riddler

Thankyouthankyouthankyou. One of my stupid pet peeves is when people say "I could care less". I don't think it's a waste of time to get a degree in what you are passionate about - it makes sense to really love your job, considering how much time you spend there. As long as you remember that you probably won't make much money with that. It's almost a cliche, but think about that, really. I know quite a few people that got a degree in something they liked, knowing they wouldn't make any money with it, and now seriously regret that they don't make any money. You could do very well, financially, but you're much more likely to do well by getting, say, your MBA. Ed - man, is my spelling that bad?? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Don't make me tell your boss you're online J/K. And you are right, BTW. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Just noticed the jump numbers with the profile. Very nice! I was forever looking at everyone's profile after they made a post. It's nice to have that info right there. Thanks, HH. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Just a thought, and it's not directed at anybody in particular - maybe we should wait until Vigil formally responds before we draw conclusions? When they state that there is a real problem and what they are doing to address it, we'll have both sides of the story. The "blank screens" may not in fact be a problem. SSK makes a great product, but they had their share of issues as well. Personally, I like seeing some competition in this market.

From yours and other posts, it seems like the canopy material still works after this happens. But do you think it decreases the overall life of the canopy? I mean, for instance, only 1000 jumps instead of 2000? Would the fabric or ZP coating be deteriorated at the seams of the folds? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Update - when I asked the jumper about it, he said that he had the original packing card. The rigger that re-assembled the rig gave it to him, rather than stapling it to the new reserve card, and he filed it away. He stated that the old card is falling apart, and wouldn't last long with the rig if it was taken out often. Any advice for repairing an old reserve card? Spell-o-tape? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Not entirely true - one jumper died on landing when he fell and his chest-mount altimeter came up and crushed his throat. But that's a morbid subject on an otherwise good thread. Thanks, Skratch Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Considering where most of those crashed, I'm sure maintenance was less than stellar. Nigeria? Maintenance? We don't need no steenkin' maintenance! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Yeah, but Remster told me all they talk about over there is food. Not that that's a bad thing. I don't miss TalkBack. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Their website says mandatory. They have a nice database lookup engine where you can enter the serial number of the canopy and it will show you if you are affected. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Definitely my tandem instructor, Mike Pintamo. Big guy with a big laugh and a good heart. The other day, I was sitting next to him on the plane as he was doing yet another tandem - he's at 7,000 jumps now - and I thought to myself "this is the same guy that I did a tandem with almost three years ago and here we are, on the same plane, still skydiving together." I guess the DZ is definitely home for me. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I don't believe this is necessarily a rule. I think many riggers prefer it, but I'm not sure it's standard. And if the packing card follow the reserve, how do you log a SB for the container? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Damn! And I was thinking "what a great idea" Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

So I haul a friend's rig up to hooknswoop's yesterday, and kept him up until 11 PM watching me repack it. Before I went over there, I checked the SBs for Precision and found the SB1221 about line attachment points, entered the serial number into their database and found that this Raven reserve was affected. I checked the packing card, and the rig was put together in 2003 from older parts (including the older reserve). The rigger that assembled it made no note of whether SB1221 had been performed on the packing card. "Only one way to find out", says hooknswoop, and I launch the spring loaded PC across his living room, where we open up the reserve and find that the SB has been done. My question is why isn't that shown on the packing card? I know the SB has been done prior to the assembly of this rig, but when the original rigger put it together, he didn't transfer that information to the new packing card. To me, it would make sense to do that. Hooknswoop advocates different cards for the reserve and container, which would eliminate this problem. But if I put together the rig from parts, I would be tempted to check the SBs, see what's been done, and add that information to the new card. Isn't this a standard practice? Should I write on the reserve card that the SB has been done, but I don't know who did it or when? That would be good info for the next rigger, but it's a bit vague.

I'm with the monkey. Anything except packing. Packers work hard and get zero respect. Ed to add - I love teaching FJC, I love coaching students, and I love rigging (not a rigger yet, but working it). Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Steve - I'm curious about this. Does this really work? Seems like it might, considering that's what we tell students to do when landing. How close to 5,000 do you think you can judge? +/- 500? +/- 1000? Do you really think it's completely visual, or do you think it's partly internal clock as well as visual? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

It's a very acceptable practice, from what I've seen. It may not be right, but it seems acceptable. I think that's because just about everyone does it. Personally, I check altitude often. Sometimes I lose control because of it, but I would rather cork than go low. Corking is only dangerous if others are above or below you, or too close to you when you obviously don't have the skill to be doing that. As a freeflyer, you should know your limitations, and not get into one of these situations. Sitflying is easier - I can look between my legs and get an idea of what my alititude is without losing my sit. I can't look at the ground when I'm headdown (maybe I should do more Yoga?) It doesn't make sense to me to rely on the "internal clock". It's not very reliable. If you get out 2,000 feet lower due to clouds, spend a little time sitting (140 MPH), transition to headdown (160 MPH), and cork once on accident (120 MPH), will the internal clock give you a good measurement of how high you are? Probably not. Ideally, I would want to use this order: 1. Looking at the ground. (sitting or belly) 2. Mechanical altimeter. 3. Audible altimeter. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Out of curiosity, what are the rules for currency in GB? In the US, under the new USPA rules, someone with 130 jumps would only have a B license at most. Currency requirements for a B license are no more than 90 days - after that, we would have to do a recurrency jump with an instructional rating holder. Under the old rules, they might be grandfathered in as a C license, in which case, they would have 6 months. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

This is a good point. Every USPA jumper is required to pass water training for his/her B-license. IIRC, there were zero deaths last year due to water (I may be wrong, but the number is far less than canopy injuries). There was a time when water landings were the number one cause of death for skydivers, and the problem was addressed with training (and more controllable parachutes ) Instituting canopy training is a bit more complicated. For water landing, one procedure can be taught in one evening. Flying a canopy takes a lot more skills and tricks. I would add to this that extended PLF training (or re-training) could save a lot of injuries or even a few lives. Not many people continue to practice PLFs after FJC. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I agree with you. Despite reading the books three or more times in my life ... I actually liked the movies better. The Bridge of Durin was inside the mountain, part of the mines of Moria - I think of it as deep in the base of the mountain. The bridge spanned a very deep chasm that the dwarves speculated was endless. Gandalf and the Balrog both fell off together (or rather Gandalf was dragged off), both survived by falling into water at the bottom of it. Then Gandalf chased the demon all the way up to the very peak of Khazad-dum - quite a bit higher than the bridge. There, they battled, and Gandalf cast it off the mountain, where it was broken by the fall and smote the side of the peak. Personally, I'm glad they left out Tom Bombadil. Somehow, the vision a brightly-colored chap with a peacock feather in his cap that skips through the forest singing "tra-la-la-lala" would have been too much of a contradiction to the otherwise gothic movie Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Ditto. Looks like a high-school HTML project. I wonder how long before we see "Google Classic"? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I've heard this one before from McNasty - "if you can't fly a parachute, you shouldn't be skydiving". They don't seem to understand that parachutes don't have engines But I can relate to them. If my neighbors kept coming into my yard and throwing trash into my yard, I would get pissed after a while, even if it's just an inconvenience. Can't say I would hit someone with my car about it, though Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

More Hollywood license. In the books, Gandalf did not jump off Orthanc. He was rescued by Gwaihir, the swiftist of Eagles, because Radagast the Brown (another wizard) had all the animals out looking for Gandalf. Gwaihir spotted Gandalf on top of Orthanc, flew down, had a short chat with him, then bore him away. Gandalf did fall of Durin's bridge with the Balrog, but survived by falling in water (yeah, right ), but he didn't fall off Khazad-dum, although he cast the demon off the mountain to it's demise (and left a nice scar on the mountain, I might add). Tolkein was an english gentleman that taught languages at Oxford. His hobbies were taking his dogs for walks in the woods and looking at trees. I'm sure the concept of falling off cliffs was terrifying to him - nearly everyone that made any sort of fall in the books died from it. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I'll be there

Same is true of QWest. Kind of a strange situation for me. I require broadband, but don't want local phone service or cable or satellite. Unfortunately, the other options for BB aren't reliable enough for me to consider anything else. Cable and Satellite also require you to get their "normal" services as well. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD