murrays

Just to be able to savour each moment over and over again! I love being able to download my footage to the computer and examine every skydive frame by frame, put together videos for friends and enjoy each jump many times over. It's also great for debriefing coaching and PFF jumps. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Yes, you do...and it's hell, just hell. (kidding) -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Don't waste a packjob. If you'd have jumped it the day you packed it, it will be just fine weeks and months later. I've jumped pack jobs that are many, many months old. As long as your rig has been stored properly (it sounds like it) and you have no reason to inspect it due to exposure to heat, moisture etc...I'd say go for it. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

I bought an Optik this spring. Previously, I had only shot stills back in the 80's with a homemade mount on a protec. The Optik is way better

An hour would be pretty long...but segmented/organized as you describe it would be a great DVD! That way it is easy to go to the segment you want, easy for people to find a skydive, etc. Otherwise, I'd say 15-20 minutes is a good length for maintaining people's interest. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Does your manual have any explanations of the error codes? -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Bill, Let me the the second to wish you a Happy Birthday! Murray (Former Treasurer of CSPA) -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

As far as I know, Final Cut Express (FCE) shares the same user interface as Final Cut Pro 3 (FCP3). I am looking at buying a book on using FCP3 to help me with learning FCE. Would most of the information on editing, titles, transitions, compositing be the same for both programs? Thanks, -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

I will have a look...thanks for the help! -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Hi Jarno, hey, thanks! I agree on the transitions but find that I get very large files when I do the things that I know how to do to increase quality...higher key frame rates, Sorenson codec....so I just used iMovie's presets for web movies. What do you mean "without fields"? That is a term I haven't heard used for Quicktime. Murray -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

I really enjoyed it Gus! Loved your website too. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Looks like 2003 season is over up here in the GWN so I finished off my video for the year. Nothing special, I jump at a C182 dz and do whatever with whomever. This is the first year I jumped with a video camera (PC1 w/Diamond .3, Bonehead Optik with dBox)and I really enjoyed having it along on all my jumps. The wingsuit jumps are the first flocks done up here. Thanks to everybody on this forum who helped along the way!! Oh yeah, edited on a flatpanel iMac using iMovie3. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Being Canadian, I've only ever JM'd from in front of the student. I have attached a photo showing a mod we have on our student rigs to make it easier to get the pilot chute ready for an IAD, and showing how we control students during climbout. It is a pocket on the left side of the main container that the pilot chute is stored in until you get the student ready for exit. It is easy to remove the p/c and adjust the amount of free bridle so that you have a bit of slack while holding the side adjuster and the pilot chute. Having a grip on the harness helps you control and assist the student during climbout. As they clear the door, you just slide your left hand onto the strut, put your foot(feet) on the step and slide out beside them while they hang. I keep my hand on their harness until they are out hanging. Then I just keep my grip on the p/c and hold the p/c close to the rig. I tell them to go and toss the pilot chute down when they let go of the strut and start falling away. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Gloves - I use leather cross country ski gloves that have a velcro closure around the wrist so that they are more secure. A bit of insulation but still good feel...important if you jump a pull-out. Be very sure they allow you to get a good grip on your cutaway handle. I remember an incident up here in canada a while back where a jumper's gloves were too slippery to pull the cutaway handle and they had to be taken off in order to chop. Glasses/Goggles - I've likely done most of my cold weather jumping with glasses...no problems with fogging that I remember. Clothing - I prefer poly-pro and wool. Wool socks are infinitely warmer than cotton socks and stay warm even if damp from sweat or external moisture. Cotton is cold as hell if it gets damp. I hate the stuff unless it is summer time. Poly pro underwear and a thin wool sweater is my preference. If you are packing outside, which is something I've done, be sure to have a good parka to put on over your jumpsuit and layers to stay warm on the ground. Shoes - If you wear something heavier, like hiking boots be sure that any hooks are taped over to prevent snagging. Under canopy, your hands get cold partly from having them above your head...your heart just can't keep the blood flow happening. After opening, try keeping your fingers in your armpits while under canopy (traffic permitting) while you make minor corrections using harness inputs. Obviously, get ready to land at a reasonable altitude. Head wear - I've made all my cold weather jumps with a frap hat. I'm sure most helmets are warmer. As previously noted, a turtleneck is nice to have to keep your throat warm. I am very leery of giving up visibility to keep my face warm. I'll take the cold face to ensure that I can see my handles and what is going on around me. As a result I've never used a balaclava that could interfere with my vision. Good idea for a thread Dave. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Cruiselite Beta was 185 Sq. Ft. Great little canopy, put several hundred jumps on mine. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

I've been going to Muay Thai Kick-boxing for 7-8 months. Our classes are a lot of fun..the tunes are blasting..and it's not as formal/structured as other martial arts. Classes are a great combination of stretching, aerobic activity (skipping usually) and learning/practicing combinations and techniques. Suits my personality and schedule as there are a lot of classes and I go to the ones that fir my unstructured life. I've dropped about 8 pounds, am stronger and way more flexible. I feel 10-15 years younger (I'm 51) and it has vastly improved my outlook on life. It's worth taking a look. I think any martial art will benefit you, choose the one that works for you. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Here are a few screen grabs from our (Steve Enns and me, Murray Stevens) first flocking dives in Saskatchewan on Saturday October 18th, 2003. We made the most of an exceptional fall day up here..ground temp on the high 60's, altitude about 38. We had an excellent time! On the third dive Steve docked on my left hand, popped up, slid over and docked on my right. Our exits worked really well. I went out first, reached out on the strut as far as I could and swung right off so that Steve could have his left foot on the wheel and his right leg free. I basically did a chin up while he got set. Kind of neat to open and close the leg wing while hanging there and float up and down on the prop blast. I left a bit early each time, which was nice because having him in front of me and in my field of vision made it easy to fly back up to him. We were flying pretty dirty when flying in proximity but our concentration was on being smooth. At the end of each dive we would start maxing out..it'll take a while to fly as close to each other when flying closer to the edges of our envelopes. Good times! fyi, Steve has ~900 jumps and 15 wingsuit jumps, I have 2200 jumps and 7 wingsuit jumps. Thanks again to everybody who has helped me on here....yesterday was truly a ton of fun!

Apple has to work out separate licensing agreements in every country....so we are waiting for that to happen. I was hoping that might have been announced yesterday but no such luck. Will just have to wait a while longer. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

for christ's sake, get my name right! it's rgoper, not fukkin groper or nothing else like that, i wish i had a dime for everytime i've been through this, i am of the opinion that anyone who adresses me differently is illetirate, because my name is in plain view of my avatar, how hard can it be. why dont you address skybytch as skybitch? point made. Pretty sensitive for a big guy from TEXAS aren't ya. btw - Don't call me illiterate when you can't even spell the word properly. Have a mediocre day. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Lori, Have you (or anybody else) used the iTunes Music Store yet? (I can't because it isn't yet available in Canada) I spent a bunch of time last night browsing the store and listening to the 30 second samples. I am sure that I will spend way too much money on tunes when it is available up here. The new "celebrity playlists" are quite interesting. Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock and Billy Corgan's were my favourites. Life is grand! -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

RGRoper...that was a game that will be long remembered, second-guessed, written about and will take its place in the long history between these two teams. My condolences to all the long suffering Sox and Cubs fans out there. Tonight was a heartbreaker....as was yesterday in Chicago. At the start of the playoffs I only wish to see two things happen...the Yankees and Braves lose in the first round. The Braves because of the irritating Tomahawk Chop and the Yankees because of their owner. So, I am left to cheer for the Florida Marlins, in the hopes that they will deny George. They are a good young team...way better than most people realized....and maybe good enough to beat the Yankees. I have mixed feelings about that because I was not happy with the way Marlins' owner, Jeffrey Loria, handled things in Montreal when he owned the Expos. But, I just can't cheer for the Yankees. It would be great to see Pudge lead the young, scrappy, never say die Marlins to a WS victory after nobody would take a chance on him over the winter. Here's hoping for a great Series!! -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Lori, You bought a 3rd gen iPod didn't you? Lucky you!

Has to be the 3rd gen ipod with the bottom dock....very cool feature though. One big memory card and your iPod for a long trip. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Keep on Truckin' = Mr. Natural by cartoonist Robert Crumb. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

Main on top: Boc would work but would result in a long bridle path to the main container. Could there be problems in the instance of a total? Likely none that couldn't be rigged around. I think this would result in a long flap to cover the bridle which likely wouldn't be as windblast proof as most people would like these days. Edited to add....actually, I think that this won't work because the bridle would have to cross the reserve risers. I don't think pull-out would be feasible at all...for those of us that prefer the pull-out....maybe if the handle was on your shoulder it would work but having the handle at the bottom of the container would be ugly. I can think of only bad things about it. This would be fine with a ripcord deployed main...but I can't think of many people still jumping a spring loaded p/c on their main. Mike Michigan was the last person I saw doing that...in about 1982 or so. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey