Deuce

Holy Cow does that bring back meomories. I did the AFF course with Jay and Yong. It's not easy. JP

Soon as you get it, G, we'll get some in-flight pictures!

Yeah, sorry. I think it's about the funniest original skydiving video ever. JP

For those of you who may not have seen it, this was always a high point of a visit to the Bent Prop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9FmVESsvqQ&mode=related&search= "I'M F*CKING WINNING!"

That. Once you're going any kind of speed you have to counter steer to get the bike to turn. If you are at speed and upright and attempt to turn right by turning the bars to the right the bike will likely crash down on its left side and eject you over the "high-side". To safely turn without countersteering you have to be going pretty slow.

John, I bought a Dodge new and didn't get the extended warranty. As my truck got closer and closer to the date the original warranty was going to expire the offers for the extended warranty got cheaper and cheaper. I suggest you wait. I'm curious about the warranty/replacement costs for those high-tech batteries. I never did get the extended warranty. Only trouble I ever had was with the Driver's side door sticking, but I don't think they would have fixed it anyhow.

I agree that a car can be driven with vice grips. On really old cars, with really worn ignitions, the kind that you can start and then pull the key out while it's still running, you can use any ignition key from a similar model to start it. Or a screwdriver. Hand filing a blank and trying it over and over until it will turn the ignition on a car without a chipped ignition key looks a lot like someone masturbating in the driver's seat, it is activity that will get people to call the police more often than seeing someone break into a car. There are better methods. Alternatively, on models with ignitions made out of pot metal, you can hammer a standard screwdriver into the ignition and use vice grips to force the ignition to start the car. If that's not working you can screw a slide-hammer into the ignition lock and pull it from the steering column, disassemble it and then use the components to start the car. Now, to steal my recently deceased Dakota by hand-filing a key, you'd first have to ascertain which specific chip my particular Dodge had in it's key. Then you'd have to use your super-secret contacts deep within the Chrysler Corp to get you a key blank with that chip in it. The truck simply won't start without that darn chip! Dang-it! To the original poster, sorry about your car. Of the thousands of stolen/recovered vehicle reports I've taken it's always been a pain for the owner.

Dude, you are full of shit. You are going to cut a key by hand without even seeing the original key? You go to OSH and buy blanks, or steal them? Crap. Yeah, a car can be driven with vice grips. Bullshit, a guy can hand-file an ignition key from a blank.

Shame, that. There's a lot to be learned here, amidst the clutter. JP

I registered when I was looking for advice on buying my first RW suit, and got hooked when I asked about where to skydive in SoCal cause I had a business trip down there (when I had a real job) and the Wondrous Emily extended an invitation to Perris. This site really did impact my life. I've met the very bestest people here. It was wierd. I was in Sweden, videoing the Herc Boogie, and this German guy introduced himself and said "You are the Deuce, ya?" Me: "Yep" Kraut: "I have seen pictures of your children. Wait. You posted pictures of your children and I saw them, yes? On Dropzone.com, yah? Uh...." Me: "Yeah. Chill, Gunter. Why is beer so expensive in Sweden?" Krautster: "Ach! You should buy your beer in Deutchland before boarding the ferry!" (Finn who knows me from DZ.com shows up with Salmniaki and saves the day) I stayed in England at reduced rates and for free due to DZ.com. Thanks Sangiro! JP

My hundredth was a brilliant 3 point 14 way. My thousandth was going to be a tandem and I got very pissy about it and manifested as a solo. I actually got 10 people to do something fun for it, but I had to be about as whiny as a turbine engine for it. My two thousandth was video'ing my 4 way team, and they eventually dumped be for a ringer 4 way camera flier. My mentor just had her 10,000th skydive, and she did it as a tandem, and the passenger had no appreciation for what an accomplishment it was. We did it again (like JP furnari suggests) later in the day. At your level, it's pretty much skydivers with like experience who understand what a big deal it is (especially in England!) Get through with the business of the day (or sit it out if you can) and then share your milestone with people who understand what you went through to accomplish it. Cheers, JP (the old one)

well ditto! Usually I get an advanced copy Where's my video biotch?! BWAHHHHHHHHH Message to the scooter: Teleport a copy to the pixie ASAP.

Rock on, MonoUno!

And thanks, Don. How cool that we have shaken hands. (somewhere, I think?)

Ah, there is a pic. And I have it somewhere. The Important Thing is that it happenend. I really don't gaf if no one else knows. Me and my buds do. Mary rocks.

The previous sequential record was set today however many years ago. I was on the Casa with Kevin and DeBar. We set the old record on the very last jump. It was so funny and cool at the same time. I had planned on taking Guy out when it Fubar'd, but amazingly it didn't. It was on my list of skydiving things I wanted to accomplish. Get a record. With friends. Anyhow, while dirt-diving with about a hunnerd-fiddy other aspirants, this crazed redhead charges across the field and humps my leg, bringing the whole process to a halt. My buddies were amazed that I could get anybody, let alone this crazed hottie, to pay my homely self any attention at all. And Mary has been a very good friend of mine ever since. The record was a high point. So was meeting Mary, at about the same level. Probably more, since the record has been beaten, but Mary Santangelo is still one of my bestest friends. Lucky me.

Once. Went on the front to get my rating. I hated it and just can't see the attraction. I'm really grateful to all the people who went with me on their "free" tandems, especially VDSchoor. Whoops, I actually went twice, come to think about it. I had Erica Whitty take me up because she had only taken smaller folks for all her practice runs, and I thought she should be ready to take somebody twice her size when she went on the wheel. Both were with female tandem masters. Huh.

Dude, the reason lawyers look bad is because they reflect light.

Punctuation is for people who don't have meth. There's iambic pentameter, and then there's the early 21st century tweaker style of writing. This is a great example of the latter.

Happy Birthday Bets!

Rodeo'ing me. I think about her a lot.

JP, a whole bunch of those loans were 100%r's that allowed "negative amortization" payments. Basically, taking even more money out on the loan. That is, there was a payment option to not even pay the interest, adding to the amount owed. If the owner took that option, and was late on payments, the interest rate went up! I sold real estate first, and got into loans to protect my friends from these horrible, life-wrecking loans. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Other JP

Happy Birthday, Skye!

Yes I do. And I win

I saw the one in Hollywood last week. It's on the Universal Studios City walk and will have a window onto one of the busiest tourist streets in SoCal. It's right across from the Hardrock Cafe Hollywood. Parking is a fortune, so I doubt it will get much skydiver traffic, plus as the tourists walked by this site almost all of them made some excited remark about trying it, and disappointment when it wasn't open yet. Their walk in traffic will be huge.