Zeppo

I'd like to plan a trip to the UK (London Area) late this summer, are there any boogies that I should consider planning my vacation around? I pretty much just plan on going there to Skydive, so any suggestions/recommendations are welcome.

I just got the offer today...I'm so happy.

Well then I'm just an idiot if that's the case . But it still shows that the government can't regulate shit. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

What's happening in BC? According to smiles above "Whatever, BC fallers are at high risk for incidents in BC...re: falling is a high risk job. The government decided that falling had to be regulated...all fallers in the province now have to become certified before they can be hired. The cost of this regulation ended up back in the fallers pockets as they have to pay yearly now to be certified. The point: falling incidents have increased significantly since the government took over regulation. Does this indicate that the government regulation has improved the risk of incidents with certified safety training??????????? " If this is what we should expect around Canada, then I think I'll move to the US. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

I'll take the letter from Tim Grech, modify it for my own words and send it off. I think that even a couple hundred skydivers opposing it, would likely outway the citizens supporting it. I think that it is only being pushed by a few people, and a tragic accident. What's happening in BC is exactly what I don't want to have happen elsewhere. As I can only assume from past events, Government Involvement can only lead to disaster. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Fixed the link. You're right in that a complete understanding of the changes do need to be made, and I will be reading it tomorrow when I have more time. (I posted it for others information at this point) My primary concern, at this point anyway, is that I do not want the government responsible for regulating the sport. This could too easily turn it into a political game to threaten our entire sport. It's true that they could likely cause havoc for us anyway if they really wanted to, however, by giving them control, we are thereby allowing them to easily make changes (most likely to the detrement of the sport). It may be from personal political beliefs, but the less the government is involved in anything the better...That said, I can't really argue with a single law that states that all parachuting activities must be conducted under the rules and regulations of the National Parachuting Association. But I'm not a lawyer, and don't really know what I'm saying. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

I got the same letter in my e-mail. Some links here may help others understand the situation. http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=a5067d74-58f0-497e-aa1e-c5760e4db329 And http://www.tc.gc.ca/civilaviation/RegServ/Affairs/carac/NPAs/GOFR/Archives/sep99/1999148.htm Although I do understand that they are trying to make the sport safer, I don't think that the government are the best people to do that. The particular incident that sparked this regulation was due to an Fatality at a non-CSPA dropzone. I think that any CSPA member dropzone is quite capable of keeping our sport safe, it's these other dropzones that, technically, are not bound by any sort of rules when it comes to training, they can do as they wish. Although I don't want the Government regulating our sport, I think we should do something about these non-CSPA DZ's that can cause harm to our image, or worse yet, preventable fatalities. All those that are apposed to the regulation, should write a letter to the aforementioned individuals. I'm certain that with enough Canadian Voters speaking out against this regulation, it will quickly be set aside. Considering that this particular matter was previously reviewed in May 2005, so simply rever to their previous decision, and let the sport remain self governed. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

I heard they were doing a hard drive replacement...maybe that's the reason, but I thought that was last week Hopefully they'll be back up soon. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

24 1st Jump...AFF. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Ususally pull between 3 and 3.5 so no worries, and it been recommended that once I'm under a good canopy, to turn off the FXC, I'm likely going to start doing that once the new season starts. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

My gear used to be old student gear too...so it's got a few thousand jumps on it What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Thanks for your input. I'll keep jumping it for now, and have a master rigger see if he can clean it up. You guys have given some things to think about. Thanks. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

With all this talk of agressive downsizing, comments about listening to your instructors, and comments from other experienced skydivers has really got me thinking. I'm currently jumping a PD260 (I'm 230lbs exit). I'm having alot of fun with it. Everyone tells me that I need to downsize, instructors tell me to downsize, even high profile canopy course instructors tell me to down size, but honestly, I don't really want to. I also have a very old vector rig (DOM '94) with a FXC. The rig seems to work just fine, however, It's getting old, and shoddy looking, and honestly, I'd feel more comfortable in a newer rig. My instructors are telling me to not bother buying a new container for a 260 as I'll just get bored with it shortly and want to downgrade. I don't have alot of money, and can't just run through new (or used for that matter) complete systems all the time, but I'd like a new container so I at least feel better about the harness itself. The only real disadvantage I can see is that by continuing to use a 260, I may not get penetration on higher wind days, and thus be grounded. What do you think? Is it really possible to actually get bored under canopy? It is worth while for me to buy a new container for a 260, or should I wait a year or so and downgrade? (I hope this doesn't look like I'm trying to start anything, I just value a variety of opinions) Thanks. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Your not alone...I'm only an extreme sport junkie. although I'll be partying with a bunch of women in montreal, so I suppose that's a reasonable tradeoff to skip football What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Montreal! Parties...booze...sex...what more could you ask for. I just happen to have this place on my mind...I'm going there tomorrow What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Here Here! It can be difficult to choose the lessor of two evils...or even worse, voting cause you heard his name on TV. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Last year a spammer was arrested in South Korea. It was alleged that he used botnets to send 18 Million spams/day. $18,000 a day if he got only 1 cent per spam. No wonder spammers are so persistent. And yep, you can't stop the spam unless you get a new email address. All you can do is filter it as well as possible. Even $0.01 is conservative. I worked for an e-mail marketing company (a more legit one) that charges $0.25USD per e-mail sent. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Companies can actually charge a few pennies each e-mail...now when your sending thousands of e-mails a day...that's alot of money. The E-mail advertising is a mixed one. If you get a regular e-mail from Circuit City, with sales advertisements and other announcements, typically, the remove button does work. The other type (and far more annoying type) is a method to generate e-mail lists. What companies do, is send out a bunch of e-mail that can say anything (from make your penis 50% larger, or click here to show support for our troops overseas) pretty much anything to get you to click. Once they confirm that your e-mail address is live, they sell it to a more legit company who will then try to advertise to that e-mail address. (while also providing a functioning "Remove" button) Mostly though, it's just like in the past with junk snail mail...just throw it away, or in the case of e-mail, just mark that e-mail address as junk, and you'll never have to worry about them again. In the future, if any suspect site asks for an e-mail address, and you think its fishy, just give them a e-mail address that you setup just for that purpose, that you ignore otherwise, then you can help avoid unwanted junkmail in your actual e-mail box. Don't really know if I helped answer your question or not. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

First off, I would not recommend any sort of angel investor for any business venture, unless you're truely willing for it to be a partnership. Most standard investors want equity for their investment, something I highly recommend you don't give up. Is this a small venture (less than $20 mil)? Do your best to get a variety of small business loans to help fund the business at start. What I did once was send out about 20 different loan applications, and I was able to raise about $150,000, in numerous small amounts (10k, here, 30k, there) Business development communities are also a way to get funds (with a sound business plan). I don't really know how much money you need, so the best approach may vary, but simply, I don't recommend an angel investor. You could consider, however, if the business warrents it, venture capital, your banker or accountant will be able to direct you to local sources for venture capital. (but even they will want a equity kicker, be careful on the agreement you sign with capitalist) What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

I absolutley love incense. The sweet scent of Jasmine in the air just does it for me in too many ways What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Here I am, surfing dz.com, doing my best to avoid work, and what do I see, but my company's logo on the side of the aircraft. Go Figure What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

We Canadians aren't too shy about cold weather either . I just went there expecting nice warm weather, day and night, and I nearly froze my nuts off the first night. I got about 3 hours sleep overall. I had 26 jumps from a cessna dropzone when I first went there, and I didn't have a problem. The only new thing was the amount of traffic, but if you pay attention, then that won't be a problem. The main issue that I see is that 200ways will ground airplanes as they wait for people. with 20ways or less, they can use one aircraft, anytime there needs to be more than one, you can expect some delays. If you happen to squeeze in on a load with the 200 way, you'll definitely need to watch out for traffic. But quite simply the best way to avoid traffic...pull high. I've never been to a bigway camp, so maybe some experts will have better advice. What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

camping out tips...I just have one. Camp Warm. It bit me in the ass over christmas, I was blown away at how cold it can get throughout the night, and get so nice during the day. Make sure your sleeping bag can handle the cold. An air mattress will likely be a good idea too. Good Luck, have fun. Where you going...Skydive City??? What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

Thanks for all the advice. I'll keep using the fxc, as I save money for a new rig, and cypress. Blue Skies What goes up, must come DOWN!!!

UPDATE!! I just got a message from my rigger, and he doesn't even think that my rig can hold a cypres. So it's back to my original thought, shall I keep the FXC, or take the change, and take it out??? What goes up, must come DOWN!!!