Man’s build

Throw away in pocket this can be a scary experience, it’s one of those things that can catch you out as a beginner or as happened to me after more than 250 skydives. I was on a high load doing a formation skydive dive (FS).

I had checked the location of my throwaway both on the ground & again shortly before exit. The skydive went really well & we broke off at 4,500 feet, when I went in for the pull I could not locate the throwaway toggle. I quickly tried again still no toggle, a stupid thought flashed through my mind (you are going to look so stupid, feel the spandex pocket) I grabbed my reserve handle & at the same time made a last attempt to locate the main toggle, only this time I felt for the spandex pocket instead of the toggle.

“Bingo” I immediately realized that the toggle had some how been pushed right into the pocket instead of hanging just outside of it. I squeezed the pocket behind the toggle & it popped out enough to let me get a finger through the hole in the toggle & deploy my main. At this point I was now a little head down but stable & my main deployed without any further problems. I was under a fully deployed canopy just over 2,000 feet.

I knew that I had a few seconds on my side to have a couple of attempts at the pull because a few months earlier I had started going for the pull at 3,500 and pulling at 3,000.

The reason for pulling at this higher altitude was I had been watching the French national team doing so on their training jumps, & asked them why they were opening at that altitude. The reply was it is much safer especially with modern high performance parachutes & it gives you that precious amount of extra time in an emergency. I thought if it’s good enough for them it’s good for me.

During the same weekend the same thing happened to a young lady skydiver called Alison. She was unable to locate her toggle despite a couple of attempts. She made a safe landing under her reserve.

What went wrong? Well I tried to figure it out and at first I drew a blank, I knew who was in the aircraft & where they were seated but I did not get the answer for a few weeks. I was on another high load & had done all my checks & double checked the toggle location on the way up, all was ok. Then we got a call to move down the aircraft a little to let the tandem masters tighten up their passenger straps, I was aware of something pushing me on the bottom right of my pack I looked around to see a foot pushing against my pack…. well you can probably guess the rest, my toggle was once again firmly inside the pocket. Always remember never keep trying to sort it out, if its not where it should be, carry out your reserve drills. Be safe & have fun Rob. If you see someone moving to the exit door with his hand on the toggle it could be me.

Blue Skies & Safe Landings. Robert Waugh.

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Speaking about modern Ukrainian customs and traditions it is necessary to stress that the Ukrainians are proud of their colorful folk culture. They love good food and drink and have a zest for life.

Most Ukrainian middle-class and lower class urban families live in flat in multi-storied buildings; only rather rich people can afford to build cottages either inside or outside the city.

Ukrainians have a deep love of the land. Many families have small country houses, called “dacha”. They are able to grow just about anything in their neat gardens, orchards, and homesteads. Some people grow food only for their own personal consumption. They spend time canning vegetables and making compote from various fruits during the summer in order to make it through the long cold winters. They always have something in their houses to serve guests.

A modern average Ukrainian family has two parents and usually one or two children. At the same time there is a growing number of one-parent families usually headed by a woman rearing a child. Like in many other countries, there are quite a lot of young unmarried people living together and sharing a household. Bringing up a child in Ukraine is very costly now; that is why many couples decided to have only one child, or even no children. Children tend to live with there parents long after they finish school. Sometimes children have to rely on their parents in financial matters as the unemployment rate among the young is very high. A newly married couple often lives with either of their parents because they have no money to buy or to rent a house or a flat of their own. Often one or both grandparents live with their children and help take care of small children. Grandparents play a great role in raising children in Ukraine.

In the village families are usually larger, and the whole family works on the farm (or a patch of land they have) together. Most parents who live in the country want their children to get a higher education, so they send them to study to big cities. After 5 years of studies, the children get used to the city way of life and seldom go home.

In their struggle for survival people become less dependent on each other within families. But still parents think it is important to teach their children daily skills and basic values of life. The result of a resent nationwide survey showed that the most important values parents want to teach their children are honestly, common sense, purposefulness, responsibility, good manners and obedience to parents. Adults believe children should be brought up to expect that they will have to struggle to succeed.

Like most other people, Ukrainians like holidays and merrymaking. They usually try to cook many tasty dishes and invite a lot of friends and relatives to their places. Another thing Ukrainians love to do is talk (while strolling, in cafes and restaurants, or at home over a cup of tea or coffee or other drinks). Conversation tends to be light, relaxing, humorous, and sometimes philosophical. Many Ukrainians enjoy picnics in the wood or somewhere the water at almost any time of year. Picnics often involve shashlik or barbequed meat, homemade salads, and sometimes alcohol. Ukrainians love to sit around fires at night and snack, drink, and sing songs to a guitar.

Popular outdoor sports in Ukraine are soccer, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, and hiking (walking in the forest). Fitness clubs have appeared all over the place. Yoga and martial arts are quite popular as well. Mountain climbing and rock climbing clubs can be found. Scuba diving, yachting, and even golf have recently become available. Increasingly popular in Ukraine are all sorts of extreme sports (bungee jumping, river rafting, downhill mountain biking, spelunking, etc.), and, more generally, all forms of active recreation (hiking, biking, boating, horseback riding, skiing, etc.).

Not everyone will do the things we’ve described above. Some Ukrainians’ culture will strike you as incomprehensible and intolerable, while others’ behavior and attitudes will seem rational and compatible with your own.

Discover Ukraine Network - travel to Ukraine and establish connections with Ukrainian people http://www.discover-ua.com.ua

The number of extreme sports in Las Vegas, including skydiving has exploded in recent years. While they offer all of the standard extreme sports, skateboarding, BMX biking, and things like skydiving, they also have a chance to offer great sports like rock climbing, too, because of the nature of the area.

One extreme sport in Las Vegas is skateboarding. There are many skate parks in the area for enthusiasts of the sport to enjoy. Some of the parks are even open to other sports like roller blading and BMX biking. Moreover, several parks offer lessons to novice skateboarders that will help students to learn the sport effectively and be safe while playing.

Another way to experience extreme sports in Las Vegas is cycling in their canyons. Several companies offer a Red Rock Canyon bike tour that takes cyclists through one of the most beautiful locations in the United States. Most of the companies include all of the equipment necessary for the trip like the bike, safety gear, and water. While the trails are very, very rough, the ride is exhilarating.

Extreme sports in Las Vegas also includes some awesome rock climbing trips. The canyons in the area are incredible. Thirty minutes from the insanity of the strip with all of its overburdening society features are rock climbing areas that are unimaginably beautiful. Climbers can experience simply nature hikes or rough and tumble climbs that are difficult for even experienced climbers.

If climbing in the heat of the desert is not for you, you might also try the extreme sport of indoor rock climbing. There are several places in the city that offer rock walls. It’s a great way to try rock climbing before you get to more difficult stuff like the canyons outside the city.

Another version of extreme sports in Las Vegas is skydiving. There are many companies in the city that offer serious lessons and one day deals like tandem jumping. This gives people at all levels a chance to experience this extreme sport while in city of lights. You can also experience indoor skydiving with the help of one of several wind tunnels in the city. Nevada is an excellent place for a number of different activities. Las Vegas skydiving is becoming one of the most popular among other extreme sports.

John Ewing contributes adding articles and reviews to http://www.skydiving-parachuting-guide.com. A free online magazine that carries articles on skydiving equipment, and a guide on the best drop zones, including New York and Las Vegas Skydiving Centers among others.

Do you love animals? Do you have kids? If you answered yes to either of those questions and you will be visiting Buffalo you should visit the Buffalo Zoo. The Buffalo Zoo was started by William Rogers in 1875 and quickly became a favorite destination for residents. Read on to learn about the third oldest zoo in the United States.

The 23 acre buffalo Zoo is host to over a thousand different animals. Like any good attraction, it is constantly growing and changing so if you have been there before it will not bore you the second time around. Mammals in the zoo include Siberian Tigers, elephants and zebu. Reptiles include spiny tailed lizards, assorted tortoises and alligators. In addition the zoo is home to numerous species of amphibians, reptiles, birds, insects, etc. It has something for everyone.

The Buffalo Zoo is not resting on its laurels though. In 2002 they introduced an ambitious fifteen year plan to remake the zoo. The future zoo will have animal enclosures that are more realistic that zoo goers will be able to journey through giving them a more natural experience. The new zoo will take visitors on a journey around the world with exhibits like the Asian River and Highlands, African Watering Hole, South American Rainforest and Arctic Edge. Besides these new exhibits, the rest of the zoo will be remodeled making for a more enjoyable and realistic experience.

So if you have a little extra time when visiting Buffalo or if you live there, you should go visit the zoo. You will not regret it. For more information on current zoo hours you should call 716-837-3900.

Learn more on Buffalo carpet cleaning at the author’s website. Information on carpet and upholstery care in Buffalo.