NickDG

I wouldn't use the "G" word to describe what these guys are doing, but when woman like Dale Stewart and Diana Kent started what they called "freestyle" in the early 90s it definitely had a "feminine" edge to it. They were clearly being ballerinas in the sky. When men got into it like Perris's Robin Berg they added a skyboard to make it harder edged and more masculine looking but it was essentially the same thing. When freestyle became a team endeavor it's easy to see the male role more like that of men's ice dancing. I think a man and woman doing this, or better, a man and two woman would make this more palatable to our sensibilities. Right now there's no way around the fact this simply looks like three guys playing paddy cake in the sky. Twenty years from now one these guys will pull the only PARACHUTIST cover they made out to show a young Nephew and the response they'll probably get is, "Really?" Robin Berg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5P1nZHcCDQ NickD

Not into Synthetics (whether it's oil or tits, LOL) so I'm running straight 50 weight Dino oil . . . NickD

Battery Hell . . . One constant problem I've been having with Nina is starting up after she's sat overnight. She turns over okay but just won't fire. I spent hours looking over my wiring and everything there seems fine. I didn't suspect the battery, at first, because overnight I have it on a trickle charger, but eventually it dawned on me, it must be the battery. Once started it'll restart all day long, just never after sitting overnight. The problem stems from instead of doing a lot of extra fab work I went with a battery that would fit in the available space I had behind the transmission. And it turns out now it's just too small at 230 CCAs (Cold Cranking Amps.) This is the first Harley I've owned without a magneto and I didn't think that through enough. In Nina's case the battery not only has to turn over the motor it has to supply the initial punch to fire the coil (what a magneto used to do on it's own.) So I've ordered a new battery with 350 CCAs but it's a larger battery so it's going to take some hacking and welding to get it situated. I could build a tray and mount it under the transmission, but Nina sits really low already so things like speed bumps kinda rules that out. It's looks like I'll have to cut out Nina's lower fender support so I can mount the battery a bit deeper in the frame. But being the shin bone is connected to the thigh bone this begins a cascade of modifications to everything else in that area. Man, it never ends . . . LOL! NickD

Today the spacecraft originally called "Deep Impact" made its second rendezvous with a comet as it encountered comet Hartly 2. No impacter this time, (it only carried one that it launched at comet Temple 1 five years ago.) So just photos this time. The outgassing is pretty cool! More info here: http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/deep_impact/hartley2_timeline.html NickD

At least DB Copper is somewhat still relevant. All I see here ad nauseam is regurgitated crap. Kap 3? Jerry Bird? Paradactyl? Church Window PCs? Piglet's? Diapers? Roger? "What was is the lowest form of conversation." ~ Tony Soprano NickD

Somehow Bro, I get the idea you see rockets flying overhead all the time . . . LOL! NickD

Thanks ifall and sxc, you guys rock !!! NickD

Next launch attempt is Thursday Nov 4, at 7:20 PM . . . NickD

The Letters to Santa program was unfortunately scaled back in 2009 after a registered sex offender was found to be in possession of some of the kid's letters in Maryland. Now in order to get the letters they have to be first opened by Post Office employees and the last names and addresses of the children must be blacked out. Then a code is attached to the letter and that's how you respond to it. You also have to show an ID to participate and presumably your name is run through some type of criminal database. All that is a time consuming and costly process for individual Post Offices so it's up to each branch manager if they participate or not. So I'd say lobbying your local Post Office is your only avenue. Another sister program, also suspended due to the above incident, was the one where letters were forwarded to the town of North Pole, Alaska. They were then answered by volunteers and their replies came back with the famous North Pole postmark. That program had been going on since 1954. I spoke with my local Postmaster last year and was told they don't participate mainly due to the cost involved. But for me the real truth is the Postal Service, like the FAA and the NPS, are big bloated bureaucracies sagging under the weight of their own inefficiencies. But the saddest part is it's the kids who suffer. NickD

Scrubbed for tonight. The clock made it to T-46 seconds. Don't know why . . . NickD

Oh, okay, not sure what the trajectory will be. But I do believe most of their launches are toward either the north or south and destined for polar orbit. Since the earth rotates toward the East they don't launch to equatorial orbits as it's best to launch East (which they can't as it would be over populated areas) and if they went West they'd waste a lot fuel overcoming the rotation of the Earth. (And why equatorial orbits are launched from Florida where they have a clear shot towards the east.) NickD

How 'bout this . . . http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=28607 NickD

Eh, Northwest? NickD

If you're in Southern California this evening look towards the Vandenberg launch complex (which is Northwest for most folks) at 7:20 PM. Live launch video here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/10/31/1350152/delta-vandenberg.html Note: The "canceled" message pertains to yesterday's attempted launch. NickD

Hi All, First off thanks to all who participated in adopting letters needy children wrote to Santa Claus in the past. I know it’s a bit early yet but due to the prevailing economic conditions this year promises a larger amount of letters than ever. The way this works is you can visit certain participating U.S. Post Offices, fill out a form, and get up to ten “Dear Santa” letters pre-screened by Post Office personal. You can chose to respond to none, one, or all the letters you receive. Typical letters ask for toys, clothing, shoes, and school supplies. And some of these letters will simply break your heart. And not all the letters are from children either. Several I saw this year are from single Mothers (and some Dads) who are at the end of their rope. I’m asking that you drop the price of a single jump ticket (two tickets for you tightwads at Lodi, LOL) on at least one of these kids who will otherwise get little or nothing this Christmas. Twenty dollars spent at a "Dollar Store" could easily buy school supplies for several of these children. Some letters are unanswerable like one letter from a little girl who simply asked Santa for a Mother. “Not just for me,” she wrote, “but for my daddy, brother and granny ... my daddy works so hard and then he comes home to cook and clean and it should be easier.” The child then drew a 5-cent “stamp” on the envelope before dropping it in the mailbox. (See more letters in the below attachments.) Every Post Office in the country gets these letters addressed to Santa Claus at the North Pole, but due to budget restraints not every Post Office participates in the program. Here’s the list of the ones that do: http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2009/holiday/santalist.htm?from=2009holidaypressroom_rightnav&page=ParticList So please help if you can. No child who believes in Santa Claus should have to wake up Christmas morning without a present to open . . . NickD

I'm saving up for one (or more) of these . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFVlzUAZkHY&feature=player_embedded#! NickD

Got mine too . . I let Julia open it (because I knew better!) Thanks sweetheart, you rock! NickD

We had a few new B.A.S.E. jumpers over tonight for a BASE history class and we listened to an interview I did on Skydive Radio back in '05. Boy, I sound like a moron! Or maybe not. Could it be the fatties we smoked tonight? http://media.libsyn.com/media/skydiveradio/sr15_11_15_05s.mp3 NickD

>>just seems the compensator can be rough on the primary drive train

Normiss, saw your comment over on YT, Locktite on what? While I do use it on some things on Nina (owning to the fact she's a rigid) I've never used it on the clutch pushrod locking nut or the derby cover. And I've never seen either come loose. NickD

Gut that 550 cord and it'll take up even less room! Time for Nina's first clutch adjustment. It' something you usually need to do a few times during the first few thousand miles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxb7O5J3oN8 NickD

After the Strato Flyer gained the reputation for thumping people in it quit selling so well. So ParaFlite, rather than lose out all together, turned it into a reserve called the Safety Flyer, LOL! Funny, but it's predecessor, the Statro Star, was probably a better all around canopy. NickD

Nina's rather flat spring seat was good on the bumps but I was hanging on for dear life when getting on the throttle. So I decided to buy another seat with some "kick up" in the back to hold me in place. Then I saw the prices which were between 200 and 300 dollars! So instead I took apart the 30 dollar seat I had and just bent up the back. I also moved the spring position a bit forward. I just tried it out (man, it's really windy in So Cal today) and now it's perfect! It doesn't look as good overall as the slammed seat I had on Nina, but it's not too bad, and it's quite comfortable. NickD

A good vidy of 2010 . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouoqaEuqb6k NickD

I'm afraid you're right, but the one good Angel on my shoulder says it's not about the money. It's about misguided priorities. NickD