fonz

SkymonkeyONE> you ought to be able to upload a forum picture properly Hey? It used to work... SkymonkeyONE> Yours is broken Probably happened during moving to the new server? SkymonkeyONE> so FIX IT NERD! Should be fixed now. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven

> Email: > > [snip] but was quickly exploited by hackers I suggest you use the word cracker instead of hacker... > In general, DO NOT accept ANY attachment Once your mail messages have been fetched from the server, you've already accepted them. I think opening is a better word. > Email forwards: > > [snip] In reality, hotmail is doing this English is not my native language, but I think that "this" is referring to the wrong thing. You probably mean Hotmail does terminate idle accounts, but the way I read it, it looks like you're suggesting that Hotmail sends out these chain letters. You're making a good point here, though! [trophy] > File Types: > > [snip] The most common types are .jpg .jpeg .gif .bmp .pcx Similar remark. One might think you're suggesting that .jpg etc. are the dangerous file types. "The most common PICTURE types" is a lot clearer, I think. These are just some small remarks. Overall, you wrote a good story. Things may be simplified, but at first glance I can't spot any real incorrectnesses. Just trying to be helpful, Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven

freeflir29> Of course, a 360 is much faster than a 180 Being just a mere not-yet-qualified-to-swoop sheep, forgive me for this stupid remark, but I once read (I think it was in the Book of Canopy Control or something) that any turn over 90 degrees doesn't yield any significant increase in speed. Now what's the deal with that? Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven

Slowfaller> until you get paid to skydive Now how does one get to that situation?

Maybe a little late (after a dentist visit, I spent an entire afternoon wishing I was dead ), but here's my 2 cents anyway: Personally, I don't find the given heights (3,000 ft. opening and 1,700 ft.steerable canopy) terribly nerveracking, but that's just me. The most important point is that your friend was highly uncomfortable with those heights. I think that the AFF J/M took the wrong person to "have fun" with. I doubt it was her intention to scare your friend. But from an AFF J/M, you'd expect a better judgement of whom you can and cannot do such things with. Anyway, when confronted, she (the JM) was way out of line if you ask me. Although she just wanted to play (I think), she scared the friggin' hell out of your friend with that stunt. An apology and a couple of beers seem more in place than getting angry with your friend. I must admit that nobody ever did something like that to me, though. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven

3fLiEr> So I am looking for a DZ to come to next year in the states You been to Perris yet? Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven

edid> I have tried typing in www.rec.skydiving and other internet derivatives [ARROGANT NERD MODE ON] It seems to me that you don't know what the word "Internet" really means. Not something to be too ashamed about, since you're not the only one. Far from that. The word Internet simply refers to this global computer network that allows for several services. The best-known service is the WWW (World Wide Web). many people call this the internet, but that's not correct: there's more to the Internet than just WWW. In fact, the Internet is older than the WWW. Other services offered by the Internet include (but are not limited to) e-mail, Usenet, FTP and Gopher. Officially, a URL looks like protocol://something. For example, http://www.dropzone.com (the http:// indicates WWW), ftp://ftp.freebsd.org (the ftp:// indicates FTP), mailto://[email protected] (the mailto:// indicates e-mail), news://rec.skydiving (the news:// indicates Usenet) file://usr/src/kern/panic.c (the file:// indicates a local file) telnet://krypton.liacs.nl (the telnet:// indicates Telnet) To make things even more difficult, URLs may contain all sorts of tags, like port numbers, passwords and lots more. But let's not go there now. If the protocol:// thingy has been omitted, it can sometimes be very hard to figure out what you're looking at. Below are some guidelines, but keep in mind that they are not foolproof. Something saying www.whatever is usually a WWW address. Something saying ftp.whatever is usually an FTP address. Something with a @ sign in it is most likely an e-mail address Something saying rec.whatever is usually a Usenet address. Something saying comp.whatever is usually a Usenet address too. Something saying alt.whatever is usually a Usenet address too. Something with an IP address in it (e.g. 192.168.0.1) is usually a Telnet or WWW address. When people say rec.skydiving, then news://rec.skydiving is what they usually mean. So, we just found out that rec.skydiving is a Usenet address. Now, what is Usenet? Before WWW got big, Usenet was one of the main uses of the Internet. It's kinda like this forum. Usenet contains co-called newsgroups. There's a newsgroup for just about anything you can think of. TV series, sports, rock bands, ways of sex that you never knew existed and all sorts of psycho-yadda. A quick check reveals that my news server "feeds" over 14,000 newsgroups. A newsgroup is sort of a message board. Anyone can post a message to a newsgroup and anybody can read the posted messages. Just like you need a browser to surf the WWW, you need a client program to read (and write to) newsgroups. Netscape (or Netsheep as I call it) and Micro$oft Outlook can do this, but there are better options. Especially Outlook is a particularly poor choice, for it's filled with bugs and security holes and because it rapes many common standards. Anyway, one piece of advice: don't immediately start posting messages everywhere. Many people on Usenet are very touchy when it comes to standards and netiquette and are quick to flame whoever disobeys the rules. Take some time to find out about the particular do's and don't in a certain newsgroup. Note that most newsgroups despise HTML messages (use plain ASCII instead!). Attachments are generally NOT welcome anywhere on Usenet, except for specially dedicated newsgroups. If your newsgroup has a FAQ, read it. Asking common questions usually only yields replies like "Read the f***ing FAQ, you stupid newbie!". Pay attention to the way people quote each other (use the > thingies rather than the Outlook style). And I think a short warning is in place here: the folks at rec.skydiving are an, ehm... special bunch. They tend to be extremely unfriendly towards newbies. There's many contradicting opinions. Some people will try and give serious, useful and sincere advice while other peoples' advice can be just f***ing dangerous. There's a lot of flaming and inside chat going on and spam is common as well. Realize that rec.skydiving is a long way from representing your average skydiving community. Don't get me wrong, there are some very friendly and sensible people there, but I think the group is being spoilt by a significant number of complete morons. [ARROGANT NERD MODE OFF] Hope I clarified some things, but looking at the length of this post, I doubt it :-) Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven

FallinWoman> what is yours? The instructors at Perris drilled 2,500 ft. into my head. But then again, that was of course with the relatively high main activation altitudes (4,500ft. - 5,000 ft.) of AFF dives in mind. I currently use 1,500 ft. I don't adjust the decision altitude when opening higher. I just allow myself more time to assess and remedy the situation. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven

I have a continuous and fast connection here at the university. So, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know. Mind you, though, that I live in central Europe, which is 9 hours later than Pacific Standard Time. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven

Kelly> Hell has frozen over~ ive finally figured out how to create a website!! Whoohoo! Way to go, congrats gal. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven

flyhi> Do you think it's a coincidence that the two most famous things to be produced at Berkeley were 1) the UNIX operating system and 2) acid? The former is called BSD, the latter LSD. Coincidence? Nah, prolly not :-) I'm only a BSD fanatic though; no LSD. Guess that makes me a wimp. Alphons

jfields> MS Exchange 5.0 server Sorry pal. I don't do Microsoft stuff. Blue screens, Alphons

michele> Worry not, I am not offended. Pfew! michele> I am not a small person, I know. I've been at Perris, remember... Alphons

Hi Peter, First: going from a Sabre-clone 190 to a Stiletto 150 seems like a pretty radical step to me. Of course, it's your ass hanging under the canopy and you have more experience than I do... Second: when you go skysurfing, make sure to get competent coaching. Don't simply start jumping with a board all by yourself! Good luck, Alphons

sangiro> Keep the faith. It's coming. Okay, thanks! Alphons

Thanks! Alphons

Since I can't give you any real beer, the URL below will have to do. Sorry I can't do any better. http://www.tobp.com/humor/index.shtml Alphons P.S. The reason? I just got in my 50th post so I'm off Newbie status :-))

kevin922> Well what format can i export for your viewing pleasure? If y'ask me: mpeg. Alphons

Michele> you may not ask what I am loading at! Ok already, I won't ask again :-) Michele> except to say I am still under 1:1 Yeah, I already figured that out :-) Look, I didn't mean to pressurize you or anything. You should jump what you're comfortable with, whether that means loading at 0.5 or at 4.0! I was merely trying to imagine what you meant by responsive. If I have upset you, I hereby apologize sincerely. For what it's worth: I'm not loading heavily either (yet!). The only difference is that I actually enjoy responsiveness and radical turns. Anyway, keep writing those stories! I love them. Sorry, Alphons

riggerrob> At Pitt Meadows, most jump runs are to the West. Is it common practice that at a certain DZ most jumpruns are in a particular direction? Alphons

Would it be possible to make some sort of arrangement that allows us to remotely fetch our dz.com e-mail, e.g. POP or forwarding or something? I'm sure this has been suggested many times before, but I couldn't find any "NO and here's why not" in the F.A.Q. Blue skies, Alphons

Michele, Another great story! Some thoughts: If someone has 'door-anxiety' (I can't think of a better word, sorry), is it normal to have them sit next to the door then? I still remember when I had the same fear. It wasn't at all pleasant! I can understand your friend thinking "Oh screw it, I'm not jumping!" Around level VI or VII, somehow I suddenly lost this fear but I still remember how scared I used to be. I think it's good for you to have jumped somewhere other than Perris for a change. It's very nice to see some change in scenery every now and then and meet other people. As I read your story, it seems like you're getting more comfortable under canopy. Good thing! Just to get an idea, may I ask what wing load you are flying? Alphons

1) 12,500 ft. 2) 3,000 ft. 3) Flipping on my back at pulltime. 4) For lack of anything "better": see 3. 5) A good delta/track and nice landings. 6) Nope. 7) n/a 8) n/a 9) See below. Ad 1: Gee. I really ought to knock in a couple of hop&pops next time I go jumping! Ad 2: I still gotta learn how to pack. The way my canopy is packed for me, it opens so slow that I don't feel like pulling any lower than 3,000 ft. Besides, I think 3,000 ft. is low enough if you don't have your license yet. Ad 3: See my post in the 'Lazy Pulls' thread in the 'Safety and Training' forum for the full story. Ad 5: I guess finally getting rid of that backslide of mine would be somewhat of a kick, too. Alphons (oh I like surveys and polls)

I don't have my own gear yet either, but I've been orientating myself lately. Please don't hesitate to correct me if I'm wrong on any of the following! First, I don't think that any container is generally "bad". If that were the case, nobody would buy it. Add to that the bad publicity and the manufacturer will be out of business in no-time. It is true, however, that there are a lot of different containers out there. With different features, for different kinds of bodies and different kinds of skydiving. I think that one can't a priori say what would be the best container for you. I think you will have to demo a couple of different containers to find out which one(s) work(s) best for you and for the kind of jumping you do. Most modern sport canopies will fit most modern sport containers. The only catch is that the sizes must match. Particular canopies come in a range of different sizes, as do particular containers. For example, there's small Javelins and big ones, as well as there are smaller Sabres and bigger ones. Obviously, a large Sabre won't safely fit into a small Javelin (in fact, I doubt if it will fit at all, omitting the word safely). Do you already have a main and reserve canopy (or at least know which ones you want)? Just my 2 cents, Alphons

That's exactly the originator's point. But I know for a fact that some DZs tell their students to always track in a fixed direction (is it just me or is this usually across the runway?). How do they get away with that? Are the jump runs mostly in a fixed direction as well? If so, does that mean that the upper winds are mostly in a fixed direction too? Or is it just that they think it's easier for students to determine which way is across the runway than which way is across jump run? Sorry to be such a bother with all those questions :-) Alphons