champu

From everyone I know that was on the jump, conditions were favorable, the wind cooperated, the jump went off without a hitch, it was loads of fun, and it was very well received by the crowd. ...and according to Oliver, in addition to being cool looking, the silver surfer suit was also a pleasure to wear for long periods of time in the heat.

This is the main reason I use them. I have two stroboframes on the top of my FF2 allowing me to attach a still camera and a flash in addition to the video that goes in the integrated d-box, or I can attach another video and stills (or three video cameras ) The point is I change my configuration a fair amount, and I want everything to come together the same way every time.

Are there any states that still require oaths in the courtroom with a hand on the Bible? Or can you go with the whole, "under the pains and penalties of perjury" in place of "So help you God." just about everywhere these days?

...that probably had more to do with the math degree...

That's funny, I had very similiar scores. I did a little better, but he kicked my butt by 8 years. I hope they keep up the momentum. It's a cool story right now, but who knows where it goes from here...

Also: Stanley Kubrick rules.

My concern regarding nuclear weapon delivery methods to this country would probably be distributed, in descending order, over ground/unconventional, traditional ICBM, MIRV-equipped ICBMs, and finally SLBMs. And, like many, this distribution has everything to do with who would employ such methods at this day and age, and little to do with our ability to defend against them. I should also mention my level of apprehension towards any of these is not one I would, by any means, consider "high." (or even "elevated" for those out there using imperial units of "worry") I think there are a number of missile defense applications being pursued that are quite viable. Applications intended to provide better protection to surface ships from cruise missiles, military bases from mortars, towns from small-medium caliber rockets, and non-military aircraft from MANPADS. These kinds of things invariably get lumped together and vilified with every failed terminal-phase ballistic missile interception test, or annual press-release about "New MIRVs!" and I don't think it does them justice. That's the real reason I sigh when someone rolls into a discussion with a, "How about they make a Ryder Rental truck defense shield, hyuk, hyuk." sort of attitude.

Why do you keep using that acronym as if everyone knows what it means? It's a disparaging term for people from the middle east. Although, to its credit, I suppose it at least singles out the "crazy" ones. For some reason I find humor in this name, I can't decide why.

Whatever rig you get, be sure to take care in closing the container, especially in the first 50 jumps or so on it. It is during this time that the flaps and covers will take a set, and poor care in this duration is the real root of people's claims that a particular rig design won't stay closed in freefall. They all stay closed just fine if you choose reasonably sized canopies and pack them correctly from day one. Make sure the secondary riser covers don't develop a bend in them too far from where they attach to the reserve container. If they do, they'll tend to buldge out and/or come open later in the rig's life. (Important on all rigs, but I see it happen a lot on Vectors) Make sure you get the closing sequence of the main container correct, and you note the correct positioning of the main pin cover if there is more than one way to do it. Failure to do so can cause the tabs associated with the main pin cover to take an improper set and come open more easily in freefall. (again, important on all rigs, but I see it screwed up a lot on Javs) /edited to clean up a couple sentences that didn't read clearly.

Cannons, arrows, and (to a slightly lesser extent) strategic bombers are themselves obsolete and rather irrelevant at this point as well. If the inventor of bodkin point arrows claimed he'd created something capable of circumventing any existing or future armor systems, it would have been an absurd statement as well. Arms races, for better or for worse, don't have finish lines, even through ink and paper. I apologize if my statements came across as, "we'll just see about that!" bravado, that was not my intent.

...which is an absurd statement to make. Perhaps something was lost in translation. Maybe they've implemented a large number of dummy warheads on it. That was the presumed response had SDI gone anywhere. The more targets, the quicker it would fall apart. It all depends on your definition of "future" and on, more generally, your stance regarding how many ways there are to skin a cat. I guess I'm just saying I would never be so bold as to claim I'd thought of everything both present and future. Like I said, maybe something was simply lost in translation. As a side note, however, if the concept of MAD effectively makes nuclear arsenals defensive weapons, what does that make strategic missile defense systems?

Well... again, from the article... ...which is an absurd statement to make. Perhaps something was lost in translation.

From the article... This is the third time in as many years I've seen news stories about MIRV development in Russia written as though it were a new technology or idea...

Your explaination here resonates better with me than the specific language in the propsed BSRs. Again it's subtle, but I feel it's there. ...and if they find themselves in the middle of the HPL area... ...and so forth... Violations of [d] are always going to be obvious, but I see violations of [e] turning readily into "he said, she said" arguments with the S+TA. If you land on the runway at Elsinore or Perris, you better have a damn good reason to have done so (and preferrably witnesses to back up your story) if you don't want to sit on the ground, in the corner, with a dunce cap on the rest of the weekend. If seperate areas are going to be successful, I honestly believe that's the same kind of enforcement that will be needed.

The difference is pretty subtle but it is there, and I think I can sum it up pretty well. I see Brian's recommended patterns as a pact that the entire population of a dropzone can agree to, and use to ensure everyone can land how the wish in as safe a manner as possible. The BSRs propsed in Bill's thread were, I feel, carefully constructed such that it was essentially impossible for someone flying a standard pattern to ever be in the wrong. The attitude I get from reading the proposed BSRs, and from a large number of responses in the thread concerning those proposals was the attitude of, "Get rid of anything over 90s in the main landing area so people can expect a standard pattern, and land safely," which I'm fine with, but then it goes on to add, "btw, we can land in your high performance area if we have a long spot, or it's crowded in the main area, or if we misjudge our pattern, or if we just plain feel like it, and if we do, tough cookies, no swoop for you." The low man has the right of way, I absolutely believe that, but that's how you deal with conflicting patterns, it's not how you prevent them. Swoopers being made to deal with all pattern conflicts is a crummy solution, we all need to work together to prevent pattern conflicts,

Another thread got me thinking about this, and I thought it might make for an interesting discussion. I wasn't around for the race to the moon with the Soviet Union in the '60s, but I might just be around for the next such event. I would like to hear about any positives and negatives you can think of regarding such an undertaking. I think eccentric scientific and industrial competitions are an awesome way to avoid the build up of international stresses that might otherwise result in warfare. What better way to relieve any superiority animosity between two nations than through something that, no matter who wins, advances the human race?

This thread is fascinating. Even the correct answers aren't presented very well. So far jakee's answer wins. (sorry rehmwa, you're killing the audience.)

People respond to the death of loved ones in many different ways. In this case it appears to be by denying to himself that his son could be so wreckless, and searching for another reason his son might have died so that at the end of day he can say to himself, "Poor Josh... had everything going for him 'til he was snuffed out by that damn towtruck driver..." Scumbag? I don't know about that... I think "Emotionally Unstable Lunatic" is more appropriate. If he ends up taking and keeping a single dollar from these people, however, I might see it Dorbie's way.

Well let's be honest... wouldn't we all? But I was, as I'm guessing you knew, not suggesting that I personally go to Mars, but rather that I'd like to some day have a hand in sending people to Mars. Sure, they'll get all the publicity while I get a little plaque or a desk figurine or commemorative coin or something, but publicity is over-rated anyway.

Which they've done many times on this show. They've also, I believe, made BASE jumps in national parks. I'm sure they have special arrangements to perform these stunts.

And they already proved they can shoot a satellite down. Look out USA. Better make more weapons The commercial satellite industry is something I certainly expect other countries to get more involved in. To be honest, though, that market isn't all that interesting to me. It's kinda like the industry equivalent of designing family sedans. I much more fancy the idea of working on what I'll refer to as "weird shit." You know... observatories, probes, science missions, and who knows, maybe even manned interplanetary missions. The US probably does some of the most outlandish "weird shit" but ESA, JAXA, et al. certainly get involved as well. I think a manned race to Mars with a country like China would be incredibly cool. Doubly so if I got to be a part of it.

Well, I'm already started . . . the F'in' thing doesn't connect to LAX . . . or ANY airport for that matter. WTF? Back in Chicago, taking the CTA Blue Line to O'hare made airport trips a breeze. In San Francisco you can take the BART Blue Line right to SFO. And I think one of the subway lines in New York goes right to JFK, but I've never been there, so I can't speak to how easy it is. But what happens when you get on the Metro Green Line here in Los Angeles? It takes you directly to... a parking lot off of Aviation Blvd... There you get to wait 15 minutes under an onramp to the 105 for a bus. Once on the bus, you will proceed to get stuck in airport traffic for an additional 15-30 minutes creeping along Aviation and Century Blvd and finally through the loop of all the airport terminals. And then you get to do it all again when you get back into town! Not that I'm bitter or anything...

in one scene, i thought i saw a secondary harness only worn under the base rig, this would still confirm that JT had no container to stow the Velo in. Also, like someone else said, need instant canopy from the helo, remember JC still had to jump, deploy, follow and film it from the air. Well, on some of the direct bag jumps he was also wearing his Odyssey, so I'm not sure what was going on there. He should be back from Spain this week, if I see him this weekend I'll ask him how it worked.

Incorrect. We don't all live on self-sustaining farms any more. There are too many of us, and we're too advanced. Specialization requires that people travel to get to the specialty centers. This is certainly true, and an all-walking/biking society at this point is really not practical, but I think most people can make smarter choices to at least reduce the amount we need to use our cars. The length of daily commutes that people create for themselves here (Los Angeles County) by choosing to live so far from work is completely insane. The common complaint about public transportation in this city is that the Metro system doesn't go anywhere. While this is a valid grievance, people have to realize that there's really nowhere for it to go. (except the airport, but don't get me started on that...) Places of work and places to live are so interspersed around here that long commutes make very little sense, but people do it anyway.

Bingo... It was a custom rig for that stunt (but it was essentailly a base rig, so there was still no "main" container.)