CanuckInUSA

One would only expect such a response from a Quebecer. By the way, who's paying for all your generous social programs? Surely not yourselfs. If the Oil Sands are such a joke that you claim them to be, why is Quebec not self-sufficient? Why can you people not carry your own weight in confederation? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Don't like the price of crude? Blame OPEC and/or GWB for bringing instability to the Middle East. But the high price of crude (despite the lies Skinny is trying to spread) has nothing to do with a perceived shortage of the dino juice. We humans need to clean up the environment and find (or just start using) alternate energy sources. But once again, don't believe Skinny's lies. He's from Quebec and that province is a cesspool for crime and corruption. BTW I'm not implying that Skinny is a criminal or corrupt. But many of his fellow Quebecois are. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Bring it on. I own property in Oilberta (you know that place that you Quebecois hate but still rely on to pay for your socialistic society since you can't seem to be able to support yourselves ... maybe if the people of Quebec actually went to work instead of relying on government handouts they wouldn't be the economic basket case that they are). I don't know your politics and for all I know you're not one of them ... but maybe you are (a LIEberal or worse). BTW Yanks, there is enough oil in Alberta to power the entire world for a good 50 years, maybe more. Don't believe skinny's doom and gloom scenario that the world is about to run out of oil in the next couple of years. It's just that Alberta's oil is mixed in with the sand so there is a price to pay to have it separated. We're talking of building some nuclear reactors which would make separating the two cleaner, but currently the process does pump some pollution into our air (not nearly as much as pollution as Quebec and Ontario pump into their atmosphere, yet for some reason we are vilified by the Eastern media and are blamed for their mild winter despite the fact that it's cold here and I have had snow in my yard for about two months now). Anyway, a Quebec politician is threatening to bring in the second incarnation of the dreaded National Energy Program all in the name of his dog Kyoto (you know that ridiculous agreement that allows some nations to buy credits off of another nation where they think buying credits from each other will clean up the environment) and if successful yet another Quebec politican will once again be stealing money from the West and destroy the economic hand that feeds the socialists mouth all in the name of appeasing his fellow Quebecois. Oh and did I neglect to mention that this Quebec politician is also a duel citizen of France. I just know how much some of you guys like the French. Plus should I also mention that during last summer's Israeli/Lebanese conflict, numerous Quebec politicians were seen standing side by side supporting Islamic extremists sporting the Hezbollah flag (all in Quebec ... not Lebanon). Is there any wonder why this current Westerner but former Quebecer (yes that's right I grew up in that cesspool, lived there for 18 years and was rejected because I was not pure-lain) does not trust any politician from Quebec. Bring it on ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm not a San Diego fan, but LT and the rest of the Chargers are too good to ignore. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Dude you'll look like even more of an idiot if you're constantly in the corner. Let the canopy fly, flare when you're closer to the ground and get back up there and make another jump. One of the hardest things I found while learning to swoop (BTW I am still learning) is when to get off of the risers. In time your spider senses will slowly become more in tune and your consistency will improve. Experienced swoopers who are willing to help you will know this amd is all part of the learning curve. I will never tell anyone that I think they look like an idiot if they've come out high. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

One thing that has changed is that you can now put HMA lines on your Velo (I still don't have it on my Velo) and that something that PD frowned on just a couple of years ago. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

When I grow up, I’m going to become the CEO of a multi-national corporation so that when I resign I can start my own country on some paradise island. The only problem with my plan is that it appears that I won’t grow up. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Pro card what's that? Is it a physical thing I can hold in my hands because if it is, I sure don't have one. There's some picture of me on some website that says I have one, but in reality I have nothing. Then again my uncurrent ass sure as hell doesn't need one right now (a huge reason why I'm not in FL for all the fun this week). Speaking of which, there doesn't seem to be a peep about the festivities. I know the pro comp isn't until this coming weekend, but with all the build up to the event, nothing. I guess they're too busy jumping than to be dealing with losers like us on the net. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I still have this canopy and it looks like it will be the tool of choice to first start using (as opposed to the JVX pocket rocket) once my ever so uncurrent ass gets to swoop again once my brain thaws (or was that the snow here in Oilberta) and the DZs reopen. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I wouldn’t expect any different sort of a response from a self-professed “swoop-hater”. But don’t forget, this old bald canuck did finish ahead of your young’un punk ass the last two competitions that we competed against each other (not that that would matter much any more since it’s been a good 18 months since this happened). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Definitely not disagreeing with you here Ryan. It's just that this statement makes me realize what a little fish I am in this big pond of ours. Oh well ... I guess I'm not willing to cut away and risk it all. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I sure as hell don’t want to get sucked into a “who’s better in combat” debate. I think it’s pretty obvious that the vast majority of combat soldiers always have been and likely will continue to be male. I just wanted to point out that we shouldn’t be stereo-typing. It’s bad enough that society as a whole does this. But I would like to think that we jumpers are beyond this since we groove to a different tune than the rest of lemmings do. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I have seen women in the BASE jumping environment show that they have a bigger set than some (not all) of their male counter parts. Don’t ever under-estimate the resolve of an individual regardless of their gender. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I don’t expect you to know my history and know my views on swooping. But I am not a big fan of flying highly loaded cross-braced canopies swooping in highly congested traffic areas for this exact reason. When I was jumping a Sabre2 and/or Crossfire2 and I was learning to swoop, it wasn’t as big of an issue. But now that I’m on a highly loaded cross-braced canopy, I’m just coming in way too fast to be able to react to all scenarios. I know I’ve got tons of control and can turn to avoid some objects (I am a competitive swooper so I know how to carve a turn through a course). But I’m not all that, I’m not a full time skydiver and I’ve got a long way to go before you’ll ever confuse myself with a world class swooper. Plus you only need to look at my logbook(s) to see that the vast majority of my last 900 skydives have been hop n’ pops and high pulls. In fact I know I’ve disappointed other skydivers in the past when I informed them that I couldn’t do a freefall jump with them because I was working on my canopy control. What can I say? I have my goals, it’s my 20+ dollars and I prefer to spend my time under canopy than in freefall. But I’m only one person, there are others who feel differently. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

How about using an alternate landing area and if one doesn't exist how about doing hop n' pops and/or high pulls. If myself as a swooper had to use hop n' pops and high pulls to learn my skill, why can't the common non-swooper do the same to learn these skills you speak of. Why the hypocricy? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Are some swoopers killing themselves because of poor judgment under canopy? Yes they are. Are some non-swoopers killing themselves because of poor judgment under canopy? Yes they are. What’s the common denominator here? Some skydivers are using poor judgment under canopy and anyone of us is at risk. None of us are special. In case you haven’t noticed, skydiving is not a safe sport and yes people do die because of this. If a canopy pilot has messed up their approach and is at risk of running into some sort of object at the end of the landing zone, then yes by all means do what you need to do to avoid that object by using a braked approach, an S-Turn and/or a flat turn. Chances are that the person behind them hasn’t messed up their approach (of course there are no guarantees here). But if someone is using braked approach and/or S-Turns on short final because they messed up their approach and/or misjudged their canopies penetration into the wind only because they want to hit the peas and/or shorten their walk back to the packing area. Well then don’t do it as these people are just creating an unnecessary hazard to themselves and their fellow canopy pilots. Land long, analyze what you did wrong and try not to repeat the same mistake next time. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There are women who are currently deployed in infantry combat roles in Afghanistan (in Canada’s small but potent military) and there doesn’t seem to be an issue with these girls doing these difficult jobs. In fact recently one of the (typical brain dead reporters) was interviewing a girl (dressed in full combat gear) and he asked her about what she does when she has to go to the bathroom and her response was “we just find a spot and do it”. Of course we’re not talking about high maintenance princesses here people. Any woman who’s got the … you know what … to volunteer to join the infantry and be sent off to a war zone is not going to be a high maintenance drama queen. We should stop judging people based on historical stereo-types and accept them for who they are. If a woman has the physical and mental skills to be a combat soldier, let’s let them be who they want to be. Plus let's just look at the women who participate in our sport of skydiving and BASE jumping. These are not your stereo-typical high maintenance drama queens. They are adventerous free spirited women looking for a little excitement in their lives. If we (men) can accept women into the skydiving/BASE jumping family, why can't we (men) accept women into volunteer combat military roles. Why all the hypocricy? Or are some men here still stuck in the sexist past of the 50s? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I recently picked up an 8 GIG iPod nano and so far (knock on wood) I am very happy with it. I only use my iPod nano for music. I have my laptop and desktop 'puters for when I want to play video. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

We’re all in this together (swoopers and non-swoopers) and each and everyone of us needs to do our part to ensure that something bad doesn’t happen to us (of course sometimes you can do everything right in this sport and still die). Of course it’s much easier to predict what another canopy pilot will do when you’re jumping at your own DZ. When you go to a big DZ like Eloy (especially during one of their boogies) there are still many wild cards in play. But try and do this (no matter where you jump). Observe who is on the load with you. Try and figure out what kind of jump they are doing (RW, Freeflying, AFF, Tandem Camera, Tandem, Wingsuit, high pullers, etc, etc, etc). Try if possible to look at their demeanor and gear (there is no guarantee here that your observations will be correct - seeing someone with a small rig tells you they’ll have a small canopy, but it won’t tell you how they will be flying that canopy) and ultimately try to determine where you will fit into the landing pattern. Sometimes it makes sense to try and be first down, sometimes it makes sense to try and hang in brakes and be last down and often it makes sense just to try and sequence yourself into the traffic pattern. Obviously what I am telling you is not a science (multiple aircraft on multiple jump runs doesn’t help). There will always be wildcards. But if you have an idea of where you should be fitting into the landing pattern before you even leave the ground, then you’re a step ahead of the game and at least you have some sort of plan versus just winging it. PS: In reference to trying to sequence yourself in the pattern, know this. You can leave the airplane before someone else, yet they still may be landing before you. A lot has to depend on what kind of jump they made, how high or low they pulled, what their wingloading is and how they flew their canopy. I guess I’m telling you this so that you’re not trying to be the first one down at this early stage of your jumping career. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed this morning after leaving a Denver nightclub. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4931937 Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That's Mark Shimell ... and he got a big fat donut on that run because his body left the course once he banked hard. But I can't talk since I was immediately followed Mark (not in this video but in the comp) and crashed hard after rear riser stalling my canopy. You see we were dealing with about a 10 mph down wind component on that jump and I confused ground speed with airspeed. It's all good though. Both Mark, myself and everyone else survived and had a good time that week. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm guessing that the person you are thinking of is Mark Shimell and he was flying a JVX 87 ... which ironically is now the exact same canopy I'm flying since I bought it off of Mark last August. But there are two other (non Selection.com) canopies in Ian's video but both of these canopies have stripes. One is being piloted by JC Colclasure and the other one is Nick Batch. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Just cut them off (your legs). They'll grow back. Oops ... I guess you were serious. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It wasn't an issue for the Russians during World War II. Why should it be one now. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Waiting is something you need to get used to doing in this sport since we do a lot of it whenever Mother Nature yields her ugly face to us. Remember, it's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than to be in the air wishing you were on the ground. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over