base311

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Posts posted by base311

  1. Quote

    Quote

    dude your fucking deaf, isnt everything quiet?:P



    (stuff snipped)
    You know when you have stuff to do but you still need to know what your kids are doing when you can't keep your eyes on them? How the hell do you do it? I can hardly get any major stuff done.
    (more stuff snipped


    Build a Kid Corral... best thing I ever did.

    At least you won't have to listen to her scream while she's in it!!! ;)

  2. Quote

    As of now I have not had any jumps :( I am going on my first skydive as soon as I get back from the road trip I am on. I plan on going to nashville and do my first skydive there.
    kate



    Why nashville? goto the farm. get lots of jumps. prolly too late to get started for for a jump at BD this year unless you have a lot of money and free time on your hands. plan for next year. at least you got the weather in your favor we need rain BAAADly.

    -gardner

  3. Quote

    That is so great (in a not so accurate but rather disturbingly cute way!!!!)

    :D:D:D:D



    What's not so accurate about it? It's a kids book!!!!!

    I thought it was great! I'm gonna buy one for my kids. German and biology lessons all wrapped up in one cover.

    ganz gut.
    -gardner

  5. Quote

    I chartered a 46' Sailboat out of Tortola for 2 weeks of chillin' in the islands with 5 close friends. I've yet to be able to top that one so we are planning another in the next couple years.



    Was that a bareboat charter or was it fully crewed/provisioned? I've given some thought to getting my ASA cert. for bareboat charters and going that route sometime soon. Any pointers/tips? I have over 20 years sailing experience... racing mostly, but have never bothered to get the asa cert for bareboat charters.

    -gardner

  12. Quote

    (stuff snipped)
    ~Just a side thought:
    The statements detailed in the law which BASE is prosecuted under, and the management policy (8.2.2.7.) which states that BASE is not an appropriate public use activity seem to make conflicting statements. If it is inappropriate use of National(OUR!) park land, then why is it allowed with a permit? Does the aerial delivery law show how BASE is inappropriate use of land? if the answer is no then why are we prosecuted under such a harsh, and unfair law? Maybe (save the flames for "the man") BASE deserves at -the very least-it's own law of which the punishment suits the "crime."Possibly a small fine. Baby steps. Maybe this has been tried, i don't know. I'm just attempting to think critically...and stir shit up!;)
    Knowledge is power.



    Interesting that you picked up on the 'conflicting statements' between the regulation (36 CFR 2.17(a)(3)) and the 2001 Management Policies. When NPS wrote the conflicting section 8.2.2.7 of the Management Policies, it put into writing its long-standing management policy which it had denied existed: that - regardless of the permit provisions of 36 CFR 2.17(a)(3) - NPS was not going to issue a permit.

    You will also be interested to know that the 2001 Management Policies are now outdated. Through the support of its membership, the Alliance of Backcountry Parachutists successfully argued for change of Section 8.2.2.7 during the NPS' re-write of its 2006 Management Policies. The new controlling version of the Management Policies reads as follows:

    Section 8.2.2.7 - Parachuting

    Parachuting (or BASE jumping), whether from an aircraft, structure, or natural feature, is generally prohibited by 36 CFR 2.17(a)(3). However, if determined through a park planning process to be an appropriate activity, it may be allowed pursuant to the terms and conditions of a permit.

    The ABP accomplished several key changes in this re-write. First, it removes the outright prohibition from the management policies and places the decision-making authority BACK into the hands of the superintendents, whom we feel are best-suited to make management decisions affecting their parks, not NPS headquarters. Next, the ABP argued that the, "not an appropriate public use activity," language in the 2001 version (and a couple of the 2006 draft versions) automatically stigmatized the activity from the outset of any planning negotiations; this was subsequently changed in the final draft, as you can see. Finally, the Management Policies re-write afforded the ABP an opportunity to forge new relationships with policymakers from the top down and the bottom up. There is no doubt (to me, at least) that we are now significantly farther along the path toward gaining access than ever before.

    I invite you to check out our Archives section on the ABP website: The Alliance of Backcountry Parachutists

    There you will find many documents related to the fight for access and the history of access in context.

    Hope this helps your essay. Contact me if you have any questions.

    Thanks,
    Gardner Sapp
    executive director
    The Alliance of Backcountry Parachutists, Inc.
    [email protected]

  16. Quote

    Bush calls for national parks makeover By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer
    Fri Aug 25, 6:54 PM ET



    WASHINGTON - There's nothing like a big birthday bash on the horizon — even if it's a decade away — to make you want to look your best.


    So, President Bush on Friday directed the National Park Service on Friday to set "performance" goals for itself for the next 10 years. The idea is to have as many bragging rights as possible when the park service turns a century old in 2016.

    "As havens of enjoyment, recreation, learning and personal renewal, national parks must endure," said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, while opening a new visitor education center Friday at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

    To the Park Service, the presidential nudge is tantamount to President Kennedy's call to put a man on the moon.

    "This is for us what that was to NASA," Park Service spokesman David Barna said. "At the end of this 100 years, we want things that people will enjoy into the next century. And if you want a good reason to do something, a birthday's a good reason. Everybody wants a birthday party."

    Bush asked the Park Service to give him a list of "signature projects and programs" by the end of next May. Those likely would include the agency's efforts to:

    _Restore about 30 old, decaying buildings in Ellis Island's South Side Hospital Complex, where nearly 12 million immigrants entered the United States from 1882 until 1954.

    _Allow Backcountry Parachuting in all relevant national park units on national holidays a regularly recurring basis.

    _Construct a $100 million light rail system to cut traffic around the heavily visited South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, plus "greenways" with biking and walking trails.

    Bush said the projects would build on 6,000 park improvements made over the past five years. He requested, and Congress agreed to spend $5 billion-plus for those projects. But his pledge to eliminate a $5 billion annual maintenance backlog remains unfulfilled.



    There. Fixed it for you.

    Y'all stay tuned for information on the 2006 Mgt. Policies soon... very soon.

    -Gardner

  18. Quote

    How about the 'New Park Rules' bit in the following :

    http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640190694,00.html

    What has been your organisation's reaction to that?



    The Utah Parks Board action simply reaffirms the current regulation regarding unpowered flight in Utah state parks so that the Snow Canyon manager can continue to prohibit the activity until the "stay on the trail" issue and potential conflicts with other user groups can be properly addressed.

    The ABP supports this essentially interim action because:

    1) the action made no new law (please refer to Utah Administrative Regulation R651-602-3. Powerless Flight Launching and Landing);
    2) there are good reasons to "go slow" specifically at Snow Canyon (pm me for details); and
    3) the action does not affect ABP's ongoing access dialogue with the Utah State Parks department.

    If you'd like to stay up to date on ABP actions, please subscribe to the ABP action alert list at http://www.backcountryparachutists.org/

    Thanks,
    K. Gardner Sapp
    Executive Director
    The Alliance of Backcountry Parachutists, Inc.
    P.O. Box 38202
    Atlanta, Georgia 30334
    [email protected]

  19. Walt and others,

    The Alliance of Backcountry Parachutists received and reviewed the June 16, 2006, draft of the 2006 Management Policies and immediately began working on comments to the draft and restoration of the ABP letter-writing system to again call on our members and supporters to respond to the third draft. The current version is the third 'official draft' and the fourth draft if you count the 'unofficial re-write' leaked by PEER.org and others.

    At this point, responding to these changes are a little trickier as the 'formal comment period' has closed; I read that as there is still an 'informal comment period,' so the ABP is gearing up to respond 'informally,' and has already expressed its displeasure in telephone communications with certain agency heads.

    The timing goes like this: tomorrow, July 7, 2006, the internal (NPS agency) review draft will be presented to the National Leadership Council for its stamp-of-approval. There is still time to make 'informal comments' and we have some language drawn that we will be submitting to the Office of Policy and others. Additionally, Jason Dawson has a meeting scheduled in Washington with Karen Taylor-Goodrich, Associate Director For Visitor And Resource Protection, next tuesday, July 11, 2006, where he will express our concerns about the latest language in the draft and also hope to forge a relationship with another upper-level official.

    So, at this point, my suggestion is for everyone to sit tight and wait for us to issue an 'Action Alert' calling all hands to submit letters through our letter-writing system.

    As for the current draft language, it's much better than the 2001 version of the policies, not as good as the 2nd official draft (which had struck the entire chapter 8.2.2.7), but does signal we're approaching some middle ground where we can all be a little happier. Politics is about finding middle ground and we are still working hard to find something we can all live with.

    Please stay tuned and, at a minimum, please subscribe to the ABP action alert list at http://www.backcountryparachutists.org/

    Thanks,
    K. Gardner Sapp
    Executive Director
    The Alliance of Backcountry Parachutists, Inc.
    P.O. Box 38202
    Atlanta, Georgia 30334
    [email protected]

  24. This is a good site for monitoring tower-related information. Seems to be the central location of online tower professional discussion:

    http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Tower-pro/

    Some speculative discussion surrounding the recent event mentioned above:

    http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Tower-pro/message/36568

    Similarly, Comtrain (tower climbing safety training and construction training company) keeps up with most things tower-related, here:

    http://www.comtrainusa.com/news.htm