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Popeye ! Though when I was a bit older (like, nine), I really liked Johnny Quest a lot too. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

When LSD was still legal, If you've ever seen Janis or Jimi, If you know where you were the day JFK was shot, If your best friend's big brother was killed in Vietnam, If you cut your hair and went "Clean for Gene" in '68, You're an old fart. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Man of La Mancha and Fiddler On the Roof. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Aerodyne canopies are made in South Africa. That would include Pilot mains and Smart reserves. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Have you demo'd a Pilot ? Could be what you're looking for. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Speaking of Nimoy. This has to be something he regrets doing. Leonard Nimoy - Ballad of Bilbo Baggins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC73PHdQX04 Don't forget William Shatner's version of "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

All the bullshit umbrage aside, what the fuck did they expect when they hired prisoners to paint their cars ??? lmfao !!! The prisoners by the way are Vermont State prisoners and not Federal prisoners. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Most of the swoopers I've ever heard, or read in print, say right up front that it's pushing the envelope. Coming in that close, that fast, is pushing the envelope by definition. They say everyone who learns to swoop will crash sometime and even some of the very best can be hurt or killed on any given jump. That's pushing the envelope - and not a criticism. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Do yourself a favor: the first time you watch them, watch them in Swedish with subtitles. Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth) is so excellent in the part, and the rhythm, tempo and delivery and of her speech pattern, as well as her inflections, really is part of that. I've got to believe that some of that would be diluted in a dubbed version. Oh, but of course ! Have already watched them through in Swedish, with the subtitles. The English dub really isn't too bad, but isn't perfect either. Best English dubbed soundtrack EVER was for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. They NAILED it perfectly ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I once saw a fuelie walk between the fuselage and the prop of a twin otter... while it was running. fuck. that. I see that all the time at some major California dropzones I will not name. Pilots too, climbing in and out of their cockpit door. Makes me cringe every time because it just has to end badly one of these days. I don't want to be there to see it - or to have to wash the bloodstains off my rig and jumpsuit when it finally does happen. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Got totally hooked last summer, the writing sucked me right in by the second page. Read all three books in about four months. THEN, I just got the complete Swedish film box set for Xmas. All three movies, plus a fourth "making of" disc, with interviews, etc, that I haven't watched yet. The films are pretty good. Even with the Swedish versions, there are some departures from the story, but nothing too major. I suppose that's the fate of any book being made into a film anywhere. The Swedish set does have a pretty good dubbed in English language soundtrack, or you can watch the original Swedish with subtitles. I'm very leery of the American version, even though I like Daniel Craig. Looks like Hollywood formula is at work to transform Salander into a Goth sex bomb. Which is ironic since so much of the actual story is about the press doing exactly the same thing to her. The complete Swedish box set is available at Barnes & Noble. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

And hoping you make it back without a midair collision with someone else. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

They can date whoever they want (of course), but in most cases it just won't work. Whuffo guys have no patience with skydiving women. After a couple times at the dropzone, hollering about "aren't you finished YET ?", they get dumped by the roadside - where they belong. There are a few worthy exceptions, but they are rare indeed. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Last spring I started putting together an order for my custom "dream rig". I'd been jumping a very nice rig for the last seven years and it still has an original 2001 model Cypres. The original owner even had a Cypres fire after a very low pull, so I knew the thing worked. It's still in the old rig and has another year or so to go before retiring. So for my new rig I could have picked a Cypres 2 or a Vigil 2 - the only two AADs worth considering. I know I could have saved a couple hundred bucks with the Vigil - and avoided the hassle of mandatory services, because the Vigil "doesn't need them", or so they say. Vigil also has a 20 year lifespan, which I really don't have a problem with. But I work in quality control for a living and I'm leery of a sophisticated life saving product that "doesn't need" regular maintenance. I don't mind having my Cypres 2 tested, the batteries replaced, the software updated, and any necessary repairs identified and taken care of every 4 years. I LIKE that extra layer of attention to detail. I know AADs aren't perfect. I know the Cypres 2 isn't perfect and that anything can fail. I know an AAD only cuts the closing loop and cannot prevent a simple pilot chute hesitation. But I also know a couple people who've been saved by their AADs and that AADs have indeed changed the game for our sport. Unfortunately I keep hearing one incident report after another about the Vigil, the AAD that "doesn't need" maintenance until something "happens". I'll stick with the Cypres 2. I set it in the morning and then forget it's there. I am responsible for pulling my reserve handle. But as frightening as the idea of a reserve deployment at 750 ft. is, it still beats punching a crater by a mile. So my decision was to spend the extra money on a Cypres 2, and that is the AAD that is placed in my new rig.

Cobra 10 (1978) Viking Superlite (1979) 190 Spectre (2004) PD193R (2004) 210 Pilot (2004) 188 Pilot (2007) 188 ZPX Pilot (2011) 176 PD Optimum (2011) Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I've got a brand new ZPX Pilot, which is supposed to be easy to pack brand new (it ain't) and supposed to fit a whole size smaller (so far, it don't). I used to psycho pack a PD Spectre some years ago and always had good openings, so I decided to hell with it, let's do it again. Openings have been just fine and grabbing a rolled up canopy in one hand and stuffing it into the bag is super easy. Oddly enough, I still prefer the pro-pack, but that's probably because so many people make such a godawful stink about psycho packing. But I think it works just fine, especially for a snotty brand new canopy, so by all means, go for it ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

First pull my hand slipped off the hackey and I thought nothing of it. My second pull was more forceful, and that was when I realized the PC wasn't coming out. So, at this point I'm thinking, "Oh God, here comes a reserve ride" but I instead decided to try one more time and I reached back and really pulled for all I was worth. Got a little unstable doing so, but I got it out and had to kick a few line twists out. I think that's a fundamental mistake that too many of us make when we should all know better. If your hand slipped off the handle, by all means go for number two, it happens to us all. But if you get a grip on the handle and your p/c just won't come out, FORGET it ! I understand the thinking behind "oh god, here comes a reserve ride". I was thinking like that when I made a very serious mistake about 4 years ago, when I finally did get things under control - at 1200 ft. I don't know if it's just plain embarrassment or a fear of going to the reserve, but I think it's a real issue with our emotions and thought processes that has to be faced. You did alright because a.) you started your pull at 4 grand, and b.) pure dumb luck. You "got a little unstable", did you ? Uh-huh, that happens when we start improvising against what we've been trained to do. This is no time to start revising your emergency procedures, at moments like these things are moving faster than you think they are. If you'd started at or below three grand, you might easily have opened below a grand - or worse yet, decided you really did need your reserve after all. If the damn pilot chute won't come out for any reason, give it up and punch your reserve. Then, back on the ground you can get with a rigger and examine why the p/c is so knotted up in the first place. Glad you're okay - you were lucky this time. Don't do it again. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Don't forget that a lot us wear audibles as well. On my pilot chute in tow malfunction, I was waving off as my pull alarm sounded at 3 grand. The entire malfunction and EP drama took place as soon as I realized I was still lying on my belly when I should've been pulled upright. My hard deck never sounded (I set it for 2 grand) and when I reached up to grab the toggles on my reserve, my wrist alti was showing about 2 grand. Due to a VERY stupid mistake I made 4 years ago, the first thing I do with line twists is to immediately check my wrist alti. If the canopy is stable, I will try to kick out of the twists down to 1800. If I can't clear it by then, or if it starts to spin at any time, I'm going for my handles. Someone else raised the excellent point about being at the low end of your pull range. Usually I'm pulling at or just above 3 grand these days, so this gives me some time to fuss with line twists. But on something like a bigway, where I'm assigned a low pull altitude, there is little if any time for clearing twists or other problems. Especially if my hard deck has already sounded during line stretch & snivel. At that point, it's either good or gone. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'll have to dig out a logbook when I get home, but it was right around # 230, Memorial Day weekend at the PI dropzone in Orange, MA (currently the home of Jumptown). It was a simple 8 Way round, exited a Twin Beech at 10,500. Pretty sure I was the pin. We got it and held it a good little bit, down to breakoff at 3500 - standard operating procedure in those days ! SCR 8018. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Got my new ZPX Pilot (a 188) about a month ago. This is my third Pilot. I should mention that this time around I demo'd a Safire 2 and a Pulse as well before making my choice and decided to stick with the Pilot. This is a lighter canopy, I can feel the difference holding it when I pack. But contrary to the advertising, the thing is a real bitch to get in the bag, but no worse than any other brand new ZP, so I know that situation is already improving with time & a little patience. Also because it's brand new it traps a lot of air and so far is not packing smaller, but friends who have a couple hundred jumps on their ZPX's assure me it will start to pack dramatically smaller. I'm happy about the openings, which I think are a little bit quicker, but every bit as soft as the regular ZP version. It's fun to fly and has a great flare with lots of lift. I think once it gets broken in a little bit things are going to be just fine.

I recently bought a new rig, my choice being an Infinity system, which does not offer the Skyhook. I am concerned that the Skyhook can accidently be installed in reverse, which would prevent my reserve pilot chute from launching in the event of a total malfunction. I am concerned that through sheer carelessness, a rigger's loft could accidently use 50 lb. thread instead of the lightweight thread that a Skyhook is supposed to be packed with - again preventing reserve p/c deployment. From real experience, I am already impressed with how quickly and reliably a traditional RSL worked on the one cutaway I have had, with a different brand rig, where I hit line stretch on my reserve while pulling my reserve handle from its pocket in the harness. I am also interested in alternate MARD (main assisted reserve deployment) systems being developed by other rig makers. I am especially interested in a system being developed by Velocity Sports, the makers of my Infinity, that uses about $10 worth of harness webbing instead of the Skyhook's hard metal piece. If VSE can get their system TSO'd, I would be very interested in retrofitting my Velocity to use it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

100% agree on both points. Also, a consideration for Lodi: Don't land out ;) I've made two summer trips in a row to Lodi and had good times both times. But I'm also an "experienced" jumper with 1200 jumps. I don't have a problem with the 99 Fwy being right up against the fence - just fly the pattern. I find that Lodi skydivers are some of the most disciplined pattern canopy flyers I have ever jumped with. It took ME a liitle while to get used to that. The landing zone isn't all that big, but there are plenty of flat and level "outs" surrounding it. If you do have to land in the vineyards, you MUST land parallel to the grapes - you NEED to have confidence in your ability to make a crosswind or downwind landing, either of which is preferable to being impaled on a 8 ft. grape stake ! I found on both my visits that local jumpers and Bill Dause personally took the time to explain the pattern to me, pointing out features on the ground, on aerial photos, and in the air as we climbed out to altitude. I AM concerned with all the reports on maintenance violations. I'm also DEEPLY concerned with the fact that that nobody wears readily available seatbelts on takeoff. Even if they're the kind you just hook up to your harness - which I HATE - nobody wears them. My home DZ is Perris, which had a horrific crash of a twin Otter on takeoff in 1992, killing 17 of 21 people onboard. That crash was one of the events that pushed the FAA to require seatbelt compliance on takeoff, as so many of the deaths were caused by human body collisions on impact. For that reason. I cannot understand why Lodi is so proud of not using seatbelts which are both available AND required. And for that reason alone, I will not jump there anymore. I simply do not understand that kind of resistance to such a common sense regulation, even if I am attracted to an outlaw sense of "cool". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I don't believe any such thing. You are broadly overgeneralizing a view held by fundamentalists. There are a great many thinking Christians, many of whom, myself included, not only respect the beliefs of others, but have doubts and questions about our own beliefs. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Better yet, learn to slide. Onto one side, so you don't get a spinal injury either. I broke my tib in two places and tore my ankle apart on jump #630. It was my own damn stupid fault too. Learned my lesson and was back in the air not quite 6 months later - and ever since ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

That is one lucky bear ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !