MWGemini

Take my post with a grain of salt, as you can see I'm a very inexperienced jumper, and have a long way to go before I start BASE. That being said, I've done some climbing in the past (although not much outdoor), and am somewhat familiar with the equipment. I imagine it would be possible to carry a fanny pack with some emergency equipment for a situation like the one you describe. A few nuts or cams (cams would probably be better because of a larger range, but are heavier and bulkier), a few carabiners, and a length of cord should be sufficient. Regular climbing rope would probably not be needed, if you are just trying to anchor yourself to the wall to await rescue. A twenty foot length of 5mm cord would probably be enough. Throw in a space blanket and a few powerbars, and you should be ok, provided your injuries are not imminently life threatening. On the other hand, if you are looking to completely self rescue after being stranded halfway up a cliff face, you will need more equipment, much more skill, and it is definitely not something you want to do after you've been seriously injured, since you'll probably just end up killing yourself. I imagine in that situation you'd be dead before rescue arrives, though, so it might be worth the risk. All the previous is in the event of a wall strike on an E.. For other objects, namely A and B, different equipment would be needed. I think getting hung up on a B is pretty unlikely, but I've read numerous stories of people getting hung on guy wires off an A. TO self rescue from that, you could probably get away with a few prussiks wrapped around the guy wire, so again, some relatively thin cord and a few carabiners, and you should be able to self rescue with the right training. Mike

I've never put much faith in luck. I prefer to put my faith in the power of my own abilities. Going back to what I said earlier, I prefer to make my own luck by making the right choices beforehand. That is not to say that sometimes fate deals us a losing hand, because that does happen. But in a lot of those situations, proper prior planning would have made a difference. We might not be able to prevent our canopy from collapsing at 50 feet in turbulent conditions, but we could have made the choice to sit on the ground for that load. Even if we always have impeccable judgment, it only takes one bad choice to negate all of that. That bad choice could mean downsizing before you are REALLY ready, or moving up to 270s before you've got 180s really dialed in, or deciding to make a BASE jump in less than perfect conditions. Even if you've done everything perfectly a million times before, all it takes is one mistake, and the fatal chain begins. The thread you linked to is a perfect example. By all accounts, that guy was a natural, and had taken several canopy control courses. He had taken the necessary steps to be a good pilot. His problem started when he allowed himself to believe his abilities were far greater than they actually were. He made a canopy choice he wasn't ready for, and then he made a high performance turn that he wasn't ready for at an unfamiliar DZ. Or the guy who made his third BASE jump at Moab in turbulent and gusty wind conditions. Even if he had taken all the requisite steps to be a safe and knowledgeable jumper, his decision to be at that exit point in the first place was the beginning of a chain of events that rapidly exceeded his ability to compensate. He created his own bad luck by allowing his judgment to lapse when his skills were insufficient. I'll be out there tomorrow, not sure how early though. When will you be there? Mike

I can't remember the first time I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, but I think the first time I knew that she felt the same way was when I got horrendously sick and she had to drive me to a military hospital over an hour away. By the time we got there, I was barely able to breathe, drooling all over myself, and basically just a disgusting mess. She stayed with me the whole time, and even convinced the nurses to let her sleep in the room with me (visitors were not allowed, especially civilians). That incident convinced me that I had made the right choice in deciding to propose to her (I'd already bought the ring, but hadn't given it to her yet). Mike

We talked a little Saturday night about people taking unnecessary risks, and how dangerous things can be done safely. In the BASE forum, Tom Aiello once posted that he believes every BASE jumper begins with two buckets. One is skill, and is initially empty. The other is luck, and is filled to a predetermined and unknown level. Over time, the bucket of luck drains. When that bucket becomes empty, the only way for the jumper to survive (or escape injury) is if he/she has filled the skill bucket enough. I agree with his theory, but only to a point. I'd like to add a third bucket, judgment. The volume of this bucket is the only one we can determine for ourselves. It is the good decisions in this bucket that allow us to fill the skills bucket over time so that when the luck bucket runs dry, we escape with nothing worse than a "No shit, there I was" story. If we don't fill the judgment bucket, or if we allow it to empty, then the only story being told will be the story of how we went in. This applies to every sport, not just skydiving or BASE. If we do not exercise good judgment at all times, eventually it will hurt or kill us. The only way to survive over a long period of time is to be conservative when we push our limits, so that we hone our skills without exceeding them. That way, when things go wrong, we've acquired the skills that will be essential to saving ourselves. That might mean flat turns at low altitudes, or landing on rear risers, or spending an extra hundred jumps perfecting a high performance maneuver before moving on to the next one. We've all had friends get hurt or killed in various sports. I don't want to be next, and I'm taking every possible step to ensure that I won't be. Everyone should do the same. I've attached the english paper I spoke to some of you about. I wrote it trying to explain things to whuffos from "our" perspective, but I think it might be a good read for some of you as well. Mike

From what I've read/heard, it's called warping the canopy, and it is easier to do it with a front riser and opposite toggle, since toggles are easier to control. I've done it a few times, but not for very long. Seems to be intended for moving the canopy laterally and losing altitude. Ask someone more experienced than me, however. I know there was a thread on it in the CRW forum. Mike

My scariest moment would probably have to be when I was in Air Assault school school in the Army. About 100 feet off the deck, rappelling from a Black Hawk, and I see the rap master give the signal that he is about to cut the ropes. Or maybe the time I got so sick that my throat constricted to the point where I could barely breathe, and I nearly passed out in the ER. Was pretty sure I was going to die on that one too. Mike

Your local cable provider is your ISP then. In my area, that provider is Time Warner. I used to do business with them, but they had higher prices and horrible tech support. Their routing hardware was less stable, as well. I ended up getting 4 months in a row of free service, but at the cost of a lot of service outages. Because of this, I switched to Earthlink, who rents the cables from TW and has their own router and server setup. Their prices are lower, the reliability is much higher, and their tech support (the very few times I've needed to call them) were knowledgeable and helpful. If the local cable company suits your needs, then that is great. For me, they did not, and Earthlink has (so far), and at a lower price. The service is essentially the same. With the majority of ISPs on the market today (exceptions being AOL and maybe one or two others), all you get is a connection to the internet, and nothing more. AOL has their own browser system and subset community, but I've always felt their system is both slow and pointless, so I prefer the "no frills" service I get through "normal" ISPs. Hope that explains it well enough. Mike

I've had Earthlink cable for a little over a year now or so. Much better than Time Warner. Same hardware, same cables, but better pricing and tech support, Earthlink just leases the lines from TW. Regardless of you connection medium- dial-up, DSL, cable, satellite, etc, you still need some kind of service provider, somebody on the other end of the line who has routers and servers and actually connects you to the net backbone. Just because it is cable internet does not mean you are directly connected (this is in response to another poster wondering why you needed an ISP for cable). Mike

Dave, on behalf of all the rest of us, I'd just like to say: YOU SUCK! . Too bad I won't get to jump with you before you go. On the good side, however, I won't have to help you with your back pad thingie for a while, and when you get back, I should be able to jump with you. Have fun, be safe, get video. Mike

Do you know if there will be many videos tomorrow, Eric? I may come out tomorrow, and probably Friday through Sunday. The weather forecast isn't looking so great for the weekend though. I ended up deciding to buy that freefly suit, so I'll be sending off the money order tomorrow. Hopefully everything goes well with that. Maybe soon I'll be good enough to start jumping with some of you guys. Mike

Nice setup! I can run dual monitors on mine, but since I only have one monitor, the only way I can do it is if I run my TV as the second, and the image quality just isn't worth it. I've run actual dual monitors in the past and loved it, however. Definitely increases productivity when doing 3d modelling or level design, and even when writing code. Has anyone ever used the panoramic screens, like these: http://www.panoramtech.com/products/desktop.html http://www.9xmedia.com/pages-Build_a_system/X-Top_Design_a_system-Configurations.html http://www.viewsonic.com/multipanelpromo/ http://www.go-l.com If only I could afford a triple screen panoramic setup like those.... Mike

Well, you can continue to think that. Nothing I say or do will change your mind. Very few deaths come with good reason, and even those are regrettable. If you disagree with that, then I feel sorry for you. At no point have I been trying to brag about the things I've seen. On the contrary. I wish that I'd never seen them in the first place. In fact, I'm sure that the deaths I have seen are much LESS horrible than many of the ones that other posters are talking about. What I've seen is bad enough, and I never want to see it again, much less see something worse. I think that it is that sentiment (not wanting to see death) that is the foundation for a lot of arguments over things like downsizing too soon, or performing hook turns when people are not ready. They've seen the consequences before and are trying to prevent it from happening again. They aren't necessarily trying to save anyone from themselves, but perhaps they are trying to save themselves from having to deal with yet another senseless death. We already have far too many of them, and this guy is wishing for more. Doesn't that anger you as well? Mike

I didn't slam him because I can understand where he is coming from. I think it's a very bad attitude to have, however. He says: Badge of honor? Try again pal. Nobody is eager to brag about how they witnessed a friend die. Not anyone who has actually experienced it, at least. If anything, we're eager ot warn others of the danger to prevent it from happening again. Death in real life is a whole lot messier than it appears in whatever movies you've been watching. It is not something that you want to experience for yourself. Trust me, and the dozens of other people who are telling you the same thing. I think what is really pissing people off (myself included) is that you are not saying you are curious how you would react, but rather stating that you want someone to die so that you can be entertained. That attitude reminds me of the gladiator days of Rome, and I'm glad we left those days behind. Do you really think that somehow watching one of your friends die will make you a better person? Do you think it is going to somehow enhance your life? Granted, I've had a lot of bad things happen to me in my 24 years, and I've watched a few friends die. Those experiences have probably made me stronger emotionally, or maybe just jaded. But I would rather just have my friends back and my youthful innocence with it. Once you step through that door, you can't go back. And believe me, you'll want to. Mike

Like I posted a long time ago, I had a sort of morbid curiosity about it too. Until it happened. Read the post I linked to a few posts up, that might help explain things. At one time, my outlook wasn't so different than his. The reality of death changed that for me. Mike

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1232087#1232087 Edit: You'll stop wishing for it when it happens. Those memories will haunt you forever. Mike

I've got 3 tattoos, two of them full color. I've been told by the artists that with color, they have to put the ink in deeper for it to look good. That may have something to do with people thinking it hurts more. For me, I never noticed much of a difference, although my only all black tattoo is on the inside of my left arm, which can be pretty sensitive in spots. None of them really hurt that bad, however. Mike

Nice pictures, Eric. Joe- won't be there tomorrow. We've got the house inspection tomorrow and I've really gotta work on the wedding video that I've been putting off forever. Marion- What's the story with the Jet A incident? Does anyone have any experience with Flite Suit freefly suits? There are two being advertised that I may purchase. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=21332&d=1 Also, I'm trying to put together some new music CDs for the tandem videos. Does anyone have any suggestions? I've searched all the threads here and have a lot of the "usual" ones, but I'm also looking for some less common but still applicable songs. Thanks, Mike

I live in downtown Raleigh and will soon be moving to north Raleigh (assuming we buy the house we are looking at). I work at CSS on the weekends and I'm always there Saturday/Sunday, and Fridays whenever I can. Send me a PM or something when you get here and I'm sure we can work something out. Mike

I use a method very similar to the one linked to above, recommended by RWS. I jump a Mirage and my risers are slightly different, so I had to modify the technique slightly. If I understand what you are saying correctly, you have so much excess line that it forms a loop which your toggle (or even a finger or hand) could pass through. I had a similar problem. To correct this, I had my rigger sew on two elastic keepers on the back of the risers (similar to what is shown in the RWS article). The key part is making sure that the lower elastic band is low enough on the riser to take up that extra slack. You might only need one additional piece of elastic on each riser. If this is not a clear description of the solution, or if I am misunderstanding the problem, let me know and I'll try to be more clear next time. Mike Edit: grammar

I think that is targetted at the large number of obese Americans who have fallen prey to the "super-size me" mentality and who do not excercise. For those people, simply walking to the fridge can be vigorous activity. Any moderately active person who eats at least somewhat sensibly should be able to stay in good shape. Unfortunately, a very large number of Americans don't fall into that category. Mike

I won't be able to make this one, Joe. I'm sure you'll have lots of drunken fun without me though. Get video this time . I did a coach jump with Todd today and he showed me one of the (probably many) things I am doing wrong. I think I'm really close to holding that sit stable. Maybe next weekend I'll finally be able to do it. Mike

It's called a SPIES hookup. And I HAVE done it, and it's a LOT of fun. Too bad the guy above me dropped his camera, we would've had some awesome pictures. Mike

I was taught pull, strip, throw in my student progression, but I now practice one hand on each handle. I've done tests with both cables and can clear my cutaway cables and my reserve cable at arm extension, so it shouldn't be a problem as long as I don't fire the reserve before the main releases. On that note, I practice to ensure that my risers have released before pulling silver. I have not yet had a cutaway, however. We'll see what happens when that time comes. Mike

Hehe- Not sure if that was meant as a compliment or insult, but yeah, I think so. I've still got to talk to Nancy about it. Seeya tomorrow. Mike

That would be more of a calculus thing- figuring out the exact distance of a constantly changing curve. Given time to do the math, though, yeah, probably. I'm planning on being out there tomorrow, probably somewhere around lunchtime. Sorry that you have a final on Saturday, that REALLY sucks. Hope it goes well and quickly. Mike