How far would you go to live your dream?

30 million views, that's the largest I have ever seen.
 
Makes sense to me. It's almost as bad as what I had to do to get my ticket. Building a forest up the side of a cliff...... pfft, nothing.

John
 
It beats dying as a couch potato on the sofa watching decade old re-runs or getting slaughtered by a redlight runner in a city.

Too many people are afraid of dying to the point that they forget to live life.
 
I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. What's the deal with the rope? He pulls the rope to a tree on the top of a cliff, goes down the cliff to another tree and hammers in some nails, climbs up, pulls up the rope and jumps off.

What's the purpose of the rope?

Also, I'm sure this whole tragedy could have been avoided if he would have used the correct AN or MS nails (for whatever purpose those nails served).
 
KRyan said:
I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. What's the deal with the rope? He pulls the rope to a tree on the top of a cliff, goes down the cliff to another tree and hammers in some nails, climbs up, pulls up the rope and jumps off.
What's the purpose of the rope?
Click to expand...

To haul the tree up the side of the cliff and hold it in place while nailing the tree to the wall. Think about it.
 
The little kiwi uses all the stamina and effort he has to lift a tree up a cliff face by a rope. He ties off the rope, exhausted. He then nails the roots of the tree to the cliff face with great effort. He then dons his flight regalia, and jumps off. On his way down you see that he has done the same thing repeatedly, despite how difficult it was for him, to give himself the illusion that he is actually flying. And the illusion is enough to bring tears of joy to his eyes.
 
Thank you! Now I get it! I didn't make the connection that he had pulled up many trees. I kinda feel like a chucklehead right now.

Anyway, the whole rope thing kinda ruined the "touchningness" of the video for me, I spent the rest of the video wondering what the first part was about.
 
I remember seeing that video when it was first posted to Youtube.

I don't think those nails and that hammer would be allowed through TSA security.

It also appears he was in violation of sections 103.9 and 103.23 (looked less than 1 mile visibility) of the CFRs.
 
KRyan said:
I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. What's the deal with the rope? He pulls the rope to a tree on the top of a cliff, goes down the cliff to another tree and hammers in some nails, climbs up, pulls up the rope and jumps off.

What's the purpose of the rope?

Also, I'm sure this whole tragedy could have been avoided if he would have used the correct AN or MS nails (for whatever purpose those nails served).
Click to expand...

Think about it this way. What if every human on earth could fly, all of them except the members of your family. You have become the only human who could not, nor ever will, fly. You are doomed to walk about grubbing for food on the ground, while every kid you went to school with are soaring like eagles.

They look down at you and snicker or outright laugh as they fly far above your landlocked head.

Your lifes biggest wish, to just one time before your die, is to experience, even if it is for only a few seconds, what everyone else takes for granted.

You make it your lifes ambition. You erect an entire forest up the side of a huge cliff, just so for those last few fleeting seconds of your life, you will have tasted flight, and experianced what it is like to be like everyone else.

It is only for you, there will be no accolades, no nothing, you will be dead. It does not matter, you will have, through almost superhuman effort, finally given meaning to your existence.

John
 
John Baker said:
It is only for you, there will be no accolades, no nothing, you will be dead. It does not matter, you will have, through almost superhuman effort, finally given meaning to your existence.
Click to expand...

Perhaps "Kiwi!" has been popular because it is a metaphor for life itself. Many can relate to striving for goals through life, but eventually we all go splat.
 
steingar said:
The little kiwi uses all the stamina and effort he has to lift a tree up a cliff face by a rope. He ties off the rope, exhausted. He then nails the roots of the tree to the cliff face with great effort. He then dons his flight regalia, and jumps off. On his way down you see that he has done the same thing repeatedly, despite how difficult it was for him, to give himself the illusion that he is actually flying. And the illusion is enough to bring tears of joy to his eyes.
Click to expand...
And if he'd been just 5% smarter, he'd of also made the effort to make himself a parachute, and used it, so that he could repeat his effort as desired... No mere entertainment, or pleasure, is worth ending it all in one self-centered splurge.

Ryan
 
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Thank you, Mr. Baker!

You seem like a "poet" to me. I was an English Major a long time ago, and perhaps that actually hurt me after seeing this cartoon. I thought the trees growing from the side of the cliff was just "artistic license." I was never very good at interpretation.

You people don't know me like you seem to know some of the others on this forum. I am a tech rep for an aviation company, and work with engineers every day, so it was an adjustment for me to see things from the extremely practical side from the esoteric world I had come from. On the other hand, I had been around engineers my whole life - my grandfather, uncles, etc. so it wasn't as of an adjustment as it may have been for others.

Anyway, Since Friday is "joke day," and it's almost Friday, I'd thought I'd share a couple of my Engineer jokes:

Understanding Engineers One

Two engineering students were walking across a university campus
when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?"

The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday,
minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this
bike, threw it to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take
what you want."

The first engineer nodded approvingly and said, "Good choice; the
clothes probably wouldn't have fit you anyway."



Understanding Engineers Two



To the optimist, the glass is half-full.

To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty.

To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.



Understanding Engineers Three

A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for
a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's
with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!"

The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!"

The priest said, "Here comes the greens-keeper. Let's have a word with him."

He said, "Hello George, what's wrong with that group ahead of us?
They're rather slow, aren't they?"

The green-keeper replied, "Oh, yes. That's a group of blind firemen.
They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we
always let them play for free anytime."

The group fell silent for a moment.

The priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for
them tonight."

The doctor said, "Good idea. I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist
colleague and see if there's anything he can do for them."

The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?"


My apologies to the Engineers out there. In my opinion, you are the greatest group of people i've ever met. We just see the world a little bit differently.

I guess my association with them has tainted my outlook. but I still have a vestige, I guess. Thanks to all of you that helped me understand the video.
 
RyanShort1 said:
And if he'd been just 5% smarter, he'd of also made the effort to make himself a parachute, and used it, so that he could repeat his effort as desired... No mere entertainment, or pleasure, is worth ending it all in one self-centered splurge.
Click to expand...

Everyone's life is a self centered splurge that ends in a splat at the end...some are just more messy and memorable than others.

The story is not about the kamikaze bird with no parachute. It is about us and what makes us who we are.


Blessed are the cracked for they shall let in the light.
 
KRyan said:
I am a tech rep for an aviation company, and work with engineers every day, so it was an adjustment for me to see things from the extremely practical side from the esoteric world I had come from.
Click to expand...

So how are things at Hartzell propellors these days?
 
I don't think crashing on a desert island with Raquel Welch still possible for me anymore. Maybe on my next life.:(

José
 
My engineer side failed me when it came time to buy into an airplane co-ownership. It said, no.

My wife basically said (without actually saying it), "The numbers aren't that bad. How's your right-brain feeling these days? Do you want to go flying, or not?" ;)
 
How far would I go to live my dream?

Mars. Definitely Mars. Definitely. Don't even need the underwear model. Mars.
 
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