dmkellett

Well, I do. I am glad he's out of action. This mad old fool is responsible for several deaths due to his make believe fantasy fairy tale BS that he spouts. Deaths he has caused : http://rt.com/news/teen-kills-rapture-predicted/ http://www.christianpost.com/news/investigators-believe-harold-campings-doomsday-to-blame-for-fla-mans-death-50558/ http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Man+found+dead+in+church+on+doomsday+/-/1056/1166930/-/hvpqpfz/-/ http://www.persecution.org/crossingthebridge/2011/05/27/harold-camping-and-the-christian-hmong-of-vietnam/ I would see him as just more religious comedy, apart from these and probably more deaths, instead it just galvanizes my thoughts on all religion : DANGEROUS BULLSHIT. have a nice day

poppycock. WS is as safe as any other discipline. I think its a darn lot safer than many other things. Preparation is the key. I only WS now, and coming up on 1000 WS jumps over 9 years I have only ever had one problem, my last jump, a lineover and spinner on my main. I cutaway at 4500 as I "always" open at 5500 and took another 15 second delay while I flew back to the DZ to mitigate risks of probs if my reserve didnt open well or I bust my leg on landing. no stress, it was like a base jump and I was really glad to have my suit on as it gave me so much more time to set myself up for a clean stable over the DZ deployment at a safe 3000 feet. what more could I have asked for? I upsized my main, only jump a square now and so I think I'm at a much lower risk than when I did free flying on a small eliptical. more spinners, lower openings, faster speeds on landing, more radical turns, less time during mals... the list just goes on ..... WS is safe. or at least no more dangerous than the jumping you do.... its all about preparation... and sensible gear / jump buddy / weather etc etc choices. The analogy that you are jumping in a straight jacket and that increases your risk is so 1980's!

oh my god " Ignorant bigotted perspective ! " have you seen the catholic church over the last 2 thousand years? there isn't a more ignorant bigotted perspective on earth ! ( well maybe the muslims are equally as bad..) Old Pat is just from a part of the world that has almost rid itself of bullshit neolithic fairytales. He is a light shining in a world veiled by suffering and intolerance caused by beliefs like yours.

Roni, we may have completely opposed views on religion / creation / almost everything.... BUT Pat Condell is my hero. He is what many of us believe the majority of the population are starting to think / believe. My question to you is : Have you listened to all his podcasts ? I really dont think you would like him if you had. He doesn't have much positive to say about your or anyone else's religion. I urge all to go and subscribe to him in Itunes though. Especially all the atheists.

I realise its asking an awful lot ! Thanks for the youtube link, I often wondered where that guns n roses quote came from.... Suggestion : WS forum splits into 2 ( just like base forum has ) Section 1 : WS TECHNICAL - very heavily moderated ie...just posts like Jarno's above allowed Section 2 : WS BS bring your brand war here ! for all those silly people who like to bicker and call each other names ( you know who you are ) This way we get the best of both worlds. If I want to read up on my next dream PF suit, then I go to the Technical forum. If I want to laugh at the ego's of the people in our sport I go to the BS forum. Or maybe I just stay in the Technical forum and not have to wade through tons of BS for little gems of important stuff! Any chance ? Please ?

Awesome posts. Finally some to-the-point informative and comparative stuff. If only all the posts were like this! please step up moderators and ensure only posts like this get on this forum, maybe then we can resurrect some credibility around here. I'd better start saving for my " Lamborghini "

no idea what you mean by Bottrop mate..... all i know is its a skyventure design.... but a much more advanced clear perspex in the middle of the highstreet type... looks pretty cool on their website

I prefer to respond to your originality... what have you to say about your god of denial? Well after you deleted you reference to my quote " MORON " I prefer to respond to it anyway : HA! What I quoted was the "Epicurean paradox" Now then, onto old Epicurus............. this " MORON " as you would put it : Wikipedia Quotes : Epicurus (Greek: Ἐπίκουρος, Epikouros, "ally, comrade"; 341 BCE – 270 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Epicurus is a key figure in the development of science and the scientific method because of his insistence that nothing should be believed, except that which was tested through direct observation and logical deduction. Many of his ideas about nature and physics presaged important scientific concepts of our time. His statement of the Ethic of Reciprocity as the foundation of ethics is the earliest in Ancient Greece, and he differs from the formulation of utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill by emphasizing the minimization of harm to oneself and others as the way to maximize happiness. He regularly admitted women and slaves into his school and was one of the first Greeks to break from the god-fearing and god-worshiping tradition common at the time So, you can see, this so called moron was in fact far cleverer than the average religious nut job standing on a hillside screaming random BS like your Jesus was. There were apparently many many such nut jobs in Jesus' time and it was just pure chance that Christianity took off. Dont know about you, but I'd rather look up to someone like Epicurus than anyone who had anything to do with your vengeful angry violent deity. At least he didn't demand the death of first born sons etc etc etc ( random violent act from bible ) And at least he was REAL which I hate to point out but hey you do believe in one crazy fairy at the bottom of your garden!

Another one of my hero's... from a long long time ago....

HA ! your answer : bearded sandle wearing giant spirit hippie living in clouds. your hope : to magically float up after dying and sit next to said hippie giant. my answer : science / evolution my hope : that we get over this utter madness. Then we stop killing each other over silly ancient fairytales. then we club together, build a big rocket or 2, and go off and explore the universe and have fun. maybe even find a planet with a really really big deep atmosphere and do some hour long skydives !

I agree. Structure and community are great ways to help people in need. I have benefited personally from both in crap times. However it was through my friends and work, none of which seeked to infect me with a virus of the mind. My point is simply that one day, we will all be able to go out and help others, SIMPLY for the sake of helping HUMANITY.....not with a sly added slice of brainwashing. That day will come soon.. to quote my hero : "The best thing about religion is that it’s so transparently absurd it can’t possibly last forever. I’m convinced it will only take a small shift in human consciousness for it to be laughed off the planet, and I hope I’m still around when that happens."[1] - Pat Condell

helping people who are being abused or exploited is a good thing. however, why cant the help come without the fairytale ? Why do religious types have to prey on venerable people in order to recruit into their cult system? Is that not a form of abuse in itself?

I concur, which is why I hadn't intervened in this thread. As dead as the horse is, I do find it quite disappointing that it inevitably always erodes into this type of a discussion in the forum. One would think that "we" as a collective community could move past this petty bullshit by now, sadly, it just isn't so. This is exactly why most people I know in the WS community cant be bothered reading / writing / posting / giving a shit about this website anymore. No matter what the threads initial subject, almost all threads nowadays degenerate into this brand war BS. Its soooooo demoralizing. I read but dont post much, and as time goes by I read less and less as this same BS shows up time and time again. I would say the WS forum has gone from being useful and informative ( when I registered a decade ago ) to the same few people saying the same brand war shite over and over as each new product comes out. I simply do not see this in any other part of the DZ.com forums. how on earth do we look to wannabe WS pilots who need encouragement and information? I'll say it : stupid childish bickering idiots. If your new, you simply get " dont jump blah blah blah" from some skygod which is why I see less and less newbies posting, even though I know more and more people are jumping WS. Most just ask the right questions at the DZ, join my free stepping stone program using atmo - PF tracking suit - prodigy - phantom and get on with it. I have trained several over the last few years who read this forum and couldnt believe how insular and self obsessed the community is... one minute I'm an experienced WS instructor ( Chucky Blue trained my in 2004 ) Next minute my card has been pulled as has everyone else's so we can all re-train under some new BS rules. No one around here cares about this sort of thing, on my home DZ the CI knows me well and allows me to do what i've been doing for the last 5 years : train new WS pilots. Nobody really cares about Brand A vs Brand B......or any new must have certification course. all it does is make us look like pricks. rant over

Exactly. While recently visiting the USA to meet my newborn niece, her mother pointed out that she has to be baptised. I asked why and she said tt she had been told by her parents that otherwise she would go to hell. This dissapointed me as if i'm wrong and heaven and hell do exist then I will not be spending eternity with my niece. I and all my close friends will be going to hell. I actually want to : warmer, less boring, all my friends will be there. These end of the world nutters should have their kids confiscated. Like all religious loonies, they are infecting their babaies with a virus of the mind and that is simple child abuse. Whether its mild at sunday school, or taliban or these nutters, its all the same. why would you destroy your babies mind with a fairy tale? Because you are a coward. Or stupid. Or mad. or all three. How unusal would it be if you told a friend that your kids were " little republicans " ? Why is it ok to indoctrinate your kids with bullshit religion, but not polititcs.... ? at least one is REAL

So this pair were doing " GODS " work eh? surely if they cant be protected spreading the word then who can? I really think these two were wasting their time. see attachment below :

" Orthokeratology " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthokeratology for an unusual and not so popular therapy, this modality has its benefits. I have not fitted these lenses as they are not mainstream. However a friend wears them and is quite happy. Downside is high cost (1000) bucks a year, pain on insertion, poor compliance, clear vision may not last until the following night when you reinsert the lenses. Once you have done this for a couple of years you could have payed for Lasik... but Ortho-K is reversible... go with the RX goggles... cheaper and easyier

I suggest using goggles with CLs and NOT sunglasses. Even a small amount of extra airflow over the ocular surface will cause drying and this will cause loss of clarity though a CL. Adhesion to the corneal surface, pain on ocular movement, lack of stability of vision ( especially with toric lenses for astigmatism ) and the possibility of lenses being blown out of the eyes are all a real concern. If your lenses get blown out and you are above -0.75 DS myopic you are in REAL trouble seeing... especially on a skydive. I started jumping in goggles, got vain, switched to sunnies, got old and un-vain and went back to goggles... note: nobody cares if you wear your cool sunnies in freefall. your loved ones will care if you smash yourself 'cause you cant see to land. better still get Rx goggles made up. They are what I recommend to patients that also jump see ya

please dont take too long..... we are all still using the duck tape method... id pay 40 for a mount today! cheers

update on the aussie tunnel : I recently spoke to the main man involved in the venture. He said they were expecting a Jan 2010 opening. Then the GFC hit, the shopping centre ( Chevron Renaissance) that the tunnel is planned for went into receivership and the 7 million investor cash they had lined up withdrew. So now they are waiting the the centre's new buyer to agree to the Tunnel in principle, then they have to get another 7 million from somewhere, they they have to get planning permission again and then they have to build it. So basically dont hold your hopes up.... it looks like its on hold for a long time. I pushed a liitle more for info and he said construction time would be 12 months at least from when all the above is met, so figure 2-3 years maybe. On the brighter side, I pointed out the extremely high prices and he said thats only the tourist trap prices... and that those high prices would mean block time for skydivers would be " cheaper than the US Tunnels" fingers crossed...

I got my order in last night for 199.00!!! knew it was a good idea to buy it ASAP... Darren

Yep, I agree. My first Phantom2 order was a disaster. But the mistake was MINE. Me and the girlfriend took my measurements and they were wrong. So the suit was wrong. The replacement Phantom2 and my V3 are a perfect fit. I couldn't be happier. Customer service is very important to me, in my business we try to go out of our way to make our patients / customers happy and they return with their family members so even when we take a hit on one thing, we try to not be too short sighted and refuse customer service just because it was the customer who ordered the wrong glasses or made another annoying stupid mistake. We suck it up and smile, knowing we will get more business in the end. I have ordered several PF suits over the years and have always had outstanding service and any probs have been sorted beyond my expectations.

I too jump a pilot. I tried a whole lot prior to settling on this canopy. When I bought it I weighed 66 KG and my WL was 1.72 The canopy flew well, opended briskly but always on heading and even when a twist or 2 appeared by leveling my shoulders I could prevent a spinner and kick them out. Then I got fat. Now I weigh 91 KG. My WL is 2.23 The canopy still flies the same, I do not jump in nil wind conditions and realize I'm heading for trouble but cant afford a new one at this time. I am trying to lose weight as I'm scared.... and I cant reach my booties on my new V3 to unzip after opening! But I can attest to a wonderful canopy that flys from 0.9 to 2.23 ( my newbie brother in CO all the way to my fat ass on the 104 ) I will be buying another pilot around the 134 mark when I have kids next year in a risk reduction exercise. They are the best wingsuiting canopy on the market today. And the swoops are great at 2.23

quote : "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and things not seen" to quote people on the wikipedia ( A far more believable text than some stone age rant by old men ): "Faith is generally nothing more than the permission religious people give to one another to believe things strongly without evidence." ~Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation (2006) "Faith is one of the world's great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate." ~ Richard Dawkins "Faith is the surrender of the mind, it's the surrender of reason, it's the surrender of the only thing that makes us different from other animals. It's our need to believe and to surrender our skepticism and our reason, our yearning to discard that and put all our trust or faith in someone or something, that is the sinister thing to me. ... Out of all the virtues, all the supposed virtues, faith must be the most overrated" ~Christopher Hitchens "Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge about things without parallel." ~ Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary "I refuse to prove that I exist" says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith, I am nothing." "Oh," says man, "but the Babel Fish is a dead give-away, isn't it? It proves You exist, and so therefore You don't." "Oh, I hadn't thought of that." says God, who promptly vanishes in a puff of logic. - Douglas Adams "I slept with faith and found a corpse in my arms on awakening; I drank and danced all night with doubt and found her a virgin in the morning." ~ Aleister Crowley, The Book of Lies "Orthodoxy is the abillity to say two and two make five when faith requires it." ~ George Orwell, 1984 * The moderation we see among nonfundamentalists is not some sign that faith itself has evolved; it is, rather, the product of the many hammer blows of modernity that have exposed certain tenets of faith to doubt. ~ Sam Harris, The End of Faith I credit that eight years of grammar school with nourishing me in a direction where I could trust myself and trust my instincts. They gave me the tools to reject my faith. They taught me to question and think for myself and to believe in my instincts to such an extent that I just said, 'This is a wonderful fairy tale they have going here, but it's not for me.' * George Carlin, New York Times, 1995-08-20 I can't believe in the 21st century in the first world we are still having this argument. You can almost excuse thirld world people who have no education and long standing cultural fairy tales to base their day to day life on, but here and now in the west, there is nothing more irrelevant than the belief in a God. It's depressing. How are we to ever move forward as a race if we believe in rubbish like religion? How are we going to stop killing each other? Performing genital mutilation on young boys and girls? enforcing celibacy on leaders of cults and in so encouraging the sexual abuse of children? and then covering it up??? There is nothing good about religion. nothing. wake up believers and smell the reality of being a clever monkey on a small rocky planet. Thats all there is..... D

Hey everyone , Chuck is right. First try was at about 400 feet I reckon but who knows? My one and only ws base jump using BOC. I cannot explain the horrible sensation of wing covering handle, I immediately arched hard and got it on my second and last attempt. Short canopy ride and normal landing. Always use leg pouch on ws base. And practice like mad pulling with minimal height loss( meaning minimum speed reduction during pull sequence) for base jumps, it might save your life. For skydives the correct hard arch, speed reduction , stable relaxed slow pull emphasizing reaching around and to the centre of the BOC pouch and then moving out and location of the handle is correct. I pull at 4500 always now as I'm getting older I'm getting more scared. I like taking my time and being confident and relaxed during pull sequence on skydives. Darren

Wandered how long it would be before someone did this.... http://www.tonywingsuits.com/fusion.html I think it's the way high performance flight will be going. please will someone make a skydiving version too? I'm thinking a bit longer container going down into the butt deflector, kinda long and thin instead of bulky and square. Unfortunatley it would require a whole new design, test, TSO cert program, maybe when suit flying takes the place of big round hand holding formations we will see this for skydivers. note for Tony..... PLEASE put a base pouch on this suit. I nearly got killed by jumping a V1, BOC stowed PC. A handfull of wing at 300 feet is a horrible feeling. great looking suit guys, nice to see innovations like this. Darren