Can you fly, Bobby? Yes, that line was from Robocop. Anyways, I went to San Diego last Saturday in a second attempt to go skydiving, and needless to say, things worked out this time. And it kicked ass!! One second, you're on the plane hearing nothing but the roar of the engine... The next second, you hear and feel nothing but wind as you're freefalling towards the ground at 120 MPH (ya like how I wax poetic?). Simply awesome. The pictures below would be a lot better if I wasn't strapped to a jump instructor (cool dude, by the way), but whatever. If I go back to Skydive San Diego within the next 30 days, I can either go skydiving solo (with 5 hours of ground training before that) or try tandem jumping again...with the instructor teaching me new moves like how to turn during freefall, pull and steer the parachute, and learn how to land safely. All at a discounted price (it was $278 for the tandem jump and video footage of it, on DVD, and $149 for a second jump). But I think I'll pass... Doing something like skydive only once is still enough for a lifetime.

Orbiter Vehicle 103... a.k.a. Discovery... Back in business again.



EDIT: I'm too lazy to post up a separate entry with this photo, so here you go:



Too bad the shuttle fleet is now grounded because that stupid foam problem hasn't been fixed.

Parno's legacy, standing by. The result of my hundred-dollar donation to my alma mater... How's that for wise spending? My middle name has been edited out since it's also a cuss word. No it's not.

HAPPY 4th OF JULY, EVERYONE!! Around 11 PM Pacific Standard Time last night, the "Impactor" released from the Deep Impact spacecraft struck Comet Tempel 1, which marked the first time a manmade object touched the surface of a comet (that sounds kinda...sexual, does it? Or is my mind that corrupted?). I'd be thrilled, if I wasn't bummed out on the fact that a compact disc bearing my name, and 625,000 others (click here to read more about that), wasn't vaporized along with the Impactor. Oh well. In other space news, Discovery is only nine days away from marking the space shuttle's return to space. "Woohoo!" if you're a geek and "Blah" if you're not. Guess which one I am. (Actually, don't answer that.) Click here to read an earlier rant I had about my name being torn into millions of pieces in space, hahaha.

What the hell?? Why are all of my journal entries in Times New Roman font?? They should be in Arial... All of you probably think I'm complaining about something so trivial, but I didn't edit anything on my post template to cause the letter fonts to change. Yea, thanks a lot Blogger. Or maybe it's just my computer. Whatever.


EDIT: As you can see (assuming you visit this page often, which you probably don't), I've changed the layout to my Blogspot. Not only was I not able to fix the font for my journal entries so it could be Arial again, but my Archives list wasn't updating either (when it becomes a new month, such as the fact it is now July, a new link for that month should show up...like 07/01/2005 - 07/31/2005. That didn't happen with my previous template). So my original post template is now obsolete. Oh well... I like this one better. The new design seems simpler.

On the plus side, the San Antonio Spurs avenged the Lakers by dethroning the Detroit Pistons, 81-74. On the bottom side, the Spurs tied Shaq and Kobe with three trophies. On the plus side, again, it took the Spurs seven years to win three titles. It took the Lakers five years to win three titles. On the bottom side, again, the Spurs—assuming Duncan (and I guess Paker and Ginobili) stay healthy—have a chance to win a fourth title next year. Bah. On a different note, Robert Horry has six championship rings like Michael Jordan! That's crazy! Horry rules.

How to cop a feel without getting caught... I'd post my review of Batman Begins (which I enjoyed...though I found a problem with the film's climax), but I'm too lazy to. So here's something that should be helpful the next time you're at a party (if you're a dude):

MR. & MRS. SMITH: I saw the film last Friday...and while it started off pretty slow, the film was still enjoyable. Though I obviously won't see it again till it comes out on DVD, haha. Other than Angelina Jolie, other reasons why I wanted to see the movie was because the climactic gunfight at the end was shot at an old IKEA store (now demolished) in the City of Industry, and it's the only film test-screened by the company I work for, The Screening Exchange, that I paid to see at a theater. Speaking of screenings, I watched the Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson comedy Wedding Crashers in a press screening we conducted at Hollywood's Mann's Chinese Theater on Saturday. The movie is a crack-up!! Vince Vaughn, along with Will Ferrell (who makes a cameo in the film), are hilarious! That is all.

PHIL JACKSON returns to the Los Angeles Lakers... Awesome!! Finally, some welcomed news regarding someone with the last name "Jackson". Click here for more details.

MICHAEL JACKSON Verdict:

"Not guilty" Count 1

"Not guilty" Count 2

"Not guilty" Count 3

"Not guilty" Count 4

"Not guilty" Count 5

"Not guilty" Count 6

"Not guilty" Count 7

"Not guilty" Count 8

"Not guilty" Count 9

"Not guilty" Count 10

Why am I not surprised? These friggin' celebrities.

On the plus side, Michael Jackson has said this experience has forced him to alter his lifestyle. He'll now only party with twenty eight year olds. He says he's very excited about this because, well, they'll be twenty of them.