Tonto

I'm having difficulty visualising what you describe. Looking at the number of views and the absence of replies, I'm guessing others feel the same way. A picture is worth a thousand words. t It's the year of the Pig.

By having a good relationship yourself. When I see a preist trying to council a couple - I'm reminded of mechanics who don't own cars and male gynecologists. What are they basing their experience on? Relationships are really very simple, but we choose to complicate them (or not) by the actions we take each day. t It's the year of the Pig.

So... those 3 gallons... If we leave them in the container - lets say plastic.. are you willing to have 26.4 lbs dropped on your head from 20 feet? Or would you think that's bad? t It's the year of the Pig.

So... are you going to stay with this? When you say this is longer and lighter, that's relative, right? Are you still using a hacky? t It's the year of the Pig.

This past weekend marked 2 years since the Coalition of the willing invaded Iraq. In all honesty, who thought we'd be where we are now, two years later? t It's the year of the Pig.

Parachute Systems, makers of the Vortex 2. Their handle is sewn directly to the top of the pilot chute. If the PC is packed to deep, their is insuficient play to pull the pin. I know one jumper, who somewhat foolishly has had 5 terminal reserve deployments with this system in fewer than 300 jumps. The last time the riggers refused to pack his reserve due to damage to both the slider grommets and the line attachment to the connector links. The system where the handle and pin move through a small grommet is far superior. t It's the year of the Pig.

I can see why no one expects the Spanish Inquisition! t It's the year of the Pig.

Trivia. I heard the VC was minted from the metal used to make the guns at Balaclava, Crimea, that the Light Brigade charged so famously. Is this true? Think they'll ever run out? t It's the year of the Pig.

Yes, but that is in the event of an emergency, in the same way you release your main in order to survive. Besides, a board usually rotates in decent, and falls quite slowly. 900 grams of lead at 150 mph has comparable energy at impact to a 20mm depleted uranium round. In the end, you'll need to argue with the CAA. I'm sure if you ditch a board, or spaceball, and it hits some kid and kills them, that you will have many, many questions to answer. t It's the year of the Pig.

I used one for over 1000 dives. Back in the old days (late 80's) many people died as a result of twisted leg straps and twisted belly bands with throw-out rigs. Pull-outs avoided this. As air speeds picked up, and freestyle and freeflying came along, the exposed velcro further increased the risk associated with jumping a throwout. Since the advent of the BOC, however, many of the disadvantages of the throwout were negated. Pullout's, however, still have issue with floating puffs, and some questionable designs result in impossible pull senarios as a result of small packing errors. PC in tow malfunctions.... Really, all your effort should go into avoiding one, not equiping yourself to deal with one. Besides. You'll need that throw-out when you start to fly a wingsuit - that most critical of all disipline when it comes to PC's in tow... t It's the year of the Pig.

It's not about the MOP's. It's a civil aviation law that states that nothing but sand or water (Balast for balloons or gliders) may be dropped in flight. CAA made it quite clear that an incident with a space ball would be the end of the sport in SA. This is no light threat. They shut down skydiving in Swaziland for over 10 years after a safety related incident. Cape Town? They're over the sea. Maybe that has something to do with consequence - but as far as I know, it's still against the law. t It's the year of the Pig.

Yeah, I didn't like that one. The only variable is your BMI, and any athlete knows that BMI is bullshit. If you have any muscle at all - it "thinks" you're overweight. t It's the year of the Pig.

No Way! You could never defend yourself if you've been declawed! t It's the year of the Pig.

Thought I would bump this as some people are comparing "fixing" their cats to having their claws cut out, to circumsizing their children. By the way, I've had the claws removed from my penis. It was painfull, but worth it. t It's the year of the Pig.

Well, my Dad is 73 and rode his 26th Argus Tour (70 Mile Cycle race) last weekend. He only started cycling when running marathons started hurting his knees. Old is in your head. Keep doing what you do - and you'll be fine, I think. t It's the year of the Pig.

Men die younger than women. We do it to escape! t It's the year of the Pig.

http://www.moneysense.ca/calc/when_die_calc/index.jsp?group=tools&zone=die_calc&subzone=tools 78.73 years edit - That's only 11500 skydives... t It's the year of the Pig.

I never round up. Thin as the margin may be, I don't want people to think I'm padding my numbers. When chatting to students, or when asked, I'll always round down to the last 50. So, at 4533, I'll say 4500. when I'm on 4580, it'll be 4550. On this site, since I'm here so often, and have so much time.. I do it every 10 jumps, for both my total and my wingsuit dives. I've done this since the "numbers only" rule prevented me from putting a "+" in. Back then it was every 100 that I updated. For number of swoops - every 100 dives I add another 100 swoops. All the canopies I jump are swoopable, and if conditions are not swoopable, I don't jump. t It's the year of the Pig.

In South Africa it's criminal. It's regared as abuse, and the owner can be reported to the SPCA. t It's the year of the Pig.

Yes, I was scared. Jules has seen me scared before, on a trad climb up Table mountain just before a pitch that involved a traverse above an overhang, but fear rarely stops me from doing what I'm going to do. I have an odd view on demos, derived largely from my experience with relationships. If I have something I'm happy with, I stick with it. A demo will usually mean one of two things. Either you jump it and like it, and so become dissatisfied with what you have, or you jump it and don't like it, and so have missed an oportunity to enjoy what you have. So, fear of death on the next jump? No. Fear of dissapointment? Yes. Fear of impending debt? Yes. I think the key to all this is knowing yourself and what you want. If there were a wingsuit with a vertical speed of 150 MPH, and a forward speed of 600 mph - that's what I would want. "Slower" doesn't float my boat. I want speed, and from what I've seen, heard, and read, the Sugarglider is not going to give me that. The Vampire/S3/S5 is the kind of suit I'm drawn to, and my next suit will be chosen along those lines in the same way my canopies are chosen for speed and not how long I can hang on the brakes for. But that's just me. t It's the year of the Pig.

You'd really go for the Swiss Army Knife over a Leatherman? Zippo is stupid. The fuel will evaporate within a week. Cheap plastic disposable here. Ciggs are silly, but I guess you're a smoker. Sewing kit with dental floss. Cotton is useless, and it rots. Camera? Pocket full of condoms. Water storage... t It's the year of the Pig.

That's why I used the term "ego driven liars." When I'm on the ride to altitude I see a lot of people coping with their fear. For some, it's fear of injury or death, others, fear of forgetting the 3rd point, and still others, fear of losing face. Sit in on a post dive debrief and listen to all the bullshit excuses on why the dive was a fuck-up. Some people stop just short of "I got stuck in a cloud" with crap like "My visor fogged up." Funny how that happened to near everyone in the world team in Thailand - and they came back with a world record. Just do a little experiment on your next dive. On the ride up, scream bloody blue murder at 4000ft, and watch people's reaction. They all just shat themselves. For nothing. I think I'm too serious for this forum right now. Maybe it is just like the bonfire, where everyone is near perfect on the NEXT dive, while they drink to forget their fuck-ups on the last one. t It's the year of the Pig.

Well, reading this thread I'm releived to find that 58% of skydivers are so eager to die. Of course, that the 58% generally has fewer than 1000 dives pleases me even more. Statistically, Murphy is always looking for the low guy. With attitudes like this so prevalent in the sport, coupled with inexperience, arrogance and ignorance, I'm statistically more likely to survive than one of these people. Of course, it's depressing to have spent 12 years instructing people to be safe only to discover their true attraction is not to the Blue Sky - but to the "High speed dirt!" beneath it. I have little doubt why whuffo's see us the way they do now. This has truely been a revealing thread. Either the majority of us are ego driven liars, or we're truely nuts. Hobsons choice, I guess. t It's the year of the Pig.

You're quite correct, of course. You don't get it from the hot tub. t It's the year of the Pig.