ORB - For the iPhone & iPod Touch.

Written by one of our own skydivers and company partners..

Orb is a new kind of puzzle game based around the mysterious Orb.

Orb begins with small starter Orbs and works up to massive expert Orbs with thousands of tiles….

All on a spin-able, pinch zoom-able, multi-touch Orb.

Match all the tiles by swapping or flipping them to complete each Orb.
Discover it’s real appearance and open up more levels.

Use bomb tiles to clear blocking tiles out of your way, or set up Orb wide chain reactions.
Learn the secrets of the Orb’s symbols, and activate new challenges and modes.

Make groups of tiles to gain awards and increase your score with the bonus multiplier.

Check it out.. You won’t be disappointed.

news, toys | No Comments »

Always take a mobile communication device with you..

Good advice…

London: His cellphone saved him. Yes, a British skier, who slipped into a crevasse in the Swiss Alps, was saved from plunging nearly 700 feet to his death by his ‘Blackberry’ mobile phone.

David Fitzherbert’s half-inch wide mobile handset in his breast pocket caused him to get wedged in a crack of ice, stopping him from falling further. And, incredibly, the device still worked after keeping him stuck for almost two hours till he was rescued.

The 52-year-old finance worker was skiing off-piste down a glacier in the Matterhorn and Monterosa peaks in the Swiss Alps when the snow gave way.

“The snow gave way beneath me and I fell down a very deep crevasse. After 70 feet it narrowed and I became stuck like a cork in a bottle between the walls.

(Source)

Skiing, news | No Comments »

Thailand is still a wonderful place to visit, despite the recent political upheaval it is business as usual in The Land of Smiles…

Do be aware though that a recent decision by the Thai Bankers Association has set usurious ATM rates for foreign Credit Card users..

A single withdrawal from the ATMs of Siam Commerical Bank or Bangkok Bank will cost you an additional 150 Baht (£2.50 / US$5.00). That is over and above the fee that your own Credit Card company charges you.

We suggest you shop around for other banks who have not implemented this charge… Yet!
We will update this post with names of banks other than Bangkok Bank and Siam Commerical bank that follow suit with this not very welcoming attitude to foreign visitors to Thailand.

Please feel free to share your experiences in the comments section..

UPDATE : Thai Banks are now trying to justify this charge by saying that they are simply passing on increased networks charges from MasterCard and Visa. This is NOT true however, as both MasterCard and Visa have responded that they have not increased network charges for quite some time, and any increases were a fraction of a percent, not a blanket fee per transaction. Thai Banks are also saying that this charge is in line with other international banks. It is NOT.

General News, Travel Advice, thailand | No Comments »

What would drive someone to risk life, limb and liberty by breaking into the world’s tallest building and jumping off the top of it with just one small parachute? Ed Caesar infiltrates the secret society of the death-defying base jumpers…

In the early hours of April 9, 2008, a 44-year-old Englishman and a 48-year-old Frenchman sat silently on the edge of the windowless 155th floor of the Burj tower — the tallest building in the world — watching dawn bleed over Dubai. From their eyrie half a mile up, they saw the desert turn from blue to pink and heard the muezzins call the faithful to prayer.

Nice article from Times Online..

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/men/article5853262.ece

BASE, General News | No Comments »

Skydiving | No Comments »

We think this could be really bad..

But anyhoop here’s the info we have so far.. (Video at the bottom).

“BASE Jumping (short for Building, Antenna, Span, Earth) has never been a sport for the masses—it’s too dangerous, and it’s tough to get permission to jump off of the Burj Dubai,” the announcement reads. “That all changes when Dejobaan Games brings its own wonderfully twisted take on the sport to the PC. How late can you deploy your chute before you end up a squishy bag of broken bones? How far can you trust your helmet’s proximity meter before you splatter against a window like a bug on a highway… As you descend, you toss the spectators a thumbs-up —or flip them off— to boost your score.

Might be something to pass the time on those bad weather days at the DZ…

Scheduled for a release in 2009: Video shows an Alpha version. Perhaps they’ll send us a copy to review…

AaaaaAAaaaaaAAAaaaaaAAaaa!!! A Reckless Disregard for Gravity

BASE, Computer Simulation | No Comments »

Message just in from Omar of Skydiver Network…

Kind of reminds us of having to do this in Vietnam for each and every lift we went on.. Funny the first couple of times, but certainly tedious and definitely pointless after that!

A message to all members of Skydiver Network

Dear Members,

 Come February, we may have to go through TSA security to jump from large airplanes.  This could be a bad thing if it passes.  Please take a moment to read the following letter and then submit a comment to the FAA starting with this link: http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/gasecurity/submit.html

The link will take you to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=TSA-2008-0021 where you can leave your comments.  
 
TSA want to implement a rule that will make it very difficult to skydive out of any larger aircraft, like Casa’s, DC-3, Caribous, C-130’s, anything over 12500lbs.
 
If this rule (Docket No. TSA-2008-0021)  goes into effect, then every time we jump out of a larger aircraft in the USA, we would basically be required to go through the same security checks as you would for any charter or scheduled flight anywhere else in the USA.
 
That means, security screening, passenger security checks, matching names with ‘no-fly lists’ and so on.  And we would have to do that for EVERY load, not just people in general or a Boogie in general.
 
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has a good lot of information with step by step instructions on how to comment on it.  They even provide some information on some of the arguements to use.  Bascially this wil make general aviation more difficult for a lot of people, it is unnecessary intrusion into our lives, and the gain is very little, given that general aviation has not been involved in any acts of terrorism, including 9/11 itself.
 
Go to AOPA’s page http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/gasecurity/submit.html and follow the steps.  At the bottom of that page are some other helpful links.
 
Please write - it is important for the future of skydiving!

Omar Alhegelan
Skydiver Network

Article, Skydiving | No Comments »

Although confirmed Kimi supporters for many many years, and likely to stay so until he retires, it is with great satisfaction that we watched Lewis Hamilton win a record breaking victory in Brazil this year. Congratulations Lewis. Please keep making history..

The parallels with the change this has brought to many aspects of F1 and that of todays US election cannot be missed.

It was also with great satisfaction that we watched Obama change the course of American history today. Congratulations President Barack Obama. Please go change the world…

Phew. What a week.

General News | No Comments »

As from today Extreme Sports Cafe will be offering super car hire deals with our partner Holiday Autos Middle East. Holiday Autos offers Low Cost Car Hire Worldwide, and is part of the lastminute.com group.

We have been using Holiday Autos for quite some time for our own business and leisure trips and can now offer you the same deal they give us, to any destination you choose to go. Once you have booked your car hire do let us know and we’ll be able to offer you a promotional reward on your Extreme Sports booking with us.

PLEASE NOTE: There is a secure version of this booking dialog in our online store: Please Click Here.