ParaHog

Yeah, it's terribly boring. I wouldn't waste your money on it. But have you tried bowling? Man, there's nothing like the thrill of rolling a strike!

I agree completely!

Me too. Just because he's paralyzed, doesn't mean that someone else is automatically at fault. A skydiver's poor choice to do a high arched exit on a climbing jump run out of a low-tail airplane, doesn't mean that the drop zone owner was negligent and that he deserves to be sued out of existence. Readers: For those of you who think that drop zones which have stupid skydivers who get injured doing negligent maneuvers deserve to be shut down, vote for Mike! For those of you who think that for every injured skydiver, there is someone else to blame for it, vote for Mike!

Of course, the wing suit jumper who exited without bothering to first fall free of the tail had nothing to do with that incident, right? So you'll sue drop zone owner's out of existence because of the action of a single stupid and careless jumper. Wonderful! How many readers here want to line up and vote for this philosophy on the board of directors? No, I made no such claim. You are confusing me with someone else. So now you're also guilty of the same thing of which you accuse me - making false accusations. Isn't irony great? And since your premise is incorrect, everything else which followed is inapplicable.

You’re making some pretty strong statements against someone without being willing to have your name associated with them. When people insist on being anonymous it makes me wonder what it is they are hiding. Because of that anonymity our posts lack credibility. Jmo Sparky Suit yourself. Ignore my comments. Vote for Mikey.

Some people here seem to believe that military security gets to shoot anyone they want, without any repercussions. Incorrect! They have rules of engagement and levels of force to follow, just like civilian police officers.

But of course, because if you relocate the nearby airport, no REAL terrorist would ever be able to parachute into the base. Problem solved! I never knew military security was so cut and dried. And if they relocate nearby boatyards, then no terrorist attack could possibly come by sea. By gosh, this is easy!

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You testify AGAINST drop zones. That's just what we need from a member of the board of the USPA. (sarcasm) Like that board member that gave an incident report to a plaintiff's lawyer to help them sue a drop zone. You'll have to pardon me if I oppose having a board member who works to shut down drop zones when an accident occurs. We have enough trouble with outside lawyers doing that, without having our own board members doing it from within. I'm not running for the board or pretending to be something I'm not. So my real name and credentials don't matter. But obviously I know enough about you to keep you from getting away with some of the BS you're promoting. Ah, but you didn't bother to make that distinction in your description. You've been leading people to believe that your ratings are current. I didn't quote it - someone else did. I just pointed out the inaccuracies in it. So, you'll be correcting that description for the next printing, right? Oh, and your description on your web site where you get lawyers to pay you to testify against drop zones is still incorrect too. Readers, see: http://www.allexperts.com/ep/1652-14185/Skydiving-w-Parachutes/Mike-Turoff.htm What happens when the opposing lawyer points out that your claimed credentials are out of date, and that you're really just a paper tiger? And you still haven't addressed the question about how you'll do a good job on the USPA board when you've got a full time regular job, your CAP duties keep you from skydiving, and you also serve with the PIA. How are you going to add dedicated time for USPA to all that? What will you do when there's a conflict of interest between the PIA and USPA?

It's funny how you claim I'm wrong, and then your very next sentence confirms exactly what I'm saying. So why do you say in your skydiving resume, as seen originally in message #18, that "Mike participates as an evaluator at AFF Training Camps and Certification Courses..."? When was the last time you performed either of those duties? You shouldn't claim to be something that you are no longer current to do. Instead of speaking in the present tense ("participates"), you should write it in the past tense ("has participated") to be accurate. If you had possessed plenty of signatures, then a few invalidations wouldn't have mattered. What it sounds like is you barely had enough to just squeak by, and it only took a few being shot down to ruin your chances. If you were widely liked and respected, you wouldn't have any problem gathering enough signatures to have a sufficent cushion. When was the last time you flew jumpers for a skydive? Why claim to be a "licensed (jump) pilot" if you haven't actually been a jump pilot in many years? Trying to fool people? Are you a private or a commercial pilot? And again with the rigging, so you pack your own emergency rig. But that makes your current knowledge rather limited. When was the last time you packed a Vector, Talon, Micron or Racer? When was the last time you installed an AAD or a Skyhook? Are you a senior or master? When was the last time you actually made a skydive? You claim that your CAP duties have kept you from jumping for the last four years, but it's been much longer than that since you've jumped. You're hedging again. Just tell us - how long? If your CAP duties have taken you away from skydiving, then how are you going to squeeze in being a USPA board member on top of your CAP duties? Are you going to resign from your CAP duties to serve the USPA? You're presenting yourself as someone who is on top of all aspects of this sport, when in fact your participation in those areas is all very dated. The public has the right to know all this, since you're running for the board. They don't deserve to be fooled by a grand sounding resume, that doesn't actually play out in real life. And you shouldn't be promoting yourself as more than you really are. We have good board members who aren't current jumpers. No problem. But they tend to still be involved in the sport in some manner, such as drop zone owners, jump pilots, competition judges, etc. Don't pretend to be something you're not. Don't try and fool people. We want straight shooters on the board, not self-promoters.

If you have something to say, just say it. If you think he doesn't know what he's talking about, then explain why. If you think military service is somehow relevant, then explain why. As it stands, you've provided nothing to disprove anything.

What's your definition of "HALO"?

Now ask him how long it has been since he actually exercised any of those jumping, rigging, instructing or jump pilot skills. Mike Turoff is now running for the BOD, since they changed the rules and he's no longer required to gather a certain number of signatures to qualify. He's always wanted to be on the board before, but he's never been widely liked locally, and he could never get enough signatures to qualify to be on the ballot. Now he's promoting that great-sounding resume of experience, but what he's not telling anyone is that he hasn't done any skydiving related activities in about 10 years now. No jumping. No rigging. No jump-piloting. No instructing. And I think if you don't stay active as an instructor, or other rating, fulfilling those duties a certain number of times per year, then your rating lapses and you're no longer considered qualified. And yet he's still claiming to be an instructor and more. Since the new rules will now allow him to be on the ballot, he's counting on the ignorance of nationwide voters who don't realize he's not actually an active skydiver any more. You certainly wouldn't know that from the above resume. They'll vote for him based upon his given resume of experience, which doesn't actually apply any more - he's not current, not by a long shot. Are those the actions of someone who is being straight-forward and honest? Is that the kind of person you want running the USPA? He'll probably get away with it and get elected anyway... His long term plan to take over the world is at hand!

Now ask him how long it has been since he actually exercised any of those jumping, rigging, instructing or jump pilot skills.

Winsted terminates contract with Westside Skydivers Due to violations of contract in regards to hours of operation, the Westside Skydivers business contract with the city of Winsted was terminated at Tuesday’s Winsted City Council meeting. The contract violation was brought to light through a written complaint from Winsted Airport Commission Member Glenn Weibel, which documented instances of skydiving activities taking place after approved hours. The agreement between the city and Johnson stated “no skydiving activities shall take place until 30 minutes after sunrise or 30 minutes before sunset.” http://www.herald-journal.com/archives/2012/stories/winsted-westside-skydivers.html

Aren't you the guy that used to tell new guys to just go out and experiment, because that was the best way to learn? And now you seem to be saying that learning needs to be a regimented set of pre-defined steps which must be followed. What changed?