Jasmin

I've come to the conclusion that my other half is right: some people should never BASE jump and no amount of money, training, or enthusiasm will change that, especially in Australia. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

A few years I was waiting in line at the post office at my uni, when a guy walked in and asked if someone was missing their wallet, as he'd found one. Nobody came forward and he left it with the clerk, but before he could walk out the door a girl handed him an envelope he'd dropped- he'd dropped his paycheck walking into the post office. Good things do happen, but honesty (much like good manners) seems to be getting so much rarer and its very saddening! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I know less about explosives than I do about Tasers, so if anyone knows better, please correct me. But here's my hypothetical- if the person is a suspected or known bomber, taking them down with a Taser is one of the worst things the police can do. You take an explosive substance that is triggered by current, not heat (eg c4?), add a 50,000 volt charge from a Taser, and you just might get an undesired big BOOM! Please correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't force or shots be a smarter alternative to Taser's in this instance? I am not promoting the use of lethal force, but a disabling shot/shots (instead of say, 5-8 to the head) might be a better option than using a Taser that might very well set any explosives off. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Thank goodness. I prefer skydive nutcases, to just plain paranoid nutcases!! At least I know skydivers have a life!! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Wow, thanks for the compliment, but I don't quite think I count until I get my "A" sorted out and some serious jump numbers up.... Edited to add: Look out Europe, here I come!!! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Aussie BASE has had a pretty crappy 18 months in terms of losing jumpers, so I'm not sure we're a good example. But the injury rate is getting pretty similar (swoop numbers are going up) and we've lost a few jumpers swooping too. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I'm going to get so much shit for this, but I'm voting for Livia Dickie. Its nice to see a female jumper give the boys a run for their money on accuracy, aerials and consistency, not to mention she's an Aussie and can hack it in the dodgiest of conditions. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

It sounds like you guys got lucky. Edited to add: The judge was nice and dismissed other charges, but not even a first place in accuracy at the worlds was enough to get p.e. dismissed for one particular jumper here. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I'm with you on this one Jaap. The charges in Australia are also slightly different to the states. eg Public endangerment, tresspass, endangering oneself in a national park without a permit. If you have/want a job that has a high degree of responsibility, public endangerment convictions do not go down well.... xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I'm bringing Aussie Jimmy Freeman with me, so I don't dare to think what those two will get up to!!! Now there's one wingsuit jump I'd looooooove to film! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Dude WTF??? Did you even read my post, or your own? The rumour I was referring to said the Israelis were warned by Scotland Yard, so by your whacked out logic, that means they did it!??? It is highly likely that a number of general warnings had been made about possible attacks on the UK/London, due to the G8 Summit and the Olympics announcement. As that embassy has been threatened and attacked previously, it wouldn't surprise me if such general warnings were passed on to their security section. The bit I don't get, is that you seem to earnestly believe that issuing a threat warning to an embassy equates to that embassy being the perpetrators of the attacks/threat!!!?? Like I said before, WTF???? If I want to spend time responding to illogical, fear-driven paranoia, I'll speak to my goddaughter about the monsters she's convinced live under her bed, not continue to waste further band-width contributing to this illogical debate. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Isn't that the cliff JT and McConkey did? Watched it last night. Very cool stuff. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

My french is non-existent once more, so I'm getting lessons from some coworkers, so I'll try in a few weeks. Thanks for your help! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I've got a few days in Paris before I head accross to Grenoble, up to Chambery and from there down to Verdun. We've got a car and five days to spare, so I don't mind doing a little driving... xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Thanks for the advice, I think I might try for the Gap... I'd head to Nagambie, they've got a PAC XL750...its a nice new plane, but its got a low tailplane, so make sure you've cleared the tail before you inflate, see Incidents Forum for more details. Nice Dz, great CI, good wingsuiter there called Darren. (He's on these forums as Jiggs). xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

As I said: Look forward to seeing it. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Truth is not black and white, Cliff. Belief in a person or group's view on "Truth", can be perverted just as easily as religion, politics or any other ideology. I agree Michele. Conspiracy theories tend to be emotionally charged, illogical takes on small facts of little significance. They promote the "truth" of a position/ideology, whilst ignoring the bigger picture. eg The Israeli’s knew about the London attacks. To believe, with no source other than gossip, that a group other than the perpetrators had direct knowledge of the specifics of this attack, is illogical. If you apply cool-headed logic to it, it’s pretty easy to come to the conclusion that if Scotland Yard were supposedly issuing warnings, it was either too general to be useful or identified a different group as the target. eg the Israelis. A general warning is all well and good, but they rarely give you specifics detailed enough to prevent them or to effectively protect people from them. ie where, when, what and how. I might give it some credence if the rumour was that an intelligence group gave a general warning to the Israelis about a threat made of an attack during the G8 summit, or even the threat of an attack that day. But Scotland Yard would have to be pretty damn incompetant, to give the Israelis a direct warning of the specifics of the attacks and then fail to identify that the ensuing explosions were that threat being implemented! Scotland Yard are not that incompetant and intelligence experts repeatedly state that intel on clandestine attacks is rarely that clear. xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Any recommendations of where to go in Aug/Sept this year? xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Seen 2 out of that 3… Am hoping to see Robi at the Swiss B. Boogie. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm hoping we’ll see Robi and Jimmy give Luic a good run for his money down that slope.... I agree with Tom, good luck beating Denis' record without actually landing it or dying trying…which incidentally, Dwain would have said doesn't count! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I've seen someone other than Luic, have to fly around trees, as they were still in freefall at the time. It makes great footage, but I no longer consider that to be insanely low (for them). I'm guessing Luic has been up to his usual awesome antics, so I'd like to know what you classify as 'insanely low'? xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

I reached Guillaume. Thanks everyone! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Sorry people, I know this is not a paging service... Jimmy and I are trying to find Guilleme Victor-Thomas of foolpix.com fame. Anyone got any ideas? A phone number would be really nice, but I'll settle for a current e-mail address! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Break your tailbone... Edited to add: Or get hit by a car, see tagline. It hurt like hell, but they gave me no end of scripts for that one after I truthfully whinged about the lack of effect! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Mwaaaahaaaahaaa!! Nice one bruva! Hope its one hell of a tandem for 5 million euro!!!Although if they put the usual Red Bull spin on it, it'll be touted as the most extreme thing anyone has even undertaken in the history of mankind, blah, blah, blah.... xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

Yep, they'll all tell her to give it a go! Not a bloody chance!!! Edited to add: Well I wouldn't...but there's always one!! xj "I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."