CanuckInUSA

Well she did it. She went five for five winning five Olympic medals in the five long track speed skating events she entered in at Torino (One Gold, Two Silvers and Two Bronze). Canada's best ever Olympic athlete. And she's not even ready to retire yet.

You're not alone here. Got any spare Te-kill-ya left? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There are tons and tons of entertaining videos out there (in no particular order). Skydiving: - Chronicles III - Flyboyz Party Mix - Good Times - Crosswind - The Cloud's Edge - Trace 101 - Airspeed (if you're into hardcore 4-way belly stuff) BASE: - Continuum - Continuum II - Standard Issue - Radux - Keen 'n Able - Fistfull of 1-11 - Beyond Exteme - 1st BASE - The Shovels - Adrenaline Rush - Subterminal Swooping/Canopy Piloting - Gravity Pilots - PD Factory Team DVD - PST 2003 a year in review - Swoop - Swoop II - Dirt Water Dirt And there's got to be a whole lot more which was left off of this list only because my brain isn't working all that well this morning and I can't remember them all. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I still consider myself very new to this sport and still have much to learn about different jumps, different gear configurations and most importantly learn more about why I do it (even though I'm pretty sure I know why I do it). When I approach the exit point, I usually get pretty quiet and don't have this "awe radical man this is going to be cool" attitude. Instead I'm more subdue and think "shit where did I go wrong in life? why am I here?". And then as long as the conditions are right for the jump, all of a sudden something goes off in my head "it's time to go" and I'm gone. Plus that 2 second delay from when I present the pilot chute to when the canopy opens is usually the longest two seconds (that despite my 80+ jumps to date), I just don't seem to get used to as I wonder "shit is this it, am I going to die?". But then the canopy opens and yes while I know I'm still not safe under canopy, I am relieved (I love flying my canopies be it a large BASE canopy or a small swooping skydiving canopy), and I feel relaxed and I remember why I like playing in the skies so much. But there is a tough question that we must all ask ourselves. "Is jumping worth the risk of dying for?" and the answer very much is a personal thing which CAN change in time as our lives change. I hope to be jumping (both BASE and skydiving) years from now, but only time will tell if I am. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Americans revere the word "freedom" as if it was a religious word (or something like that). Americans are always preaching it and yes I do think it is a power entity and something to be cherished since freedom is not something many in history have been able to enjoy. Yet many now in America are prepared to take the freedom of a woman to choose how she wants to live her life away from her only because this topic goes against their religious and/or moral beliefs. It's also similar to homosexuality, where the religious right wants to take the freedom away from people to live how they want to live their lives. So what is it? Does freedom only apply to those who follow that fictional book called "The Burble"? Why are some of you so strongly bent on removing the "freedom" of someone to choose how they wish to live their lives away from them only because it goes against your beliefs (be it religious or some other reason). Does freedom only apply when it suits your beliefs or does it apply to all those wishing to live their lives a certain way? Stop fucking judging people and accept them for who they are. Yes abortion is not a desirable form of birth control. But if a woman decides that it is in her best interest not to see a pregnacy to the end. It is her body and her life and she should be given the freedom to choose how to live that life. Fucking hypocrites I say (the right to lifers) when they're willing to support a government which invades foreign countries proclaiming the reason why they do it is in the name if "freedom" yet they are so damn quick to take the same "freedom" away from their citizens. Not that I know much about South Dakota, but those fools are really the laughing stock of the civilized world right now. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I can't. They're both dead. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I haven't really been able to come all that close since I nailed a nice 1075418m score. But I agree with Brits and that it's the techno music which makes the game even more fun that what it is. One more attempt. only 697297m ... I'm done ... for now. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I just want to know how you can rightfully claim yourself to be CanuckInUsa when us War-Mongers booted you out? Hey we Ice-backs are poised to take over command in Kandahar Afghanistan ... and this is no peacekeeping misson. But what does this have to do with canopy control? How's that Kantana of yours treating you? I've only got six jumps on it, but I'm really liking my new JVX very much. Hopefully I'll find the time and money to travel to CO this season to test it out there. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm the Ice-Back who you ratted on to the INS. I didn't crash every time, only when it really counted. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm no expert. But I'm guessing (based on my brief experience at the GLC and some launches I tried in CO last summer) that the slope is not big enough and not steep enough (the steep section is very short and it doesn't look all that steep). But that could all change with the right winds. If there is consistent head winds in the 10 mph range, try kiting the canopy from there. But make sure you kite out of the harness in high'ish winds before you try and kite in the harness. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Cool and congrats. Jumping rocks. Get out there and do more. But unless you're willing to cut away and live the life of a struggling skydiving bum, remember to keep balance in your life. I love my jumping exploits. But I'm also learning that I need to keep things balanced. Too much work makes me a dull boy. But too much jumping not only makes me poor, but it also hurts my chances of finding and maintaining work. It's all about balance. But jumping can be fun as well. So get out there and enjoy our sport. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Actually I'd love to switch jobs with you. But making something clicky is pretty easy. 1) start with the url tag: (url) 2) end it so that it's a properly formed url: (url)(/url) 3) Add the text you want people to see: (url)hey check this out, it's cool(/url) 4) Add the actual link in quotes in the first url tag: (url "http://www.afn.org/skydive/sta/highperf.pdf")hey check this out, it's cool(/url) Note: finally replace the "("s and ")"s with "["s and "]"s. In order not to mess up the browser and how you viewed this message, I had to use "("s and ")"s to not have malformed markup tags in this message instead of the normal "["s and "]"s. Here are your original links and if you wanted to actually view the links, just hit the "Quote" reply DZ.COM button and you will see the actual syntax used to make something clicky. Icarus NZ choice page Icarus NZ tricell page High performance page Oh and I've love to have your job flying helicopters. My job (a software developer) can suck at times. As long as my employers don't over work me, it can be a cool job when things work. But it's a shitty job when they don't Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Dang dude ... first you're seen complaining about your job and now your looking to get off of the wagon. Hmmm ... beer ... unfortunately I can't drink beer tonight (at least not before my hockey game) but in three or so weeks the company I'm contracting at are relocating me to downtown Van. So I guess I'll be around to do the occasional after work debauchery. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

No it's not. You, myself and Nick B are all sporting new JVXs. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Every since I got into BASE almost two years ago, I've been think that Labrador might have some jumpable sites. But it is remote and I'm not sure about the winds coming off of the Altantic. But yes I think Newfoundland/Labrador might have some hidden gems there. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's also possible that the reason why one forearm is larger than the other one is that I also neglected to mention that I am a life long hockey player (a defenseman nonetheless) and holding and swinging the stick in one arm has built up this one bigger than the other. Then again maybe it's because I've been killing kittens since my last steady girlfriend. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Thanks for the pic. Matt actually looks much better than I had imagined from your daily descriptions. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

One of mine is bigger than the other.

That's what happens when you exercise certain muscle groups on a daily basis. They grow and get bigger. What did you expect and why do you always criticize people who are different from yourself? Back when I did a lot of mountain biking in the early to mid 90s, my thins where pretty big as well. But now that I'm a seasoned slacker, they've come back down in size and look normal. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

So true ... so true ... so true. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

"I go to parties sometimes until four. It's hard to leave when you can't find the door". Life's been good to me - Joe Walsh Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What an asshole!!! If the best interests of the public are to be observed, then maybe we should all stop driving cars, stop smoking, stop playing any sort of sport where injury could occur. Because after all if I hurt myself skiing, or playing hockey I could cost the good tax payer money. Eat my shorts you ####### weenie (in reference to the author of this editorial). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I was at the 2004 Wildwood PST/Beach Boogie (not as a competitor but as a fun jumper) and I had a blast jumping over the ocean, jumping with some cool Crosskeys peeps and getting to swoop the pond when the pros weren't swooping it. It was an ultra cool place to jump and if I can afford it, I'd like to return this year. But I'm waiting for the 2006 CPC and PST/ProAm schedule to be released since my pockets aren't as deep as they once were and my travel options may be limited. But it is an ultra cool venue to be jumping at with tons of curious whuffos walking the boardwalk. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yup. About 3 blocks from there. I walk past through that intersection almost every day on my way to shopping in Chinatown. I haven't seen your place, but everytime I visit Jaap I wonder if my Jeep will be stolen or broken into. It's amazing to have so much affluence and poverty so close to each other. Also, there's no way I would want to pay the rent that Jaap pays, but his place is five star compared to my rat hole in north Burnaby. I own a very nice modest 4 bedroom house in a Calgary suburb. But if I was to sell it and try to buy something in Vancouver (I'm not talking about the distant burbs like Abbotsford), the 300k or so that I'd have at my finger tips would only get me another rat hole in Vancouver. But this time I'd own the rat hole versus renting the hole I currently reside in. This is one of the discouraging things I find in this city. I have no desire to buy property here. Now if it would only stop raining. It is a very scenic city when it's not ###### raining. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Because it's messy. It is rather efficient though. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over