BBKid

I haven't used one, but as I see it the major arguments against them are: a) they use batteries, which can run out and fail, whereas a standard clock-type alti needs no power source. b) they are electronic, which means it could go spectacularly wrong without you noticing. Also, people have been known to forget to turn them on, thus leaving them only with their eyes. If you decide to use one, wear a mechanical as a backup (use a backup anyway). 2 is 1, and 1 is 0. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Ooh, I'm an enthusiast (again). Sorry, whoring... Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Hey, no-one's replied yet, can I buy myself beer for being the first? Welcome, fella, and don't worry about age/experience, just have fun learning from everyone here! Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Student rigs tend to have adjustable harnesses, which, ironically, you can never get a comfortable fit in. Plus, you will soon want to be off ripcord, trust me. Also, I only use an FXC because I have to, if I was allowed I would rather jump without it. I'm not saying they are proven not to work or anything, I just don't like how exposed and bashable they are. Am I right in thinking you are on static line? If so then you will probably find that when you get further into freefall on the student progression system you will actually be jumping something closer to a 220, since you have the experience. That's what seems to happen over here. If so, I very much doubt you will want to go up a size when buying your own gear, and it will be easier to sell on when you get tired of it. All new rigs (that are from reputable companies) will come with an RSL if you ask, and a rigger will be able to provide one for a second hand rig if it doesn't have one already, so I wouldn't worry about that. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

I agree with Michele here. I was inadvertently drawn into a lengthy debate which I had no intention of being part of. Michele and Snowflake were there too - though I think Michele misunderstood one or two of my posts, I know she vehemently disagrees with them , but the respect is still there. Anyway, I have left all war and politics related threads for good (again), but I wish there was a way of being part of discussions to pass around info. and opinions without them becoming shouting matches. This is something I've noticed a lot. We all need to get our beer degrees and then we'll have a reasonable debate! Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

This is just one dumb newbie's opinion, but no way would I buy a rig from e-bay. Certainly not a first one anyway. You have no idea of the quality or wear and tear, how it will fit you, and a whole host of other issues. If you buy from someone you have met, you can simply say "has the reserve been used" and a blunt question will make it harder for them to lie. Also, when buying rigs second hand, the common practice is for the rig to go from seller's rigger to buyer's rigger, so that both parties have expert opinion on any issues of quality that may arise. That way you can haggle over the price more effectively and get a better deal in the long run. Just my tuppence in the hat, but I would run like the wind from this offer, and the fact that I'm a bit of a gear geek but have never heard of a rascal scares me a bit. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Like he said, run like the wind. Imagine the uncomforatble conversation in the morning when you bump into some guy wearing her robe - ouch! Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

You should try sitting right next to my pilot's arse in the 182 - sadistic bastard... Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Ah, I would, but sadly I fear they wouldn't last the 5,000 mile journey alive. Sorry. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

FIRST jump, eh? Hmmm, BEER! You guys are slipping, get it sorted! Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

I know exactly what you mean. I am TERRIFIED of heights, and only did a jump to get over it (didnt work, really), as well as always thinking it would be something cool to do. Now that I'm committed to doing it forever, my fear is just something I've learned to deal with. Like everyone else says, remind yourself why you want to do this, how great the canopy ride down is, how you end up gibbering like an idiot every time you land. Watch videos, get aroused by the sexy little rigs everyone seems to have (maybe that's just me), above all TALK TO PEOPLE. You will find that most of the people at your DZ have been through something similar, but when you're a newbie at a DZ they all look like skygods to you, so you kind of imagine that they were born in freefall. They've all been beginners, and have all had the trauma of a first freefall, whether they went through s/l or AFF. Try to jump regularly, going once a fortnight and leaving after two hours if the weather is bad is no good. As much as anything you will program yourself to think you can't do it. Imagine the situation, you left due to heebie jeebies/bad weather/full manifest/whatever. When your friends ask how it went you have to say "I didn't jump", implanting negative thoughts about the connection between you and jumping. Don't laugh, it's well-known psychology, which works on everything from jumping to getting a good deal on a new car. I'm hoping to do my first freefall within the next couple of weeks, and I know I'd be happier going from 12,000 ft on a 20 second delay, with a throwaway BOC pilot chute, because I'll have more time to get a good arch, but I'll just have to get on with the ripcord. I know many people who have had the same feelings as you, and I have sought their advice in advance of my own fears, so if you want any more info. feel free to PM me. If you relax you'll get there. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

I too only have three jumps (but 15 jump tickets

I could be wrong but in the UK I think you have to be a C-license (200) jumps. As I said, I could be wrong. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Yeah, me too - it sure isn't pretty. I've also seen the up-close result of several other IRA bombs, from Warrington to Manchester, and others. I think quite a few people here may be starting to get the wrong idea about me. I have never, and will never condone the actions of terrorists. I don't have a pro-Palestinian or anti-Israeli bent either. I make no secret of the fact that I despise the Likud party and Ariel Sharon, but then I also despise George Bush and Tony Blair (not for reasons pertaining to this war or the Middle Eastern situation), but it doesn't mean I am anti-British or anti-American. I also know that the majority of what is presented to me by my government as a private citizen is heavily weighted to say the least, and I accept that the circumstances can vary with time and location. One important point: the education I have received has at all times been fair to both sides and has presented me with numerous sources from which I was free to make up my own mind about my opinions on the subject, and I want to make clear that my University has no agenda on this issue, other than educating people on a subject which is widely misunderstood. If such a reputation were to spread it could be severely damaging, so I wanted to highlight this point. As with most issues that promote lengthy discussion, you tend to find people with strong-held convictions, so it would be unwise and unfair for me to try to persuade people round to my way of thinking. That said, I am comfortable enough in my ignorance to change my opinions, should I feel sufficient evidence has been presented. I mean no offence to anyone posting here, but I simply haven't seen such evidence, other than personal opinions. Likewise, I take no offence from any of you who do not share my opinions, or even think I am deeply delusional. I simply present one individual's point of view, providing statements as a source of information (either valued or discounted), rather than as a stick to beat people with (to quote Wendy W). It also doesn't help that in forums such as these it is hard to get an idea of someone's personality - since I wouldn't have to clarify myself so much if I was discussing it in face-to-face. Therefore, I'm going to return to the promise I made myself about a month ago, and stay away from all political forums, since they have a habit of drawing you in and taking over what should be time spent enjoying the transfer of information about my favourite sport. I wish you all peace, good luck, blue skies and happy futures. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

I don't think I anywhere claimed that Jenin was a village or refugee site, I'm sorry if that was the impression you got. As for disproving the claims about the numbers of dead, I did not mention the hundreds of dead either (I'll have to check, perhaps I got carried away), but simply cited the term which was commonly used to refer to the incident under discussion. Nevertheless, I stand by my point about teerorist assertions not being proved by the Israelis. Yes, there probably were terrorists within the area that was attacked, but the troops didn't exactly go out of their way to avoid killing civilians. I know suicide bombers actively try to kill civilians, but to respond with a like action is simply childish and deplorable. I agree that a change of negitiation tactic is necessary, but why would the Palestinians feel impelled to change their leadership structure when a man they (and many across the world) feel is a direct and indirect mass-murderer of their people is the one asking them to do so? As regards the education point, I was simly repeating a point that was made to me about the political representation of the Palestinians in the West, i.e. Arafat not speaking good English, whereas many Israeli ministers have been educated in the UK and US. Maybe you receive different images in different parts of the world, but over here the representation is that Arafat always wears his military garb and meets with his advisors etc. in small, delapidated conference rooms, thus giving the impression that he, and by association, Palestinians are somehow 'less-civilised' than the Israelis who have their parliament building, Saville Row suits and American accents ready for the cameras. You and I both know that a great number of Palestinians speak excellent English, and are well-educated and truly desire peace. I cannot attest to radio broadcast and the like as I have never visited the region, so I concede the point there, as well as the Al Aqsa Brigade (who I momentarily forgot about), although I wouldn't go as far as to say they are under Arafat's direct control, which I inferred from your post. Hezbolla, whilst it does conduct its operations against Israel, is in my opinion more closely associated with the Israel-Lebanon conflict than the Israel-Palestine conflict, although the occupation of Lebanon by Israel was connected to the attempted capture of leading members of the PLO. The point I make about restrictions is that you can't say "it's in their hands now", when you control the movement of individuals and information from a leading authority at any time, either before or after an intifada. I must also say that communication in no way equals control, it equals requests, orders even, but cannot force people to do anything, so I do still feel that in may ways Arafat has his hands tied. I won't go into the subject of the existence of Israel here, as it's far too complex to even begin debating, but I would say that it is important to distinguish between those ordinary people on both sides who want to be able to go to work unencumbered and to live peacefully with their families, and those who simply want to utterly destroy the others (and there are many such people on both sides). Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

I know of a guy who used to fly A-10s. He once said that when he first let rip with that baby it scared the shit out of him, because he thought the plane had gone into reverse! Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

What I actually referred to was the politicians not speaking great English etc. Of course no-one is going to say that suicide bombing should be excused - I certainly don't and neither does Arafat. Just don't forget that the Israeli army carries out the same or greater degree of destruction, except they do it with wire-guided missiles from helicopters and then call it a 'military operation'. All they have to do is say they had evidence that there were terrorists within the buildings they level, and they get let off. THAT pisses me off. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Just don't give yourself a 'hilarious' nickname, like 'Redline' or 'Groundrush' - it's fine here, but you will be buying beer for a VERY lng time if you try it at a real DZ. That being said, if you hear people talking about DZ.com, by all means tell them you use it, and what your nick is, it can only help to bring you into this great little community we've got going here. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Losing weight rocks - especially if you live with three women who are trying to do the same and failing! BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! My secret was to eat nothing but toast for two weeks (not a diet secret - I am a poor student), then get so bored of the taste that you eat everything you can get your hands on for a few days. Since then I haven't been physically able to eat much. So in 18 months I lost 70 pounds. And lost 7 more in the last 2 weeks, despite eating pizza, McDonalds, curry, and drinking vast quantities of Coca-Cola. Strange. I've just thought, running 25 miles a week, swimmming 4, and cycling about 80 might have something to do with it as well. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Hey, for a cheap FF suit try http://www.thomas-sports.com. They cost less than £100, are made in Britain and will be with you soon. Plus, yoou can buy a Teardrop container as well in matching colours. Better than waiting for a Kurupee to come from Venezuela if you're desperate, but I prefer the Kurupee designs. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

I still think it's funny that Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said something along the lines of "they have not come near the airport", then later said "they have walked into our trap", then the next day tried out "we have murdered them all", after which my TV cut to a picture of soldiers at the airport strolling around, laughing and joking (they probably found some cigarettes). That guy is like a kid who says he couldn't brush his teeth because he was on the moon at the time! Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

I think it would be cool to take Iraqis up for free tandems. Just to let them know that Western decadence is not all bad! I'd want to make sure I wasn't going to PLF in a cruise missile crater though! Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Two things I would add here: 1) restrictions on Palestinian movement mean that it is impossible for Arafat etc. to effectively lead or control their people, so they cannot be totally to blame for what suicide bombers (who are not in tune with legitimate Palestinian desires for land). 2) I am in no way condoning suicide bombers or their actions, but after seeing pictures taken during and after the Jenin massacre (carried out by a highly trained, highly funded and equipped professional army), I get mad when that bastard Sharon calls Palestinians evil. Which he has done on numerous occasions. I used to agreee with your comments, but then I studied the Middle East at University, and I can't believe how much Western governments lie about what goes on over there. The only difference between Palestinians and Israelis, as my lecturer put it, is that the Palestinians aren't as well-educated, they don't wear suits, and they don't speak English, so their message is not put across. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

Just seen footage of the aftermath of friendly fire, detailed here. I'm sure you've heard about the 18 Kurds and Americans killed in N. Iraq, and BBC reporter John Simpson was in the convoy, and says he saw the bomb fall. The first thing the film shows is spots of blood falling onto the lens, then bodies lying everywhere, with all the vehicles in smoke. I'm surprised they showed it, but it is 2.15a.m. here. You can hear everyone shouting to look for their interpreter, and then they see him lying on the ground. Although they all tried their best he later died. I know few networks will show this, and it probably won't be on the website I've linked, but it shows war from a completely different perspective. Edit: the footage is on the site, but it may upset you. Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

I like Swiss better,i think they have some nice "rocks"you can jump from It were just a thourgth i had I like Switzerland and the Swiss, I just don't like having to remortgage my house to afford a sandwich. Also, Cadbury's chocolate is nicer (I've got it on my mind since I gave it up for Lent). Nick --------------------------- "I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"