tbrown

Well, it was a plea bargain deal. Plea bargains trade lighter sentences in exchange for sparing the trouble and expense of a trial. Also just saw a headline that his wife is taking the kids and divorcing him. That's a no brainer, hope she can clean out all his Subway money. His life is ruined, 5 to 12 1/2 years in the jug should do him, if he can even survive. I'd think he'd be a prime target on some lifer's wish list. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Prohibiting the CSA flag will be about as useful as the prohibitions of alcohol and marijuana - and we ALL now how wildly successful those were/are. It seems to be part of the modern American temperament that all we have to do is ban something (like teen sex) and all our problems will go away. Ban the "stars and bars" and - poof - no more racism; Martin Luther King's work will be completed. Ain't gonna happen. Much as I don't care for that flag, what it stands for, or SOME (not all) of the people who embrace it, I will argue that its display is Constitutionally protected free speech. Same as granting the KKK permits to rally, so long as they can behave themselves in public. Our freedoms have to include the freedom to hold our noses and allow expressions of views that make our stomachs churn. Freedom can be a hard thing to live up to sometimes, but we have to do it - or piss it all away. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Use a RSL or MARD. The one cutaway I had in eleven years, my RSL had me at line stretch as I was pulling the ripcord handle out of its pocket (an I used the "old school" method of one hand on each handle). I was really impressed with how that worked, pulled the ripcord all the way anyhow (an empty pull), but the peace of mind of being opened so quickly was well worth it. Besides, too many people have bounced from chopping too low with no RSL and then not being able to find the other handle.

I might add there was also a time when the Forums listed the responsible monitors for each Forum, right at the top of the page. I went looking for that last night, as I wanted to message whichever monitor was asleep at the wheel for Incidents - but the monitor listings are no longer there. This is inexcusable. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Two recent fatalities have pointed up the need for tighter control over posts on the Incidents forum. One was Jessica Edgeington's unfortunate death in Deland. A number of Deland jumpers expressed their open contempt for dropzone.com and its "armchair quarterbacks" and said we could just chill out a while before they exposed Jessica to the flaming trolls. Second was yesterday's tragic loss of Bud LaPointe at Elsinore, during the SOS Record jumps. The thread was no sooner started than one asshole immediately labelled Bud a "dangerous jumper", then Asshole #2 started whining about how Elsinore is an "unsafe dropzone" because he was once cut off by a swooper there (poor baby, that NEVER happens anywhere else....). There is one safeguard to the Incidents forum, in that it can only be accessed by registered dropzone users. However, that is no longer enough. I now feel it is necessary to require pre-screening by the monitors before ANY reports or comments can be posted on Incidents. So many comments are simply flaming, trolling, or otherwise completely irrelevant that they have destroyed this website's reputation. There was once a time when dropzone.com represented a real skydiving community, one that even hosted its own boogies. Those days are long gone. It's time dropzone did something to lift its reputation out of the gutter or throw in the towel. At the very least, you could show more RESPECT for our fallen comrades. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If this had happened in Amurica, the shooters would've just been exercising their Constitooshunal rights to shoot anybody they don't like and we'd put it on the Sports Page, where 14 would make for a pretty impressive score. The French seem to feel differently. France has had a long history of terrorist attacks and already have a lot of feeling stirred up about Muslim immigration. I think the French will be taking a rapid swing to the far right after this. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I have very strong feelings that the Presidency should not become a dynasty of any family, regardless of party. We have had two father/son combinations, two 5th cousins (who were two of our greatest Presidents), and one grandfather/grandson. In 1968 we might have had 2 brothers, but RFK was assassinated. Now it looks like we could have a son & brother candidate running against a former First Lady candidate - and it sickens me. The White House is not the personal property of any family. After FDR was elected 4 times, the Constitution was amended to impose the only Federal term limit on the books. Perhaps we need another amendment to impose a twenty year minimum limit on a defined set of immediate family relations filling the office of either President or Vice President. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

No. For a friend I would do all I could to help secure their release, find a good lawyer, offer to testify and so on. But fight with a cop to prevent the arrest ? I don't think so. Being shot to death, beat to a pulp, or tasered into cardiac arrest have no appeal for me. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I had to think a while about whether it was the Civil War or WWII and had to decide it was WWII. Politically and economically, the Second World War launched the U.S. as the undisputed world power for the rest of the 20th century at least. At home, the War finally ended the Great Depression with full employment, and though there have been a series of recessions since then, we've never looked back. Not even with this very bad last recession. Culturally, the peace that followed the war created the modern America we all grew up with. A whole generation of veterans got educations that had been unreachable for any but the rich in past generations. A whole new class of degreed professionals was created from the children of farmers and factory workers. People started moving out of their old, strictly ethnic neighborhoods. They met - and married other people who came from somewhere else. My all Irish dad from Queens, NY met and married my mom from Florida. He was a fireman's kid who joined the Navy, then used his GI Bill to become a banker and eventually retired as a senior vice president of a major Boston bank. Finally, the experience of returning Black veterans to a country that practiced the same old segregation brought about the growing pressure to bring about meaningful civil rights and integration. Which is still not perfect, but has come a long way, because of returning veterans who simply wouldn't take it anymore. The Second World War reshaped the U.S. into the modern country that it is today. We wouldn't even recognize the kind of backward country we'd left behind. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

So ah, anybody heard any good Bill Cosby jokes ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Love that joke. The way I heard it, from my wife, is that the ladies who went to charm school say, "How nice..." instead of "Fuck you bitch !" Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Odd that nobody has said "Fuck Tanzania" as yet. What kind of country sells out the land from under its own indigenous people to foreigners ? For some historic background in our own sport, the 1983 World Championships were held in Sun City, South Africa, in the days of the apartheid regime. Some of you may remember Bruce Springsteen's song, "Ain't Gonna Play in Sun City". Well, the U.S. 4 Way champs (Army) didn't go, because Defense Dept policy wouldn't allow it. The 8 Way team (Perris Visions) went because it was "just a sport" and they wanted gold. Which they easily won, because most of the contender teams boycotted the meet. So many teams boycotted the meet, that FAI sanctioned an alternate meet with World Cup status in Abbotsford, BC. Mirror Image represented the U.S. in 8 Way, and I forget who went for the 4 Way (Army ? not sure...). Dubai is an evil country, built on slave labor from Bangla Desh. If you do go anyway, DON'T get into debt there, because you CANNOT leave the country 'til all your debts are paid in full. If you cannot pay, you go to JAIL - and there's no air conditioning in the Dubai slammer. So, we're all free to make our own moral choices. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

On a Julie Andrews theme, how about "Spoonful of Sugar", from Mary Poppins ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Yeah, he died this morning. Now they're trying to figure out what to do with the body. Absolutely clueless, like nobody considered the "what if" that he might not pull through. CDC says cremation without delay is best, with the body removed in double leak proof body bags. But from what I'm reading, they're sitting on their thumbs, waiting for guidance from heaven only knows where. I sure hope the family and hospital staff will be alright, I'd hate to hear that any of them got sick from this. I might also suggest that Texas doesn't sound like a very good place to get Ebola... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Um too late? The thing that gripes me is that the first time the guy went to the ER, he TOLD them he'd just come from Liberia - and they sent him home anyway. So two days later, they had to send an ambulance to bring him in and he was puking in the ambulance. Now those EMTs are under quarantine at home for 21 days and there are up to 18 known contacts, including school children, who are being monitored. The kids are still in school, by the way... I'd say all around that the health authorities are working very hard to fuck this thing up any way they can. As an update, the number of possible exposures from this major fuck-up is now closer to 80, and not 18 as reported yesterday. Plus, the poor guy was not only puking in the ambulance, but apparently "all over the place" on the sidewalk outside the apartment house as well. This, according to a neighbor witness. But don't worry, don't panic. Rick Perry is all over this thing, it's gonna get him into the White House one way or the other. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Um too late? The thing that gripes me is that the first time the guy went to the ER, he TOLD them he'd just come from Liberia - and they sent him home anyway. So two days later, they had to send an ambulance to bring him in and he was puking in the ambulance. Now those EMTs are under quarantine at home for 21 days and there are up to 18 known contacts, including school children, who are being monitored. The kids are still in school, by the way... I'd say all around that the health authorities are working very hard to fuck this thing up any way they can. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

In point of fact, there was already an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. in 1989. A monkey quarantine house (for imported laboratory monkeys) in Reston, VA had an outbreak and 90% of the monkeys died. Two or three humans were also infected. This monkey house was next door to a daycare facility and barely 8 miles from the White House. The strain was even identified with its own unique name: Ebola Reston. Thankfully, the humans, though infected, never became seriously ill. It seems Ebola Reston was a fairly benign strain of the virus. A US Army team from USAMRID at Ft. Detrick, MD moved in and killed every living thing in the monkey house, right down to the microscopic level. You can read all about it in Robert Preston's excellent "The Hot Zone" (1995). Stephen King even called it the most frightening book he'd ever read - "it just kept getting worse". So it's not like it hasn't already happened - a LONG TIME AGO. The bigger issue is the unreasoning hysteria that comes with outbreaks of diseases. Hysteria and bad information are some of the leading causes of the rapid spread of the current African outbreak. Here in America, good old Donald Trump himself is stirring up the shit with his own hysterical Twitters. So everybody take a deep breath, chill out, wash your hands frequently, and don't go touching any Ebola victims. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I am not really an open carry advocate.. why go out of your way to antagonize the idiots and scare the poor fuckers who are already afraid of their own shadows.. I believe this has come about because of some a-holes who insist on showing up, often in groups, with their AK's. The same people who burned their lifetime NRA membership cards when NRA suggested they should perhaps cool it just a bit. I don't think Target will make a fuss about concealed carry, they just don't want the a-holes strutting around to make their point. Besides, it IS their store and they can do as they like. Anyone who doesn't like it can go to Walmart. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I agree that you might have used free assembly as an upfront negotiating tactic, but it seems that didn't happen. Nobody's fault, but that ship has sailed. You're not just looking for a pack job, you're looking for (or should be looking for) complete inspection of ALL components, as well as the installation and assembly of those components - correctly done. Believe me, there are some riggers who can - and have - done it wrong. Happened to me on a rig once long, long ago (1978, so nobody I know now). If at all possible, you should be there to observe and learn. Choose a rigger the way you would choose a pediatrician. And everybody, let's drop the "douchy" bs. I realize this the dramazone, but let's ALL be adults. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The military surplus stuff could be pretty tough, at best it was like jumping off something 3-5 ft. high. But there were sport rounds that you could make comfortable stand up landings with. I had a MK-I Paracommander that landed very nicely. I even switched over from boots to sneakers and traded in my Bell helmet for a Cooper hockey helmet. My 21 ft. Sparrow main gave decent standups, though not as nice or consistent as the PC. The sport reserves were low porosity too and I made some okay standup landings with my Security 26 ft Lopo, which I continued to jump even though I had a 230 ft. 7 cell main. (When square reserves first came out, a lot of us took a "wait & see" attitude, partly for the expense and partly because we trusted the sport rounds - they were reliable.) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's an outstanding video, captures the spirit perfectly. USPA should try making such a video, but I don't think they have the imagination for it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Basically, I prefer music, songs with melodies. I don't like most rap or hip-hop, but there is some that is brilliant. As with any style of music, some is brilliant and the rest is all crap. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If you do a lot of CRW (CF) or have cameras on your helmet, I can see a reasonable excuse not to use a RSL / MARD system. But anyone else ? Reminds me of the anti seatbelt crowd, who used to say it was "safer" to be ejected from the vehicle. The only cutaway I had in the last eleven years was with a RSL. I hit line stretch as I was pulling my reserve handle loose from its pocket. I was impressed. Pulled the reserve handle anyway, it was my responsibility to pull it, even if it was an empty pull. I'm saying this as someone who "back in the day" made over 500 jumps with neither a RSL or AAD. Nowadays I've got them both. Both are BACKUPS, I don't rely on either of them. Damn glad I've got them though - they're a big IMPROVEMENT. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I once called a government official a dickhead to his face, in front of my boss and entire department. Wasn't fired either, my boss never said a word about it. The government guy actually tried to be more courteous after that. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I used to love napping on DC-3s. The long ride up and deep radial hum was perfect. But if anything happened at all, everybody would wake up real quick (like one time the engine noise stopped completely - everyone was not only wide awake, but on their feet 'til the pilot got things back to normal). Nowadays the ride is so much quicker, but it's still nice to close the eyes and zone a bit. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !