Hi,
The jets are pointing more up than down. I wouldn't say the streams completely break the surface but they come close. You can definitely see the water rippling at the surface when the pump is on.
I'll do as you say; however, the last time I did the soda/acid routine, I ended up at square one. So I think I must be doing something wrong. After adding the soda, the TA was up (a bit) but the pH skyrockted! Then when I added the acid to bring the pH back down, the TA went right back down to its starting point of 80.
I had dissolved the baking soda in a bucket of water and added that to the skimmer. Did this method cause the pH to rise so much?

And one more question: When adding the acid, should I be as far as possible from (or as close as possible to) the skimmer? Does it matter?