kiltboy

Yes and old firm game would put it in perspective. Maybe meet the those nice Adair folks that just came over. They're probably feeling lonely and would like to make some new friends. Won't comment on the quality of the football though. David

Sad sad post. And I have to agree with what nacmac, jdhill and others have said already. What you've probably seen is a news bite/movie where a couple of people are at a rally for some Sinn Fein person. A small room with people that are suddenly Irish for the day. Ireland is tribalism gone bad and it's religiion more than anything else that's the problem. The situation could have been sorted alot earlier on but wasn't. David

Procrastination strikes again. Hi Michelle, I think France has been doing thing it shouldn't be doing. Breaching trade embargoes etc. one thing I heard (can't remember where) is that the US will go in when the last French memo gets destroyed. Germany I think is different from what you say. German forces were only recently allowed outside German borders and there is a lot of guilt about what happened in WW2 that could account for the lack of interest in a war. The assault on Iraq that is being considered is not in response to an act of aggression, such as the invasion of Kuwait, which would make the decision easier. As for Turkey, NATO did offer to invoke the same clause when the US was attacked on 9/11 so I'm not sure what Frnce and Germany are up to. The UN has been embarrassed frequently lately such as Bosnia (safe havens? stealing equipment from UN troops) and Iraq so I get the feeling that it does run the risk of becoming a non-entity. Taking down Iraq is a major undertaking and the problem here is that the country they can turn to capable of doing the job is the very country that is pushing to do it. Is the UN going to change forever after in that you can invade a country and change it's government? I think the UN believes war can always be avoided and they're now having to face up to the fact that that isn't always the case. The AQ/terrorism conection to Iraq is certainly plausible (my enemies enemy is my friend) but I've not seen that much of it in the press. I would have thought that if they'd found evidence in a cave in Afghanistan pointing that way they would have produced it. It could be that the US administration strongly suspects it but has a stronger case for the WMD and so is going down that line. However I would have thought that after Afghanistan Iraq would have cleaned house so as not to attract attention. How difficult would it be to bomb the crap out of somewhere in Iraq where there was an AQ training camp? A couple of cruise missiles? I know Isreal produced paperwork linking Arafat to funding terrorism. All I'd need for the AQ link to Iraq is a training camp or former Taliban saying he was trained there. The main problem that I have with Dubya and the other guys pushing for war is that they've seen the smart weapons and think this will be a push over. I don't think that's going to happen and I think you're looking at street fighting which will take away a lot of the technological edge the US/UK have. Iraq isn't Somalia but years of sanctions may mean that the Iraqi population does not look to the US/UK as the liberators they were in Afghanistan and subsequently they may put up a fight. I hope I'm wrong and Saddam gives it up. As for my thought's on Bush's reputation maybe that's wrong. I do believe that he feels an enormous amount of responsibility for what happened on 9/11 as he was President. I'm not saying he was responsible but that as President he feels he was. As such he's now doing what he can to ensure it never happens again. The downside to that is that will require a monumental shift in the US attitude to the Middle East and a serious long term (talking generations) commitment to be carried on by subsequent administrations. Bombing the crap out of people and alienating generations to come won't help. I hope he has a very, very good plan for quickly returning Iraq to being an independant sovereign state that will be recognised by the UN. Immediately after Iraq throws in the towel. Doing so would go a long way towards the future safety of the US. Having the troops hang around could be portrayed as an occupying force exploiting the country which would be an excellent recruiting tool for future extremists. David

Fair enough. I have no problem with what happened in Afghanistan nor do I take issue with chasing down Bin Hiding or blowing up trucks with hellfires. Terrorists are not nice people and deserve what they get. This includes IRA, UDA, UFF and all the other groups in N. Ireland. I have a hard time with the jump from Afghanistan to Baghdad and including Iran in the "axis of Evil". From what I'd read about Iran they were becoming more open to the international community and progress was being made towards normalising relations with certain western governments (I think it was the UK and France). I think that part of the problem is the mixed message towards the three countries. Baghdad is certainly unfinished business though that is because the UN let them off the hook last time. I think the impartialty of the inspectors was compromised in that case. As far as the latest rift in NATO goes preparing to defend Turkey isn't a bad idea. I think the concern is that doing so would accelerate the troop build up. I think it's going to get hot in Iraq soon so there's a timeline that does exist for action to be taken. What scares me is that Dubya may just go ahead regardless so that he isn't embarrassed by having to pull the troops back when summer arrives in the desert. I don't like the idea of a war to save someone's reputation. War is too ugly for that. David

A couple of points I'd like to add. There is the possibility that you are confusing people not respecting Dubya and Rumsfeld as being anti-american. Neither is an advert for the diplomatic corps though Colin Powell is in a different category. Yes there is an anti-war movement in the UK there's also several in the US. David

I didn't take it as harsh. My experience wasn't a sudden side gust as such in that it wasn't a violent change. Also it wasn't the heavy trubulence that you describe that can result in cell closures or a bumpy ride (I've had the bumpy ride). A bit more detail is that I fly a PD190 with a loading a little under 1:1 and I was getting no penetration as it was windy. It was a drift that quickly developed into landing crosswind and not into the wind as I had originally set up. It also happened at an altitude which never left time (for me at least) to safely correct. On a lighter note. I've landed on my toes only to be picked up again by the wind. Last time I planted my feet and buried the toggle trying to collapse the canopy. However, it was winter and there was ice on the ground so I was off skiing for 20 feet along the ice. David

I had a weird episode where I was lined up with the windsock the whole way down. Checked penetration etc down between my feet and everything was spot on holding in a straight line no crabbing. About 50 ft up I'm looking down and I start going sideways to the right. Then the canopy starts to turn that way and accelerate. Flat turn is an option but I thought I was too low so PLF'd instead. I got up cursing and the first thing I did was check the wind sock and it hadn't changed. Must have been a wind shift just at that height (turbulence from some nearby trees) as it was flat calm on the ground. http://www.lochness.co.uk/livecam/ David

Sounds like a Norwegian Blue. SOmetimes they sleep for long periods of time, could be he's pining for the fiords. David

Many a true word is spoken in jest (I'm trying to finish up my PhD just now). Still not sure if I will as I value my sanity. David

107 must try harder

I've already beaten Munch's Odyssey but I didn't know about the different endings. Crap now I'll have to play it again. That was a little embarrassing, lets do it again.

Hi all, I'm trying to get the gf an Xbox game for Christmas only she likes Spyro type games and I'm not getting her a PS2 for Spyro as the reviews suck. Question then is does anyone know of that type of adventure game for the Xbox or failing that any decent adventure game? Thanks, David

I got nervous for my level 6, as I didn't like the idea of going unstable. What I did was go to the DZ but not jump and I talked to a couple of the JMs and told them that I wasn't thrilled about going unstable. I went when I was ready and it went fine. JM gave me a huge grin when I got stable again and I was grinning the whole way down. It's a major confidence boost and I went straight up for level 7 on the next load. Then it was the level 8 Hop n Pop and a case for the first Cessna jump and getting off student status. Nobody mentioned the case but I got one anyway. My advice would be go to the DZ, hang out maybe talk with the JMs and face your fears. If they know that you're nervous they can help. You won't be the first nervous student and you won't be the last. David

I believe it was originally sponsored by a newspaper called "The World" and it was therefore called "The World's series" I think it just stuck after that.

Never saw all the game but i'm glad they won. I had to laugh when the fan was hiting the outfielder with the thunder sticks. Bet he's pissed he was thrown out and he never saw his team win. How much for a game 7 ticket?

When he was an architect? Previous to his career as a prophet? David

I'd had a few conversations with the more experienced jumpers out there as the weather was cooling off here. I'd started wearing gloves a month or so before that jump (probably longer) because it was cool at exit altitude and I was comfortable jumping with a few layers on in a larger suit. The earlier jump that day (from 6000) was also a kind of test jump and it honestly wasn't that bad, as I say it was nice to be in the sky in the winter air. I did a solo for the jump from 14,000 and it was a learning experience no doubt about it. Very much different from what I had expected because of the previous jump and my dive plan was instantly shelved as I concentrated on falling stable. I agree it's something that needs to be researched (anything different/new in a person's jumping should be) I just don't recommend people follow my method. David

Yeah I found out the hard way. I'd been off student status for a couple of months things were going well and I'd done a little 2 way out the Cessna from around 6,000. Very refreshing as the air was crisp. Curious people asked how it was (we said fine not a problem, quite enjoyable) and so a load was organised to 14,000. Sitting on the plane in my protec all seemed well. Had gloves, lots of warm clothes feeling good on Thanksgiving one more jump and it's off to the lady's folks for Thanksgiving dinner. Getting close to jump run and other folks are pulling on ski masks and scarves. All of a sudden it looks like I'm on a load with a bunch of bank robbers except for me who's pasty white skin is exposed. At this point I thought all may not be well but followed the other lemmings out the plane. I seriously thought of dumping at 10,000, my face was frozen and I couldn't move my mouth at all, but obviously this wasn't an option. Landed safely enough but I think I had some frostbite on my nose . For a week after all I could smell was something burning. On the same jump one of the other jumpers eyes watered so he had ice on his goggles. He pulled ok, not sure if he had an audible or if it just covered part of his goggles. Lost my currency for the rest of the winter as I couldn't jump often enough and didn't like the idea of going that high again for a recurrency jump. Figured I'd wait and went skiing. This winter I plan on looking like a bank robber.

I don't know about them all closing. I've jumped at Jumptown in Orange MA on a brisk winter's day. Thanksgiving a couple of years ago it was -20 at exit from 14,000. Felt chilly on the way down and truth be told that was my last jump of the day. Cessna jumps can and do happen in winter though the DZ tends to operate after midday. Best to get in touch with the folks at Manifest for operations in the snowy months but it does happen. David

My US geography is hazy (though I've been here 5 years now) so where would this be happening? Another couple of questions would be is there camping nearby or bunkhouse with showers? How close is it to a commercial airport that I can get there from Mass without jumping in? David

Not too impressed by the air marshal idea as I'd rather security would stop them getting guns/bombs on the plane in the first place. On a similar note why put a gun on the plane where the bad guy could use it? Maybe a tazer (sp?) type thing to overpower someone that only has enough power for say ten shots before it needs to be recharged.

Farley's Rusks. If you leave them in milk they turn to a soft mush but you can make them gradually more solid by adding less milk. I used to steal 6 at a time when my neice and nephew were younger. Brother got pissed and started slapping me mainly as I beat him to them. Selfish bastard

I've spent the last 2 years wishing I'd cut away from grad school. Don't like what I'm doing and there's no way I'm going to continue with it when I leave. Thankfully I have a wonderfully supportive group of friends and family so I should be done soon. I've seen a shitty situation make me a depressive arsehole that nobody wants to be around so I'd recommend to anyone who finds themselves that unhappy to cut away and move on. Good luck to you. David

Too many good moments to narrow it down. Every exit I nailed just felt awesome, flying with a coach and proving to myself that I can do some RW even if it's only 2 ways just now. Talking to a tandem student the age of my mum, she was nervous in the plane, and then talking to her on the ground afterwards. Very cool. Being part of the crowd that mooned a 30 year jumper as he swooped in on the last load of the day. Being around people that jump and sharing the experience.

Yeah I'm working to. Trying to finish up grad school so I'm working in the lab. Just called the DZ and the weather is overcast at 2300 so I couldn't jump anyway. David