mr2mk1g

The sick thing is that when the cartoon is about arguing on the internet everyone thinks it's funny but when it's about Bush half the US thinks it's a disgusting joke and a terrible insult to mentally disabled people. The point is; they're not angry that someone's joking about retards - they're angry someone’s joking about their political head and passing it off as the former. Now that is sick. (Generalizations accepted - I'm sure there are some who genuinely are angry about the stab at the mentally disabled, but overall my point stands).

You've got it the wrong way round. Learn the basics from a coach, then practice what they taught you. You haven't got anything to practice yet. And please; learn the basics about the kit that saves your life, or you wont be able to tell when it's about to kill you.

Be aware of the risk that the bridle can potentially get caught round your arm or similarly entangled. *ALTITUDE AWARENESS* Yes there is a risk. The greater risk is of damage to the reserve as it passess the PC and bridle. For an example check the incidents thread for the SA jumper who "survived a double mal" and landed in power lines a month or so ago. Few risks in this sport are "insignificant". If you're at terminal, low and have a PC in tow there's little remedial action you can take. You pretty much have to go for your reserve and hope it opens cleanly. The answer is to not get into the situation in the first place.

"Make sure they keep a set on their boots"

I accept what you say in you post but follow different logic. Both religions follow the same "God" - it's just that at some point a split in opinion occurred. Some men believed Jesus. Some men believed Mohammed. Men are fallible so at least some must be wrong. The fact that according to each religion the other is wrong is not evidence that the entity that started it all cannot be the same in each belief. The "God" is the same, but at some point some men have made a mistake as to which entities make up that "God". You're right to point out the differences in the two ideologies, but those are differences in opinion created by men. They do not change the fact that to begin with, before both Jesus and Mohammed, the two religions essentially worshiped the same entity.

So it is written, so it shall be done... I don't know, Allah is betting the over on the Yankees. Any word on what Bhudda says on this? I thought God and Allah were the same chap according to both set's of scriptures?

Hitler's Nazi Germany had people "disappeared". Stalin's Communist Russia had people "disappeared". The Junta in Argentina had people "disappeared". Poll Pot's Cambodia had people "disappeared". Communist China has people “disappeared”. I can’t believe that there are people on this board that are actually happy that their country – the land of the free – now may well be judged by history to fit into this category. That is one of the saddest indictments I have seen in a long time. Why don’t you question what your country is doing as opposed to trying to justify it?

Your account brings meaning to the term "ambassador for your sport". Nicely handled. You wouldn't have had to "handle" anything though if you'd just stuck your rig in a bag.

I got engaged to an ex's best friend... Didn't work out in the end. The fact that she was best friends with the ex had nothing to do with it.

What to do on weather hold... Hmmm... Take one friend, one creaper pad 4 empty bottles... and you have... Ant Bowling: Right Click and Save Target

I've owned both. They are generally comparied to one another and rightly so. They are both "1st generation" high performance square canopies. Both have a reputation for opening hard, both can be tamed with proper packing. Both have very similar flight characteristics, ZP.EXE is a little more ground hungry so tends to be a little quicker in all respects. It also has a poorer glide because of this. It will surf well if you make it and responds well to riser input. So does the Sabre. In the UK you'll find the Sabre has a significantly higher resale value. Very few people outside of SA or UK know the ZP.EXE Say you jump a Sabre, everyone knows what you're talking about. Say you jump an EXE and you'll have to explane what the hell it is. Remember one is a PD product with PD manufacturing standards and build quality and reputation... the other is most definately not. The ZP.EXE uses different ZP material to the Sabre. It's sticky as opposed to slippery which makes packing 100% easier. I'd give the exe the edge on performance and the sabre the edge on build quality. Jump both; a beer says you'll hardly tell the difference... but differences there are.

hehe and in the UK we don't even have any poisonous ones - least not that would kill you.

Try here: http://www.bpa.org.uk/glossary.htm It's a site from over here in the UK, but 99% of it is the same. Only real differences are where things like the term "S&TA" (Safty and Training Adviser) is replaced by the term "CCI" (Center Cheif Instructor)... or there abouts.

It was colossus' catch - there's really no way to tell this kind of thing is a fraud unless you just happen to notice as colossus has done here. Lucky catch by an eagle eye. Answer is to ALWAYS use some kind of intermediary - we have them built in to the fabric of our sport, they're called Lofts. Make use of them!

That's just my point - you can't test for who's been drinking either. It's acceptable for that to be on the DZ. How do you know that's not happening during the day? Many DZ's have a bar open all day long. Similarly I can go home and get drunk at home before turning up at the DZ the next morning impaired. The answer is to not accept people being impaired - regardless of the substance used. Why bother drawing the distinction between types of drugs? Why bother drawing the distinction between where it's done? Those are entirely redundant distinctions from a safty point of view. They only come into play from an image and paletablility point of view.

Separate the use of and the being impaired. I don't care if what they took is legal or not I don't want impaired people on the DZ during jumping hours. As for the DZ controlling what they use - how? Why? If they're not impaired then why do they care? Stopping it on the DZ - probably a good idea as the use of such substances usually has legal implications for the landowner, it certainly does in the UK. It's also not something I want people to associate with the sport. It's also not something I want to be around and I want to be around the DZ.

I fired a quick Q to the seller and he came back with the fact that it was fitted with an "AMD Cutter" as I suspected. I then filled in an e-bay fraud report and it was down within an hour or two. Anyone know where I can buy an AMD cutter? My rig doesn't have one and I just lurve to have all the mod cons.

Note that none of this is actual advice – just background info. How wide a lens is can be seen in the number given to it. Really really wide lenses might have a number 0.3. A lens which is not so wide might have a number more like 0.5. Most lenses used by skydivers fall within this bracket although I understand there’s a new “uber” wide lens that is a 0.2 (or 0.25 – I forget). Generally the lower the number the wider the lens, although it’s unlikely that you will find two different lenses with the same number give identical shots – the number should be seen as a guide only. There are some really nice 0.3 lenses in the 25mm thread your camera has. They’re not cheap though. They’re best for flying really close to your target although can be zoomed through to make them more like a 0.45. There is also a 0.5 by the same co. Both of these are only a few mm's thick so do not stick out the front of your helmet posing a snag risk and beggin to be ripped off. Maybe I’m going out on a limb but I think the most common lens is probably between about 0.43 – 0.5ish. This is a good middle ground. I love the Sony 0.6 lens. Despite its name it’s actually comparable to about a .45 so fits nicely in the middle ground. I suspect they will now sell this with a 25mm thread so it will go straight onto your camera. You will find that most lenses have a 37mm thread (the actual screw fitting that screws the lens onto your camera – you did say like a 3 year old). This is not too much of a problem. $2 will get you a step ring that converts the thread over. Best bet is to try your friends lenses and see which view you like best. I bought a shed load of various lenses from ebay and simply sold on the ones I didn’t like – (at a profit). You can pick up pretty much any lens you want on ebay for around $20 if you wait for it and your savvy. Beware of fisheye lenses. Not a bad thing – just a different thing. They give that fish-bowl look to the shot. Great if that’s what you’re going for but can be annoying if you’re stuck with it as your only lens. The lens for you is the lens that best fits your flying style and subject (eg 4-way vs. FF). Also consider not using a lens. I hear more and more that pro FFers don't, but again, it's whatever suits your style and subject best. I’m not even going to try and advise you on that but for a general starter lens - why not a kenko 0.5. Many pro flyers use it despite its entry level cost, perfectly servicable, slap in the middle of the middle ground, CHEAP.

That’s a good idea. There are swivels like that available commercially – I can remember using them course fishing. Sea fishing tackle ought to include something that would reliably take that kind of load and yet still be small and light enough. It’s not like you lose your life if it fails anyway – if it’s between the d-bag and canopy everything’s already out and deployed by the time there’s a load on that point. As for the PC spinning – something about it being cut slightly un-symmetrically springs forth from my memory. Wouldn’t be surprised if that were in relation to un-collapsible PC’s though. For the record I use an FF handle and don’t suffer from a twisted bridle.

Slipping slider bumpers were implicated in a death in the UK last year. Jumper hooked in when bumper came off in his hand. Bumpers will wear and split resulting in failure under load.

Classifieds down for anyone else? I'm just getting "Price", "Posted" and "Country" columns, none of which are clicky. Where there are photo's they're clicky but there's no description of the item.

I only addressed the helmets listed in the original post - the ones they said they had narrowed their choice down to and were looking for opinions on. But if we're going to think a little wider I don't have a bad word to say about the bonehead helmets - for whatever my opinion's worth. They’re by far the market leader and without a doubt some of the best helmets out there. I suppose the helmet most comparable to those listed would be the Optic. The base price is significantly cheaper than most of the others listed. It’s a fairly standard open face with flat left side and top mount in carbon. Bake to fit lining and a nice addition of a lip at the base of the side mount to deflect risers and lines. Cookie, Rawa and 2K have built in camera boxes and mounts though so to make it truly comparable a mount and box either from bonehead or somewhere else would have to be added. This would make the overall cost more comparable to the other models. Personally I really don't think the bonehead camera boxes provide particularly good protection for the money they cost but hey, that's just my opinion. The clamshell would probably be one of the lightest on the market though so may be perfect in this instance. On the other hand it’s always possible to mix and match manufacturers or simply stick a plain old L-bracket on the thing. Arrow dynamics for example do a very sturdy roll cage and any fool should be able to knock up an L-bracket. Plenty of other helmets out there too of course. Skypimp helmets (Texas?) get great reviews although I’ve never had the pleasure of handling one. Other ones very similar to those listed by the first poster are the Hard Deck helmet by Fibrezone (Oz company) and Sky-Designs helmets which I think are Dutch. Both offer helmets very similar to the 2K/Rawa helmets. I’ve heard nothing but good about both.

BBC Radio 4 6 o'clock news last night. (very reliable news program - not at all a tabloid station). Report stated that names of individuals and cos from all other countries were in the report but that the CIA had blanked out the list of names of cos and individuals in the states before the report was published. As for Bush and Kerry being on the list no one knows - that's my point. You may even be on the list, we can't tell as the list is blanked out.

Just make sure you register take down the numbers from all the bullets you lose or have stolen so that the finger doesn't point at you when they're used in a crime... that is of course assuming you can find the bullet you lost in order to take down the number from it. Oh - and dont ever ever leave any on the range - a crim could come and pick one up, reload it and use it in a crime, again implicating you. You're going to see a lot of people scowering ranges from now on picking up all their spent cases if this goes through.

Yes US co's and individuals are on the list - they've just been blanked out by the CIA so you don't know who! It could even include Bush or Kerry! We don't know cos the CIA blanked out the names!!!!!