AndyMan

Toronto - where I grew up, none of the above. Toronto does get the occaisional bad snowfall, but those usually are tame compared to other northern cities. They also occaisionally get a real cold day, but again these pale in comparison to most nordic cities. The coldest Toronto usually sees is -20 celcius. I'm in Chicago now, though. Chicago has a tornado risk in the summer. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Did you mean like this? "Canada's (prime minister) Martin offers Katrina aid, plans visit" http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/wl_canada_nm/canada_weather_usa_canada_col or perhaps this? "NATO offers help to hurricane-hit U.S." http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050902/ts_nm/weather_katrina_nato_dc_1 _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I think you misunderstand. I don't think he's selling the rig for $400, but he's selling the gift-certificate for %50 off. Send him $400, he sends you a certificate that entitles you to buy at $1,400 rig for $700. Then you buy the rig for an additional $700. So - you're getting a $1,400 rig for $1,100. Not a bad deal. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Actually, I don't. I know he manages it, but I didn't think he owned it. I could be wrong, which is why I largely keep quiet. Andre hasn't been down our way in quite a while. I do know the porter that crashed was owned by Carry, Ben, and Andre Weisse - which makes one connection. I'm curious if there's others. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Remember, black people steal. White people just find things. Like magic! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Who ownes the Dropzone? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Actually, yes. The alternative to a market price is a "price control". Price controls damage economies. Price controls mean people are required by law to sell for less than they buy it for. Absolutely, price controls suck - and if the market price is higher than the set price, well - that's capitalism. Gas and oil is one example of where the market actually work pretty well. Prices go up when supply is short. If you regulate that prices stay low, even when supplies are low - you quickly run out of gas, and stations everywhere go dry. Contrary, if you let the stations set a market price, then those who really need it (like, say - ambulances) can still get it. And greed has what, exactly to do with this? Getting back on track, oil and gas is a great example of a effective and efficient market. Markets don't exist without competition, and competition doesn't exist without greed. Accept it, or embrace it - but history has shown quite clearly that rejecting it REALLY doesn't work. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Of course. What's the point of competion without greed? "Yah, it's ok. You can take the hundred bucks, I'll be happy with $10. I really don't need the money...." or more appropriately, "yah, our tandem video only costs $6. that's enough to pay for the gas in the plane... As a videographer, I like taking pictures so much I really don't need any compensation". _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

A much bigger reason for the fall-off of drilling in the US is that for the most part, all of the easy oil has already been drilled. It's poignant that the only new American drilling being discussed involves tearing apart a wildlife refuge over 2000 miles north of Seattle and 3000 miles from a big gas market. What's more amazing is the by most standards, ANWR isn't even that big. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You say it like its a bad thing. Greed is the basis of the market economy. Greed is what separates capitalism from socialism. Greed is often (but not always) what makes capitalism and market economies work. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I'm guessing you drive a sports car? Cars with low drag will do better at higher speed. Or, more specifically - the point where drag really starts to kill milleage is at a faster speed. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Modern engines don't change the rules of aerodynamics. Engines may run efficiently at high revs, but moving a giant cube through the wind at 70MPH will take a lot of energy, no matter how efficient the engine is. Aerodynamic drag only becomes an issue as speed increases. At 30 mph, it's negligible. At 50 it's noticable, and at 70 you've got dollar signs flying out your tailpipe. A good indication of drag is how quickly your car slows down when you take your foot off the gas with an automatic transmission. At 70mph, it's instantaneously. At 50, it's noticable, and at 35mph you seem to coast forever. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Less driving, better trains - both intercity and commuter lines is the key part. More walking and bicycle use plays in, too. What's interesting is that because gas in Europe is taxed so much more, the changes in the price of oil has a muted effect. While the price of gas in the states has doubled, it's only gone up incrementally in Europe because tax plays such a big part of the cost. The implications of that are interesting. Since the increase is incremental, people aren't noticing it as much as they are in the states. That means that people aren't trying to cut back as much, so demand in Europe has little chance of ever declining. Fortunately, demand per person in Europe is already pretty low - so it's not a big deal. It's just an interesting artifact of how taxes can distort a good market. This isn't always true. Taxes can often "fix" a broken market, depending on how they're set up. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Wow. I'm absolutely amazed at some of the ignorance here. OPEC has never produced more. They are producing as far more than they ever had, and are adding capacity daily. OPEC has committed themselves to a $30/barrel price of oil. Right now it's approaching $70. OPEC will try to add capacity until the price returns to $30. The problem is that analysts don't think OPEC can do that. Think think that the OPEC countries are already at max production, and that these countries physically can't tap much more oil. By any indication, OPEC is trying their best. Meanwhile, Americans have never consumed more, and even now are continuing to increase their thirst. Even with the high oil prices, Americans are still consuming 3% more than last year. Even with the high oil prices, American demand goes up every month. Oil prices will only continue to go up until Americans (and the chinese, but I'll get to that in a minute) cut back. Even if the US drills in ANWR, prices will continue to rise until it gets to a point where it's expensive enough that people actually stop buying it. This is basic economics 101. Americans must cut back, and high prices is a great way to make people think about what oil is actually worth. Add in the fact that China is just now expanding into a real industrial economy, many people in China are buying their first car. Great for them, but China is burning far more fuel then they used to. Good for them, bad for the rest of us. It's unlikely China will cut back. Most Chinese are buying very fuel efficient cars, so trading in their Yukon XL for a Prius isn't an option, like it is here. Since they're very efficient already, high oil prices will not have a great effect on the Chinese economy. Americans, however - who love their Yukon XL's and F-150's, are screwed. Supply and demand says that if demand does up while supply doesn't, prices rise. Guess what just happened to 30% Americans national supply? Hint, a category 5 huricane just went through the gulf region. Close. It's actually "more for heating, and less for trucks, trains, and planes". Diesel fuel, JET-A, and home heating fuel are all called "distilates", and are very similar in chemistry. Heating oil is added at the expense of jet fuel, since airlines fly fewer miles in the winter. Prices for auto-fuel usually drop off after the labor day weekend since the demand drops, but supply doesn't. Another part of the mix is that many state laws require a special "low sulfer" gas in the summer to help combat smog. Since summer is rapidly coming to an end, many oil companies are switching back to a "normal sulfer" which pollutes more, but works better in the cold monthes. It's a lot more painless to make the switch to the winter blend, though. There usually aren't state laws that mandate a switch over day like in the spring, so oil companies can continue to burn the summer blend until they run out. Right now though, the single biggest cause of high gas prices is supply and demand. The labor day weekend is one of the biggest driving weekends of the year, meaning demand peaks. Worldwide supply is already very tight, which combined with worldwide peak demand explaines most of the high prices. The fact that America's reserves were effectively put offline by the storm is causing a short term peak. The "perfect storm" that wiped out New Orleans was the last straw of an economic "perfect storm" in supply and demand. No conspiracies, no criminals, no ENRON. Just economics 101. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Ahhhh! Now it suddenly makes sense.

We had really good luck with an Aerobed. They're a lot more expensive, but they really do work well. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Very cool. Did I meet you at Chicagoland a few weeks ago with Dan and Joe? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

No... In freefall, it'll fire at 750 feet, the exact same as the Expert Cypres - hence my post. Under a malfunctioning canopy, it will fire at any altitude below 1000 if the canopy exceeds 29 mph. It could fire at 1000, or 800, or 200. However, the previous discussion was about freefall, not canopy malfunctions. The poster stated that you can raise the (freefall) firing altitude of the student to match the Cypres. The freefall firing altitude of the student Cypres is the same as the expert one. For the record, exceeding 29mph under canopy is not terribly dificult once the pilot starts playing with risers. They are not recomended for post 'a' license jumpers. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Who's doing the work? Rocky Mountain Air in Calgary sure did a nice job on the Chicagoland Otter... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Bloomberg forcasts a 50 cent increase in the cost of gas. Why would that stop my DZ from flying? Stop feeding the hype. http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/katrina.asp _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Yup, the Diablo is the 'twitchiest' of the canopies I've ever jumped. I would not recomend it to someone at 40 jumps at any wingloading. It's way too easy to toggle yourself into a ditch. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Student Cypres's do not fire at a higher altitude. They fire at a slower speed. Read the manual. Generally, student Cypres's are only used by students, and occaisionally on DZ rental gear - depending if the DZ uses a different set of gear for students and post 'a' license jumpers. Some DZ's are switching their student gear to expert Cypres's. I don't know anybody recomending student Cypres's to licensed skydivers. You can not make an expert Cypres act like a student one by adjusting settings. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

How about none of the above? Saber2 150, Pilot 150, Lotus 150, Safire2 150 would all be reasonable choices if you downsized to them gradually, by going down one size at a time. They'd also be a hell of a lot of fun. A 135 is WAY too small for your limited experience. Wingloadings do not scale linearly. While 1.0 is a great first wingloading for a bigger person, it can be quite aggresive for a smaller one. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You mean like this? http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050830/wl_canada_afp/usweathercanadareax_050830225657 _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I jumped the orange lolipop, but upgraded to the Concentric ring sight when my wife gave me one. There is absolutely no comparison. Since switching to the Concentric sight, my video is more stable, better centered, and my photos are more accurate too. A big advantage of the concentric site is that you can use the rings to gauge how close you should be. Also, based on the size of the formation you can pick a different ring, and then make that ring surround the entire formation. Plus, the optics are simply amazing. I didn't do any physics so how it works is beyond me, but I can testify that it's very cool. Even if your helmet is misaligned, the rings will tell you where the helmet is pointing. It's so much more than a straight line of sight through the ring. At one point, I had: $1,500 PC-120 $900 Digital Rebel $450 15mm lens $600 Bonehead FTP and a $50 lolipop ring sight. You can tell where my priorities where. They were wrong. I should have upgraded to the concentric sight LONG ago... Keep in mind, I'm talking about the Brent Finlay concentric sight. I know nothing about the newton Cross sight. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.