The111

Correct me if I'm wrong, it wouldn't be the first time... But isn't a "step through on one side" an impossibility? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I don't know either. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

So where's the mistake that causes the inequality at the end? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

What is QED? Strain2 is not 1. The change in length is (4-2), yes, but assuming the piece is elastic (and you are still in the elastic range at 1, 2, and 4 inches), then it still has an UNDEFORMED length of 1, regardless of the fact that you were holding it at 2 before the second stretch. Strain2 = (4-2)/1 = 2. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Actually, if God does not think in decimal but created beings with 10 digits that they would use to create a counting system, then he did make a mistake. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I disagree. Religions are not needed, if you are content with not knowing what can't be known. The alternative is pretending to know something you can't. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I want to hear! Post as new topic if you don't want to be off-topic here. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I made no statement as to what I believe. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

IIRC, a friend who works at SkyVenture told me that Tom Cruise paid a bunch of money some time ago to have the tunnel to himself (and someone else) for this purpose. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Could you elaborate on this please? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Re-read my post. The number of skydivers who die while doing nothing wrong, due 100% to gear failure, is much much smaller. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I agree entirely Lisa. The point I was trying to make is that when people compare stats they usually use the "full" stats (i.e. including pilot error). I'd be interested to see stats of skydivers who die while doing nothing wrong, versus auto drivers who die while doing nothing wrong, versus pedestrians who die while doing nothing wrong (didn't the pres. of a South FL canopy company die like this recently?). I think that using those statistics the sport might at least be a little closer to the all too common phrase newbies use - "it's as safe as driving and all those other things we do!" Notice I said a *little* closer. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'd still bet occurences like those, today, happen less than those caused by user error, by a factor of at least 10. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

In threads like this there's always people who say "you can do everything right and still die". I'm curious how many incidents each year were a case of that. Obviously it's very hard to say exactly what else a person could have done in certain situations, and the answer to this question would be arguable on some incidents. But as a rough estimate, I'd bet the proportion is very small. I've read through pages of incident reports and with each one, according to the investigator, there was at least one thing the jumper could have done to prevent his death. I actually don't think I could find one where there was no "user error" present (recent fatalities). That said, maybe the argument should not be "safe of unsafe", but "how forgiving of error". Russian Roulette is not a valid comparison. There is no user input except spinning a wheel and pulling a trigger. 100% of Russian Roulette deaths are analagous to a "gear failure" in skydiving. Driving is a more valid comparison, as our risk relies heavily on our own choices and those of the other drivers on the road. But I'd wager to say a VERY small proportion (i.e. next to ZERO) of fatal traffic accidents are caused by a car failing to perform as instructed by the driver. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Seriously? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The general sentiment of this thread, and posts like this one, seem to imply that only the one receiving payment is to be criticized. Why not suggest shooting all the people who are *paying* the money? A financial agreement takes two parties. With that in mind, this whole thread is really kind of pointless... in a capitalistic world prices are determined by both the buyers AND sellers. To the writer of the original "10 jobs" article, if you think orthodontists, for example, are paid too much... don't pay them. Salaries aren't determined by difficulty or how "dirty you get", they're determined by what the market rate is. Every single citizen contributes to the market rate by his choices of how to spend his money. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Burnquist, as has been pointed out. Mat Hoffman who is arguably the best BMX vert rider alive (and has been since he was 16), is also a semi-current skydiver... he used to do BASE jumps on his bike in Norway, and I read something he wrote about getting recurrent so he could jump with Burnquist. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Better yet, how about I tell you how the word extreme began being used in this context and why I hate it. For a real definition of the word, consult a dictionary. There are many sports such as surfing, skateboarding, BMX, motocross, etc that have existed for decades on their own accord, long before sports were described as "eXtReMe!!!@!@!@". I called them (and still do) progressive sports. It wasn't until the 90's when ESPN started the "eXtreme games" that the word began being thrown around as it is today. Myself and the other participants of the sports I was active in at the time (skating and BMX) found the word and the public's use of it laughable... it was painfully obvious the word was intended as a marketing ploy and nothing less. Within months after the inception of the X games, you could buy extreme tacos, extreme dinosaurs, and extreme clothing. Everything you need to make the average gen X (get it?) couch potato feel like an athlete and belong to another trend. So where's the poll option for "I would never use that word, in that context, in the same sentence as skydiving"? About the biggest kicker ever was when I was reading a review of some skateboarding video game, and the writer criticized the sport of skateboarding for "being responsible for the birth of the extreme culture". I sent him a nice long letter explaining the difference between skateboarding and ESPN, and pointing out that skateboarding did not simply spring into existence several years ago like ESPN's contests. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

This post, and all the others here, have given the word "selfish" a negative connotation. I think that in itself is a major flaw. I am not suggesting that it should have a positive connotation. I am saying that the word selfish does not inherently mean good or bad. Yes, suicide can be a selfish act. Do you know what the word selfish means? It means making a choice with yourself in mind rather than others. Do you realize what the world would be like if no one considered his own emotions, only those of others? For the moment, I am not referring to suicide - I am simply trying to lift the negative connotation from the word selfish. And yes, I do understand that the opposite world would be just as horrendous - where people care only about their own emotions. All choices can be selfish, selfless, or somewhere in between. A selfish choice can be a wonderful one (the choice to divorce the wife who has cheated on you 15 times but still says she loves you), and a selfless choice can be a horrible one (the choice to donate all of your paycheck to charity, every week, until you starve to death). Certain choices are more justifiably selfish. With regards to suicide, in all cases but one, we have the right to be selfish. We did not ask for life, nor did we ask to live on this earth. We have the right to change that whenever we want, and we don't have an obligation to anyone to endure pain for their sake. The one exception is when you have children - you have started a life and created an obligation for yourself to nurture that life. By ending your life you make it impossible to fulfill that obligation. If anyone thinks the above sounds heartless, it's intended to be - free of emotion that is, laid out logically. But for what it's worth, I have been near suicide before and the only thing that prevented me from the act was the pain I knew it would cause my mother. The desire for the act was entirely selfish, which I say as a statement of virtue. By the way, catfishhunter, when you say that suicide is a selfish act intended to "punish" others, you negate yourself. If something is intended to affect the emotions (positive or negative) of others, it is done with THEM in mind (selfless). If it is intended to affect your own emotions (positive or negative), it is done with YOU in mind (selfish). You described suicide as a "fuck you" to everyone (as Michele put it) with no legitimate personal desire for escape from pain... which is actually the description of an entirely SELFLESS act... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm at work and don't wanna D/L 29MB... I'm assuming it's a freefly vid with Cohen in the soundtrack? What song? I'm guessing by the Shrek title maybe it's Hallelujah? Wainwright's version? Jeff Buckley's is way better. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

33 on 8, 34 on 2. 33*8+34*2+70=372? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Nope. Count them. You're off by 30. Ltdiver's picture is correct. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

If it was the retrospective episode it was probably a joke or a temporary residence. Just my guess. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I *very* highly doubt it. I have every episode from this season on my PC, and have watched them all and didn't see it. Besides the fact that it goes against a fundamental Simpsons rule. Tell me which episode and when. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Take a picture of the monorail for me. I believe there are people out there stupid enough to buy into this stuff, but I can't believe anyone with this kind of money to spend would be so dumb. It takes intelligence to make money, usually at least. www.WingsuitPhotos.com