycam

In real life I'm a television production freelancer and the closest thing I have to a real job is baseball season when I regularely shoot the Houston Astros. It's a pretty easy gig and I enjoy it - stress is pretty low. ***BUT*** These last two years with their runs for the playoffs, the playoffs, and this year making it to the World Series for the first time - yeah, there was just a little stress up at work in September and October. Also, that 18 inning game where they closed out Atlanta in the NLDS...geez, almost killed me. But, for most of the season, at least - it's a pretty stress-free job. Oh yeah, I bought my beer - I'd never been to a World Series before...let alone get paid to shoot one.

This really dates me... Used to have (it was my older brother's) a windup version of the "SeaView" from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. You'd wind that sucker up, turn it loose in the pool, and it was pretty stable as it would chug along, underwater or on top. Also had a submarine (it was mine) that you put these little tablets in and the sub would submerge and then surface(!) - all by itself!!! The Seaview as pretty stupid. I think when all wa said and done, the favorite toy, in a whole host of iterrations, types, and reconfigurations was a simple, windup, rubber-band powered, balsa wood airplane. Used to love those things. Took a couple and created a twin boomed "P38" which flew like a motherfucker. Experimented with rocket motors and explosives on those things. Okay - so I'm old...

No joke - I believe they were called "Knockers" and we loved to play with 'em. They were kinda like num-chucks (spelling?) in practice in that there was always someone who thought they were getting real good with 'em and would be working 'em back and forth at a high stacatto and the concentration would lapse a little and CLAKKK!!! Nice shot to the skull. Always funny when it happened to someone else. But, for real, we called 'em Knockers...and we played with 'em...

Kewl....I am making that next on my "Stephenson" list, thanks.

They should be placed in a room full of people chirping, "That's just wrong!" over and over until God answers their prayers for death.

Not lately but I remember once hurling "Interview With a Vampire" up against the wall.

Yeah, I came across Cryptonomicon by accident right when it came out - forked over the bicks, got the huge mucking hardback and tore through it - probably my 2nd favorite of his after Snowcrash.

Don't talk about Fight Club.

Re-read these recently: "Snowcrash," by Neal Stephenson "Lord of Light," by Roger Zelazney "Protector," by Larry Niven "The Wars of the Roses," by Alison Wier

10 times or mo' Some are better than others but I know I've seen all of the below at least 10 times and I could geekily talk for hours about them... Seven Samurai Lawrence of Arabia J-men Forever Rock n' Roll High School 200 Motels The Wind and the Lion A Clockwork Orange Eraserhead King Kong (1933) Planet of the Apes (1969?) Star Trek II - Wrath of Khan Das Boot Henry V (Branagh) Richard III (McKellan) The Kids Are All Right This Is Spinal Tap Hope and Glory White Hunter, Black Heart The Treasure of Sierra Madre Blazing Saddles Kagemusha Young Frankenstein The Producers (Zero Mostel) Empire of the Sun Raging Bull John Carpenter's The Thing The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Monty Python & The Holy Grail Ran

attached??? pardon me while I flail... fuggit - it's here http://users2.ev1.net/~hinsonll/Jerry.htm

hmmm...didn't attach - I'll try again...apologies...

She made a few jumps...

-Not- my greatest shit story - saving it for the novel (heh) But - at my first dz where I learned, there was a good friend of mine who came up with a really crazy game/tradition called, "The Keeper Game." I can't remember the exact qualification which made a turd a "keeper" or not - I think the rules said it had to be at least 12" long or have a 12" circumfrence was also acceptable. In any case, if you discovered you had indeed accomplished such a feat (of derring-doo), you were supposed to not flush, but step out of the bathroom (once you had finished and washed your hands, ect.) and ring a special bell - thus informing the rest that a "Keeper" had come into being - which was the cue for interested parties to inspect, admire, and/or otherwise comment upon. No one ever actually made a "Keeper" announcement but we discussed it several times. Later, a whole knew genus of terms were thrown about to describe different types, the the "Ghost," "Ranger," and "Snake Charmer (usually harmless)," as examples and many of these different types were later described on various websites - I think one was called the "Shitlist," or something. The whole thing was definitely a bad-weather-bored-skydiver, kinda affair. Okay - here's my favorite shit - maybe not the most impressive but it was memorable. In Frankfurt, Germany, on the main square in the center of town there is or used to be a Burger-King which was apparently built into an old, multi-story post office - flagstones, old-world charm, - really a nice building for fast-food. I went inside to take a dump and the bathroom was upstairs. I get to the stall which is facing a large window and it is open. I sit down, get down to business, and in the process enjoyed this really grand view of the plaza. Ah, memories... -Jerry

Well...there's the bits about enthusiasm, ability, eye contact, and all of that but, speaking for myself, sans teeth, you'd never hear me complaining!

The feeling's mutual - thanks! If we ever cross paths I'll be sure to mention this thread...and, ummm...DUCK!

Who ever did was obviously screwing up. Heheheh - not to worry - except for the being doomed part - no avoiding that! -Jerry

Probably so but the dingleberry's been pretty much neutralized. Not near the stupid roar in there than it used to be. Not near the trolls and rants, either. -Jerry

A bad one as in painfull, no. Maybe some disappointing ones when I was younger and was expecting more - then I got past the whole expectation thing and just went with it, enjoying whatever came of it - so to speak. : ) Beyond that, a few where the enthusiasm was clearly lacking and a few where a lack of experience was apparent but no worries. Also a few that were fanfuckingtastic

For what it's worth, yeah - I'm devoted. Talented? I haven't killed or hurt myself more than some scrapes, bumps, bruises, and a cut foot yet (knock wood). Competitive jumper - as much as I can be - Been team jumping for the last seven years. I don't think there really is one single level or bar of devotion that makes someone one day not quite successful and then all of a sudden successful the next. Like most things, it comes down to experience but that, like success is subjective. Focus - yes, that helps but never lose focus of the broader things like enjoying yourself and making it all work for you, as opposed to only focusing on being able to term yourself successful. Education is rarely ever a waste of time but here's some perspective - before I skydived I was a hardcore fencer (foil, epee, saber plus some historical studies), taught it too, and I had been doing it for over 16 years. After I started jumping I kept after it for a couple years but it was hard to serve two master and skydiving won out. It cost me some friends and a serious relationship but no regrets. I'd get that education and with that education, work towards enabling yourself to be able to jump as much as you'd like. If you want to become a very skilled jumper then, obviously, go out and jump as much as you can, keep an open mind, listen to what people have to say, think things through, and jump some more but understand, becoming "very skilled" is not the be all to end all - in my experience it's the journey, not the destination. Perspective - I've been jumping for only just over ten years and have around 3500 jumps - and I'm still learning. By some measure I guess there's been some "success" in that I've competed on a National level numerous times, been lucky enough to jump with good folks who had good days and got some medals out of it, and as a video geek I get asked to jump a lot with people paying me to jump with them - but I don't do this for a living. I could but I know the situation would someday arise where I would have to make a jump to make rent or a car-payment or something when I didn't feel like jumping. No one should be jumping when they don't feel like it - that's not for me. I think everyone probably has a different story on how they went from being new to the sport to "skilled." I was lucky. I started at a good dz with good people who were cool enough to let me along on their jumps and tell me I was screwing up when I screwed up - plus teach me how to not screw up the next time around. I tried video when I had around a hundred fifty jumps and did good but decided that I really needed to get at least a few hundred more rw jumps under my belt before I began to work at it hardcore since there's lots of variables being thrown into the skydiving mix when you're strapping on cameras and flying over people. When I did get to the point of doing vid on a regular basis (couple hundred jumps later and had my own gear) I was lucky in that I almost immediately hooked up with a good (and patient) team early on and we made a lot of jumps over a relatively short period of time so the learning curve was significant. I also have a good friend who at the time, took the time to look at my video and tell me what was good, what sucked, and how to do it better. After that I was a "known quantity" and I was afforded lots of opportunities to jump and jump a lot - which I took advantage of. I've been asked on some cool jumps into cool places and some of my skydiving friends are "famous." Still, when you get down to it - just having a great skydive and getting down smiling and packing to do it all again or talking about the day's skydives with my friends while knocking back cold ones, is to me the real success. When you're smiling, that's when it's at its best for me. Important canopy stuff - hand in hand with getting "skilled" and being "successfull." When I first got my own gear I figured I better go with something on the seriously conservative side but my JM's told me what I needed was a little more radical but not overly so - I figured I should start with a F111 190 (I weigh 185 plus gear) but bought the recommended Saber170 (before the Saber2). Made 500 jumps on that before I downsized to a Batwing153. Made a thousand under that before I downsized to the Crossfire109. Made another probably 6-700 before I got a Crossfire104 - but I still jump the 109 along with the 104. The point here is that skydiving is not a race. There is no hurry and to try and rush it all just means you'll be cheating yourself in some other area. So, you want to be a devoted, talented, and competitive jumper - go for it. Jump as much as you can, keep your mind open, listen to everyone, new jumper and old, never promise more than you can deliver, err on the side of caution in all things - know that it is better to on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground, fly with your head a a swivel, when you screw-up take your lumps with grace, don't make excuses, don't blame others, don't rationalize, buy your beer, and jump as much as you can. Good luck! -Jerry

Hey Just keeping after the air that wants to breath in. Give it as little chance as possible - like, when you're on your stomach mashing out the air and working the material into the cocoon, just keep working it out, tucking, ect. When you get to your knees and are about to S-fold - keep after that air trying to creep in - use hands, elbows, head, whatever. For myself, been psycho-packing since early 96, right around the time Parachutist first ran the article and it's a perfectly fine packjob (I've jumped Sabers1's, Batwings, & Crossfires for most of my skydiving life) - really, just a pro-pack for the most part with a 180 degree line twist on layout (which gets removed later on) and rolling the cocoon like a sleeping bag instead of the S-fold. I'll pro-pack maybe twice a year to remind myself I can still do it but (for me) the psycho-pack is just way more time-efficient and the openings are certainly consistant (knock wood) - which I really prefer in loaded elliptical la-la land. Anyway, just keep at it and you'll get it down to the point to where you'll almost forget how tricky it was learning how to pack when you started. Also, a really good habit to get into is good habits. In other words, try to pack the same way, front to back, in the same sequence, checking the same things, in the same order, every time you do it. Kinda like a pre-flight checklist if you follow. It's just a good idea and it will enhance your ability to spot anything potentially wrong with your parachute system as you pack. Good luck! -Jerry

I have this on tape - it happened a year or so(?) before I started jumping - 93 or 94, I think. It goes something like this near as I can remember - I haven't looked at it in several years: Video shows large student canopy, going from right to left and soon a MetLife blimp comes into view on the left, parked on the field at Beaumont Municipal. The student drifts closer towards the blimp. Camera-guy: Turn left...TURN LEFT!!! (softly to himself) get the f**K away from that blimp... The student drifts closer... Cameraguy: NO!!! Student flies into the side of the blimp - probably about 30' up in the air. Blimp: WHANG! Canopy collapses, student slides/falls down side of the blimp, canopy starts to reinflate, surges forward a little, student actually does a decent PLF. (there's a pregnant pause...then...) Cameraguy: COOL DEAL BUDDY!!! Student picks himself up and starts gathering up his main. Student: (kinda laughing) She flew me into a blimp! Cameraguy: (also laughing) You're not supposed to hit the blimp! Student: I hope they don't mind... Cameraguy: Well, they'll have to get over it! Two other people run into frame from the right, hurriedly, craning their necks upwards and checking out where the student pasted the blimp - no apparent damage. True story. Also - I remember someone out there saying the cameraguy later tried to send it to RealTV but they turned it down - said it was clearly staged. -Jerry

I'm kinda new to the posting vids and stuff on dz.com and right now I don't have mpeg conversion capability. (any free software out there???) I mean - I could post an avi (I can render to that) but it would be huge. Is there a preferred compressed format to post with? Like .rm or or a .mov or something? I'll post it if I can keep the bandwidth down to a dull roar, and I'm open to suggestions. Yes...I'm dialup... -Jerry

Kind of a pity there wasn't 2nd video - I mean, there's my angle which shows what is happening but I really wasn't thinking video when I was grabbing the helmet and it's a .5 perspective - not what I would call super wide - you do see my arm reach over and grab it off of her and pull it out of frame (and a little bit of the helmet flopping around in front of the camera before I got it back over my wing) and -of course - the rest of the dive which to me is the best part - I was being paid to shoot 4way and for a moment I thought about dumping as soon as I got the helmet but -screw that- I wanted to see if I could fly camera worth a fig with a helmet flopping in the wind (ultimately managed to rotate my wrist/grip on it to where the interior was angle up and the drag wasn't enough that I couldn't fly with it there. Maybe tomorrow I'll grab some frames if there are any worthwhile. The funny thing was that when I walked into the packing area winking and pointing to the extra helmet I had with me, people at first thought I had *caught* it. Yeah, right. -Jerry

Okay - fair enough. I got a several hugs and kisses for the effort (and a fair amount of free beer) so, what the hey - guess a case will have to be forthcoming. -Jerry