PROGRESSIVE

I've recieved this picture from one of my visitors. I don't even remember when this was taken, or the condition I was in. Note the drains laying on my chest due to my punctured lung, broken pelvis and leg. I pounded in hard!

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Just saw a blip on the news regarding Black Water. A company that is being operated by skydivers. Apparently, they are under investigation due to excess force used in Iraq? I couldn't get the full story. Anyone out there know anything regarding this?

I'm leaving this nursing home tomorrow! People here are literally dying to get out of this place! I'm still in a wheel chair, but as soon as my pelvis heals to the point where it can bare weight, I'm going to learn to walk again! This is a road I don't ever want to travel on again. Pete PS: The attachment is the TLSO that I have to wear for the next month due to my broken back.

I'm currently living in a nursing home due to a hang gliding accident (which you have read my post on). Its disgusting how familys drop off there love ones here and visit them on rare occasion, or in some cases not at all. The people here just whither away. Moaning, groaning, crying. I hate it here! Hospice is compassionate and caring, which is refreshing to see and hear about. Pete

Thanks guys/gals! I appreciate your well wishes. Getting hurt really sucks! Yep, a crash diet which results in loosing over 40 pounds is better achieved thru Wieght Watchers, or Jenny Craig. E.F.S! Pete

Thanks for the well wishes. The good news out of this whole nightmare is at the time of my accident I weighed 208 pounds. I'm now 170! Pete

I'm sitting in a nursing home, and have been for the last month, laying on my back with a fractured pelvis in five places, a lacerated liver, broken back and ribs, herneated disk, broken left tibia and a broken right shoulder. I've got pins and plates in my left tibia and throughout my pelvis, front and back. I was in ICU for 8 days, out of a 20 day stay. I have partial paralysis in both my calfs and feet. I will likely walk again with time. I crashed my hangglider! I've been hang gliding for over 21 yrs and never got into an accident until now. I've been skydiving since 1979 and only had a dislocated shoulder on a jump at Z Hills back in 1984. My wife and I recently adopted a baby boy last November, to give him a good life. I almost bought the farm and made my wife a single mom. I told my wife that I'm going to reduce my risks in life and spend more time with family...Wow, I never thought I'd say that! I hate the thought of giving up this sport of skydiving, but I hate it more here sitting in this God Forsaken Nursing Home with people crying for help 24/7. What a reality check! I slammed in my hangglider from 150 feet while towing in the remote part of Utah. No time to throw my chute. No time to do anything. I don't even remember the stupid flight. It cost someone $10,000 just to life flight me to the U of U hospital. It was another $130,000 for my hospital stay including surgerys. Its another $5,000 per month in this God Forsaken Nursing Home! I'm going to be okay, but Goddamn, I didn't see this coming! Pete PS: The ground is very hard and gravity sucks!

What is really a contradiction with the Park Service Regs regarding base jumping off El Cap, is running off Glacier Point with a hang gliding, which is perfectly acceptable. Why is it ok to run off a slab of granite for one group of people, but not the other? I really do think that the most damage that is being done to this awesome park is allowing such a high number of vehicles into the valley that is creates L.A. type smog. The list of arguments to allow base jumping is infinite. Too bad base jumping at this incredible place was short lived, and I don't even base jump! Pete

My wife and I got our open water PADI cert last year in the Dominican Republic. She too has one tandem skydive, but it wasn't something she got turned onto. Bummer. We recently went down to Marathon Key and looked up a guy by the name of Capt Sam. Good guy. We told him that we just got certified, had no gear and wanted to get into the ocean. He showed us 4 reefs on the Atlantic side. Fun. I couldn't resist but talk about skydiving at Marathon Key. Scuba is fun, but its not skydiving! Pete PS: I do believe scuba and skydiving is not a good mix however. Too extreme in atmospheric pressures.

"Man small, why fall? Skys call, that's all." Yeah, I've spent my youth paging through these books rather than doing my homework assignments. Ahh, the memories.

I discovered the DVD hanging up when I decided to have a little party at my friends house using his DVD player. When a small crowd gathered, I hit "play" What a joke! It would just hang up and stagger from frame to frame. Needless to say, I immediately lost the interest of my audience...Bummer! On my computer and on my home DVD player, there was no evidence of any problems with the DVD. Bottom line, I will use my DVD player when showing off my DVDs at partys, etc. because I know it'll work. Pete

Yep. The DVD+R is what was recommended to me. Also, replication is far more superior than duplication. DVDs at the video store are replicated. Duplicated DVDs are prone to hang ups with older DVD players, and in rare instances newer players as well. Replication is big bucks! The best advise from what I've learned is have one DVD produced without any other programs running, or e-mails coming in while its being burned. Make certain its a good burn by using several different players, such as your friends to ensure its a good burn. Then, take the DVD and have it professionally duplicated in a stand alone process for a nominal fee. All DVDs have errors, but the newer DVD players are more accurate in translating the data with fewer, or no hang ups. The older players suck! This is all new info that I've recently obtained. This madness all started by purchasing a cam helmet...dooh! Pete

Another question regarding this program. I've mass produced several DVDs and found that on some the DVDs the footage hesitates, or hangs up in certain segments of the film. I've cleaned up my DVD player, which has helped, but has not eliminated this problem. Other DVDs that I've burned are perfect, no jerky frames or hang ups. Is this problem due to a bad DVD burner, or is it the Pinnicle software, such as when its rendering? Pete

Question: Why do I get an error when I try to write on a DVD RW-R disk after rendering? The error is either "disk is full", or "disk is not compatible." The disk is fresh out of the box and I've burned prior disks from the same box successfully. I have tossed these "bad" disks aside and wittle down the box of disks until one is finally accepted. Are these disks truly bad, or is it a problem with my DVD burner? Pete

I loved that sceen where everyone was hanging out of the Beach with the one guy waiving continuously at the chase/filming plane. This was followed by the guy that slid down the top of the beach striking his head on the horizontal stabilizer...Ouch! Was this at Grand Gultch? Goolidge? Who were those guys? And who was the guy in Wings? where he flys into his "back in" slot from about 25 feet away? Smooth! USPA should resurrect these classics and sell them for the origanization and for the owner of these films. I think there's enough interest, especially for the older crowd. Pete

Thanks! Good memory! Those old flicks are really special. I started skydiving in 79 at the age of 16. We would all huddled in the hanger at Baldwin, Wisconsin watching these movies as it would thounderstorm outside. As soon as the weather cleared we would be so amped up that we would routinely funnel an 8 way. Back then we would have to fly the 180 and 182 in formation in order to attempt something like this. 30 minutes to altitude, 9,500. Aaah, those were the days! Pete

Question, what poem does Carl Boenish have at the end of his movie? Something like "...pursuing your dreams and willing to pay the price?" Pete

Thanks for the advice. I'll get the adaptor to mount on my FF2 and a cutaway system. I will most likely get the bite switch for snapping pictures. Pete

Is there any demand, or advantage in mounting a regular 35 mm camera to a FF2 helmet, rather than a digital camera, or are those days long gone? I want to include stills with my video helmet, and I have a perfectly good 35 mm camera, but am I just better off purchasing a digital camera? Pete

I met Dave Floyd, aka Pink Floyd out at Baldwin Wis, prior to him moving down to Z-Hills. I was 17 yrs old jumping a Mark I Paracommander and he was trying to sell me an SST Racer with the velcro pud, aka dildoe, for a pullout PC. I believe it had a Strato Star in it. That rig was considered hard core and beyond me. He made quite an impression when him and JQ rolled out of Q's car when they first pulled up to the hanger. They stumbled out of the car and rolled onto the ground with a bottle of booze in hand. Randy Iverson, the drop zone owner at that time, was a bit concerned about drinking and smoking pot prior to jumping. They convinced Randy that they were just fine and Pink made a jump with me. I had a mal on that jump and landed in local cemetary under a Super 22 reserve That was in 1980? or so. Time sure does fly!

DC3's certainly have a following. It was a real treat to jump out of Mr. Douglas, Agent Orange (except for the smell), Southern Cross, etc. My favorite was jumping out at Coolidge in 83? from the DC4, that apparently was previously owned by John Travolta. My buddys and I came up from Marana, AZ after the Collegiates Comp, and I had the bright idea of jumping without a helmet in December...burrrr. I thought I'd be cooool! Jumping out of Mr Coors D18, in Minnesota was also a treat. Small door though. Those were the days! Pete

Yep, both pictures were taken on the same jump. The guy I was hooking up with in free fall is Mike Emerson. The people from Stanton, Mn came out to Baldwin for the weekend I think the jump was kind of illegal. To much cloud cover. Oops! Pete PS: Nice to hear from JQ Jr.

I dug this one up. I was 16 at the time (1980), and I didn't care about Prom, Homecoming, etc. I just wanted to skydive! Gear: Stylemaster harness and container. Mark IV paracommander with full sleeve deployment bag. 26ft round canopy for reserve with a four line release system with MA1 military pilot chute with a kicker plate. 2 shot cutaway system-R2s? Broke the bank at $450.00 Jumpsuit: A 2 piece Silly Suit. Helmet: K-mart motorcycle helmet. Boots: French paraboots. I was "HOT!" Pete

Just heard that a long time friend, skydiver, hang gliding pilot, base jumper, climber just committed suicide at Joshua Tree, California, March 13th. Rollie was a long time E-teamer who was known for flying far on his hang glider from Lake Elsinore, CA, and for turning points while skydiving among friends. He seemed to do it all, and doing it well. I will miss him. Blue skies my friend, until we meet again. Pete