bigben

It's mine, it's the closing pin from the rig I used on my Cat 10 qualifying dive; Brit thing, you have to do a 4 point 4 way before they let you play properly with others - called FS1 now I think. Packing after the jump I realized that I was going to have to replace my pilot chute etc., and thus kept the old pin and made a necklace. Fortuitous really since it now had special meaning, didn't take it off after that. Simon, a mate of mine and Petra's boyfriend, was killed in the tsunami. I gave my pin to Petra - who incidentally is one of the most lovely people on the planet. Funnily enough, Petra's now started skydiving! -Ben

I Drank it today at the DZ. I guess that's what I was keeping it for. -Ben

I'll be driving from San Francisco in the morning if anyone wants a ride. -Ben

High: All the Love Low: JP gone

Utterly devastated. Blue skies my friend.

I keep a beer in my fridge from your 500th jump, which I think was like three years ago. -Ben

I basically get a week to do it, which doesn't sound too bad. When I signed up I thought "how hard can it be, it's all downhill right?". Apparently, there are a few significant hills in the way

That's dedication to the cause, I'm tellin' ya! probably not as altruistic as it sounds, there not going to be much good after ! -Ben

Hello everyone, I'm raising money for The Arthritis Foundation by attempting to cycle the 500 miles from San Francisco to LA. My goal is to raise just under three grand, so far, I have zero grand. During the ride you'll be able to check my actual progress on a live map, and be able to send text messages of encouragement to my bike (it'll need it, I'm a fat knacker). "Often misunderstood as a disease of the elderly, arthritis strikes without regard for age. It can bring intense pain to young adults, children and even babies. More than a quarter of a million children in the U.S. have some form of arthritis. It can start as early as infancy and will last a lifetime." You can click on this handy link to donate money (don't forget, it's tax deductible!) http://tinyurl.com/gbvpu Any and all donations are much appreciated. I'll be donating my knees for medical research after the ride. Blue skies! -Ben

Damn straight! There's like... 3 of us that actually live in the city. I don't mind the Peninsula, but I prefer my $7 cab rides! Anyone else? Hey me too! Hey skydivexxl! We bumbed into each other in R-bar in the city like 2 months ago. -Ben

I'll be there. Hopefully I'll remember how to skydive -Ben So now it looks like the weather's going to be crap, sigh, might not make it out Saturday. I'll try for Sunday, but I know full well that I'll probably get too drunk Saturday night -Ben

I'll be there. Hopefully I'll remember how to skydive -Ben

Does anyone know why the sides of the road a different in different countries? I was always told it was left in England because you could then defend yourself against other traffic with your right arm. Presumably the Romans built a lot of the roads in Europe, how come that's not the standard? -Ben

High: getting MDB's in different appservers to durably consume from the same JMS topic Low: finding a bug in the appserver which won't be fixed before GA -Ben

Man, I'm so out of the scene, I've no idea what you're talking about! Actually it was my mates Bestwick pro, I generally ride my hardtail Fisher. -Ben