h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Had a lovely evening's flying last night. Two full hours in the air, ridge soaring.

When the lift switched off, i decided to make for the landing field. There was a lot of sinking air, so it looked like i might not make it, and would have to land in the "wrong" field - not a major problem. It was then i made my first mistake. Someone in front of me made it, so i figured i could too. Wrong. I made it into the field, but with not enough height to turn into wind. This meant i was going to hit the ground gently, but FAST.

My second mistake was to forget my training, and fail to correctly PLF (parachute landing fall). I stuck out my left hand instinctively, and broke two bones in my hand.

Lessons learned.

Other things i learned last night: nitrous oxide really does make you laugh, and affects your hearing. Specifically, it made the ambient noise of A&E sound like a game of "Defender" circa 1981. Also, morphine is GREAT!

SoRB
Typing with one hand.

Ah, Defender Now there was a game and a half

As a kid I was the second best player in my town. A couple of years ago one of the local pubs installed a genuine Defender machine as a touch of retro chic. I took the high score straight away - 25 years and I hadn't lost my touch


Oh, sorry about the hand by the way.

I had Defender for Colecovision (a huge step up from Atari in my estimation, particularly the controllers), and one afternoon I got it going so well that I couldn't end the game. I was earning free lives equal to or faster than I was dying. So finally I decided to set a goal and flip the score, which required either 1M or 10M points, I can't recall which. My brothers were getting impatient for their turn. Anyway, I did it, promptly turned it off, and never played again.

So it's

"Crashed a plane" = yawn

"Played Defender" = wow

Defender was ace mind....

I remember being given morphine aged 15 or 14 (surpised they gave it to me actually with hindsight) and thinking "Ahhh..... so this is why druggies ruin their lives then.....

::cough::

Defender still *is* ace

And I had a similar morphine moment in my late teens, when the epidural to deaden the pain after bone graft operations to my leg and pelvis broke down, and the nurses needed to give me something to stop me screaming the whole ward down.

Big syringe... straight into my thigh... Lurvely!

What's that old saying? Any landing you walk away from...

Recover quickly

We were out on our motorcycles this weekend and went to an area I rarely get to around 100 miles west of home. One of the fellows was more observant than I and pointed up. There just a few hundred feet above us was a glider being pulled up to altitude. I couldn't help thinking "now there's a pleasant thing to be doing on a sunny Saturday afternoon."

So, what is your expected recovery time? Not too long I hope.

recovery may be quite long - i apparently may need an operation.

u kno how somtims wen u look @ an xray u cant c the break? not on mine... nice obvious mess made of 2 bones

It's nice to know you made a proper job of it. None of these poncy hairline fractures!

Be careful babe.

Trying to move away from the cringe feeling. I have noticed loads of Microlights and paramotors this week flying about more than I have ever done.

Caerphilly where there were 3 microlights in formation.

Gloucester where there were at least 5 paramotors following each other.

And somewhere above Stoke a microlight on its own.

And youch again.

<>

Holy crap! You might want to go in for a MRI on the brain while you're at it. That crash must have knocked the syntax out of you.

Yea, I think you may be correct. It seems he damaged his txtspk centers of his brain.


(With his hand so buggered it probably hurts when he lols).

"You might want to go in for a MRI on the brain while you're at it."

There's a six month waiting time for that...

SoRB

To quote a Orthopod on motor cyclists - 'I do like motorcyclists they make such good 3D jigaw puzzles'

Sorry to here your news - you didn't go to BVH did you?

Nah. That's where my workplace sends its incidents though...

SoRB