MikeJD

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Everything posted by MikeJD

  1. MikeJD
    I haven't seen many of those shows - but if they approach everything in the same way as they did the Point Break skydiving myths, then I mistrust their bust myths (try saying that quickly!) But that's the trouble with 'pop science', I guess - too much pop and not enough science!
  2. MikeJD
    Sounds like an unusual choice of photo, and maybe if someone had thought about it then they'd have chosen a different one. But I don't see anything 'wrong' with it. It'd be silly to pretend that people who raise money/ awareness for cancer charities don't smoke. Heck, plenty of doctors smoke!
  3. MikeJD
    Have to admit I'm a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to firework sales. I'm all for organised displays, but I don't really get why people - and let's not forget that the term 'people' encompasses some very stupid people - should be allowed to buy, handle and randomly set off explosives just cos it's a certain time of year. If it was just the weekend closest to bonfire night it'd be manageable, but in reality it's for many weeks either side (not helped by Diwali, another celebration big on fireworks, coming just before it). It's a trying time of year for people with nervous pets (or nervous dispositions themselves! )
  4. MikeJD
    Where's the 'I would scream like a girl and try to run away' choice? Not saying I would, but I think your poll needs an option at the other extreme to offset the 'I am Jason Bourne' fantasists.
  5. MikeJD
    You know what happens when you 'assume' Mitch Henessey: "Everyone knows, when you make an assumption, you make an ass out of 'u' and 'mption'."
  6. MikeJD
    Yeah - for extra altitude, keep pulling on the stick.
  7. MikeJD
    Haven't seen the new series, but I remember the old one fondly. Diana (Jane Badler) had a certain appeal. Until she pulled her skin off - then, not so much.
  8. MikeJD
    Give her a break, she saw something shiny. Yeah, and every time she turns her head towards it, it moves too! OMG, it's so weird!
  9. MikeJD
    I liked Ms Brazil as a rebel because she has her legs crossed the wrong way and she's not waving. But now I'm thinking she's just realised that her legs are wrong, and needs both hands to try and disguise the fact!
  10. MikeJD
    Ms Brazil or Ms Bulgaria. One of those two is and out-and-out rebel, but I can't decide which one of them it is. I think it's Brazil, though.
  11. MikeJD
    Pretty low, 12 out of 20. But it's annoying that they don't say what they mean by a 'fake' smile, except in muscular terms. Obviously all those people were filmed specifically for the exercise - so were the 'fake' smiles generated by people just being told to smile, and the 'real' smiles by telling the subject a joke? Were they told they were taking part in a smiling experiment? That's the stuff I want to know.
  12. MikeJD

    To KBordson

    MikeJD replied to Squeak's topic in The Bonfire

    Yep. And any you don't catch, just turn to the person next to you and say, 'That one was yours.' Hope it goes well!
  13. MikeJD
    Yeah - Pilatus PC-7, x thousand feet, round canopy, solo. Seated exit.
  14. MikeJD
    "It is thought he activated the ejector seat after lurching forward during an aerobatic manoeuvre and accidentally pulling on the black and yellow emergency handle between his legs." That is pure slapstick. It's almost as bad as accidentally resetting the 'wings stay on/ wings fall off' switch.
  15. MikeJD
    No musical farting? It's not the 'music' that bothers me. It's the atmosphere it creates. Farting in the plane is the real reason full-face helmets were invented.
  16. MikeJD
    I've seen this one above the door of at least one jump plane.
  17. MikeJD
    Hey! You're not supposed to pull those crackers before Christmas!
  18. MikeJD
    I had the impression there wasn't much testing going on over here after the first couple of months. Anybody who developed flu symptoms, and had been in a workplace or school where there were documented cases, was automatically assumed to be a probable swine flu case and just told to stay at home for five days. So there's probably little way of knowing what percentage of real cases there have actually been. Everything seems to have settled down now, and I don't see anybody taking special precautions any more. At the height of the initial scare I saw one person riding the underground wearing a mask. That was about it!
  19. MikeJD
    I see a lot of aggressive and just plain competitive driving. I don't retaliate because chances are whoever cut you up will also react pretty badly to a direct challenge. He's probably looking for a reaction in his mirror. Just give him a sad shake of the head. Seems to me that people who are forever trying to improve their position in traffic by two or three car lengths are just desperate to score a minor victory and assert some control in their frustrated lives. They are to be pitied.
  20. MikeJD
    Unfortunately it's not even that. There are no 02081 London STD codes - they start at 02082 - but we probably could have guessed that by now Googling 'Zienota' doesn't bring back any direct hits, so presumably he's using a fake name and a fake ID to go along with it. I think the best the OP can hope for is that there'll be CCTV footage from the WU branch where the money was collected - but that's assuming the police are sufficiently interested, which I doubt.
  21. MikeJD
    I dunno. I was desperate to post in that balloon boy thread he started, but it was already locked by the time I got there. He definitely smelled of troll to me though. Maybe that's why he was so late with the balloon boy stuff. Been living in a cave. On the subject of your new set, no matter which toy you buy you're gonna be scuppered because you still have to watch TV on it. And TV is rubbish. Although movies and Xbox can be fun.
  22. MikeJD
    The wink emoticon is actually a means of launching personal attacks without getting banned. Other emoticons are also useful for this - anything remotely smiley will do. Observe: Personally I think you're an ass and I wish you were dead. See how it works?
  23. MikeJD
    The only time I'd expect a camera flyer to pay for his or her slot would be if s/he was a newbie and effectively being done a favour by having something to film. Other than that, no way - any coaching/ jumping/ registration fees are covered by the rest of the team. I think there are several good reasons for this (forgive the assumption of male gender from here on
  24. MikeJD
    Oops - not another one of those Bridge Days. Sounds a bit like the last time I was there, in 2004 (the year before had been gorgeous). We had every kind of nasty weather in '04. I got just as wet hanging around waiting to jump as I would have done had I landed in the river. The tarps were flooded too - when I picked up my rig after packing it, and streams of water ran out of it, I decided I would leave it at one jump that year.
  25. MikeJD
    I like them when they're done well, but too many people producing them seem to think all you need is a couple of songs with a similar BPM and the software to force them together. Very commercial example, but I really liked the Sugababes Freak Like Me track from a few years back, that used the synth lines from Are 'Friends' Electric? It's got that wonderful tension you get from combining a bassline and melody/ chord sequence that don't quite work together. If you push it too far you just end up with something that's difficult to listen to! Of course none of this is completely new - DJs have been doing this kind of thing for decades - it's just that digital audio has made it all much easier.