Zennie

I don't think any name will ever match the "Soft Cock" BASE rig. The "Pooster" canopy comes in a close second. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey Nick, I'm so sorry to hear that, but like others here have said... you've beat it once, you can beat it again. Sending good vibes your way bro. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

No jumpin'? I just made 4 today! From a certain legal bridge out in Idaho. Oh and for anyone who might have been here watching my 4th of the day. That double reverse that had a weird half twist thrown in there and looked completely out of control? I meant to do that. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

One other tidbit... Avoid Texas BASE jumpers at all costs. We eat our young... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Glad you didn't mention that one loaded one. Jenn still owes Ramon a new HDTV for that. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Singular possessive is "y'all's" and plural plural possessive is "all y'all's". Y'all's may very well be the only DOUBLE apostrophed word in the English language. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

It was early on, then warmed up to probably high 60s-low 70s by about 1PM. Winds were perfect all day long. We were pretty casual and got 4 in. Look forward to seeing ya in a few days. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Wow. You look like me. Only I'm better looking. I've been shaving my head for probably close to three years now. Three helpful tips... 1. Buy LOTS more sunscreen. 2. Buy the triple blade razors... unless you like nicks on your noggin. 3. Electric razors don't work worth a darn. Hence helpful tip #2. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Dang! All these times I've gone head low I thought it was just poor technique. But no! It's in the tail! I need to have a counterbalance in the tail! Kk... I'm off to the sewing machine to make a tailsuit... - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Awww man I hoping to have some good stuff to add to my pRoN collection. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'd post a pic of my ex, but a heavy amount of Photoshopping would be involved. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

OK there's an awful lot to digest here, but I'm going to throw in my $0.02 ... which I think is a little over 1 pence or 22 pesos last time I checked the exchange rates. As far as Miles goes, I've met Miles and he seems like a genuinely good guy who's fun to be around. My main beefs were with the choices he and others made which many of us felt was drawing negative publicity to the Potato bridge and endangering access for other jumpers. By all reports that no longer seems to be an issue, so as far as I'm concerned that's water under the (Potato) bridge. I'm looking forward to meeting Miles again and making some jumps with him out there. I *do* still have a beef with Red Bull. I have boycotted them and will continue to do so as long as their corporate mentality of "Any publicity is good publicity" remains. That said, I think blaming Red Bull for this particular incident is a bit of a stretch. The main issue here, I think, is whether it's a good idea to teach someone with little or no skydiving experience to BASE jump. Can a person learn to race Indy cars having never made their way up the smaller racing circuits first? I suppose so, if they took it slow and listened to the advice of accomplished Indy car drivers. Would most Indy car drivers think this is a good idea? I seriously doubt it. Can a person learn how to BASE jump with no prior skydiving experience? Well, it has been done (I believe by Nick Feteris or Richie Stein... veterans help me out here ), so yes it's do-able. Is this a very good idea? I think most BASE jumpers would agree that it is not. Yes skydiving and BASE are totally different sports. The only thing we really share in common is a parachute. Still, there are important skills, such as canopy control and body awareness, that skydiving teaches which will help us be better, safer, BASE jumpers. These are skills learned over several hundred jumps, not just a few. Now, was Scott's lack of skydiving experience a factor here? It's really hard to say not having been there. I can't necessarily fault him for soloing a B, since I've done it myself. However, those were Bs very familiar to me, I never soloed unless the wind conditions were perfect and I had "virtual ground crew" via telephone. Just from what I've read here, it appears that the wind conditions were less than optimal, at least on the side that he chose to jump from. Would more skydiving experience have made an impact? Maybe, maybe not... at least as far as how his canopy flight choices and responses go. Again, I wasn't there so it's really hard to say. Would having an experienced BASE jumper around to assess the situation have made a difference? This seems more likely, though again, it's hard to say not having been there. This could be a simple matter of all the correct decisions being made, but S$%^ happened, or it could be a situation of someone with far too little experience getting in way over their head. Hard to say at this juncture. Obviously something went wrong, and when something goes wrong there are lessons to be learned. I'd like to hear Scott's story and maybe we can all piece together the lessons to help others in the future. This is how we've gotten to where we are, and it is how we will continue to evolve and hopefully all be better, more knowledgable jumpers in the future. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'm guessing he d-bagged it. Still, that's sick low. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I haven't seen all of the BD 2004 video, so I really can't offer much in the way of review. As far as the jerkiness goes, it is most likely skips created during the rendering process (which, yes, among other things, involves compression). Compressing video is probably one of the most demanding things you can do resource-wise on a computer. And the longer the clip being rendered, the more resource-intensive the operation is. Rendering something like the BD video would require a MONSTER machine (read, fast CPU(s), gobs of memory, dedicated video card and, most importantly, an extremely fast hard drive(s)) to get all the way through without introducing any skips. My home-rolled frankenstein machine is pretty hopped up, and I managed to render my little "Hey Y'All Watch This" video (about 35 mins in length) without skips, but it took a couple of attempts before I got a clean version. Next time I do this I'll personally try to break the thing up into 15 minute chunks or so for rendering, then assimilate it all onto the final DVD. But that's just me. I do have C1 & C2. Both are outstanding films and I'd recommend both to anyone who doesn't have them. Still can't get Rob D's "Clubbed To Death" out of my head. Even though C2 is better produced, I still think I like C1 just a little more. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Nick, you are one of the originals. And only two words can describe you guys... HARD CORE. You guys rock. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

being as how my schedule is sorta flexible, and how a few of you will be out the tail end of my trip, I changed the dates to the 4th - 13th. Look forward to seeing folks again!

Just out of curiosity, how hard would it be to practice aerials from the pendulator? - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'll be in Twin Falls April 1-10. If anyone else is headed that way shoot me a message.

Yeah, I understand it can cut both ways. But it's still fundamentally an issue of fairness and equal access. I think we all agree that climbers, bikers, BASE jumpers and rope jumpers should have the right to practice their chosen activity in our public parks. If the NPS decided to even-handedly apply policy by prohibiting all of those activities, they'd be stirring up one heckuva PR hornet's nest. Can you imagine all of us united? They'd be insane to take on the entire parachuting, climbing and biking communities. Politically (and ethically, IMHO) it would be MUCH more palatable to open access rather than shut it off. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I think Nick summed it up quite nicely with "No one can hurt us with the truth.". It is what it is. There's nothing to hide. I also agree that password protecting the site really won't deter the determined, and quite frankly I'm a big believer in open access to information. I'm certain The List has saved many, many lives with the lessons learned within. It may have also deterred those who may not have been a good fit with the sport from taking it up. I know I personally read and and every one of those entries at least 3 times before taking this sport up. I can't tell you how many times we analyze a situation and hearken back to an entry which made us reconsider. The site is invaluable for newbies and veterans alike. I think it needs to stay up. It does far more good than harm. Practiced responsibly, I think BASE is a sport that is no more dangerous than many of the other extreme sports currently permitted in our National Parks. Free soloing? Extreme mountain biking? Rope jumping? Hellloooo??? Still, like those other sports, this is a sport where you can do everything right and still die. It IS a dangerous sport, let's not kid ourselves. But so are many other things that are socially accepted (Indy car racing?). I think it's patently unfair that some taxpayers are allowed to practice their socially-accepted dangerous sport in OUR National Parks while we are not. I think that's the real issue.... not the existences of the list. And if the NPS uses that to deny us access to our National Parks, then really this whole process was nothing but a charade. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'm a pretty forgiving soul, so I'll volunteer in Nick's stead for 50 riding crop lashes from Karen. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

I'm just glad he's OK. This is a very personal subject for me. PLEASE call me if you feel down. My # is 832-865-6823. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Gang, most of us have a pretty morbid sense of humor. But PLEASE remember that suicide is something that many of us have had to deal with, both personally and with the loss of a loved one. It is a very painful subject to deal with. I don't want to lose another to it. So if I overreact sorry, but I have no regrets. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Those are great Nick! Thanks for sharing! - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

Hey Omar, my schedule suddenly got VERY flexible so I might be moseying out West during that timeframe. I'll drop you a note. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon