Skinflicka

Denpar, I wondered when someone was going to bring this up. Many shots are fired across the bows of errant jumpers (Kidwicked - I know this will make no sense to you . Jumpers don't have bows. It's a metaphor. Don't worry about it) but apparently the new generation of BASE is not self-policing. Denpar is right. This is myth from yesteryear. I used to pride myself on being part of an elite group called BASE jumpers. These were guys / girls who you knew you shouldn't make a wager with over a dare. They would do it. Whatever it was. They were not skydivers of any kind when it came to BASE. They were people who threw themselves over the edge. The canopy ride was just a way to slow you down. What was important was that you went further than other people would and for that shining moment between commitment and control, exit and opening, all hell broke loose and you revelled in it. It was about attitude not athleticism, guts not science. No matter how fat, stupid or ugly you were you knew you could make it to the bottom but in order to get there you had to go beyond that point of no return. This is the uniqueness of our activity. So now you pay and play. No requirements, no qualifications and essentially no exposure to the harsh realities of the sport prior to practicing it. This is where the value is lost. I myself am more fearful with every jump I make. I'd never have walked down in my first 50. I have no issue with walking down now even if it's just because I'm no longer in the mood to jump. The initial bravado is a very dangerous emotion. It serves a new jumper well to get rid of it as soon as possible if he/she hopes to live longer (it ain't brave if you ain't scared). I too was blissfully ignorant of some of the aspects of this sport when I began to jump even though I'd researched, studied and trained for around 3 years in preparation. My prep didn't include many skydives at all. They were mostly geared towards BASE, however. I certainly think a certain amount (of the right type) is essential. If I'd know what kind of gnarly-assed objects Skypunk was going to hurl me off I'd have prepped twice as hard and done many more drills. I would spare any prospective jumper the pain of a jump gone wrong if I could. I've seen the poorly prepared begin to jump and it's awful to watch. They have no idea how close they come to bad accidents. Blissfully unaware of the nature of the risks they are exposed to and the fluidity with which the risk changes in response to every decision and control input made throughout the jump is no way to participate. Risk on a BASE jump is a function of time and that function inflexes at every decision point to give new considerations to the jumper. There is more to this than falling off a cliff but you can go for years without knowing that. This is why we say skydive before BASE. Just like at school we say learn arithmetic before algebra. The activities are different. The skill set is not transferrable. Why then, is it done? You are being educated. The more you learn to integrate skills, adapt to change and familiarize yourself with the characteristics of certain models then more likely you are to be able to extrapolate those skills, self-develop, innovate, adapt and overcome when faced with a situation which is unfamiliar. Nobody can teach you how to fix a 180 with lineover as you fly next to a waterfall. We don't have that ability. Therefore, you must prepare yourself as well as you can so that if that ever happens you immediately react in a way which creates a downturn in the risk or exposure level. Why does the army insist you run the obstacle course in training? Do they really have walls with ropes draped over them in Afghanistan? Same reason. The obstacles are different but your strategy must be clear to you quickly and you must react appropriately. This will keep you alive. At the risk of driving Kidwicked insane...expect the unexpected. So back to the point. All of us who preach ethics are at fault. We are the whining public baying for blood and we sit on our hands and bitch on the net. We have appealed to the morality of those displaying poor traits and, ignored by our those we saught to reach, we have been inactive, benign and basically, we are now their bitches. The old school were men of action. They changed things. The new school appear to have their pants round their ankles. Unless we change the behavior, not only proactively by acting as role models but also reactively by active self-policing, the culture will not change and the current culture is headed for disaster. We can help. We can each do our bit. It's time we looked after our own. For their own sakes. So please, when it you feel the stickiness in your hair and you look up and one of us is emptying a pillow over your head, remember... We're doing this because we love you. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Doubt it would've towed if the delay had been a little more hairy chested. Delay is good...for separation, increased snatch (Ooer Mrs!!) crisp openings and general manliness. A solid 3 is about right for that hill. Cowboy up! Don't forget the principles the old crusty folks proved our for us. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

I was married at 4:20. I was heavily under the influence of heroin at the time.

Fuck 'em all. Load up Sundance...We're gonna shoot our way out of this one... $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Sorry Ray. You posted after I was already a couple of inches down a big fatty. I could hardly see, let alone type. Now that I've read your note I feel awfully hungover. There are two universal constants when reading anything on the internet. 1) There are two sides to every story. 2) Neither one is necessarily accurate except in the mind of the narrator. For these reasons alone I generally (and I reserve the write to be as hypocritical as necessary in order to keep myself giggling like a little girl) refrain from writing anything which anyone will take even remotely seriously. That said, the answer to your question is "I don't know". I'll jump with anyone once. If I think you're; A) a cock B) unsafe C) wearing womens underwear then I may well chose not to jump with you a second time. In short, I get along with my jump buddies real well cos I'm picky about who I play with. It would be therefore unlikely for me to go to the trouble of emptyinga perfectly good pillow over what should be a minor spat. Your situation is somewhat different. What I would definitely say to everyone is: Make sure you like your crew well enough to not think twice when it requires you to drag their broken ass out of the desert. If you resent their weight on your back you should probably change your critera for choosing a load. If someone had fucked me over that badly in the past I may well chose to apply alternative medical procedures before moving them such as: 1) Pissing on their head. 2) Squeezing the part that looks broken whilst chanting "Does it hurt when I do that?" in a nasal Liverpudlian accent. (Di doo dat dere do, don't dee do) 3) Wiping my ass with their canopy. 4) Drinking their water and eating their rations using the rationale that I'll need extra strength in order to haul them out. 5) Flipping them off (2 fingered UK stylee) whenever they ask a question as your sole response. It's nice to see the bickering on here to keep the entertainment level up but there comes a point when it quits being banter and quits being funny. At that point I'm going to turn all Aiello on you and say by this time you should've picked up the phone and extended the olive branch. If neither are palatable then ceasing to make mention of it, burying your feelings and taking it out on your spouse are probably the right things to do. I'll bring that whisky bottle over to your place sometime in the not-too-distant future and we can get drunk and talk shit and have an excuse for behaving so badly the next day if you're up for it. In the mean time, don't let it eat you up bro'. You're the only one it affects. Fuck I must sound like Dr Phil. As you can tell, my head hurts and the coffee hasn't kicked in. Shootin' some horse will bring me round. So much for turkey containing tryptophan... Love to all, $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Your mama's so fat that when she ran for class president the vibrations knocked JT and his surfboard off the railing of the IBPB. Fortunately JT was wearing a parachute and it was all caught on video. All it takes is an honest error and everyone on DZ.com loses their minds. Talk about up-tight. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

HA gotcha.. it should be "We role!(American that is...)" You got me there bro'. I think.

cuz that never happens in Europe...particularly not in Brussels...where they even make you rename chocolate if it contains less fat than the average pair of Lederhosen. We don't want the world...we just want your half. Now if we can just bring religion and sexuality into this thread it will be another DZ.com classic. I don't think any act of BASE jumping has been even mentioned up to this point. Awesome. We rule! (Americans that is...) $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

'Cept mines a gag. Nobody jokes about cricket (except when using the expression "batting for the other side"). Leroy, I liked your avatar better when it had that geeky looking cunt in the wingsuit in it. Where did you get a picture of such a nerdy, narrow backed, parrot faced tit? Chin chin, [edited to remove the word "twat" and insert "narrow backed, parrot faced tit"] $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Interests: Movies, cricket, skydiving, skyflying. What the hell are you doing in a BASE jumping forum?

Hear, hear. I have no idea what you're on about but I agree whole-heartedly. I'll also take a gram of whatever you're hoovering to ease me out of my cacoon this evening. Those foreign bastards need a stern talking to...no doubt. Amen brother. Btw, isn't Spiderman a Norgie? I've never seen a pic of him blowing hose so he can't be French. What a fantabulous night for the cause. Boy, am I fucked up tonight. Here's to James B. Beam and his splendid amber liquid. 460 rules! $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Ooh! That one made my eyes water. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Just for you Faber...my new personal favorite. http://maddox.xmission.com/beat.html Big shout to Monkey1031 for posting the link to this site. That's some funny $hit. Remember folks, it's just fun (until someone gets hurt) $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Now that's what I'm talking about... Kids suck at everything. Especially other people's kids. They're expensive, they stink and they can't change the starter motor on a Camaro. If you have kids, do the world a favor...keep them to yourself. And if they grow up to be BASE jumpers...teach them not to jump off Ray's railing. And keep your dog tied up so that I don't bust my fog light when I run into it. Truly, The coke fairy. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Huh? You lose your sense of humor at a Kentucky truck stop, Dennis? $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Much better. Thank you. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

You can't see your abs and there's a conspicuous gap where your genitals should be. Trust this helps. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Touche! Nice one. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Please don't turn up looking anything like that photo in your avatar. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

What a load of crap! A 7 year old could do better. Utter bollocks! $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Awesome! At this rate of regression we'll be walking to work bare foot in no time at all. This comes as quite a coincidence on the weekend I invented a sport where a bunch of genetic freaks run around a place which I called a "Kort", trying to throw a watermelon into a "Bagsket". It doesn't bounce real well but hey what the hell? I'll forever be know as the guy who invented "Bagsket Watermelon". Or is that another $hit idea? Glad you had fun man. I'm just cranky cos i"m into my 3rd nuclear coffee. Enough of this, I'm going to tie a couple of 2x4s to my feet and go "Skreeing". $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

As I was telling Johnny Utah recently...I've done much worse than that sober (and I don't mean wear a dress). $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

surreal. That's almost word-for-word the way my sister answered one of her final exam questions. Do they actually teach it that way? I never did figure out why many of the smart kids thought that qualifying for a career in which you are expected to stick your digits into the rectum of an elderly person was some kind of achievement. You don't need to do such things professionally. Just date a nurse...that's what they're for. I'm sure I've upset plenty of people with this already so I'll quit. It's not like I had any stock to go up in the first place. Best of British, $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

Just funnin' dude. My sis is a doctor. Although, she is as thick as pig-shit. I have utter respect for anyone who can earn a living fixing problems on a machine which repairs itself. "Go home and rest...It's only cholera...that'll be $80 for the office visit". Smashing folk. $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.

$kinflicka abuses skydivers. But pink Neon? Totally gay! $kin. Prizes to anyone who gets to read my posts before Mr Aiello's son, Tom deletes them.