AndyMan

I don't know if we should read too much into the distribution, because the ranges I used were relatively arbitrary. I suspect that the distribution is an acknoledgement that I picked good ranges... that's all. I do suspect that the low end is small because jumpers will bein the real skydiving community for a bit before they find this website. I suspect that the high end is small because people with thousands of skydives are either a: old farts who don't use pooters, or b: profesional dz bums who don't HAVE a pooter I hope the poll stays around a while. I'd like to see a larger sample size. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You would think so. However, read this: http://www.consumerdvreviews.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=221 I'd love to hear from someone who's actually gotten it to work. Being tied to the land line adapter that came with the 120 really limits its usability. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Yah... but a poll makes it so much easier to read. I'm more interested in a generalised look at DZ.com demographics then I am individual acheivement. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think it's been a while since we ran the numbers. How many jumps have people made? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Old news: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/01/13/176248 my critique here: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=9951&cid=509644 _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Have you actually tried this with the 120BT? I read on a website somewhere that the specifici implementation of bluetooth on the 120 is NOT standards compliant, and the device will not work with non-sony bluetooth receivers. Suffice it to say, that no - I have not used the bluetooth features on my 120bt. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I figure most people, even newbies, can land pretty much any canopy straight in, at least 8 times out of 10. Probably 9 times out of 10. They might break something, but if they set it up striaght in, don't do any stupid low turns, and accept that they're in a crappy situation, they'll live. There's a good chance they'll walk away from it, too. Cutting away and going for a reserve of unknown size - and more importantly, of unknown quality adds nothing. Reserves are F111, which don't age well. I'd rather be under highly loaded ZP then highly loaded F111. I would acknowledge that I'm probably gonna get hurt, slap myself for being a dumbass, fly straight in and try to slide off the speed. I'm a fatass, I'm loading a 150 at over 1.6. Putting me under Dereks 69 would load it at over 3.5. Even though I think I'm a half decent canopy pilot, I am wise enough to know that jumping a truely small pocket-rocket will end badly. If I was dumb enough to pick one up by accident, I'd fly the main straight in and brace for impact. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Not only small DZ's. There is one DZ in my neck of the woods that's closed this year partly because jumpers fled en-masse after rumors persisted of the DZO having a recurring drug problem. This DZ ran an otter and king air full time. A DZO (and pilot) who can't stay off the crack is just as much a risk as a plane falling apart. Like Paul said - there are risks I'm willing to take, and there are risks I'm not. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

What is really amazing is the jumpers who flock TO a crack addicted DZO. That just boggled my mind... I can only imagine a misguided sense of being able to help. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I was actually a home brewer before I worked for Molson. Commercialy filtered beer is a very good source of B vitamins. As for the malt, by definition it has been germinated but not sprouted. A batch of barley must be completely germinated, the MBAA (master brewers association of america) dictates that 95% germination is a minimum, and the barley must be discarded if this is not met. I know that Molson follows this guideline. The difference between a grain which has germinated but not sprouted is big - a sprouted grain has growth that has broken through a layer called the "Pericarp". A properly germinated grain has no growth visible. It is true that malt is not necesarily roasted, but that certainly is not the norm. Almost all malts are roasted to a degree, its just that some are roasted lightly. At the very least, the roasting process is used to dry the kernel, as the germinating usually takes place is a tank of warm water. Most beers use at least 5 different malts, some as much as 10. It is true that brewers use a base of lighter malts, but these most certainly are roasted, albeit shortly. Malting is a very tight specialty, and it is almost always done offsite by a third party, such as "Canada Malting". Both major brewers and homebrewer in North America frequently use malt from Canada Malting. Its critical that the malt be dried (usually dried in an oven) or it will grow mold in transit. _Am (or, as craichead has been calling me today Brew[Monkey]). __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Everywhere I travel I'm always entertained by how strong the distate for the local market leader is. When I was in france, Kronenburg sucked. When I was in Belgian, there really is nothing worse then Stella Artois. In Canada, Molson Canadian is complete swill, and in Mexico, god forbid you be seen drinking a Corona. Strangely, everyone seems to hate their local market leader, but odly people seem to buy it. I'm not sure I understand this disconect. Either the local market leader sucks, or it doesn't. Which is it? Secondly, I'm entertained by the notion that in America, Fosters is imported.... from Canada. Fosters in the US is brewed and bottled by "FBG" - (supposed to be Fosters Brewing Group), but in actuality is a wholly olwned subsidiary of Molson. Fosters sold in Canada and the US are brewed and bottle at Molson's etobicoke plant, the one right near the Toronto Airport. As such, while actual recipies are protected to an extent you wouldn't believe, I can tell you that nothing more then wheat, water, barley, malt, with the possible addition of corn, honey, brown sugar, mollasses, or coffee goes into a Fosters, as those are the only ingredients which pass through the shipping and receiving docks at that particular plant. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

sure! Oatmeal is tasty. Is rolled oats better then wheat? Who cares? Drink up! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Heh, I consider it a personal mission to debunk beer myths, hense my focus on calories. Darker beers are darker for one of two reasons: 1) they added stuff. "Strawberry blonde", or "coffee porter", or "honey weiss" - you can guess what was added. 2) a darker malt was used. What's a malt? Start with plain ole' barley. Soak the grain in water until it germinates. As soon as the seeds germinate, pull the grain from the water, and bake. Barley gets baked a few tons at a time in huge ovens. Barley varies a bit by species, but the biggest differences come from what temperature, and how long they're baked for. Once the baking is done, the barley is known as "malt", or specifically "malted barley". So... if the beer is darker because stuff was added, sure - I'll buy the idea that there's more nutritional content. If the beer is darker because they used a darker malt, well - buy it because it tasts good, not because it's any healthier. Baking wet grains do not make them healthier. Remember - all beers, bud, bud light, or guiness are all whole grain. There is no refined white flour used in the beer business. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I've heard many different numbers thrown about... When I was losing weight, my weight loss guru said sugar and protein at 4, while fat was 9. I'll check my brewmaster textbooks when I get home. Yes, there are brewmaster textbooks. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

A beer, by definition is pure carbs. Filting out particulate matter mostly affects the clarity of the brew, Americans don't seem to like cloudy beers. Unfiltered beers can have a slightly higher protein content, as some of the yeast will remain. Yeast is normally fully removed before bottling. I've never had Hefeweizen, so I don't care to speculate why it may be more calorie rich. The lowest cal beer mass marketed is Michelob Ultra, which has only 2.5 grams of carb per bottle. Personally, I find it completely undrinkable. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

All beers, by defition, are "whole grain". A normal, nothing added beer has about the same nutritional content as a bowl of corn flakes. In the US, light beers are those that contain less calories. In Canada, light beers are those that contain lesser amounts of alcohol. Both defitions tend to apply to similar beers, as those with less alcolhol tent to have less calories. Alcohol is produced by yeast feasting on sugar found in natural grains. A gram of sugur is consumed by the yeast, which produces a gram of alcohol. A gram of sugar, and a gram of alcohol both contain 3 calories. Beers stronger in alcohol have higher caloric contents. Additives to the beer affect their nutritional value. A Honey-weisse will contain honey, which will have higher calories. Dark beers - like stouts, are surprisingly low cal. A Guiniess is not actually a meal in a glass. Dark beers get their color by literally baking malted barley. The darker the beer, the more the barley is baked. In a really dark beer, like a guiness, the barley is baked until the sugars naturally in the barleys burn. Since the sugar is burnt, most of the calories went up in smoke. It's complicated. Sticking with "normal" nothing added beers is smart. This means normal ales and lagers. Beers are very nutritionally sound. You can only complain about them being unhealthy if you're also going to dismiss corn flakes, or shredded wheat. Most beers have 4 ingredients, water,barley, hops, yeast. Sometimes a fifth ingredient is added, rice (bud) or corn (molson canadian) are common. The only manufacturer I know to use ingredients with long chemical-sounding names is Miller. _Am (former employee of Molson, and certified Brewmaster) __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think you've just won the "understatement of the year award". Much like the CBC in Canada, the BBC is perhaps the single biggest critic of the english government. The occaisions that the BBC editorials agree with government policy are very few and far between. To even suggest that the BBC are lackeys of 10 Downing street is rediculous. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Woah! That's awsome news. So good to hear everythings going better, now just get that damn knee healed up! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I have a velocity, I regret not buying the mindwarp because of the range of accesories bonehead has available. Fortunately, most of the bone head accesories will fit the velocity, but some do not. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Here's the AndyMan translation: Aug 22/03 A Frenchman will try to break the sound barrier in freefall. Montreal = The french parachutist Michel Fournier is approaching his "big jump" from 40,000 meters, over Canada. He hopes to become the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall. An attempt could be done this weekend. [ATS] Eleven months after having been forced to postpone his last attempt because of weather, this 59 year old retired army officer returned to to the balloon launch site in Saskatchewan, in central Canada. "The jump should happen shortly", assured his press liason Diane De Robiano over telephone. "All his equipment is ready, we're just waiting for clear weather", which could happen this weekend, she added. To achieve this exploit, the parachutist will climb in a helium balloon to just over 40 km high, where he'll jump into the void expecting to reach speeds over 1500km/h in under 20 seconds - passing the speed of sound (1062 km/h). This "big jump" lasting 6 minutes, 25 seconds will shatter four world records at once: Longest, and fastest freefall, highest parachute jump and highest human flight in a balloon. Michel Fournier will breathe pure oxygen for four hours before the jump, which should elimite 91% of the nitrogen disolved in his blood and tissues, which during the increasingly low preassure of the climb would vaporize, causing the decompression sickness similar to those in deep sea divers. In a preassurized capsule, he'll climb for two hours towards the stratosphere, then the mesophere. The oxygen preasurised capsule is made of of three layers, which allows him to resist the frigid temperatures of -100 degrees for 10 minutes. Hope everything goes well, hope everything goes well. It's not the parachute that worries Michel, it's the landing. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Read this post about how to construct the "AndyMan Auto-Logging-In Bookmark"(tm). It solves all login issues. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I had an extension on my bridle... actually, it's still there. I still had dificulties keeping the attachment point in the center of the roll. Of course, my off-heading openings could have been caused by something altogeather completely different, but that is my best guess. Once I'd figured out how to pro-pack my canopy, I went back to doing that, so figuring out the exact problem wasn't a priority. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Yup, there's a lot of good examples of a legal system gone wonky... the McDonalds coffee case is not one of them. There just isn't any good reason for coffee to be over 200 degrees. Drinking a fresh McDonalds coffee would give 3rd degree burns to lips and mouth. At the time, Burger King server 120 degree coffee, for example, Starbucks was just barely over 100. Why is this related to skydiving? There's risk that we all assume when we perform certain activities. We can only manage that risk when we understand what it is. Receiving 3rd degree burns is NOT a risk I assume when I buy a coffee. Had it not been for this case, none of us would even consider spilling a coffee to require skin grafts(sp?). Risks need to be understood before they can be managed. That's precicely why that woman was awarded a big settlement, because she had no reason to think spilling a coffee would be that dangerous. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I psycho-packed my new Stiletto for about the first 50 jumps. The openings were beautifully soft, softer then I'd ever had. The downside was that the openings were off-heading a bit more frequently. It never spun, or never even approached what I'd cal a malfunction, but they were consistently 90-120 degrees off heading. I attribute the off-heading openings to the canopy being unsymetrical. One of the steps in psycho-packing involves pulling the main attachment point off to the side, so that the bag doesn't end up inside the roll. This action, pulling the attachment point off to the side, is what made the canopy unsymetrical. I think. Once the ZP was broken in, I switched back to pro-packing. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Old, but golden. Q: What do you call skydiving lawyers? A: Skeet. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.