BC,
Not meaning to start a D1(K swinging contest, just pointing out that I have tried a fair variety of Aviation activities, and I feel your criticism of gliding is a little unfair.
Being a sport, glider pilots by-and-large aren't at a professional level of flying knowledge(though I'd stack them up against many Aero-club PPLs!!), but as an activity gliding is up there as one of the most enjoyable and challenging.
As to the parachuting, the majority of my exits were from Nomads, so you can see why I was happy to leave!!