mccordia

Maybe this is something for the photography and video forum, but anyways.... Premiere up untill version 5 can only import .wav and .aif audio and also has problems with importing MPEG So you need to convert your mp3's to .wav to be able to use them, or get Premiere 6.0 which CAN import mpeg/mp3 files. mp3 to wav is easy...just open winamp, in the preferences>output, slect the Disc-Writer plug-in, and your MP3 will be saved as a .wav on your HD... "We put the FUN in dysFUNctional" http://www.3dluvr.com/mccordia/

Anyone seen StarWars episode II "Attack of the Clones" already? I'm not going into the story and what else, but was I the only one with a big grin on my face when Obi-one went into freefall? It actualy looked pretty accurate in the way he arched and steered in freefall, and landed in the back of the plane/car while it was diving like mad.. Sort of reminded me about that plane to plane transfer I saw on TV by (I believe) Greg Gasson(?). The second time around (Anakin jumping overboard) might be a point of debate when it comes to accuracy (Anakin grabbing onto a car traveling by at 100 mp/h, while going down at terminal velocity, and getting away without a drop of blood on the windshield :) But damn if that wasn't cool :) "We put the FUN in dysFUNctional" http://www.3dluvr.com/mccordia/

The DZ where I jump has only had 1 fatality about 15 years ago, which involved an elderly man dying from a heart attack in freefall. His sentinel(?) fired his main, so he landed without any serious injuries or other nasty stuff...he heart just wasn't working (and when he landed he was already to long gone for reanimation to work..although they tried...) Seems like a peacefull way to go...and not as traumatizing for family as a no-pull/malfunction situation (although in effect, loosing someone is always bad...but the way in which it happens does make a lot of difference..) "We put the FUN in dysFUNctional" http://www.3dluvr.com/mccordia/

people often complain about skydiving being dangerous, but somehow (at least as it looks to me) a lot more people try bungyjumping without hasitation. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you can try it in a 'spur of the moment' kinda fashion if you see it somewhere (and the fact that most of the time people looking at it kinda ''dare' each other to try it...don't know. I was just surfing for fun (work?) and found a site simulair to the skydiving fatalties....and OMG!! Don't know if there are any stats, but this sure looks a lot more dangerous then skydiving. I gues it also has to do with the fact that it's not as regulared in terms of safety(?) but there are also a lot people who end up with temporairy blindness and such from a 'normal' bungy-jump.......never thought it was that dangerous..(and now that I know...somehow I still want to try it one day, it sure looks like fun..:) info found on > http://www.bungeezone.com/disasters/club.shtml Cya, JC "We put the FUN in dysFUNctional" http://www.3dluvr.com/mccordia/

Definately good for a laugh..... http://www.lunatrick.com/

Just hypotheticly assuming birdsuits will one day be able to slow down anough to land safely without dying. Everyone is assuming someone will just try and land it the first time they're trying it... How about trying to just hit zero mph and 'land' on top of a small balloon (1 or 2 meters wide) which could be suspended at about 4500 ft or so? After scraping the balloon the birdman could just continue freefall and deploy a normal parachute. After 100 flawless attempts where the birdman could basicly toutch-down on the balloon (even though it would flop away immediately) it would be enough practice to try the real thing... And if the balloon is far-fetched, you could even just try landing on a cloud (like practicing landing your chute on one) quite a few times, without the first attempt killing you in case of failure.. But I think birdman suits still have a long way to come before any of this is actualy worth thinking about :)

>just a side note on small flying mammals. >you can drop a mouse any distance, from 3' high or 3miles >high and it will survive. i would imagine that small squirrels >have similar advantage with or without wings. people do not. >as pointed out some things do not scale. I think everything scales fine (okay, maybe not 100% correct), as long as you also scale the speed at which it impact, and the forces the body of the flying critters recieve on impact. And (as a side note) even thought they jump from tree to tree all the time, their landings are usualy pretty rough (as least that's how it looks) and they land on branches most of the time (and they bend when they land, the ground does not) And for some silly thoughts; I think the idea behind the wings Batman uses when he jumps of the roof in 'Batman Returns' is pretty nice (not sure if it would be workable). They use a (retractable) metal frame, which supports the wings at the tips, and gives a much bigger surface area (which would mean more lift) But then again...why not just add wheels, aelerons, a tail...a door and windows to a wingsuit..? It would be much more comfertable..

I wanted to see Wild California, and a few weeks before it was to come to Imax Rotterdam, the cinema went broke, and closed. Holland no longer has a real Imax cinema, which is a shame...I would have loved to see this one.. Talking about skydiving movies, the Matrix 2 & 3 are supposed to have a lot of flying action in them. They posted a pic on the site, and from the looks of it they took a peek at skydivers. How about that arch of Agent smith..:) http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/img/rl_photos/154_Bscreen_wires.jpg

Never needed to take revenge on co-workers...but I did give them all a stinky day last year.. After a tip from one of my brilliant buddies, I tried drying my socks in the company microwave (after they where drenched because of riding through the rain on my motorcycle) I put them in, turned the thing on, and after about 5 seconds.."WHOOOF" the whole thing was set in flames.. The microwave 'roof' started buring, and the smoke detectors started howlering. I didn't wait a single second, and ripped the plug out, grabbed a wet towel, and took the (burning) microwave, and ran through the office (leaving a big black smoke-trail, and setting off a dozen smoke detectors:) and opened a window, and threw the thing two storries down (still burning...those where some damn fine socks..:) Peope at work don't have to do bad things to me...I'll do them to myself...(but damn if it wasn't fun...afterward that is..:)

Hi, I'm Loopy Bubble Fuzz... Sounds like cheep childrens chewinggum, don't you think?

I've only been jumping for a year, so I'm no authority when it comes to matters like these, but what I don't understand is....an altimeter doesn't realy limit your range of movement. Why would you want to jump without one? It's no bother to have one with you...(or is it a money issue?) I do trust my eyes, and I recognize when I'm at about 3.000 ft (time to pull) but still I wouldn't dream about skydiving without one. But I tend to look at my eyes as a backup in case the visual altimeter fails. But even if you don't (think) you need it...why not cary one as a backup divice for when your eyes fail (or maybe you're in a rare situation where you can't see the ground, god knows why...)

I was coming from work today, and it was finaly good weather (first time in 2 weeks or so, though I did get one jump in this saterday before the wind/rain/clouds get too bad) Anyways...The sky was a beautifull orange/blue tint, the sun was shining, a few puffy white clouds, and a few small birds high up, riding the thermals... I was sitting against the window of the train, looking up at the sky...having one of those (at least 20 times a day:) skydiving day-dreams... I sat there for quite a while and then looked over my shoulder into the train cabin for a sec. I almost burst out laughing. There where 7 people sitting next to me and on the other side of the train, and they where ALL almost breaking their necks, looking up to the sky, and glancing at me to try and find out what it was that I was looking at...an old lady looked at me and I could almost see the big questionmark above her head... I just smilled and looked back up at the sky with one of those "I know something you don't know..." looks on my face.. That certainly made my day...:)

What is it with the word 'plunged'? I haven't read a single newspaper article about skydiving or BASE-jumping that doesn't include the word...

I came across this on the net. http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=11928

I started running again january, and the first 2 months or so I didn't notice any real difference (except for a better condition) But when you reach a point where you're excercising 30 minutues or longer, your body starts buring fat like a madman.. The past month I've lost about 3 kilo's (while I'm eating just as unhealthy as ever) and I'm getting fitter and fitter every day. I think if you where to combine a sport like running with a healthy diet, you could probably lose even more pounds.. I have severe Astma, and last december I went to 9.000 ft while skydiving and was severly out of breath. Running has finaly enabled me to go to 12.000 ft without gasping for breath (just last week, 12.000 ft for the first time yea:) so if you ask me....running is the answer... But again...a thousand assh*les, a thousand opinions..:)

In places like Holland and Belgium there is an age limit of 16 when you want to start AFF or Staticline training. For tandems (I'm sad to say) there is no age limit. There was a skydiving couple last year, that took there 3 or 4 year old todler up because 'she felt she was ready for it' I personaly think someone has to be in the right mental capacity to judge weather he or she actualy wants to do something like that (while fully understanding the dangers and concequences of what he/she is about to do) In my point of view 16 is an age at which young people who are a bit serious, can realy know and understand what they are doing, and (hopefully) be in the right state of mind to handle dangerous situations correctly (without freaking out, although that ofcource differs from person to person) (On the other hand...there's also lots of 25 to 40 years old's who are complete screwballs.) A question I had.. Do DZ's ever turn people down beforehand (when they where to start staticline/AFF training) because of the fact that they are 'not the right kinda person'?

If I'd be going down (too)fast, and had some steering input, I think a bunch of trees might be a good choice. The fabric/lines may catch on some branches and slow you down a bit... Not that it matters, I've been in trees more then anough without even aiming for them :)

:Ailerons are the bits on the trailing edge of a wing which :cause the plane to roll (they're usually on the outside 1/2 of :the wing). Is that what you were talking about, or did you go :over the tailplane? Sorry about that...I ment the whole tailplane yea :) I hit it on the front side (big dent) en scrapped it on the top. The whole thing came a few inches loose from the main body of the plane, and a few of the nails used to bolt together had completely come out. Adrenaline OD....well..that's one more thing to scrape of my 'to do' list...:) Gues I'll be 'a bit' weak in the knees next time I go up (especialy during climb-out), but I'm definately getting back up there in 2 weeks to properly do a floating exit..

:I would be beating the pilot senseless behind the hangar.... I was glad to be able to hold up a glass of water without dropping it when I was back on the ground :) Although I was pretty much in a normal heads-up state of mind when the whole thing happened (okay...climb out, put my feet the....WTF...hey, that's the top of the plane, HMPPFF, was that the tail...get stable...check altitude..pull) this all changed when I landed. About 10 minutes after landing my hands started shaking like mad and I got scared shitless (kinda stupid to get scared AFTER it happened) I just sat on a chair and couldn't realy utter a word for the next hour or so...let alone beating someone senseless:) :Why'd the pilot dive the plane like that? He hugged me when he got down and was so happy I was alright. While he had to make an emergency landing with the left eleron almost coming off, he never sayd a single word about that..he was only worried about me (and the other jumpers who had to do an emergency exit after that) From what I understand (this was told me by the pilot and a few other ppl.) the plane was coming out of a dive (we had been circling the DZ due to a holding) when it went on jumprun and when the engine was cut it took a few seconds longer to bleed of the speed. The JM was WAY to quick with giving the okay to exit the plane. When I started climbing out this caused the plane to bank to the right (due to the wind I was catching with my body) and do other funny/scary stuff. The pilot had to correct and prevent the plane from going into a stall, which he ended up doing by pushing the nose down (after which I got flung off) According to ppl.who know waay more then I do, it wasn't the pilots error, but just a mix elements, a JM that was too quick with giving me the 'go' signal (I was the first jumper out) the plane coming out of dive at the start of the jumprun, and the 'shit happens' factor. anyways...that's how it was explained to me afterward... After an hour or so we did a reconstruction (on the ground, thank god:) on where everyone was in the plane, what everyone did, and how it could have happened, with someone from the safety-board/accident board present, and the event will be used to see if exit-procedure can be modified to prevent stuff like this happening again.. I'm can only thank god to come out unscratched, and hope my gf and mother never find out...:

I was thinking the same thing. Something which I was wondering; the ski-jumpers wear real baggy clothes (probably to maximize lift/amount of body they present to the relative wind?) but for some reason a lot of them tuck their hands/arms almost behind they're backs, and only use them to correct/counter-balance.. Wouldn't using they're arms present them with more lift? I was kinda wondering if they (because of the 'short' distance/time they're up there) maybe their trick is not to minimize the amount of drag/body presented to the wind, as they might get more distance out of the speed at which they move forward?? Anyone know of what gives them the most distance? Their forward momentum (thus drag/arms and such slowing them down=less distance) or the lift/amount of surface presented to the wind (lift=more distance?) About birdsuits..I think there are rules which state that 'modifed' clothing may only be used, and anything resembeling a spoiler/fins/wings is not allowed.. I remember a (Dutch) Olympic swimsuit which wasn't allowed to be used because of rubber 'fishy-scales' on the arms and legs, which gave the body more speed... I gues the same rules would apply for ski-jump-clothing?? And I'm also real curious what a good base-jumping sub-termional tracker would do...

>A jumper hit the tail of a Cessna a few years ago. Took out >the rear stabilizing wing (called an eleron?). The jumper lost >a foot, but lived, the plane ended up going in. Not sure on >the details, but it is a true story from what I have heard. How about just last weekend.. 'door' was yelled by the JM, and I got an okay to go out first. I climbed out (to practice a floating exit for the first time) and the second I got outside, the plane dove down like a fighterplane (c206). My feet came of the floor, and I was hanging from the plane upside down, while it was still diving. It recovered, but because of the sheer force I was flung off, I went over the back of the airplane, and banged on the 'eleron' with my whole body. I was real lucky because the heel of my shoe took 90% of the impact, and I have no broken bones, just a few sore spots and a realy stiff leg. I turned my body around, and was looking at the plane from a slightly up angle (I got flung off with a lot of upward momentum I gues) and saw the rest of the load evacuate the plane. Everyone came away unharmed, but the left eleron/stabilizer of the plane nearly came off, and has a dent in it which looks like a ton of bricks hit it at full speed. Certainly something I hope to NEVER ever experience again... JC

Ski/Snowboard helmets are also a pretty good option, and often in the same price-range as a Pro-Tec, while looking cool like a Gath helmet, and it offers real protection to your skull when you bang into the door :) This is a nice one>http://www.cebe.com/pls/shop_cebe/page?i_sid=28533351699977159983366&i_param=MENU_2:16489|OBJET_CENTRE:16565| Cya, JC

sorry... won't do that again..

Since we're talking about StarWars and JarJar anyways.. Have a look at this silly thing I made a while ago> http://www.3dluvr.com/mccordia/3danimation/jarjar_screentest.mpg

Better to jump and freeze your balls off, then sitting at home and watch the wind nearly blow the wall and windows out of your house... For the past 3 weeks it's been one constant storm with winds waaaay past limits for jumping... Reminder to myself: Move to a country with a better climate..