pilatus_p

Welcome to rip off britain! Almost everything costs more here - cars, food, movies, CD's ... Its just the way it is Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Also useful http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll-tactics.html Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

N/A

Apologies for the sermon, but I feel this needs to be said... Over the last month I have had two PM's from people saying they no longer wish to post here. They say they came in hoping to find a community and support, but found hostility, intolerance and prejudice. I am a newbie, that much is true, and so my knowledge of skydiving is limited. However my knowledge of people is just as rich as anyone who posts here and I do not understand why some posts become so full of hate so quickly. I have been guilty of it myself and I don't like the fact. I found this page online and I wanted to post it here. http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/conflict.html. I like this forum and it can be a great place for information and bonding between skydivers. I like the occasional spiky comment and barbed humour, I think that is unique to our sport. I think its great to bring new people to the sport, and DZ.com has been there longer than any other - it should be the place that new jumpers see as their introduction to the skydiving community. But lately it seems to have become something much more unpleasant and dark, with people attacking each other it seems in almost every thread. It may have always been like this, and perhaps most people feel there is no point trying to change it; But is this the face we really want to be presenting to the skydiving world? It certainly isn't the attitude I would want on my DZ - why should we have to put up with it here? It only takes a little patience to delay hitting reply. To give yourself a little time to re-read the person's comments and perhaps hear them differently, before loosing off a barrage of sweet-tasting revenge. Lets cut each other some slack, give the moderators a break from breaking up fights, and most importantly make this board a fun place to post. Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Happens a lot on DZ.com, although many people don't often ask themself the same question you did - good on you for having a a pair, setting the example and admitting it. Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Hi Orange Interesting point - I hadn't looked at the global figures, and it reminds me to not always take at face value what I read. Looking back at the article, the writer says 'explosion of high risk sports'. It would be interesting to see how the rate of growth in the West compares with the East and might serve as a better judge of whether the writer is correct. But anyway guys, arguing over the west vs east point aside, did you think the article was pretty close to the mark in terms of skydiver (or more accurately, HSS) psychology, or did you think it was way off? I think most skydivers are pretty unique guys & gals and for me at least the article hits home. Are there any super organised, office-job-loving skydivers out there? Would we really all be happier with high stimulus, almost dangerous jobs, than sitting behind desks? This would be opposite to the GENERALISATION IN THE ARTICLE that skydivers lack job satisfaction etc as cited in the article (NOT my view - the purpose of my post is to find out if you agree with that statement as opposed to pigeon-holing you). Thanks guys Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Not wanting to start a ping-pong argument, cos God knows you NEVER get those on DZ.com, my spinal surgeon told me to take extra calcium ... C'est la vie. No I'm not a doctor either. http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Struck a bit of a chord with me ... thought I would share! Apoloz if its been posted before (search didnt bring anything up) http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-19941101-000027&page=2 Hm actually well it concentrates more on climbers, but talks about High Stimulus Seekers [HSS] and how their brains work. I guess that could mean us, too? I really relate to the disorganisation and job stuff. I'm bored off my nut. Maybe I should quit and go join the Navy, chasing Pirates in the Caribbean. EDIT TO ADD: To all those people sick of being asked the "why do you TYOOPGA?", here is a quote from the article you can buzz back at them: Farley is more optimistic. Even civilized society, he says, holds ample opportunity for constructive risk taking: investing in a high-stakes business venture, running for political office, taking an unpopular social stand. Farley argues that history's most crucial events are shaped by [HSS] behavior and [HSS] individuals, from Boris Yeltsin to Martin Luther King, Jr. He warns that much of the current effort to minimize risk and risk taking itself runs the risk of eliminating "a large part of what made this country (the US) great in the first place". Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

There's a place called Kiss-i-mee? Aww thats CUTE Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Hey, paranoia is a legitimate hobby I heard that one third of all injuries sustained in gymnasiums are received by men letching on sweaty women and thus falling [pun intended] victim to a temporary lapse in concentration. Given the above, I wonder what effect the attached activity would have on male skydiving community accident numbers [WARNING - CONTAINS 'BOOBIES'] Arent statistics fun. Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Hi Belsky, Aww poor Spence! I can see where you are coming from re advice Belsky - we all have to be careful what we say on here, although I think Spence was just trying to be encouraging by saying you are probably better off than you realise. Apologies if I am speaking out of turn. Although his optimism may be grounded more in a naturally sunny personality than in medical fact, Spence is usually quite supportive and his experience should hopefully be comforting to you, so I'm sure no harm intended ... Whaddya think, Spence? I totally hear what you are saying about not wanting to believe it Belsky. My doctors looked in the wrong place (lower back instead of upper) and missed the main fracture and two broken ribs. I don't know if ER / A&E is anything like over here where you are, but I can see how the busy nature and pressure of the environment would lead to things being missed - but thats a whole thread in itself. Apologies if I am offending any ER room orthopaedic surgeons in here ... Any available to comment? My back was excruciating when I first did it, but after a week it felt like bruising. I found it hard to believe my movements could be as limited as I was being told. You are doing the right thing to be cautious - as someone said to me once, skydiving will always be there for you . Being able to walk is nice too. So, can you run on the crutches yet? Just kidding ... EDITED TO ADD: Calcium!! And lots of it

Did the x-ray look anything like NUMBER1.JPG and NUMBER2.JPG (attached)? I always thought that 'reading' x-rays was a dark art, but seems the pros see exactly what you and I see - a mish mash of white blobs! These 2 were taken abroad where the injury happened. Docs missed two compression fractures with me too, although you can actually see one of them in NUMBER2.JPG. They were eventually found when I got back to the UK. Have a look at the wobbly bones in NUMBER3.JPG, taken in the UK. . If I'd gone with first docs advice I might well have jumped within a month, and not known I had a broken spine. UK docs found em and gave me a three month lay off. God bless the NHS. Belsky... I know what you mean about intuition, good on you for following up. Not surprised you are freaked out! I certainly always thought doctors were magic healing wizards and fairies and it was a bit of a shocker when I realised these guys are human too ... Maybe some tunnel time would be good? Might help with the old body position etc? Just an idea. Pay em a bit extra and they may give you a big muscly dude to lift you out the tunnel - keep any stress off that poor leg! Heal swiftly

Boooooooo! http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

I sense a 'worlds tallest skydiver' thread hijack in the offing ... Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Awwww you'd just about come up to my chin.

Aww bless you

If you will indulge me for a moment, why on earth would you want to know? I'm 5 feet 9 inches - I'm quite little. Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

I think I like EVERYTHING about this post. Especially the tagline! Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

I know I know i was only teasing Aint I a stinker ... Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Are the AFF'ers just baiting the static liners now? I mean its fun watching the fireworks, but come on - be nice. I actually enjoyed my static line jumps, especially as they were out of a little wee cessna. We didn't strut hang, just hoevered our butts out the door and then GO!! Lots of fun, except the time I landed in a bush. Watching my buddy land on a car made up for it though Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Ey up, better ask a weather girl. Remember, wind chill is a perception that we have due to the fact that we sweat. Its the same reason a fan cools you down - it isnt making the air colder, its just speeding up the evaporation of sweat at the same time as causing cooling (newtonian cooling as referred to above). An inanimate dry object will cool to the temp of the air (10C in your example) and no further. But you have your own muscles, nerve endings, internal squelchy processes going on, generating body heat and regulating how much you sweat. The very surface of your skin theoretically could be 10C or lower (due to forced evaporation of sweat) but underneath the skin you will have a temperature gradient, due to the things I just mentioned and this keeps you warmer. Each persons percpetion will vary, though you can put a rough figure on it like weathergirls do. If I remember rightly its called psychrometry, so actually you need an air conditioning engineer. No, not psychometry. Thats about job interviews. Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Chris, Is this the enemy of ultra-serious highly technical forums the world over I see before me? Irony I thought this was a lost art. Well its certainly lost on some ... Ross EDIT TO ADD: Just read down the thread ... it WAS irony. And you got only ONE "what the hell do you know, you're just a kid with a handful of jumps mi-laddo" reply. Not bad going ... http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

EDITIED TO AVOID OFFENCE: This post not aimed AT you kallend, i just hit reply to your post as was nearest to my mouse ... nerd mode Little internet snippet on re-entry burn up: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99459.htm As far as I'm aware, aerothermodynamic heating happens when you are going over supersonic speeds, and the temp rise occurs across the shock wave due to some complex flow relations. I remember doing a little calc on the temp rise of concorde's wing leading edges due to shock (about 120 deg C I think) Newtonian rate of cooling, that is cooling due to wind, is proportional to the airspeed and the temp diff between the air and the object. If the object (eg you) is the same temp as the air already, it wont get any colder because the process is driven by temp difference, unless as noted above the object is wet (dont pee yourself in the plane). Still, I guess there must be some heat rise due to the friction - though I'm more inclined to think it would be the air that gets warmer .... My brain hurts Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

Now you're just trying to start a fight I recommend the "UK AFF, no old people who've done static line EVER" course, available only in Britain on special "static line is poo (S.L.I.P)" branded dropzones. BPA magazine has a special voucher that entitles you to 'arrogant swagger' tuition and a free "15 jumps and I know EVERYTHING" t-shirt. Part of the pass requirement involves being rude to high jump number old skydivers and throwing rocks at them. I failed packing, and one or two times somehow ended up with a duvet on my back, but my aim improved no end. Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm

aye aye skipper Thanks all for input! Over and out Ross http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm