Tonto

Really? How? t It's the year of the Pig.

I need some input here. It seems to me, out here in Africa with few people to learn from, that the dives I cover the most distance on have relatively high vertical speeds. Is there a "Fastest airspeed" vs a "Maximum time" mode of flight? Seems when I'm covering the most distance on my Classic, I'm doing around 70mph. Is this about right? t It's the year of the Pig.

I update every 100 jumps. Until I reach 4200, my profile will say 4100+. I have 4149 jumps logged, and have tried to log all the dives I've done. I suspect I may have forgotten a few over the last 19 years, but have written none in which I have not done. t It's the year of the Pig.

Yep, especially when they are 300 yards from the militants on the outskirts of Fallujah, who are firing on them, killing their buddies and the diplomats won't let them defend themselves. Or when their country has been invaded by foreigners who have killed over 10 000 civilians in the past year, but I think we see each others point of view. The closer you are to the front end, the less politics mean. What really matters are those people around you sharing your predicament, cos when everyone else has forgotten about you, those are the people who will fight to keep you alive, regardless of which side you're on. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm not a Bush fan, but he can't be blamed for individual's behaviour. When people are on the sharp end of a conflict, horrible things sometimes happen when they catch each other. t It's the year of the Pig.

This is a far more valid comparison than Iraq/vietnam, with one possible exception. I certainly hope the Iraqi civilian death toll remains in the 10's of thousands and doesn't make it to the 100's of thousands. t http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/philippine.htm "During the War with Spain, Emilio Aguinaldo (who had led an unsuccessful insurrection in 1896-97) organized a native army in the Philippines and secured control of several islands, including much of Luzon. Following the victory in the War With Spain, treaty negotiations were initiated between Spanish and American representatives in Paris. The Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10, 1898. Among its conditions was the cession of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the United States (Cuba was granted its independence). Cession of the Philippines to the United States (Treaty of Paris, 10 December 1898) disappointed many Filipinos. President William McKinley issued a proclamation on December 21, 1898, declaring United States policy to be one of "benevolent assimilation" in which "the mild sway of justice and right" would be substituted for "arbitrary rule." When this was published in the islands on January 4, 1899, references to "American sovereignty" having been prudently deleted, Phillipine President Aguinaldo issued his own proclamation that condemned "violent and aggressive seizure" by the United States and threatened war. Hostilities broke out on the night of February 4, 1899, after two American privates on patrol killed three Filipino soldiers in a suburb of Manila. Thus began a war that would last for more than two years. Some 126,000 American soldiers would be committed to the conflict; 4,234 American and 16,000 Filipino soldiers, part of a nationwide guerrilla movement of indeterminate numbers, died. The general population, caught between Americans and rebels, suffered horribly. According to historian Gregorio Zaide, as many as 200,000 civilians died, largely because of famine and disease, by the end of the war. Atrocities were committed on both sides. The Filipino troops, armed with old rifles and bolos and carrying anting-anting (magical charms), were no match for American troops in open combat, but they were formidable opponents in guerrilla warfare. For General Ewell S. Otis, commander of the United States forces, who had been appointed military governor of the Philippines, the conflict began auspiciously with the expulsion of the rebels from Manila and its suburbs by late February and the capture of Malolos, the revolutionary capital, on March 31, 1899. Aguinaldo and his government escaped, however, establishing a new capital at San Isidro in Nueva Ecija Province. The Filipino cause suffered a number of reverses. The attempts of Mabini and his successor as president of Aguinaldo's cabinet, Pedro Paterno, to negotiate an armistice in May 1899 ended in failure because Otis insisted on unconditional surrender. Still more serious was the murder of Luna, Aguinaldo's most capable military commander, in June. Hot-tempered and cruel, Luna collected a large number of enemies among his associates, and, according to rumor, his death was ordered by Aguinaldo. With his best commander dead and his troops suffering continued defeats as American forces pushed into northern Luzon, Aguinaldo dissolved the regular army in November 1899 and ordered the establishment of decentralized guerrilla commands in each of several military zones. More than ever, American soldiers knew the miseries of fighting an enemy that was able to move at will within the civilian population in the villages. Although Aguinaldo's government did not have effective authority over the whole archipelago and resistance was strongest and best organized in the Tagalog area of Central Luzon, the notion entertained by many Americans that independence was supported only by the "Tagalog tribe" was refuted by the fact that there was sustained fighting in the Visayan Islands and in Mindanao. Although the ports of Iloilo on Panay and Cebu on Cebu were captured in February 1899, and Tagbilaran, capital of Bohol, in March, guerrilla resistance continued in the mountainous interiors of these islands. Only on the sugar-growing island of Negros did the local authorities peacefully accept United States rule. On Mindanao the United States Army faced the determined opposition of Christian Filipinos loyal to the republic. Aguinaldo was captured at Palanan on March 23, 1901, by a force of Philippine Scouts loyal to the United States and was brought back to Manila. Convinced of the futility of further resistance, he swore allegiance to the United States and issued a proclamation calling on his compatriots to lay down their arms. Yet insurgent resistance continued in various parts of the Philippines until 1903. The Moros on Mindanao and on the Sulu Archipelago, suspicious of both Christian Filipino insurrectionists and Americans, remained for the most part neutral. In August 1899, an agreement had been signed between General John C. Bates, representing the United States government, and the sultan of Sulu, Jamal-ul Kiram II, pledging a policy of noninterference on the part of the United States. In 1903, however, a Moro province was established by the American authorities, and a more forward policy was implemented: slavery was outlawed, schools that taught a non-Muslim curriculum were established, and local governments that challenged the authority of traditional community leaders were organized. A new legal system replaced the sharia, or Islamic law. United States rule, even more than that of the Spanish, was seen as a challenge to Islam. Armed resistance grew, and the Moro province remained under United States military rule until 1914, by which time the major Muslim groups had been subjugated. Sources and Methods President McKinley and American Imperialism: A Study on United States Foreign and Domestic Policy in the Philippines 1898-1900 John W. Miller III; Carl D. Baner (Faculty Advisor) Air Command and Staff College 1998 Mr. Dooley on Imperialism: Satire by Finley Peter Dunne By Jim Zwick, Syracuse University [If you have not previously read these, you should immediately remedy this situation. If you have read them before, you will surely wish to do so again.] Mark Twain on the Philippines By Jim Zwick, Syracuse University Sentenaryo/Centennial A Collaborative Exploration of the Cultural and Political Impacts of the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War Philippine Insurrection @ US Army Center for Military History " t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm glad you feel that way, and I'm glad I don't. t It's the year of the Pig.

You may be right... Although there have been times in my life that I've been obsessive about exercise (Like running a marathon) I have made a few simple deals with myself. a. Take the stairs if I'm not carrying anything. b. Park in the 1st spot I see I've also tried to strike a balance between being "fit" and being "healthy." In my 20's I was very fit. I was also sick quite often, and caught every little bug that was going around. These days I'm certainly not fit, and am seldom ill. I climb a little, skydive every weekend, do Jow Ga Kung Fu for 2 hours a week and go to gym MAYBE twicw a month for 30 min on the rowing machine. My weight climbs by about 2lbs in winter time, and it comes off in summer. I used to worry about that gain, but don't anymore. t It's the year of the Pig.

That seems much more likely. Really? Saved my Dad then rescued my sister? Why not "Saved my Dad and Sister" Just a thought... t It's the year of the Pig.

Bear in mind I'm probably looking at this from a "Dad" point of view - having been where you are - and having survived. I don't mean to criticise in any way, and it may be that I simply am easily scared. So... Which parts... Because of the whole fall rate thing you may pend a day just trying to hook up. This indicates you've not yet mastered fall rate in the relativly benign environment of FS tried to RW with people several times. Never more than a 5-way. Bigger is not better. It increases the variables beyond your control, and reduces your amount of flying. On a 2 way you do 50% of the work. On a 5 way only 20%. Until you master basic skills, you're wasting your time and other peoples money. ne wants to spend the time jumping with you in four way if they can't get a point turned all day. That's cos they know you, or the group, is not ready. You may well find someone to do a 2 way with though, and it's likely that that dive would be more successful at best, and piss fewer people off at worst. leaves you to coached jumps or solos. You go into why you shouldn't do solo's, but not why you should do coach dives. There's got to be a reason for that.. how can you get proficient at belly without someone to jump with? Back to the 2 way... or hire a coach? that I can do it solo and have fun, and I can find people to do it with fairly easily. People who will teach you what? that it can be put together fairly quickly. This is scary. Planning dives on the way to the plane. I don't think any team of any disipline in the world does this. You shouldn't either. "What's your audible set at?" "5000, 4000, and 2500." "So break at 5, pull by 4?" "Works for me." This is scary. At 200mph, you're doing 1000ft every 4 seconds. Breaking at 5 and pulling at 4 gives you 4 seconds to get both horizontal seperation, and slow down to the more docile terminal winds your gear was designed to handle. It simply cannot be done. if the train funnels, who cares because it's freeflying and we can stay relative easily Scary.. cos you just told us you can't do this flat, but you beleive you can do it in a position widely acnowledged to be dynamically unstable. you can do stupid funny moves and laugh and basically just PLAY in the air. Docking, burble hopping, flipping, spinning, the whole jump completely improvised on the spot. Scary. It's the burble hopping that got me here as I've seen plenty prematures.. and you're gambling your life and the life of your jump partner that it won't happen while you're hopping the burble. Yes, 4 way teams burble hop. Usually they have 100's of dives together - and they weigh the risk against the clock of competition. What's your reasoning? Setting up a two way freefly team however was not so hard. And nor would a coach jump be so tough. Getting a coach/camera man was easy too. Now we only need to coordinate three shedules rather than 5 or 6 and we can work with the coach individually till we get our sit together and use the times when we can all get together to learn how to fly as a team. This is very positive. I hope you learn tons, and that you enjoy your dives both in training and in competition. I don't mean to deride your efforts to have fun jumping in any way, and I don't want to tell you how stupid I was when I was young. I was just real lucky, in retrospect. t It's the year of the Pig.

Ahem... Confession time. I work with IT stuff. The Sony I covet is my GF's. Quite simply, when I consider it's weight, functions, battery life etc - I'm simply stunned. I normally hate ALL laptops, because they're such a compromise. If you want 3GHz 1024 RAM gaming power, you're going to pay double a desktop, it'll weigh a ton, have no 256 AGP x 8 and last 30 min on batteries.... But the Sony is practically a palm top, goes everywhere (and I mean EVERYWHERE - its currently in Kenya somewhere far from a power outlet, I'm sure) and does a great job... If I was mobile - and not one of those "Laptop on my Desk top" posers... Sony would be my choice. t It's the year of the Pig.

And there comes Tonto, out of the blue. You should be my comentator! Well, since I am South African, and we're dealing with the SA constitution... it's not so out of the blue really. If Bin Laden turned up here... which country do you think most likely to ask for his extradition? Any wild guesses there? As for me "procastinating against the US.." did you mean "procrastinating?" Dictionary.com defines the word as follows... "To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness." v. tr. "To postpone or delay needlessly." I really don't think I was doing that. Care to clarify? t It's the year of the Pig.

No, actually, I only returned to SA in 1993, once a date had been set for the election. And never, not once in the 48 years of apartheid rule, did the SA government kill 8000 civilians in a single year. Never. t It's the year of the Pig.

Ahh yes. Quite correct. That was then, and this is now. I don't live in a rougue state that goes to war without mandate and has killed 8000 civilians in the past year - every one without trial. t It's the year of the Pig.

Really? Wow. You guys really are getting strict about everything over there.. Unless you mean raped. Then I'd understand completely. t It's the year of the Pig.

I've been eating junk food every day for the last 23 years. I'm 42, 5'11, 165lbs, and my colesterol is "average" for a 22 year old. I have lower than average blood pressure. I skip breakfast, have a burger or chicken and fries for lunch and a Pizza for dinner most days. Recently, in the past 3 years, my GF has got me to eat salad, but it's more of a desert than part of my meal, and I've cut back my 15 gallons of Coke a month to about 10. I've always eaten some fruit a few times a week. I don't supersize though, and when I feel I've had enough, I usually stop. t It's the year of the Pig.

Yes. I have no doubt that doing so would sour our relations with the US, and that they would bring all sorts of political, ecconomic social and perhaps even military pressure to bear, but our constitution, unlike the US constitution, recognises the right to life. Truth is - I hope he never turns up here... t It's the year of the Pig.

You're asking for a lot of help - and much of what you ask for is opinion. I recently bought a new harness, and I went for minimal options. I went standard hardwear. Reasoning? A. I stay 400 miles from the sea, 5000ft ASL. I've never seen rust. B. Stainless hardwear slips. I never went for articulation. Reasoning? A. Comfort? I've never been uncomfortable or restricted by my gear, so I honestly feel I don't need it. Padded back. Was standard on my rig, and it is nice. Handles - speak to your instructors on this subject. Your life depends on your choices. What's good for my freefly rig is not for my wingsuit rig. Cut in laterals. Comfort issue under canopy, but can be a snag point. Very much your call. Colours - What you want, and one day, when you sell, what someone else will buy. Remember, a "Standard" container is 100% ready to jump, but some options will increase (or decrease) resale value. Few options add safety, and those that do are disipline dependant, like freefly handles or the dynamic corner mod for wing suits. Hope this helps a little. t It's the year of the Pig.

Sony Vaio. t It's the year of the Pig.

So where's the pic of the sister. That should clear things up! t It's the year of the Pig.

Like Jews? t It's the year of the Pig.

Yes, but I pay a loading for it both for life cover and disability. What really bothers me is that they'll pay for suicide (if the policy has been in effect for over 2 years) but not for a skydiving death. (without loading) Get that. Put a gun to your head and pull the trigger - they pay. Use every ounce of skill and knowledge you have while skydiving and fail - they don't. t It's the year of the Pig.

Word. All accidents are at the end of an events cascade. By learning to deal with small things one at a time, by ommission, as you did, or deliberatly, as Billvon suggests, is the best way to break the chain of events that contribute to accidents. To others.... Look for the links in the chain. Last load. Getting dark. Tinted goggles or visor. A hold or slow climb to altitude... Your next desision could save you or kill you. t It's the year of the Pig.

I raced Superbikes before I started skydiving. In that sport, I used a Bell Star helmet. My conclusions were the same as yours. I've not used a helmet for over 3800 dives now. I still have my ears. (I think a good body position during deployment is good protection from riser strikes) I don't bash my head into the doorframe when I leave the plane (or my car, or house, for that matter.) Tim challenged me to an experiment, but I declined. I feel it's better not to put your head someplace it will be mashed, rather than wear a helmet and see it is survives the mashing. t It's the year of the Pig.