Zennie

I think he was referring to the student, not the instructor. I don't want to get into a huge paid vs non-paid instructor argument... we've been down that road before... but I think the vast majority of people who offer courses, paid and unpaid, offer them because they care very much for the sport and the people who participate in it. My only comment on FJCs would be the importance of referring students to their respective locals when they finish. I know Tom does. I'm not aware of any jumpers in my vicinity that have taken any of the other FJCs so I really can't speak for them. What I've sort of noticed trend-wise is this... yes there are a lot of people who are now wanting to get into the sport. A lot of these folks are people who have no real interest in being students of the sport... no interest in history, gear, etc. They just want to be taught how to huck themselves off of something so they can, for whatever motivation, call themselves a BASE jumper. In my own personal experience, these types don't last very long in the sport. The serious BASE jumpers don't take these folks seriously because they don't take the sport seriously. So they sort of drift out of the scene. The ones that remain, and the ones that I've met at the various places I've visited, are serious, inquisitive and passionate about the sport. Of course there are degrees, but with only maybe a couple exceptions most of the jumpers I've met with 50+ jumps or so seem to have their head screwed on pretty straight. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Eh, my $0.02... I downloaded and watched the piece with a couple of others and the general consensus is that there are a few "Oh puh-leeze..." moments but overall it wasn't the hatchet job that I was anticipating. The Aussies did a pretty good job of putting us in a realistic light. It obviously wasn't the piece that I or other BASE jumpers would have put together, but that's not really to be expected. Still, I've seen far worse hatchet jobs from the news media that had me literally screaming at the television. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Interesting point, and it made me think of something else. A PC most likely will not have perfectly clean air going into it. Does that utility support two objects? I'd be interested in seeing the vented arc being simulated 9-10 feet after some representation of the human body (like an oblong oval or something). - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey Jaap, I did a little digging and found this FAQ page for Lapack. A little ways down there is a question regarding Lapack for windows and a link to a Sourceforge LISP library, which isn't really helpful. However, I got a ton of hits when I did a search for Lapack off of Sourceforge's main page. You may want to give that a try. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I was taught pretty early on that stand-up landings in the BASE environment can be somewhat dicey. You can easily land on uneven ground, hit a rock or divot and twist the heck out of your ankle. Plus it's a great excuse for ugly landings... "Hey man, I'm just being SAFE!" - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'm having heckuva time finding 80 lb break cord online. I checked Para-Gear and either I'm looking in the wrong place, they don't sell it or they call it by a different name. Anybody have any links to suppliers? TIA - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I agree with Bry. I want an on-heading opening no matter how long/short the delay and how long/short the seperation from the object. I know we have a physicist around here () who might be more qualified to weigh in, but I personally think a vented PC is going to be useful at pretty much any delay. I've seen video of PCs orbiting violently with both short and long delays. I've also seen enough video of vented PCs in action to believe that that vents do what they are supposed to do. My personal take is that while the effects may not be as severe with super-short (i.e. throw & go) delays, so long as the PC is catching air & taking on a load, the forces which cause orbiting will be at play. I have a full set of Marty's vented PCs (32,38,42,46) and I swear by them. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Calculating odds based on raw fataility numbers is somewhat misleading, because if you look at the list, a large number of the fatalities... especially in the past couple of years... revolve around the nature of the object, site conditions and the jumper's experience level. There is always going to be some amount of "random black death-ness" at work on any jump. But I think as a general principle, odds to the person jumping in TF is very different from the person jumping in Switzerland. Add aerials, wingsuits etc into the mix and the odds change yet again. There is a nice article on the ABA's website that discusses risk assessment and how changing factors change risk. You can check it out here. All told, I'm very much aware that something can go wrong on any given jump. That's what keeps the fear level up and keeps me from getting complacent. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Have you measured the lines to see if there's any asymmetry? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Jaap! Jaap! Woot! Woot! Gratz my man! - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

"I voted for Nader." - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

And that video was of Kibble #2. Kibble #1 (the video that you don't get) opened with a 90 left & line twists and hit the wall. In fact, I think from now on I'm just going to refer to folks who subscribe to the "low-to-no jumps is OK" philosophy as Kibble. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

PM sent. Listen to the folks here. They are steering you right. There are so many good nuggets in here that I couldn't possibly list them all. But I think the key points are: 1. You are NOT a failure. So shut up with that. 2. A "life housecleaning" is a good thing. Hang out with your real friends. Change homes, change jobs. I didn't finally reach a point of no longer needing anti-depressants until the last vestige of my previous life... my job... was gone. Now everything is new and nothing is still around to haunt or remind me. 3. Be good to yourself and do things for YOU.. no one else. 4. Don't run from the pain. Like many other folks I developed a pretty serious alcohol problem trying to just numb myself and escape a bit. All that does is make things worse. Your pain is YOURS. Accept it, embrace it, take ownership of it. 5. Remember that you have many, many people here who care about you very much and are here for you when you're feeling down. Peace bro... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

We're slowly turning you into Bionic Russel. Muahhhh... Glad to hear you're healing and in good spirits. With all that hardware, pretty soon you won't be needing any sort of body armor. It'll all be pre-installed. How long before you can jump (slider up) again? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

The TWOP jump? That was more of a side-by-side thing than a "tandem" in the traditional sense. Funny video to watch though. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

God money’s not looking for the cure. God money’s not concerned with the sick among the pure. God money let’s go dancing on the backs of the bruised. God money’s not one to choose... (same concept, different artist) - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Amen sistah! Both types of jumps have their merits. Obviously with legal jumps, dealing with The Man is not an issue, so that's one thing not cluttering up your mind. I've personally found that on the legal objects I tend to try more difficult aerial flippy-do type stuff, probably because I'm more relaxed mentally. But it's also hard to beat finding a 270-foot crane, analyze the area, dodge a couple of nosy suit-types, jump the object and land successfully. Brits, myself and a newer jumper Darryl just did this and we all agreed that the adrenaline on those sorts of things is hard to beat. They are both fun and they both scratch different itches. I don't see myself getting "over the James Bond shit" anytime soon. I LIKE the James Bond shit. As far as the NPS goes, I personally think our jumps SHOULD be legal. So long as I'm not endangering the park or other people, I should have the right to do whatever I please in MY park. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

At the time the regulation was worded differently and didn't specifically mention parachutes, so he was able to present stautory/regulatory construction arguments that got the charges dismissed. I think soon after that case the DoI changed the regulation to specifically mention parachutes. Rick was also saying that he couldn't beat that same rap now with the currently worded regs. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'm down with Labor Day. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Or all of us mocking you from the bottom of the bridge. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Right on Jamie! Great meeting you out in TF last month. Looks forward to seeing you (and the rest of the TF crew) on Memorial day weekend. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

K that's it... I see the future... tandem BASE aerials. Brit & I are working on rigging up a tandem harness right now and plan to try a tandem double twisting triple reverse from our favorite local object. Plan is to roshambo for the meat slot. We'll let you know how it works out... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Lotta kibble hitting the wall lately it seems. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I don't do it super often, because normally if I gear up it means I'm psychologically prepared to go. Still, I have climbed down when my head just totally wasn't there. I'm pretty in tune to my psychological state, because I think that's one of the most, if not THE most, important factors in jumping. Occasionally something will really creep me out or just not feel right. I honestly believe we can subconsciously sense things, and those creeped-out feelings are your mind's way of telling you something isn't right. Whenever I've ignored that little voice, I've regretted it. And on peer pressure? Yes I have climbed down when others have decided to go. And no, they didn't not give me a hard time about it. I just said I didn't feel right and that was that. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

And there's very good footage of her very nice butt on that video. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon