Yes: I just jumped out of "a perfectly good airplane."
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The above images were taken during my "Level 7" Accelerated Freefall (AFF) class on 8/13/00. Exiting the aircraft at 14,000 feet and pulling the ripcord at about 4,000 feet results in about a 60-second freefall at 120mph--plenty of time to do back-flips, docking procedures, AND enjoy the view! Later that day, I took my final, Level 8 class and graduated from the course! I am a proud, novice skydiver!
If this appeals to you (and I heartily recommend it!), find a drop zone near you by visiting the United States Parachute Association's Website. I learned to skydive at Bay Area Skydiving. Check out their Tandem skydives. This is a great, inexpensive, THRILLING way to get a taste of this sport... You might just get hooked like I did!
Update: Unfortunately, I decided to give up skydiving due to a bum knee I have (never injured through skydiving, however). A recent motorcycle accident on June 8, 2006 fractured my knee again--I 'T-boned' a red-light runner at a major intersection. . .
My other interests:
I have been an avid bicyclist most of my life (touring and commuting). I usually have several bikes to choose from; I love starting and finishing my workday with a spirited bicycle ride! This 1984 Trek 720 which I repainted and updated with modern components is one of my favorite rides:
Many more of my 'collection' can be seen on my Picasa Album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/raycash52
I love 3d photography. This is truly 'old school'; we're talking 1950's era cameras such as the venerable U.S-made Stereo Realist (below), the East German-made Belplasca, the French-made Verascope, et al., which took (and still do take) 3d slides. When these images are mounted (by self) and viewed through a special back-lit viewer they are just magical! I have quite a collection of cameras and images taken. . . Plus, with FujiFilm's new Fuji FinePix Real 3d W1 Digital Camera, things have gotten much easier!
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Astronomy: especially the disciplines of telescope-making, deep-sky observing, film and CCD imaging. See below...
I am 57 years old; a cabinetmaker/finish carpenter foreman by trade. Here are a couple of pieces of recent work:
I've been doing this a long time: A sampling of furniture I've made
(in the 80's, or earlier!) can be found here.
I no longer do "side work." I am currently employed by
Design Workshops of Oakland, CA.,
a premier shop
specializing in high-end architectural and residential woodwork.
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I have been happily married now for twenty-five years to
lovely Marie-No, a native of Brittany, France.
We have no children, but we had a lovebird named
Slim (at right)...
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Though I have been interested in astronomy most of my life, it wasn't until 1988 that I purchased my first 4" telescope. Looking to join a club, I soon found John Dobson. (I had heard of the Dobsonian, but I didn't realize John was a local hero). John taught me how to make a 10-1/2" sidewalk telescope, as well as a 6" Dobsonian Sun telescope (right). I also help out most summers with a college-level Astronomy Class that San Francisco State University offers at their Field Campus in the Sierra: http://www.raycash.org/sfsufield.htm
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Though I've practiced sidewalk astronomy in San Francisco, we now live in Petaluma, CA--much closer to dark skies! Here is my buddy Steve Gottlieb (my scope is in the background, on the left), at our favorite deep-sky site in the Sierra foothills. |
| I am an avid telescope maker. I have
helped a number of folks with the carpentry skills required for some of
the inevitable complications which seem to arise. I maintain The San
Francisco Sidewalk Dobsonian Telescope Plans Website (below) and answer
e-mail from folks around the world.
My own scopes include (at right): a truss-tube Dobsonian (17.5" Coulter mirror), complete with Takahashi 4" refractor and equatorial platform of my own construction. (Actually, I no longer have the Tak: a few years ago, I traded it and an Astro-Physics refractor for a motorcycle; but it's a killer photo, isn't it?). At right was my first (1989) attempt at the truss design; the structure that formerly housed my 17.5" mirror. Below is pictured my 13.1" telescope which collapses into a box making it "airline transportable." I have taken this scope to Hawaii twice and, most recently (March 2005), Chile. Steve Gottlieb has also taken this scope to Costa Rica twice. Plans for this scope--or at least 'costruction tips'-- are online. |
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