CanuckInUSA

Trying to get back on topic: Originally classified by AggieDave (I modified the Katana classification) However in an attempt to derail the thread ... again ... I may be selling my JVX 87 soon if I decide I am not current enough to be flying such a high performance beast anymore. But if people have more than 100 jumps do not bother asking me about it. I will only sell this canopy to total newbies who think swooping is cool and think they are special and can swoop right out of the box ... Just kidding ... only qualified canopy pilots need inquire. If I already know them I won't grill them on their qualifications. But if I don't know them I will ask for references. Under this 87 you do not even need to pull down on your front risers. Simply lean into the harness and the canopy dives "balls to the walls" at the earth. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Just don't do what this guy did in a very public place. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/01/22/snoozing-ttc.html BTW ... past jobs I had, had some great hiding places. But my current office has nothing good (outside of the bathroom and who can sleep on the shitter, not me). So napping at work for me is currently a "do not do it" thing. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Remmy did you see the game? Canada played much better against the USA than they did against Switzerland. But the US goalie (Ryan Miller) played very well, the USA team capitalized on Canada's mistakes while Canada could not capitalized on the USA's mistakes and the hockey Gods were just not kind to Canada on this day. A bounce here or a bounce there and the final result could have been different. But the better team won on this day. I say the better team since the last time I checked, the goaltender is a member of the team and the USA got a much better effort from their goalie than Canada got from theirs (though Canada should not be blaming this defeat solely on the shoulders of their goalie Martin Brodeur). If Canada wants to win the gold they will have to do it the hard way. But the USA is not assured of anything yet either. What we watched last night was a preliminary game where losing is not the end of the tournament. But now the real fun starts. Starting tomorrow, no team can afford to lose. All teams better bring their "A" game if they want to advance. PS: Alpine skiing is still my favorite Winter Olympic event followed closely by hockey. All other sports are "shite" ... just kidding ... haha Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I have been watching many Olympic events through the CTV website (I do not think US residents are allowed access to this same site) and it is very interesting. First off I have access to watching the events live as they occur (well there is a short 30-60 second delay from the actual live action), I get to watch all the competitors not just the ones the TV networks want me to see and the best part in all of this, is that there are no TV play by play commentators. It is nothing but raw footage of the athletes and their performances. The only downside is that there are still advertisements placed in between each athlete's performance. But that is a small price to pay to shut up the TV play by play commentators. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Sounds like you have done some homework already. I am surprised Calgary does not have a skeleton program. But I have not done my homework on the subject, even if I do live a stones throw away from the facility. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Other tracks you could look into is Calgary (home of the 1988 Winter Olympics) the Calgary track is within city limits or possibly Lake Placid (home of the 1980 Winter Olympics). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Most Favorite: Alpine Skiing Close 2nd: Hockey Least Favorite: Men's Figure Skating mixed emotions about everything else. PS: I find curling a tad boring, but there is tons of strategy to the game. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Ban humans ... that will solve all our problems. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

One other tip I forgot to mention when it comes to sharpening (ie: squaring) your edges. I like to keep about the first 3-4 inches on the tips of the skis dull and 3-4 inches of the tail also dull. This is because skis are made with a camber and when you properly initiate a turn, the first thing biting into the snow/ice is the tip of the ski's edge. I don't like it when my tips bite into the ice too much. You won't notice this biting action too much on soft snow but you will notice it on ice. If the tips bite into the ice too much before your weight is applied to the inside edge, it can cause the ski to track in a direction you don't want it to go which depending on how you control the situation could lead to some trouble. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Lindsey Vonn is back kicking some more ass today during the Downhill portion of the Women's Super-Combined event (medals only get awarded until after the slalom portion of the event). There is a German girl currently 2nd place who had a good run and Lindsey's teammate Julia Mancuso 3rd place also has a competitive time. But these three girls are pretty much out classing the rest of the field in the Downhill discipline of this event. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

BTW you don't need a vice to wax your skis, but your will need a decent work bench + 2 vices if you want to work on your edges. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Downhill or cross-country? I am assuming downhill. Preparing your skis is not difficult. But you need to recognize what you can do yourself and what is better left for a shop to do. 1) Examine the skis. Are the edges intact? If the edges had not been compromised then your skis are still salvageable. But if you have torn out an edge, well you now have a pair of rock skis. Not the end of the world, every serious skier should have a pair of rock skis. You know a pair of skis you don't care if you trash them because they are already trashed. Just keep in mind you need decent edges on the inside edge of the ski. 2) Now examine the base of the ski. If there are small gouges in the base, you can fix this yourself. Take some p-tex heat it up with a lighter to where it begins to melt and fill in the gouges. After the p-tex dries, scrap off the excess p-tex until the p-tex and the base are flush with each other. However if the gouges are large (especially if you can see the core of the ski) take it into a shop. Usually it is better to let the professionals repair large gouges. Or if they can not be repaired, guess what? You have yourself a pair of rock skis. Every serious skier should have a pair of rock skis. 3) Edges need to be maintained. But there is a lot of confusion as to what this means. People think edges should be sharp. But what is more important that edge are square. Look at a brand new pair of skis. Notice that the edges are not overly sharp. But you will notice they are square. Use a file and try your best to make your edges square. This is where most ski prep time is spent. 4) To wax skis, get some wax, an old iron. Heat the iron and once it is hot enough, melt the wax over the bases and apply the wax liberally. Then using the iron spread out the wax to ensure the entire base is coved. Let the wax dry and then scrap off the excess (approximately 90% of the wax should be scrapped off until there is a very thin film of wax on the base). Then you should be good to go, but kept in mind the wax will wear off the ski within a run or two. Waxing skis has it's benefits, but the most important part of ski maintenance is to pay attention to your edges and your bases. Edges perform best when they are square and you do not want gouged bases that add to the already existing friction between the base of the ski and the snow or ice you are skiing on. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There are much better wings you could be under right now versus a Stiletto and at least at the start of this thread this is what we were talking about. It is possible that you can safely fly the Stiletto (it all depends on the choices you make up there). But when you look at the big picture it has a short recovery arc and is less than ideal to be learning on. There are much better canopies for you to be on out there right now. Personally I think you could learn a whole lot more from something like a Sabre2 (or something comparable to the Sabre2). We are all different, we come from different backgrounds and have different personalities. Because of this we all have different risk tolerance levels. Most people who did get to a certain established high performance level of swooping did not get there without taking some sort of risk and many of us (not all) have had to deal with our own personal egos at some point in time. But if you want to be a high performance canopy pilot, realize that there are no short cuts. It takes hundreds if not thousands of jumps and those jumps need to be dedicated towards canopy control. Seek coaching, talk to your locals (keep in mind unless you are jumping at a DZ with a reputation for good competition canopy pilots your locals may not be as knowledgeable as you may think they are) and don't be afraid to dial it back at times. The margin for error in swooping is very small and it can happen to anyone of us. But chances of it happening to the lesser experienced bold person is much higher than a seasoned current canopy pilot who did not take short cuts and who dedicated jumps towards canopy piloting. Swooping rocks .... but it is not a safe activity. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You are so full of crap it is amazing. I work in Information Technology. When I am interviewed for a job I am grilled on technical questions. Often they are difficult questions since IT covers such a broad range and the interviews can be stressful. With your mindset if I was a person of color this would be a clear case of racism since the interviewers were asking me tough questions. But to anyone with half a brain and an understanding in IT, this is normal. They want to make sure the people they might hire can actually do the job. BTW in my last interview I was grilled by three people. A caucasian, a Chinese guy and an East Indian guy. It just goes to show that people of color can get jobs (in regards to the people interviewing me) when they have the skills. But when you do not have the skills, someone more qualified gets hired ahead of you. Look at me I was a white guy and I did not get this job, why? Because someone else was more qualified than I was. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's official ... add one Gold and one Silver to the USA's total. The American girls kicked butt today on Whistler. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Not offcial yet, but soon you can add a Gold and a Silver to the USA's total. Two Amercan girls have kicked some serious butt in the alpine skiing downhill event. 35 of 45 racers have already finished and there has been a delay because of a crash. But I can't see any of the remaining 10 skiers challenging. They are the lesser talented skiers and the course has warmed up. BTW ... Lindsey Vonn (US girl sitting in first) is hot hot hot ... smoking hot Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

He must have been a curling fan. The world would be safer if we would just ban curling. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You do need to realize that a lot of people here talking to you in this thread know what they are talking about. Act like a sponge and they will continue to tell you stuff. Act like a rock and they will stop telling you very important information that will help you. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I think you are confusing "mnealtx" with some other user. I am pretty sure "mnealtx" is NOT an anti. But it is true that criminals love the idea of strict gun control. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I actually have never jumped the Katana and the Katanas I am referring to were flown by much smaller canopy pilots than yourself. But I was uber impressed with how much these smaller Katanas would dive. It was almost as if they were cross-braced canopies. But without a doubt the Katana is an awesome canopy for the advanced canopy pilot who does not want to be under a cross-braced wing. In fact due to my lack of currency I should sell my JVX and pick up a Katana. How do you feel about flying a JVX 87 Dave? haha ... no I should sell it to someone smaller. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The Sabre2 would be an excellent canopy for you to be considering now as an intermediate canopy pilot. It is an excellent all-purpose canopy. Please don't be thinking of anything more high performance at this time. Learn on the Sabre2 (or something similar to the Sabre2) ... then once you know the Sabre2 you will know what is good for you next. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm not so sure I would put the xFire2 as a long recovery arc. That is unless you want to put the Katana in as an extra long recovery arc. I have competed against a few guys flying Katana's and they dive almost as much as their cross-braced counter parts. I would agree with your list if you created the extra long recovery category and put the Katana in it. For sure both the xFire2 and Katana are advanced canopies. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Never thought I would say this, but ... All the NASCAR lovng Americans are just a bunch of Lefties. Just kidding ... I am more of a road racer, but I do respect the skill oval racers posses. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

LOL ... Olympic downhill racer Marco Buechel from Liechtenstein just raced and the TV commentators were saying that he BASE jumps. http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-alpine-skiing/athletes/marco-buechel_ath1000087OY.html Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's on right now being covered live on CTV ... the 1st skier just finished his run. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over