ruleofpull

Uh... yeah... or learn how to count or something! http://www.un.org/en/mainbodies/secretariat/

Oddly enough, the Secretariat division of the UN employs over 43,000 people world wide. In 2008, there were over 58,000 people directly employed, and that doesn't include associated agencies.

I told my uncle in law and then husband to "Fuck off" and "Go fuck yourself" around the dinner table. I was only partially kidding.

So Wonderfully Bad! BillyVance's sick and twisted and/or NSFW photo attachment thread And... Retirement resolution Sending money to another country

Interesting discussion. Does anyone know when radios first began being used for student jumps? And, what was the motivation behind radios being used (train students but have a back-up device should something happen, etc.)? (I did a search, but didn't really see a topic that covered this-after not looking too hard).

You can get around the "not available in your country" thing by downloading and running a program called "Hotspot Shield"- it's a VPN that masks your IP address (yes I'm guilty of using this-Canadian Netflix sucks compared to American Netflix). Yes, I get that this might have a legality or two questioned about it. Love Big Bang!

j I just don't imagine hot air balloon pilots as being the rebellious type. More like teachers that you have to hoodwink and misbehave behind their back, then run for it. Then you're a jerk for not realizing a teacher (such as myself) wouldn't notice that crap. You'd be an even bigger jerk for pulling that crap in the sky. Don't be a jerk.

I'm sorry, and I'm sad for you. I hope you find the change you need.

I love this thread. This is a shameless bump. Pretty puh-lease, someone tell us another scary story from the old days!

Marking it on my calendar, and I hope to be there, and meet you!

It's quite the drive, but Eden North in Edmonton is amazing!

*** It is just my personal preference but I don't feel comfortable getting that close to someone, especially if it is another dude. Then, even when you are jumping solo, you might have a problem sitting in a plane full of (gaseous) boys (okay, some are men). But even from the female newbie-perspective, most loads I've been consisted of males. Skydiving, from what I've observed, is not a female dominated sport. You need to be comfy with who you are, and with being in close proximity to both sexes, especially as the ride to altitude can be really cozy at times. Not to be harsh, but get used to it. And... Sorry about the broken ankle-heal fast!

But it's not always about the cash over cloud cover. Pulled this out of history and trivia-Bill Cole wrote it... On August 27th 1967, Bob Karns, who was a pilot working for Ortner Aviation at Wakeman Ohio, was giving a free jump from 20,000 ft + in a B-25 WW II bomber, to some jumpers who had jumped from that aircraft at an air show, for which Karns had been paid. There was so many jumpers showed up at Ortner Field, the plane was overloaded to the extent that the nose wheel came up off the ground. As a result, three or four jumpers were taken from the aircraft, and the rest were to make the jump. The plane took off and began its long climb, disappearing into 100% cloud cover . Cloud base was about 4000 ft and the tops about 6000 feet. A local jumper who should have known better, took off a bit later in a Cessna 180, and was planning to take 35mm still photos of the jumpers as they fell towards Ortner field. Common sense should have made him realize that the jumpers would be passing his Cessna 180 like bullets, and he would not get any usable photos, and if they were far enough away from the Cessna, they would be nothing but tiny specks in his viewfinder. The plane reached altitude, and the pilot (Bob Karns) received confirmation that the aircraft was directly over Ortner field. The radar screen was showing a blip at that spot ( actually it was the Cessna 180) and Karns turned and waved the jumpers out the bomb bay doors. Jimmy Simmons was first to go, and the others followed like they were tied on a long string. There was a total of 18 jumpers, and Bob Coy (one of the survivors) told me later they had a real blast getting together and just flying....until they approached the dark clouds at 6K. As the jumpers came through the clouds, they were faced with a rainstorm and the fact that they were 5 miles out over Lake Erie. They opened the chutes immediately, hoping to make it closer to shore. I believe everyone had Para-Commanders, and although its a great canopy, it doesnt fly like a square...not even close. Few made any headway, and prepared to ditch in the lake, which was 72 degrees F. Norm Allard had two jumpsuits on because of the cold at altitude, but he managed to get them off, except for the altimeter pinning them both to his wrist. Thats how they found him. Bill Onyska had the only piece of flotation gear, which he inflated, but the CO2 went out a small hole that had gone unnoticed in the device...and it was useless. BoB Coy, tried using his packed reserve as floatation, but it soon became waterlogged, and he discarded it, and then he tried to lay on his helmet which had styrofoam inside. That probably saved his life. A search was quickly started, and over the next 5 days, they collected all the bodies from the lake. A boat had been brought alongside a jumper named Johnson, and the boat then drove off leaving him in the lake. It is possible the guy was a smuggler or out for a cruise with someone elses wife and didnt want to get involved. A second boat rescued Johnson. Para Commanders were floating on the lake...with no one in the harness, or near them. Several were cut to pieces by boat propellers and founds later. My best friend, Joe Malarik was the last to be found. Oddly enough, Joe had been in a bar the night before with his girldfriend Barb and another guy, and he said that when he died, he would prefer to drown. He did so the very next day. When Joe was a young boy, he drowned in a swimming pool, but was revived. He thought it would be the best way to go. The B-25 aircraft, made another circuit, and again was told by Oberlin Tower that it was directly over Ortner Field, and Larry Hartman and Al Olmstead jumped, wearinmg oxygen masks and bottles. The Cessna hand landed by this time, and the B-25 was in fact, over the target area. Hartman noticed through a small hole in the clouds, one of the airport runways, and he pointed to it for Olmstead. They tracked over, and landed on the airport. By this time, the accident was known, and everyone got involved in the search. Dale Gates of the Parkman DZ, flew his Cessna a few feet above the choppy waves of the lake, trying to spot survivors, but none were seen. In all 16 jumpers died that day. The following Sunday while at the DZ in Parkman, I was asked to take photos of a young lad in freefall after he would make one more good jump alone. I agreed, and when the young lad jumped ( Paul Camelford) he went right into the ground. He had concentrated on holding his heading so much, he never attempted to get his main out. That made 17 dead over the two weekends. Even now when I think about it, I get quite upset inside. Two weekends before the B-25 flight, I had been filming many of these guys at Parkman, and I later gave copies of the 16mm film to their families. They told me it was like having their son back again.....even if only on film. One thing that came out of this, was I conducted tests that showed a canopy (especially one of 0 porosity) can have a portion of it inflated by scooping air inside it, and it will act like a large beach ball in an emergency, and keep a person afloat for quite awhile. It may be necessary to inflate a portion of the canopy several times before one is rescued...but when you have nothing else, that may be your only hope. Keep that in mind. Bill Cole D-41 Canada PLEASE STAY SAFE !!!

Thank you for the explanation. It was very helpful!

As a noob, just curious... I get why you might forget to turn it on (oops?!)... but on what kind of jump would you disarm it? Crew? Do you plan on pulling low? Can't the altitude for it to fire at be adjusted? (I thought so, but now I'm not sure, and I don't own one)... Again, just curious. Edited to add: No matter what kind of jump, it's just a machine, and we have to accept the consequences of our own actions.

Merci!

"Duck and cover" they changed that to earthquake and tornado drills http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60[url] (Sorry, haven't figured out the clicky thing)

I'm with you! As long as my students are independently reading, I'm pretty much happy. I don't insist on the classics, and even the novel studies we do are not always "the classics." One section of our grade 10 class (not an academic class) actually does a novel study on Hunger Games. When I ask my students to bring books to read independently (and I do insist on books, DZ.com and facebook do not count), I'm okay with "almost" anything (porn, and "use your imagination for what is not appropriate for school" excluded).

The series has really gone viral in high schools. I had a copy in my classroom-it was the most read book (ever!) that I had students read outside of course readings-a record of 13 students, and 3 parents read it, and returned it... in less than 5 months, as I didn't get it until late October. Then it went "missing" in January (don't like it, but I know it's still being passed around). I then bought the trilogy, and have another copy of the first book. Both are out with students right now... Sadly, because I haven't had the chance, I haven't read it

Read it today... thanks! The gear purchase segment was interesting for me! I received an altimeter first (from my husband, as a present), and I bought my goggles second. Helmet is on order next, then the jumpsuit... there's something about wearing clothing/head wear previously worn that is kind of gross to me, but that's a personal preference. Overall, thanks for the enjoyable read. As a noob, it was appreciated!

The video is well worth the watch! And it raises awareness to a long-standing issue... and it's awesome that they have a petition/pledge form, but they also ask for donations. Before donating to Invisible Children, you might want to look into some of their practices, and then make an informed decision to donate funds.

Apologies. I stand corrected. Your disregard for safety is really, really, REALLY scary. (Blue and friendly skies are, generally, not).

And as a noob to another noob: We don't have the experience to be cognizant of what we are doing during a jump AND be manning a camera at the same time-don't care what you say about anything about this. Regardless of your precautions, you don't have the experience to do this, no matter the "mad skillz" you possess (and I definitely don't have 'em, and don't want 'em 'til I feel I'm good and ready beyond 200 jumps). We don't have the skills required to keep those of us around safe while jumping camera. Lose the camera until you get in line with what regulations state-in Canada and the USA. Your "what I will not do which I will do at some point" comment is really, really, REALLY scary.

Sometimes I camp... sometimes I leave at 4am, jump all day, and drive home (5 hours each way, as I stay at my parents on days when I do that)-depends on the work schedule. The classifieds are good for gear, but some of the helmets seemed a little too techie for what I was looking for... Thanks for the advice!

Moving in two weeks! Now I'll only be 5 hours away...