bertusgeert

They are a labor intensive product with an extraordinarily limited market. Try making one from scratch and see how long it takes you. Then multiply how much you value your time by the time it took you to make it. $200 isn't bad. Ok, fair point - it's a volume issue to divide the fixed costs by. For my own edification - can you guys who have been around tell me when a helmet proved it's worth? I understand slamming yourself unconscious in the plane, but is it really that dangerous to jump without one? --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

As Seinfeld said: "I don't understand why skydivers wear helmets...once you jumped out of the plane, the helmet is not wearing YOU for protection!" Why are skydiving helmets so expensive? On average, anything but a Pro-Tec is $200+!! Googling Motorcycle or Ski helmets and you get a whole range of options along the price spectrum - from cheap-worth-nothing's all the way to super expensive. And those are sports where most times the helmet proves it's point, it's serious and actually protects. Skydiving helmets on the other hand are not made for high-speed collisions as much as bumping your head on exit or attaching a camera. What possible reasons are there for the absence of sub $200 helmets?! (other than price-fixing?) --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

An interesting viewpoint, but I don't agree. Government and regulations is an invention of the people for the people. Making sure everyone drives on the same side of the road isn't limiting freedom - it's preventing serious consequences & deaths. There are also other regulations that do the opposite - inhibit freedom without benefit to the governed. Preventing someone from using a camera to snap a picture limits freedom with some, but marginal safety increase. Setting up traffic rules for approach & landing is a definite need and I will gladly obey whatever regulation is best. Unrelated - I'm curious as to just how and why the FAA has kept it's eyes, hands & powers out of this sport... --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

Well said. Dave, not to take your statements lightly, it makes a very good noteworthy point - but if I invested my life savings with Madoff, and lost it all, because there was no invasive regulation to stop it, should we add or adjust regulation to stop "sophisticated $200MM+ net worth individuals" from blowing themselves up? If someone goes jumping with a handheld wind-up one-use plastic camera at jump 50, should we tell them NO, because it's 200 jumps for camera jumps now because other people got distracted? Should other people's mistakes now stop me from doing something that doesn't involve a lot of (inherent) risk at all? It's easier to make the SIM thicker and thicker every year, than to make it better. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

Nothing can beat one of the original flash mobs - sudden dancing is just not the same as the shock of the guy at the very end of this video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPYiS5ebGgk --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

I offered my girlfriend a caramel one the other day, after saving it for a week until she was there to taste the unimaginable. She didn't like it..... We are no longer together. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

It may be a great story. It may be funny as all hell when told properly. But the monotone, badly timed computer generated Xtranormal "telling" of it sucked. Badly. Look up Gilbert Godfried's telling of the "Aristocrats" joke for a really good example of this sort of story. It's not that funny of a story, but it's the way he tells it that makes it great. I'm not going to link it because it will just get deleted due to content. That was terrible...why didn't I stop listening the moment I heard him talking about the dad unzipping his pants.....?! --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

This all sounds good in theory, but whenever you get enough altitude with any of these activities, you're going to start itching for speed....straight down! --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

[If this needs to be moved, feel free to move it, thanks.] Here's something to discuss & debate. Americans, especially, love their "freedom". They are some of the biggest "free market" proponents. Recent times however, have shown the dangers inherent in a free market. Boiled down and simplified, the populace want their cake and to eat it too - free markets and the prosperity resulting from lack of impeding regulations, and no consequences like recessions and depressions. I can't blame them, economists over the last 100 years have done a fantastic job of understanding how to manage a low inflation, yet productive economy - it's not an unreasonable expectation. In financial markets, we are now at a regulatory flex-point; there will be much more regulation. In my opinion, it's good - but only if the regulation is designed correctly - otherwise it does more harm than good. I say all this, because we have quite the set of self-imposed regulations in skydiving (and BASE) as well. Just like the markets, this is in the interest of the best outcome: avoiding bad consequences due to a lack of regulation while having as much fun as possible. Compare today with 50 years ago. I remember meeting and talking to one of the first recreational skydivers, who at 25 jumps, was considered an "expert in the field" back in the day. There were no regulations preventing camera jumps... in fact I remember a story of him jumping with a huge heavy camera that had it's own parachute, somewhere around 30 jumps. Today, you need 200 jumps just to begin camera jumping. Is it our job to stop Darwin's Theory? Should we, every time someone does something stupid, place a rule against it? Too many rules certainly limits the amount of fun you can have, and the amount of money you have to spend to get to a level where you can enjoy the "right" to do x,y,z fun activity. Night Jumps. Base jumping. Exhibition jumps. Camera Jumping. Wing-suits. In America, we love our freedom. Are we self-imposing too much regulation? Do we need more? Or is the USPA doing a perfect job? One last thing....keep it civil. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

I just made the switch the Excel 2010. I love some things, and I hate some things. My main issue is this - I rely heavily on inter-worksheet Vlookups, which in 2003 stayed relative when I changed columns in my source. in 2010, every time (vlookup or not) I change a source file, the reference is lost. There must be a setting somewhere.... Other than that I'm pissed I can't navigate the filter solely with my keyboard anymore - I am now forced to go slow and click and unclick #N/A's etc. Thanks for messing up my expediency & flow, Microsoft.... --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

I know this doesn’t help you in this particular situation but for the future can’t you take a photo to assign to a phone number? Now back to your current problem. Think really hard, did the “delicious hottie” have an adam's apple? Ha! No. Yeah I think I'll do that next time. "Hey - stand right there let me take a picture, for tomorrow when I don't remember if you were worth remembering or not" ! and unfortunately I'm on a PC --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

I'm in need of a iPhone geek's wisdom. How about that for being an ass before soliciting help. Is it possible to know when you added someone's name into your iPhone? Saaaay, hypothetically, you go to the bar the night before, you meet some delicious hottie, get her number. But - the next day, for obvious reasons, you have no idea what her name is and how to tell it from the other nondescript names in your phone. Great. Then again, being that sauced, she may not have been all that, but how would you find out?! What to do... --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

That is, in fact, the only thing I use it for. You get much better, higher quality, more concise answers here than google or any wiki, and a bunch of sometimes lame, sometime hilarious jokes inbetween. Better than Google by a 416,666.667 feet --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

I heard somewhere (but who knows if it's true) that a SR-71 flying at top speed will take 15 minutes to make a 360 degree turn. What I do know is true is this: it flew from LA to DC (2300 miles) at a speed of 2,144 mph in 64 minutes, and from St. Louis to Cincinnati in 9 minutes --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

I guess you're right. The scientific answer, correct me if I'm wrong, is that as soon as you leave sea level, there will be minute differences between a straight line and the horizon. Only from absolute sea level will it be straight. So a man standing up in a boat in the ocean, with really really good eyes, should be able to see it. From there it's just a matter of perspective and judgment whether you actually could distinguish it, or you just think you can. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

I'm sure, with the use of wide lenses, many of you have encountered similar comments. Upon the posting of a picture of a friend, paragliding at what I would guess is 3000-4000 AGL, someone commented: "wow! you're so high up you can see the curve of the earth!" As I knew, this was due to the camera lens. But it got me thinking, and google doesn't provide a consistent answer either. So, at what point can you begin to see an obvious curve as you leave the globe for space above? I'm not talking about seeing a ship's mast disappear, I'm talking purely "putting a straight edge ruler to the horizon". Can you see it from a commercial airliner? a Blackbird? or do you have to be in a space shuttle? --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

Saw this and thought i'd share: http://www.snotr.com/video/5752 --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

I wanna do Corbet's. I look at it as being similar to someone saying - I wanna jump off a cliff with a parachute. There is a certain amount of good preparation to do before you undertake a risk. Especially one I don't really understand at this point. I've skied JHole before, and going again this winter. Not being there all the time, I'd like to give it a shot. What I'm wondering is, how do I know I'm ready to do it? I've dropped off some stuff before, but nothing crazy. I overheard someone in a parking lot below the crag say something the other day in passing to someone else "If you have to ask, you're not ready for it". Does that apply to Corbet's, or is it not such a big deal? --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

Just what I was looking for. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

Yeah I was wondering if I'd get an actual answer...I'll just keep on going along in ignorance for now. And maybe buy some Teach Me Mandarin Rosetta Stone for when I'm old. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

Like they need your permission? permission for what? --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

At the end of my highschool economics class, the teacher said - now you know more about economics than 95% of all Americans. After a degree in finance and one in economics, there are still some things that I scratch my head about. A lot actually. Here's one... A friend asked me the other day - if rural China is so poor, why does the Chinese government keep on investing in U.S. securities, and not their own rural development? My answer was, they surely do, but have to balance their expenditures and investments. But surely, with billions in surplus, they can spend more on aid? here's an interesting read, at least a browse of the first few pages is enlightening: http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/99496.pdf Disclaimer: This is not posted in Speaker's Corner because I'm not on a soapbox, or seeking to cause any voicing of political opinion, simply to discuss macro-economics. If it turns to a shouting match, feel free to move it. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

This is pretty cool... with advances in materials and nanotechnology, maybe one day we will fly ourselves to altitude, and do it like a peregrine falcon from there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpobKBR6n9U repost disclaimer: Haven't been reading a lot on here, so if this is a repost, just go get mad somewhere else. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

Yeah, definitely not an easy launch for a HG, and tricky for a paraglider. PG's are not allowed however. Apparently some guys were ticketed in the meadows for "kiting" (just practicing on the lawn) for "operating aircraft in a NP". Sounds like a guy I know who was kiting his paraglider in Central Park, and got a ticket from a cop for "flying an extremely large kite" --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

And don't move logs. Here's a fat log for the fire - were you guys aware that this is legal? (Yes, it's in Yosemite). --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei!