Erroll

Some more: Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine. A backward poet writes inverse. A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking. Practice safe eating - always use condiments. Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death. A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy. A hangover is the wrath of grapes. Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play. Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion. When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired. What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway.) In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion. If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed. The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered. You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it. Every calendar's days are numbered. A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat. He had a photographic memory that was never developed. A plateau is a high form of flattery. A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses

Except that the dork forgot to tell us. (us = Afrikaans-speaking South Africans).

This is very often true. However, I often see words being used incorrectly on these forums, sometimes completely changing the meaning of what the author tried to convey. A common example is the word 'decent', as in: "My decent speed was about 120 mph." While that is a pretty decent speed, I would like to know what the descent speed was before making a call. Another word used incorrectly quite frequently is 'advise'. Please be advised that advice is the noun and advise is the verb. "Here, here" means "This place" while "Hear, hear" means "I agree with you and endorse what you said". For all the aspirant TMs out there: It is 'Drogue', not 'Drouge'. And for all the aspirant body-piercers out there: It is 'Tongue', not 'Tounge'. This post is really just a 'bump' as a reminder.

You say that like it's a bad thing. I find it sexy. It's like when you wear some really sexy matching bra and underwear set to work and all day long you feel sexy because you know what you've got under your clothes. It doesn't matter that nobody else knows. I can understand completely how it could feel sexy for the wearer. However, that does not always apply to the observer/partner/lover. (Unless of course the partner has false teeth which he can remove as and when appropriate...)

I voted "gross" solely because of the Janet Jackson pics. One would have to be into S&M to find that attractive. In fairness, the decoration could swing it for me. (Pun intended)

I disagree that being compassionate means having to make a choice. The analogy of the wolf and sheep is a case in point. One who is not compassionate wouldn't care if either dies. A compassionate person would want the best possible outcome for both. Ten years ago South Africa was facing her first truly democratic elections. People stockpiled food and fuel for the 'bloody aftermath' of those elections. It took a compassionate, intelligent, humble and wise man such as Nelson Mandella to guide us to the new order, without bloodshed and anarchy.

Well, it would all fall in the correct category if he changed the name to "Funny Skydiving Stories". At my DZ I sometimes used to help with 'just-off-student-status' jumpers, spotting, despatching etc, even though I was never a JM. On one occasion I had three rather attractive young lasses in the C182 (no door) with me. I was very aware that I was the 'senior' jumper on the plane and although I was never a skygod and always very conservative, I wanted to be 'professional'. I knelt in the door, all calm and collected, occassionally sticking my head out to 'make sure' we where we were. On jump run I tried to get up in order to do the spot. Alas, it was not to be... My right leg had gone completely numb and collapsed under me. I promptly fell out of the plane, head and shoulders first, missing the wheel by millimeters. It all happened so fast that I have no idea how the girls reacted. The pilot, who was a heads-up jumper himself, later told me it was the most undignified exit he had ever seen. It was most certainly up there with 'my most embarrassing moments'.

Indeed. The original intent has been lost completely and I have gained very little insight into what people think about the topic. Pity.

Amen.

Alas, only the first response attempted to address the topic of this thread.

Perhaps get CrazyIvan to do a Repost check first?

Here's a dilemma for you.... With all your honour and dignity what would you do? This test only has one question, but it's a very important one. Please don't answer it without giving it some serious thought. By giving an honest answer you will be able to test where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation, where you will have to make a decision one way or the other. Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous. Please scroll down slowly and consider each line - this is important for the test to work accurately. You're in Florida...In Miami, to be exact. There is great chaos going on around you, caused by a hurricane and severe floods. There are huge masses of water all over you. You are CNN photographer and you are in the middle of this great disaster The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot very impressive photos. There are houses and people floating around you, disappearing into the water. Nature is showing all its destructive power and is ripping everything away with it. Suddenly you see a man in the water, he is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken away by the masses of water and mud. You move closer. Somehow the man looks familiar. Suddenly you know who it is - it's George W. Bush! At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him away, forever. You have two options. You can save him or you can take the best photo of your life. So you can save the life of George W. Bush, or you can shoot a Pulitzer prize winning photo, a unique photo displaying the death of one of the world's most powerful men. And here's the question (please give an honest answer): Would you select color film for a flashy picture, or rather go with the simplicity of classic black and white?

This refrain is being repeated in "Incidents" with monotonous regularity. "Wait for the official report" is another. The Incidents forum (as well as all the others) are discussion forums. Speculating, exploring possibilities and examining different outcomes are all inherent in discussions. I realise totally that friends and family of jumpers reported on in Incidents do read the threads. So what? If the exact facts and details are not available why read the thread then? What is the point of posting sketchy information about a fatality and then not allow speculation (read 'discussion')? Surely it would be better then to simply post the information on the fatalities page and be done with it. When the 'official' report comes out six months later we can all 'discuss' and 'learn' so as to 'prevent a recurrence'. Right? Sure. On the other hand, if all the facts and official report are available, what is there to discuss? Don't turn too low to the ground. It can kill you. Don't do dangerous stunts. They can kill you. Don't get in the way of rotor blades. They can kill you. End of discussion. And if no conclusive evidence emerges, even after the official report? It appears that he mistimed the turn and impacted the ground. It appears he misjudged the angle of his flight and impacted the bridge. It appears that he mistimed his throw and impacted the water. What shall we learn from this? Don't turn too low to the ground. It can kill you. Don't do dangerous stunts. They can kill you. Don't toss too low. It can kill you. End of discussion. I am not advocating that thinly veiled implications of substance abuse or malintent or other things of that nature should be tolerated, but surely a discussion forum is exactly that. A place to discuss, speculate, ponder.

Agreed. One can play with words and semantics all day long, comparing apples to meteors or oranges to roller coasters. By definition safe means free from risk. "Safe" does not equate to risk-management or risk/reward or being careful or any of the other meanings some posters are attributing to it. Risk management is essential in skydiving exactly because skydiving is dangerous, otherwise why bother? Safe means secure from threat of danger, harm, or loss (Merriam-Webster). Skydiving is not secure from threat of danger, harm or loss. Skydiving is not safe.

You mean this?

Small aircraft (that would include almost all jump planes) are advised to stay well clear of CuNim clouds - like 10 miles. Assuming the pilot and jumpers aren't fools, then a lightning strike on a jumper is most unlikely. John, just out of interest, is it physically possible to be struck by lightning while in freefall - not being earthed and all, assuming one is not falling through cloud or rain?

At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual (later discovered to be a public school teacher) was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a setsquare, a slide rule, and a calculator. At a morning press conference, Attorney General John Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. "Al-gebra is a fearsome cult," Ashcroft said. "They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like "x" and "y" and refer to themselves as "unknowns", but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. "As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, there are 3 sides to every triangle," Ashcroft declared. When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes. "I am gratified that our government has given us a sine that it is intent on protracting us from these math-dogs who are willing to dis-integrate us with calculus disregard. Murky statisticians love to inflict plane on every sphere of influence," the President said, adding: "Under the circumferences, we must differentiate their root, make our point, and draw the line." President Bush warned, "These weapons of math instruction have the potential to decimal everything in their math on a scalene never before seen unless we become exponents of a Higher Power and begin to factor-in random facts of vertex." Attorney General Ashcroft said, "As our Great Leader would say, read my ellipse. Here is one principle he is uncertainty of: though they continue to multiply, their days are numbered as the hypotenuse tightens around their necks."

Deleting cookies is the universal cure for most problems but how could it possibly help with a mouse not scrolling properly?

Of course it was new, but then I am much younger than you, John. As an operator I used to keep a set of punched cards next to the main console and when new programmers brought me their decks of cards for compilation, I would sometimes switch their decks with mine. It was hilarious to see their faces when I 'accidently' dropped the whole deck and they would have to spend hours sorting the cards into sequence again. They learned after a few of these to simply number the cards with a pencil. I know.... geek humour.

When I started computer programming, even work stations and keyboards were luxuries. I recall punching my programs, one line per punched card, on a portable punch, seldom using fewer than three fingers per 'stroke'. And talking of LP's - one of the first mainframes I worked on was an ICL machine. It's disk drives were seperate units, each the size of a washing machine. They housed removable disk packs - each consisting of six platters the size of an LP - one disk pack yielding 20 megs of storage! I am typing this on an IBM ThinkPad with 36 gigs of disk space, and even though I have been around computers for thirty years, I don't feel old - just amazed.

Too true! Why spell phlegm when flem will do? Knot vs not Phthisis vs tisis. Phsycologist vs sycologist. There are too many to mention here. I must confess that us 'damned Sef Efricans' have done our share though.

Morality is one of the subjects that should be dealt with with great circumspection. This is especially true when it pertains to journalists. Read the book 'vulture and starving child' photograph , Marinovich and fellow photographer Ken Oosterbroek were shot while covering a firefight outside Johannesburg. As Oosterbroek lay fatally injured, Silva was torn between taking pictures of his comrade and pulling them to safety. Three months after the shooting, Carter, who was out celebrating the Pulitzer at the time of his closest friend's death, took his own life." And this: "The boldness that earned the group its nickname, that prompted them to rush headlong into dangerous situations in pursuit of an image, forces them to consider the difficult moral questions that lie at the heart of their work. For example, how far should one go to pursue an image? When should journalists put aside their impartiality and get involved? These were the moral dilemmas the four members of the Bang-Bang Club grappled with on a daily basis." Don't be too quick to judge. Note: Text in italics inserted by me. Highlights are mine too.

Billvon's tasklist

I have a pair of yellow tints. They cut down on glare more than clear lenses, but they do not make things appear brighter - just more yellow. Do NOT wear them on a night jump. Other than that, no problems whatsoever. Yellow tinted goggles will make things appear "sharper" as they give a lot more contrast. Check with anyone who has done a lot of competitive target shooting. They do not affect your depth perception to any noticable degree. I agree though that they should not be worn on night jumps. They make it tricky to distinguish/identify the various light sources (car lights, flash lights, street lights etc.) .

I guess the outcome would be the same....