britboynz

I cut my networking teeth on NetWare a looong time ago (when Netware 2.15 and 3.11 was around...anyone remember SHGEN?!) and was one of the youngest CNE's in the UK at the time - I was 17 when I got my CNE

Dude, you are obviously spending waaay too much time on the net Im gettin thirsty for that beer ya know Russ

After a long hard weekend jumping and getting completely retarded on a big night out, today at work was always gonna be hard: [10am, day going sooo slowly. Still in recovery. A phone rings] Dude: hello could I speak to russ please? Me: errrrrrrr. Dude: congratulations sir, you've been selected out of the ballot for the British Lions rugby tour tickets. Me : Dude: um, hello?? Me:

As an expat Brit, I chose europeans. We can be stubborn, like the French. Classy, like the Italians. Fiercely proud, like the Spaniards and have a sense of humour, that is just BRITISH. There is no humour like Brit humour, the americans, aussies, kiwis just don't GET a lot of our jokes. I find the aussies more like the yanks, yet the kiwis more like the poms. Dunno about Canadians, never really met that many of em and have not yet lived in Canada. Russ AND GO THE LIONS!!! (I got 4 tickets in the draw WAAAHHHOOOOOO!)

Yep, same in NZ. Can't get 'married' over here, but from the end of April, same sex couples can have a 'Civil Union' (with exactly the same rights and responsibilities as a marriage). A lot of EU countries have already gone down this road, and allowed same-sex unions. The sky didn't fall in over there, so why would it in the states?

I have one too (S2 170) and i love it love it love it! Used to get occasional line twists / turns to the right on opening, but can put that squarely down to body position/what i was doing at opening time. My instructor (who is also my Jav dealer

She's obviously never flown on a plane that doesn't even *have* a door lol http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3247310a10,00.html PM feared for her life 13 April 2005 Prime Minister Helen Clark said she wondered whether she would "live or die" as her light plane made an emergency descent to Paraparaumu Airport this morning. Turbulence over the Kapiti Coast dislodged the front door of the chartered Piper Aztec, causing it to plunge rapidly. Miss Clark was reading her papers on the journey from Rotorua to Wellington when turbulence struck without warning. Her seat belt restrained her but she was still lifted out of her seat and slammed back, with her left elbow taking most of the impact. A precautionary x-ray was done at Kapiti Medical Centre, where it was found the arm was sore but not broken. As the door dislodged and began to open two police officers travelling with her grabbed hold of it, Miss Clark told National Radio. They could not haul the door shut, so they held on to it through the emergency landing at Paraparumu, 52km northeast of Wellington. "When the plane plunges like that, it's obviously quite shocking," Miss Clark said. "When you see the door can't close you know that it is a serious incident. I had full confidence in the way the pilot handled the matter and in the strength of the New Zealand police who did their utmost to hold it (the door)". The aircraft made a distress call soon before landing at 9.09am, Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) spokeswoman Heidi Brook said. Police, fire services, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) had been alerted, she said. Mountain Air managing director Keith McKenzie confirmed Miss Clark was on a company Piper Aztec on a flight from Rotorua to Wellington this morning. "All we are aware of is that our company was conducting a charter flight around 8.30am and just prior to descending to Wellington there was some turbulence and the front passenger door popped open," he told NZPA. As a precaution the pilot declared an emergency and diverted to the nearest airport, he said. Miss Clark, who had been in Rotorua last night speaking to the Grey Power annual conference, felt today's incident capped a torrid week for her. Yesterday she had to sort out maverick MP John Tamihere at a caucus meeting, lashing him for "trashing" friends and colleagues in a magazine interview. She confessed to having had "a full week", one of those "where if anything can go wrong it will". Press secretary Kathryn Street was with Miss Clark and the two police officers on the six-seater plane. The pilot was unable to communicate with the passengers as there was no intercom, Miss Clark said. Everyone involved in the incident was "shaken" but the police officers "performed superbly", she said. Miss Clark would not comment on whether the door had been closed properly before take-off, saying that the investigation would look at that question. A spokesman from her office told NZPA she was flung about in the bad turbulence that caused the door to open. Miss Clark was shaken and shocked by the incident, he said. The plane was chartered to get Miss Clark back to Wellington from the Grey Power conference for cabinet meetings. Mr McKenzie said the aircraft landed safely. "We are conducting an investigation to ascertain what caused the problem. Emergency was declared as precaution and we are now obviously analysing what has created this problem." The Piper Aztec is capable of a cruising speed of 150 knots (278kmh). Paraparaumu Airport is primarily used for civil aviation test flights, as a base for two flying schools, and scenic flying. It is used as a diversion airport for some aircraft unable to land at Wellington international airport.

Our PAC750 has loads of grab handles/bars on the ceiling. Allows for some great gymnastic positions (dont forget the handcuffs) And it saves me the expense of installing said handles at home

>No, even more shocking, he was a Brummie! Bwwaaahahahaaaaa!!! OOOiiiirrrriigggght aaarrr Joooodas. oooowww arrr yaaa mmmaaaaayyytee. [I'm not a brummie, but pretty close (Tamworth). Learnt to translate Brum > english a loong time ago & have many brummie mates]. And yeah, he was a flaming poofter. Beards/sandals/surrounding himself with blokes. whaddya expect? Russ

I voted 'Other'. To me, all religions are dangerous. IMHO there is no god (note lowercase g there), we are just living on a rock that just so happens to be the correct distance from a star to support life without frying or freezing it. There is NO god. we are born, we grow old, we die. Accept it. 'Humans *need* to believe in something' - a quote from my father. I'm inclined to agree. Russ

Yup, no pity for the whiny ass Americans Here in NZ it's NZ$1.30 a litre, $NZ4.92 for a US gallon which converts to US$3.52 When I moved to NZ nearly 5yrs ago, petrol was NZ$0.99 a litre or US$2.67 a gallon. Russ

The white tails we have in NZ are the same - another bloody aussie import . Not poisonous, but real nasty bite. Highfly - I'd think about gettin yer house sprayed to kill the fookers off. Spray lasts for about 6 months apparently. We also have Huntsmans - http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biodiversity/invertebratesprog/spiders/avondale.asp They're harmless, but farkin ugly buggers. Meeting one of these at 4 in the morning when you're after a glass of water stark bollock nekkid is NOT for the faint hearted. Thousands of them were exported from NZ and appeared in the movie Arachnophobia (film company couldnt get them from Australia as they're a native species in oz so are protected. No such status here in NZ as they're (another) aussie import so the film company could have as many as it could get its hands on. [edited to make clicky]

Come down to Taupo in the central North Island (3hrs drive south of Auckland) We have a PAC 750, a lake bigger than Singapore, mountains, forests, & nightlife

Highfly, you've Obviously been spending too much time on Ponsonby Road. And not enough time at the DZ

Dogs thinking: 'WTF?!? is this crazy human doing to me?!?

I'm a newbie in the sport, but I absolutely farking LOVE my Jav Odyssey. I did a lot of research / asked all sorts of questions about the different rigs this time last year when I was in the market for a new custom rig. Things that persuaded me were: quality & Sunpaths reputation for service. The fact that the vast majority of competition teams jump them. Nearly everyone at our DZ jumps them (nearly all our camera/AFF instructors/sport jumpers have Javs) It's true Sunpaths competitors DO have shorter delivery times - so ask Why are Sunpaths delivery times so long. Answer - Because everyone wants one

The DZ where I work is right next to a lake, so we have to jump with a flotation device. One of the guys at the DZ has an aqua buoy attached to his rig on the main lift web (it's a small plastic box about 3-3.5 inches by 2 inches by 2 inches) & contains an inflatable buoyancy aid (not an over the head type vest). Apparently they're not manufactured anymore though. Anyone know where I can get one? Cheers Russ

>You'd be surprised how often it happens. Also, it only needs a few hugely expensive claims to push the premiums up and I can think of 2 off the top of my head. Both by very experienced skydivers.... True, although I imagine that all other European countries experience this, yet their premiums remain lower. >The insurance premium in the UK is a different matter to the one raised above I think. The BPA has at least given its reasons for rising premiums (whether we agree is another matter), but haven't mentioned why they're going to decrease cover in Europe without giving the skydiving community something back. That's what I want addressed. I think the two are related in that the BPA has obviously been stung by criticism about its high membership fee (which as several have pointed out is mainly due to insurance premiums). You want cheaper BPA membership, something has to give. And the BPA believe they can deliver this by cutting out 'non essential insurance'. Which is fine, until someones PC gets loose in an aircraft, pulls the jumper through the side destroying the plane and possibly killing several jumpers/people on the ground. This doesnt address the core issue, that is UK insurance companies price gouging. If the BPA wants to reduce its membership fee, then they are going about it totally the wrong way. Russ

i just don't understand how the rest off europe is so much cheaper than we are for insurance??. any comments people. Another Fine example of Rip-Off Britain. Someone mentioned high insurance premiums are the result of skydivers sueing skydivers. Well I'd want to see proof of this - how many claims, categorised (eg mid air collisions resulting in permanent injuries, students smacking into houses/parked cars etc). Come on - we all know skydivers dont generally sue skydivers. How many wealthy skydivers do you know that could afford the cost of litigation? The vast majority spend all their money on booze/cigs/jump tickets. Not much left to pay mr hotshot solicitor/lawyer to pursue a case for loss of earnings caused by an unintentional collision at 6,000ft. I suspect the BPA is just going on the information from the insurer - who of course will state that 'premiums must rise up due to ever increasing number of claims' regardless of the true situation. Bollocks. They're ripping you off. The more money an insurance company can squeeze out of its policy holders, the better its bottom line. When has ANY insurer said 'we're reducing your premium!' ?!? Something stinks about this whole saga - the insurance company used by the BPA KNOWS it's got you (ha ha) by the balls so it will continue to raise premiums until the pips squeak. Next question is - who's going to do anything about it? Or is sport skydiving in the UK just going to run into the ground and see the vast majority of UK jumpers getting on cheap easyjet flights to Empuria and other European DZs. As far as I'm concerned, stuff the UK and it's crap weather, crap DZ's, high cost of jumping and high taxes. Russ. In NZ where petrol costs NZ$1.23 (47p) per litre, my annual fully comp car insurance is NZ$600 (229quid) and my annual NZPF membership, that is the NZ equivalent of the BPA, costs me the princely sum of NZ$75 (28.6quid)

Fuqqkin Hell! Someone else who's heard of Mercer on this board. lol. Nice to have you with us mate, welcome to NZ. I've done a few jumps at Mercer, although my usual DZ is Taupo (yes, 3hrs drive south of Akl lol). Now I've got my own rig i'm gonna start jumpin at Mercer (plus Mercer have got a cheap jump ticket deal on at the moment

How the fuck do you confuse a toolbag with a canopy?! http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=48651 Flase alarm on Mt Vic summit Police and emergency services scrambled amidst reports of parachutist in trouble at top of radio mast in Wellington 19 March 2005 Police and emergency services were called to the summit of Mount Victoria in Wellington on Saturday afternoon. A report had come in that a parachutist had landed on the top of the radio mast, and the parachute had become enmeshed in it. However it turned that the object was in fact a maintenance worker's bag. Emergency services were stood down.

Speeding, in, errm Jersey?! WTF?! for the yanks who've never been, it's an island about the size of a city block So they have tarmac'd the roads there now....wow, progress! Russ

X-Rays are fine for floppy disks - whatever you do though, DON'T put it in your pocket and take it through the metal detector (which is a VERY large magnet) Many years ago when I was in tech support (ah the good old days!) we would occasionally be asked to 'rejuvenate' floppy disks that some dumb beancounter [translation: high powered exec] had been stupid enough to put in his pocket then walk through the metal detector thinking it was 'safer than putting it through the x-ray' . They didn't do That again once they'd been told their files had gone the way of the dodo (usually no backups either) Russ

Nice pics! Hope you have as much fun jumping out of yours as we do ours!

NZ$60 for a reserve repack here in NZ (thats US$44). Our repack cycle is 6 months. Anyone from the UK/Australia like to put what it costs them? cheers Russ