skysmurf2

Not true... many countries have long traditions of wearing jewellery and respecting the diamond - India being just one of them. Prior to the 1900s diamonds were not useless/valueless. To add to that (being a wikipedia geek) the 1900s were not even when engagement/wedding rings were first conceptualised - "The inception of the engagement ring itself can be tied to Pope Innocent III in 1215. Innocent declared a longer waiting period between betrothal and marriage; plain rings of gold, silver or iron were used earliest. Gems as important and reassuring status symbols were used by the aristocracy." Debeers however, did market it very very well in the 20th century making it almost de rigueur If some women choose to wear diamonds just for their friends - lab diamonds should suffice... most wear it for themselves. The beauty of a real diamond along with the long and amazing process involved in creating it gives it value. Also diamonds are most often associated with marriage as they are the hardest stone- the longest lasting - which is meant to signify the permanency of the marriage/man's intention. This could all be more marketing attaching significance to the hardness of a diamond - but IF I'm going to wear one piece of jewellery every day for the rest of my married life - it better be pretty!

You're a very lucky woman and I'm sure he is an equally lucky man. I think my point is that if you like diamonds then great - if not don't bother with them. (Which you did in choosing a rig). I'd also agree with you that a man could buy me a ring that costs the same as a house but if he doesn't know and love me then all I really have is a house on my finger and no matter how pretty it may be... it wouldn't be worth it. I just thought I would defend diamonds as they can't speak up for themselves...

I love diamonds (real, good quality diamonds). I do feel bad for diamond miners and their health + safety conditions. But considering I occasionally drink coffee, needlessly contribute to the degradation of the environment by jumping out of planes, wear branded tennis shoes, and commit a million other exploitative atrocities I really shouldn't. I'm not going to try and pretend that diamond miners (though their plight does affect me especially in consideration of the market value of the product) affect whether I wear and buy diamonds. Diamonds are expensive, they are also incredibly beautiful with a cold fire inside them that is breathtaking. Looking and I mean really looking at a good quality (VVS1 or above) with a good colour (F and above) diamond is mesmerising. However, I agree if diamonds don't mean anything to you then its not worth the fuss. Each person is different. I like and will wear diamonds. I will buy my own but I will also want a diamond engagement ring, its something I (if I get married) will (hopefully) wear for the rest of my life. More important than cost to me is: does the man who wants to spend the rest of his life with me understand my taste- what I would actually choose to wear for the rest of my life. I think thats the real significance of a ring - does your partner understand you. For some that means a 2 carat sparkler for others it means a rig. To each their own, they can both signify love.

I am pathetic but am sooooo glad she finally woke up. For no apparent reason I love Britney and 'praise the lord' she got rid of him and is on her way back from the K-Fed white trash side. Feel bad for her little ones though - you know the skeaze is going to try and get as much money as he can any way he can. Including writing a tell-all book and releasing 'personal' videos...

Shame you didn't get to jump! I will be heading out to Dubai (permanently-ish) in the next few weeks and am looking forward to jumping at my new 'home' dz... Good to hear that they have kit hire as I need to work on that one. I also received an email about the Dubai Boogie 2007 - if anybody has any information on this I would really appreciate it thanks! Also to Grosfion if you get out there before me pls. let me know how you find it!

Usually it is just a quick and positive response to that question, but if its a close friend you're assumed to be interested (otherwise don't ask!). Another theory is simply take it as a compliment - I don't know what context your situation occurred in but generally I (and many other girls) only open their 'drama' up to people they care about. Maybe she opened up to you because she trusts you enough and because you make her feel better. There are only 4 boys out there I would honestly answer that question to (I'm usually quite happy so its not an issue, but this summer has been *interesting* so far) and thats because they make me feel safe and better. Take it as a compliment and stop moping that somebody trusted you with their troubles. Of course if it was just some randomner then yeah it is a teensy bit rude!

I don't know much about wind tunnels - but spent a fair bit of time (from 1-2:30pm) watching today.... the instructors managed to get some nice height and 'showed off' the differing body positions possible - head down not being one of them - some back flying a tiny bit of sit and a few rolls... to me, it looked like it would be quite easy to fly out of the designated area and on to the ground! Especially as students fly about a foot above the barrier - which is probably why the instructor holds on quite tight and from the front. As its not aimed at people who have tunnel experience or skydive the instructors aren't really teaching anything which could also explain the different spotting position(?). I doubt any real flying would be okay - even for experienced tunnel flyers as radox would be worried about liability. I just think the idea of a wind tunnel in the middle of Russell Square is cool

is anyone planning on heading down tomorrow around 8:30 to book? went today but it was all full - very impressive though - would be nice to get a few free minutes in an open tunnel.

Favourite places: Italy, Egypt, India, Turkey, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, and so on.... Places I have yet to visit (and really want to): South America (esp. Argentina and Brazil), Morocco, Russia, Kenya + Tanzania (went as a baby and don't remember!) oh yeah Antartica just so that after South America will have visited all the continents - Antartica bit of a pipe dream but would love to have visited all the continents in one life.

I'm missing something.... that guy didn't look like he meant to hit her. It looks like (to me) an accident. In which case the girl's boyfriend is a freak. That was a complete overreaction - he did not even give the guy a chance to apologise and then started hitting his mate for whatever reason. Admittedly CCTV or whatever camera showed the 2 to be behaving oddly beforehand, but if that guy was my boyfriend (not that I would ever date such a neurotic aggressor) he would be in serious serious trouble. Definitely not a hero (from my point of view) and his girlfriend appeared to be completely ineffectual. A man that quick to violence is not attractive.

I use a snowboarding helmet as well - its actually perfect for jumping. Had a rigger check it out and they okayed it- no snag points and it has a small pocket on the inside which houses my audible. its a good choice - cheaper than a skydiving helmet (at least mine was but i fit a junior size....) and a lot stronger.

Have been cooking since I was 12 (10 years). Don't know why I started as my mom is a really good cook but I love cooking and had to do it, was always making food out of playdo and 'inventing' drinks. I also enjoy watching tv chefs but I just cook whatever I want. The more you cook the more confident you will feel with 'creating.' Also the more you cook the more innate your judgement of taste and combinations will become. I do believe that at least some aspect of cooking is innate but it can be also learned; learning is simply trial and error (it also helps to write things down - something I always mean to do but never actually do!) There is a world of differences when it comes to styles of cooking from 'michelin' to 'student' styles and not everyone can cook certain ways but everyone can cook

Cheers for that! The DZ looks gorgeous. If I do move to Dubai it would be at the end of October/ early November this year. Still not 100% sure though about the move. Spirit_IV: if you do get a jump pls. let me know how it goes.... have a fun trip!

Thanks - I have had a look at the website before. I guess what I am really after is the atmosphere at the club and also, if I jump there, should I buy my own rig first.

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Having searched the forums for the DZ in Dubai - there seems to be little information. I am considering a move to Dubai and would love to know about the DZ, if coaching is available (FS and/or FF), what the gear rental is like (or should I buy my own?), and what the DZ atmosphere is like. If anyone has any information I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

In the real world Izzie and Cristina would have been fired (and sued) for performing an unauthorised autopsy; Burke and McDreamy would have been in waaaay more trouble for sleeping with interns, and the 'Nazi' would have kicked all their asses to the curb by now... But really the stuff Izzie is pulling right now - is beyond (never mind the legal ramifications) the 'God' complex is being taken waayy too far. How is the audience meant to sympathise with a character that thinks she is in the right by trying to give one person a heart over another.

McDreamy is hot - but he has been a total condescending ass at times. The Vet - not so much, but Meredith has issues so its unlikely she will find someone who isn't messed up as well - here is hoping that Vet suits her messed-uppedness. I want Izzie to go away.... but if not, to get back with Alex as the stuff she is pulling with the patient is seriously seriously wrong. p.s. Veronica Mars best show ever (well season 1 at least).

Yes, but men are a lot easier to please when it comes to the 'am I f***able' question. I'm sure most women don't want to have a man look at them and go 'nope wouldn't do her' BUT as men are slightly easier to convince into bed. A girl simply isn't convinced she is hot by that standard alone . The other reason why some women diet themselves into oblivion is sample sales* - want to wear pretty clothes? Then you better be a sample size (0-2; 4 is a push). (British conversion - size 4-6; 8 is a push) Designers sell their samples for ridiculously small sums - but their sample sizes are (0s and 2s) so if you want to wear YSL for $170 as opposed to $1370 be a sample size.

from a straight man's perspective, we prefer some curves*** good to hear but the fashion industry reeeally doesn't care about straight men's opinions. Couture is art and that requires a canvas - 2D - thats what models are. But couture is soooooo far beyond real people's reach it is just a joke - an incredibly expensive joke! Couture lines regularly lose their backing companies millions a year - but they continue to perpetuate - because it is art. And it will cost you a hell of a lot as well - I suppose if I owned a $40000 Chanel dress that cost me $600 to dry clean I'd want to look as good as possible - and with bills that large I probably wouldn't be able to afford to eat anyways! I totally agree BMI is not an accurate body type/fat indicator. 6"1/2 and around 195 pounds sounds good to me - not fat - as BMI does not take into account muscle mass.

I think its a great idea - but it will have little effect overall. To appreciate the visuals of clothes requires a 2D perspective - which is why actresses and models are 'lovingly' reffered to as having a coat hanger body. However, that is only because it makes it easier for designers. Designing beautiful (and by that I do not mean practical - but couture which is essentially art in a cloth medium) clothes for 'real' body types is much harder. In a world where Nicole Richie is rewarded for being unhealthily skinny its a nice concept to think that the powers many young girls (and more mature women) revere (fashion and celebrity)- are taking a stand. BUT the Spanish fashion scene is not really a power and more likely than not - this is just a device to attract more attention - a few years ago at a Spanish runway show - a designer used 'real' women mixed in models to showcase the season. It worked as far as getting attention - it failed spectacularly as a stance against unhealthy body images. I don't support being unhealthily skinny (I have curves and I like them) but clothes are displayed to a better advantage on skinnier bodies - which is what models are paid (too much) to do - to be living canvasses - only most young girls do not know that and aspire to anorexia. Models don't feel good under their clothes and no one seems to think the emaciated bodies in National Geographic are attractive - but with the right lighting, makeup, airbrushing, and starvation - models appear to look hot (in spite of being emaciated bodies). That is all the fashion industry cares about and that is why it is unlikely to change - couture unfortunately looks best on a hanger. Those that wear and design couture won't really change - although hopefully I will be proved wrong someday.

My sister was meant to be in the Towers that day for a Goldman Sachs (I think) interview - her plan was to arrive at the Towers early in the morning, have breakfast, review her notes and then interview in the afternoon. There were two flights leaving Ithaca (she went to Cornell) that day - an early morning and a later one. She was booked on the early morning (as she wanted to be there early) luckily she decided she wanted to sleep in and managed to swap flights. She never made it to the Towers. It took my parents 6 hours to find out that she was safe (we lived in a different country and all the phone lines were busy); I will never forget that day and our near miss. My sister isn't usually lazy, thankfully that day she was. My deepest sympathies to those who were not so lucky.

sorry (absolute lurker here) but i had to reply. fashion is a statement of self, by strictly conforming to fashion you aren't expressing yourself... in fact STRICT conformation to the trends of each season indicates someone who doesn't know themselves or the concepts of clothes very well. Being fashionable is more like having a staple style and then mixing it up a little bit each season. However, some styles just don't work for every person... ie: skinny jeans, very very few people should wear them. So depite their 'trendiness' people who understand clothes (fit, movement, shape, material, etc) won't wear them unless their body shape also conforms to a certain trend. fashion/ clothes are important because it is wholly true that 'clothes make the (wo)man" - wearing different clothes/styles affects your posture, outlook (sad but true), and the impression you present to the world. Hence why at school you dress professionally - you are aware of the impact clothes/appearance make. Whether you agree with that is different. But Fashion is understanding your self, style, and body - and then wearing the right clothes. Blind adherence to trends is NOT fashionable. So we partially agree - esp. on the buttcrack thing- add a thong into that equation and you have possibly the least attractive combination ever...

Having pulled low, as a result of loss of altitude awareness and extremely cold hands which resulted in a long fumble with the cutaway. I can (from my own experience) say if low and there is nothing above your head go straight to silver, as it will save time and maybe your life. I can also say as a low jump number skydiver during training we are ingrained to do one and only one cutaway procedure. When the ground is speedily coming towards you and all the red lights in your head are flashing "do something do something" it is incredibly hard to deviate from what has been drilled into you. Obviously, I am typing this so it can't have gone too wrong (and it didn't) but I would give anything to not have wasted precious seconds fumbling with the cutaway pad when there was no need. Many lessons learned on that jump but amongst them: below 2000 ft. if there is nothing above your head go straight to the reserve. Sorry for your loss, too many of us know how that feels.

guys can be sluts too! generally i find the distinction sometimes depends on who is your friend - ie: I wouldn't classify a friend a slut but I might refer to someone else as being slutty (even if they both are doing similar things or a similar number of people) - why? because with a friend you know their reason for doing it: ie: just broke up with her/his long term girl/boyfriend or they're safe and want to have fun, etc. If you don't know someone you don't know their reason for doing so and generally don't give them the benefit of the doubt. I try not to classify anyone as slutty because then I miss out on hearing all the great stories besides 'slut' is so subjective why even bother!