CanuckInUSA

As someone who grew up in the Great White North, driving in snow was just something you learn to do. You don't love it and you hate it. It's just something that needs to be done if you don't want to be shut in for months on end during the winter months. You just need to follow a few common sense rules: 1) Slow down a bit (you don't need to drive like a granny either) 2) Give yourself more time/room to brake. 3) Have good tires on your vehicle. 4) If you lose control, don't slam on your brakes. 5) For gods sakes clean the snow off of your windows. I could go into details for point #4, but I won't. But in reference to point #5, a few years back while in Colorado I encountered this vehicle with Texas plates and it blew me a away that that idiot was driving around with snow covering all of their windows except for a small credit card sized clearing they made on their windshield. It doeasn't take much effort (1-2 minutes) to clean all of the snow from your windows and it gives your vehicle time to warm up. Wouldn't you rather see where you're going? This person was an accident waiting to happen. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You can usually find Jaap at our house playing guitar and drinking. I finally met Jaap last night and it's safe to say that we had some fun. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Looks like I chose the wrong time to leave CO (of course anytime is the wrong time to leave that beautiful state). Anyway, casual pot usage is not to be feared. People who smoke are less likely to do harm than those who abuse alcohol. But prolonged usage does damage people, makes them lazy and less intelligent. But one thing that everyone needs to be carefuly of is that this casual usage doesn't turn to harder drugs such as Meth. There are a lot crack-heads here in the Vancouver BC area who've destroyed their lives and because of this, there is a lot of property crime in the area and well a lot of organized crime as well. So the good people of Denver better make sure that their acceptance of pot doesn't lead to more harmful drugs such as meth. Also, people who drive while stoned are still intoxicated and in many cases shouldn't be behind the wheel. But the funny phenominom (sp?) in all of this is that the stoned driver slows down whereas the drunk driver speeds up. Now the slow driver can be just as dangerous as the fast driver because the slow driver causes others to get impatient and angry and the impatient and angry drivers then speed up. But I'll take the stoned driver over the drunk driver any day. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

We should organize a BC jumpers night out for food, drinks and good conversations. I've been trying to hook up with Jaap for a while now, but either I've blown him off or he's blown me off. But I'm sure if he's free he'll join us. Of course my brain is stuck in a fog right now. I wonder why ... and no it has nothing to do with the good BC bud. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I've come close to femuring three times I think (maybe four). The first two times occurred a few summers ago when I had about 300ish jumps and I was flying my Sabre2 170 and yes I think jumping the bigger 170 was what saved my ass. And then last spring on a sunset load jumping a Velocity 111 I was determined to make some red entry gates, I took too long to acquire the gates and burned up altitude in the process (red on a sunset load was not easy to find) and was able to dig myself out of my grave at the last possible second. I also had a close call during one of our early summer CPC competitions where I should have just aborted a poor approach because not only did I score a zero anyway on that round, but I put my health and the health of someone else on the ground at jeopardy by this botched approach. High performance canopy flight rocks!!! But it's very unforgiving of the errors that we make up there and yes when learning canopy flight, it's much better to make these mistakes under a somewhat forgiving canopy. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm more like CanuckInBC and/or CanuckInBurnaby now. But I am here ... what's up Pops? You trying to organize something or just trying to figure out which BC skydivers have no life (which would be yours truly). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

So true, so true ... Bryan Burke is an awesome person to talk to about skydiving. I wish I could tape into his brain more than the few isolated times I have actually talked with him. But one of my favorite quotes from Bryan (in reference to a bad spot at a big boogie where the idea of a go around was non-existent) was ... "If you don't like the spot, it's not getting any better". Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That was a very funny piece and it's nice to see the media not paint BASE jumping in any sort of negative light as the media has been known to do in the past. Nice work Top Gear!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I once had a Triathlon 220 and downsized to a Sabre2 190 and you're putting way more jumps on your Triathlon than I did with mine. So I'm sure you know it better than I did. But you're going to love the Sabre2. It's a great canopy to learn with. By the way (in case this is one of those small world scenarios), my old Triathlon was blue, purple, blue, blue, blue, purple, blue. Tell me yours is different otherwise you just may be jumping my old canopy. But as I said, you know it better than I did. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What's he been teaching you? How have you been flying your canopy? Are you inducing speed low to the ground? If yes, how much did you practice up high before you brought it low to the ground? What did you practice up high? How current are you? How current do you plan on being? Why do you want to downsize after only 16 jumps on your current canopy? How reputable is this coach you speak of? Why are you willing to trust your life with his word that you'll be okay? After all you've told us that he's the one making the calls for your life. Having a DZ reject you and your canopy should be the least of your worries right now. Dude I'm no canopy nazi. Like some other people, I progressed faster than recommended. But I put hundreds and hundreds of jumps on virtually each canopy that I jumped and I was always pretty darn current. Plus I sought professional coaching from one of the world's best canopy pilots when I really wanted to take that next step (I sought coaching more than once as well). If someone wants to talk to me about swooping, then I'm game, let's talk. But know this ... There are no short cuts to swooping. It seems that this is something you're not aware of and you're going to find out what this means sooner or later if you put your blind trust in others instead of doing it the right way. Any one of us is capable of fucking up and permanently messing ourselves up. But there is a right way and a wrong way to go about becoming a good canopy pilot. So what's the right way? 1) Be patient, becoming a good canopy pilot doesn't happen over night. 2) Seek professional coaching from reputable coaches. 3) Dedicate jumps towards canopy control. 4) Put hundreds and hundreds of jumps on each canopy (stay current too). 5) Never skip a step in the downsizing/canopy type progression. 6) Know your limits and stay within them. 7) Know that there is always someone else better than you. 8) Know that there are no short cuts to swooping. Oh and just so that you know my progression so that you see that it's somewhat aggressive, but not nearly as aggressive as the path you're on. Here it is ... Jumps 1 ... 40 (various student/rental canopies from 290s down to 230s). Triathlon 220 ... 50 jumps Sabre2 190 ... 85 jumps Sabre2 170 ... 225 jumps (the canopy I really learned to swoop on) Crossfire2 139 ... 225 jumps Crossfire2 119 ... 150 jumps Velocity 111 ... 200 jumps Velocity 103 ... 350+ jumps (current canopy) and in many people's eyes I was aggressive with this progression. But at your pace you'll be on a cross-braced canopy at 200 jumps? I sure hope not. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

WX permitting, are you guys jumping during the winter months? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hop n' pops are awesome for working on one's canopy control and/or just getting that jump in when the WX is less than ideal. Of course if learning freefall skills is the primary goal, well hop n' pops aren't useless. It's just that you won't be doing all that much freefall on each jump. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Thanks Stu. I've been waiting for more of these videos to come out. I would have done my own had I had a functional camcorder, but mine is still in the shop with not sign of when it will be fixed. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I know I'm taking a hard line with this "it's not an accident" stuff here. Yes the shit can hit the fan and sometimes it's just not going to be your day. But it's all about being pro-active. Don't hang out in the left lane or the left and/or middle track of the lane you're in when you see that opposing motorist slow down. Be prepared to slow down, speed up and turn (with counter steering techniques). It just may save your life. Be pro-active ... do your best to not let it happen to you. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Not true, you're in more control than what you think. Why did you enter that intersection? Weren't you looking at that other guy? Why didn't you slow down or speed up once you noticed they weren't paying attention? They were moving just as you were and that should have alerted you that maybe they weren't thinking what they were doing. Did you not think that it couldn't happen to you? If you're not prepared for this scenario each and everytime you enter an intersection, you will find yourself behind the power curve. Stay ahead of the machine and the environment you're in. At least when the shit hits the fan, you'll be prepared. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Wild animals are definitely more unpredictable that some unattentive motorist and therefore scare me more. I can prepare for the motorist not paying attention, It's much harder to prepare for that animal playing chicken with me on some road at night. Oh and I killed a ground hog earlier this summer on my motorcycle on a highway. I saw him/her and said "don't do it". But he/she did it anyway and all that happened to me was ... well nothing happened to me. I hardly felt that critter as I rode over it with my wheels (I surely wasn't about to put my safety on the line trying to avoid some animal). Of course a deer/moose/cow etc, etc, etc is a different story. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I never said riding a motorcycle was safe. Nor is any form of jumping and any form of aviation. Ah shit, life is not safe. It's a terminal condition. But where's the harm in trying to stay ahead of the machine/wing you are piloting. Be pro-active!!! Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes very hard to avoid. You entered that intersection not paying attention to the traffic and not adjusting your speed and/or course based on the environment (did you even look to see what the other traffic was doing prior to entering the intersection?). Shit can still happen fast in this scenario, but an accident should not automatically be assumed if you're prepared for it. What were you doing in their blind spot? This was your fault for being there and clearly shows that this rider did NOT know how to poisition themselves in traffic and likely felt they were too cool to take a safety course where they teach this sort of thing. This is where counter steering can save your life. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes Derek that is exactly what I'm trying to say. Oh and how's that pocket rocket of yours? In case you didn't hear, I'm up in Canadia (spelled this way on purpose) now and unless I come down to visit with my bike, we won't be doing any evening riding like we did earlier this year. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

This will be an interesting election because I suspect there will be some people who have always voted Liberal who will vote some other way. For the center/socialists out there, then the NDP will be their option (and yes the NDP could get historically high popular votes for themselves) and of course those on the center/right might vote for the PCs (and K-bec will get its huge share of Bloc voters). So we shall see ... I hope it's a majority government one way or another, but I'm still predicting another minority Liberal government because the people of Ontario have pretty much always voted for the Libs and all the political power in Canada is in Ontario and Quebec despite the fact that the west finances more than it's fair share in Canada. The east has been fucking over the west ever since confederation and why should this ever change? Oh and to stay on topic, this hiring policy is bullshit. But it's not the first time that nasty word of "affirmative action" has been used to appease those in desperate need of political correctness. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Okay you got me on that one. It's kind of like being killed thanks to some sort of natural dissaster. Sometimes you can do everything right and still be killed. But for those people who think they don't need to pay attention or feel they don't need specialized safety training (because they've been riding for "x" number of years), there are playing with fire. It's amazing how many people don't know what counter steering is and amazing how many people have never practiced emergency braking. I guess they're just too cool to be thinking of asking someone else about the life saving emergency procedure and where to position themselves on the road for maximum visibility (fuck I'm starting to sound like a broken record here). Let's go jumping since we know riding a motorcycle is NOT safe. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Just because the light is green and I have the right of way over that guy making that left hand turn doesn't give me the go ahead to just enter that intersection without evaluation my speed and potential outs and where to position myself on the road to find that out. Be pro-active with your riding (and your jumping) and you may just be able to handle that emergency when it happens. Shit still may happen to those who are prepared, but at least they're ready for it. To just enter an intersection because the light is green is a mistake. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

WTF? How the fuck am I being over confident here? Spare me your bullshit. I'm telling people to be pro-active, to not let that other guy on the road kill you. Seek training, keep that training current. Once again you put yourself in that situation where you let the other guy try and kill you. This is not overconfidence and it's not all that difference from the training skydivers, BASE jumpers and pilots must routinely put themselves through. I never said riding a motorcycle was safe. But it's 1000 times more dangerous for those who don't stay current with their emergency procedures (let alone those who don't even have the faintest idea as to what to do in an emergency). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Ignorance? Please spare me this crap ... take responsiblity for your actions. Be pro-active with your riding. If you're not willing to do this, then you really shouldn't be on the road. Sure there may be the extremely rare case where you did everything in your power and still came out on the short end of the stick. But are you the type of person to just sit back and let shit happen to you or are you pro-active type. Don't let that asshole kill you. Always stay within your limits, pay attention on the road and seek training if you haven't because you don't know shit if you just let things happen to you because you don't regularily practice counter steering and emergency braking. Know where to position yourself on the road for maximum visibility and don't go through intersections in a complacient manner. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Give me some examples of incidents that you think aren't avoidable. If you let some other motorists collide with you (sure that motorists could have been at fault because they were not paying attention), you just didn't do everything in your power to avoid the collision. Motorcyclists need to be proactive while they are on the road. I don't buy into this crap of it being the other guys fault. You let it happen to you. Don't let it happen to you. Know your limits, stay withing those limits. Know what counter steering is, practice it as well as emergency braking and for gods sake don't try a swerve over that pot hole or tire when it's much easier and safer to ride over it. And if you don't believe me that you can't ride over an object like a tire on the road, then you obviously haven't tried it. As part of my MSF training back in the 90s, my instructors had me riding over tires and wood crates to prove to myself that it can be done (not to mention the drills they put us through to enhance our counter steering and emergency braking skills). Oh and there are two types of motorcyclists. Those who have crashed and those who have yet to crash. I fall into the crashed category. I low sided it going around a very tight mountain road and it was totally my fault. Too much testosterone and not enough respect for my limits as a motorcyclists. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over