nacmacfeegle

Staso, check out Sunpath's web site, they have a sizing guide which tells you what fits. www.sunpath.com click on sizing..... Looks like you need a J3 for the Tempo and that's a tight fit. maybe have to go J4 for that all important Cypres. Any probs, phone them, they are pretty helpful. D

Try this, www.brentfinley.com/packing2.htm Brent has some cool snaps, makes excellent ring sights, and is an all round good guy. D

I agree everything that Bill sez. Don't rush it, you've waited a year (2 1/2 for me when I came back into the fold) choose your weather as if you were a first timer. Apart from that, smile and relax, you will be apprehensive, but the fear soon fades, the demons are banished, and the smiles return. D.

Agreed, I've been editing Dv with PCs and firewire for over four years, but if a VCR has an S video socket, its more than likely an svhs unit which is reasonable quality. VHS is a more 'universal' medium than Dv.

Yeah, going to see it tonite, loved the books, read em heaps of times ages ago. At the end of the day, who dya want fending off the forces of darkness, spotty wee Harry Potter, or wise old Gandalf. time fer a straw poll?? D

Agree 100% with AA on this one. D

As Paul, said S-video is vid only, That said the S-video is a better quality picture. Firewire, IEE1394 etc is even better, but VCRs with firewire are gonna be costly.

"pm or email me if you want to chat with someone who's been there (the flat on the back unable to move in extreme pain part anyway...)" Goes for me too man, especially if things get you down around christmas....or even if you just wanna chat.... I'll tell you the story of the 36 hour flight from Aberdeen to Tauranga for my bro's wedding 2 weeks after I got out of the ortho unit, wayfarin' on warfarin. D

Dude, know exactly how you feel, I still have a titanium rod in my femur from something similar 5 years ago (bust my femur in two places). Ya gotta stop this "why?" shit, it happened, and your only gonna exacerbate the downer effect of the pain killers if you let these thoughts eat away at you. You can't afford this sort of thing to distract from your mission to get back. You (and I) screwed up, so just accept it, deal with it, dust yourself off and get on with it. Biggest advice I can give you is to do the physio....Otherwise it'll be a long road back to jumping. The saw bones that fixed me up said I'd never jump again, said I'd be lucky if I could even walk straight etc...Stoopid quack, didn't realise the strength of my resolve (or the strength of my friends' support and encouragement), 2 years on sticks, 4 ops, and 2 1/2 years later I was back on jump run, and things have just got better and better since then. Chin up bro, it could have been worse, they cut my rig off me as I lay gibbering in the field. Hell they even cut off my jump suit, my teva, my prized rugby shirt, my trousers, even my boxer shorts. Don't get hung up on the money spent either, of course its worth it man. A case of beer says we've not seen or heard the last of Pyke.... D

"chest mount isn't good for FF due to the burbles" Good and valid point Aggie, Pat Works suggests a wee bracket thing on the ring cover, similar to the Skykat wedge and used to have a DIY guide for it on his website. At a guess, the burble is only really gonna put you out by about 500 ft max. With most early F/F breaking off at around 5k, I don't think its that critical. IMHO really accurate altitude management is more important at pull time. ie its imprtant to pull at the planned height, not too low, and equally not too high. To me this (the time between break off and "minimum decision altitude") is the most critical part of freefall Personally, I supplement my wrist mount with two audibles (throwback from my 2-d camera flying days), but am considering the wedge thingy or similar. The chest mount should be ok if its pushed over to one side or the other, or it should be a simple mod to put the chest pad on the ring cover with some wide velcro straps. I'm low time sit/stand, but some of my drills have been doing alti checks between other moves (hey, it works for AFF!). Sooner or later you will have to start moving your arms about to take grips, geek etc, anyway..... 2 cents worth....for what its worth! D

Zennie, "Ugly Chick # 3.14 reporting for duty! " This number sounds awful close to PI to me.....

I ain't seen any 'Ugly Chicks' at the DZ in question... But then again, I'm an ugly guy, and nearly all chicks look cute to me. Also, everyone looks kinda strange in freefall, so its a great leveller.

What if..... It is fake, but faked by OBL to discredit the US/alliance......... Possibly as a last ditch 'I'm innocent' ploy. Personally I think its real tho.....

Amen.

Firstly, your concern for your son's safety is understandable, and commendable. Risk, in my business, is defined as a combination of hazards, and the probability of a hazardous situation occuring. We can't do an awful lot about the hazards (uncontrolled impact with a solid object being the primary concern), however the probability of realising these hazards is vastly reduced by using appropriate training and suitable equipment (modern skydiving gear is vastly more reliable than a harley). I specialise in safety management for oil and petrochemical installations, and in my experience, skydiving is a relatively safe activity. The safety culture within our sport is awsome, and far exceeds anything I have seen in the last 17 years of being a 'safety professional' in my industry. I stand by the advice and opions of the previous posters here. I would suggest that to put your mind at ease, visit the drop zone, and speak to the staff. I am sure you will find a professional attitude towards safety in our sport. Once you realise that the hazards in our sport are being effectively managed, you should be able to get a good night's sleep. The sense of cameraderie that exists in skydiving is truly impressive, we are like one great big international family, and we generally tend to look after each other. This family and sense of belonging transcends boundaries such sex, race, culture, religion, and geographical location. Ultimately nobody wants our family members to hurt themselves. If your son does decide to take up skydiving, rest assured he will be welcomed into this our family. D

Without a shadow of a doubt, the best place for new year partying is Scotland.......Tried loads of other places/countries and they just don't cut it. So that's where I'll be.

Here's my routine, check the rig prior to putting it on, get on the plane and relax, but be aware of the effects of movement, snagging etc. On jump run reach round and feel the reserve flap, then feel the pin and bridle etc under the main flap, then check your main handle to ensure the spandex hasn't swallowed or spat out the handle. With practise its easy peasy, you can also 'set up' a dodgy pin and see what that feels like, and practise recognising it...... Sooner or later yor gonna be on a load with nobody qualified to pin check you, eg a student load, with JM in the door and you at the back...... Works for me any way Cya Dv

"Q: Can blind people skydive? A: Yes, it's the seeing eye dog you're going to have a problem with." Its not a problem, just pull when the leash goes slack..... Yeah its an oldie, Sawree

Ben, if you are at Langar, look up Matt Law, he'll keep ya right on software and stuff, help get you started etc. And say hi to him from Dave Mck...

"two 40GB HDDs), which should be more suitable for the larger stuff." More than enough bro.....I only had about 10 gig available to me when I did the Brit100 thang, 8.4 gb was the largest available EIDE disc at that time..... If you get an ADS PCMCIA, and a matching Pyro card from the same outfit, you can use the Firwewire as a networking medium. IE The 20 gig on the laptop would kick some, but for big edits, you could transfer footage to the desktop. Don't forget to partition the disc on the Laptop. Say 8 gig system, and 12 for footage choonz etc. http://www.computervideo.net/ check out their self help message board, its really useful, and UK based. Good luck. D

And another thing, as you are in dear old Blighty, make sure that the camera you intend to use is in- enabled, ie it can receive DV input....A load of European cams have this function disabled, tax import duty and such like...rant rant rant.... Some camcorders can be hacked to enable this, see http://www.lynxdv.com/ for details etc. Also get hold of 'Computer Video' from the local newsagent, they have a website that will probably cover a load of your queries.

Oh BTW The Macs are better set up for this than a 'standard' windows PC, however, I have to use windoze for work stuff, and the laptop was kinda free to me.....

I use an IBM Thinkpad, quite old now, but it has a pentium 111 700mhz processor, 12 gig h/d. I use an ADS PCMCIA (www.adstech.com) card with Adobe Premiere 6, but you can use the supplied software that came with the card. I also have a Maxtor Firewire 40 Gb drive. All this works straight out of the box, and the laptop is used as an 'everyday' pooter running office/CAD/engineering apps. A whole heap better than lugging around my desktop system. Any probs, give me a shout, I've been editing on a pc for a while and can probably save you some pain.... Cya D.

Lots of good points here, and I would like to chuck in my tuppence worth.... I have over 800 jumps on my belly (but jump numbers don't mean shit unless they are in the relevant discipline right?), and have received all sorts of tips and coaching both paid, and unpaid. By far the most effective coaching I have ever received was the type we actually paid for, approached our coaches with a set of goals and objectives, and worked out a plan to achieve them. There are some good articles on getting the most from training/coaching etc on the web at the British mag site www.skydivemag.com (this magazine rocks by the way, and there's a lot of good stuff here). A good friend and mentor reckons he has spent over $6000 on coaching in his time, and still needs some (the guy is a world record holder and spent a lot of time at the very top of the sport in the UK, so keep the flames down folks). I was recently drawn to the dark side, and after about 30 jumps of flailing, zooming, and generally endangering myself and friends, I sought the help that I so desperately needed. One jump with video and stills from the resident coach (Eric B)at Spaceland and I believe my sit is basically sorted (still some fine tuning required though). I firmly believe that this is the way forward. As in belly RW, VRW with (good) video is worth at least 5 jumps without, in terms of learning, and a coached jump with video is worth even more. If the camera flyer is also a coach then all the better, he/she is right there keeping you straight. The coaching I got at Spaceland was professional, structured, effective, and covered things like gear safety, flying safety, exit order, mental approach, etc. The jump was pre-briefed and subsequently critiqued very professionally. In my opinion I got excellent value for money. In terms of progression vs money spent, Eric has saved me about 50 bucks, and I get a neat video and some snaps. On the other hand, we all want to jump with our friends, and bring on and develop newbies so we can have even more fun together (yeah fun, remember fun??). I've found that passing on free coaching and little tips, sneaks, secret stuff, etc is very rewarding, and can be challenging in its own right. However I am lucky to have a job that pays enough that I don't have to earn money from my jumping to support it. I have paid my own slot when jumping camera with newbies, low time 4 way teams, etc etc Why? cos its fun (that 'f' word again)..... But, I am very aware that for some people, filming, coaching etc is their livelihood, and that should be respected. At the end of the day, its your cash, you pays yer money, you takes yer chances......And you will know pretty qiuckly whether your coaching( whether paid for, or free) is being effective, and providing you with value for money, or helping you attain your goals. D "Never confuse activity with progress"

"I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to. " - Elvis Presley (1935-1977)