Best Snowboard Video EVER

You have to check this out! GET THAT DAMN CAR OFF THE HILL.

So what's new? I recently went on a 12 mile x-country ski-trek to the Rendezvous Hut System in Winthrop with Janine, Mike, Katy, Cam, and Amanda. It was a tough trek uphill most of the way to the Cassal Hut from Cub Creek. The view was very rewarding and it was mostly downhill on the way home. Check out the photos in Cam's Gallery.

Saw the blue-man group last night. It was a great show and worth seing if you have the chance! My sister is in town visiting so she came along. Amanda and I are still in the midst of wedding planning. Quite a bit to do these days. Finally, Cam actually posted on his blog.

Video of the day: Snowkite

I found a french sports website called MyFreeSport. It's got some sick videos such as this one. Poke around for some more great vids and stories.

Snowkite Master : Teaser saison 2008


Snowkite master / myfreesport

More info on myfreesport.fr

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's been a while... a long while. I think the lack of motivation to post is derived from the intensity of life in other areas. And that's a good thing! When I'm not working on the computer should I really be spending time writing about things I do when I'm not on the computer?

On the other hand... I like to discuss interesting news, provide a laugh, and share some happenings with my friends. So I'll keep blogging in 2008. To start, here are a couple of interesting news stories I'd like to share:

1) Dakar rally cancelled: Best quote of this article "It's like getting punched in the back of our tourism industry.". I think they should have gone ahead with the race anyway. One french family was killed on vacation in Mauritania while picnicing so they cancelled. It's a terrible thing. However, if you're risking your life riding a motorcycle across the hardest terrain in the world then what's a little bit more risk from a small unconfirmed chance of terrorist attack? Maybe they need to go a little Mad Max.

2) Huckabee (Rep) and Obama (Dem) win primaries in Iowa: Read here how the first black contender for president moved one step closer to his goal. I watched some clips of both Huckabee's and Obama's speeches. Huckabee, who puts necrophilia and homosexuality in the same boat, was flanked by none other than Chuck Noris. Seems like a good enough reason to vote for him, right? Obama's speech was pretty good. The "bring home the troups" and "remove dependancy on oil" promises are unrealistic, but I liked his wrap-up with “A father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas, a story that can only happen in the United States of America.” and “We are not a collection of red states and blue states,” he said. “We are the United States of America, and in this election we are ready to believe again.” See Obama's speech here.

Learning to Sail a Hobiecat

On Sunday Tom, Gil and I ventured out onto the waters of Lake Washington to sail a "Hobie cat" sailboat. It was my second time on the boat and Gil's first. Tom has a membership at Sail Sand Point and we tagged along. The Hobie Cat is a Catamaran Sailboat with two pontoons and a flat deck. The vessel we sailed has a 16 foot sail and room for 2 or 3 people. The first two trips out were fun and we became comfortable tacking in 18 mph winds. On the second voyage we noticed a small 2-man race sailboat turtled (flipped over) in the middle of the lake. We sailed over and the found a guy and his girlfriend in their early 20s with no wetsuits. They were clinging to the top of the boat in cold water and high winds. I jumped into the water to help right the sailboat(wearing a 3/4 wetsuit) while tom/gil picked up the girl to bring her back to the shore. With high-winds and choppy water it took the guy (Cameron) and I two trys to flip the sailboat over and get in without it rolling over again. The boat was pretty full of water and Cameron was cold and not an experienced sailor so I limped the boat back upwind to the dock. I wasn't too cold but the former occupants of the sailboat were happy to be out of the wind and in the sun.

Mission complete, tom and I decided to go out for one more sail on the Hobie while Gil enjoyed the sun. This was the best run yet! We got the pontoon right out of the water and were truly "flying" the boat. Here's a video of a hobiecat flying and flipping over. Tom and I didn't crash (somehow) and managed to get back to shore without any problems.

Cam, Amanda and I plan on taking some sailing courses through sand-point to learn the proper techniques of sailing. If anyone's interested let me know!

update: more cool vids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JtQjIsvdvo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=js-Z1m7zqvk

Friday media

Hey all, here's yet another compilation of media for your Friday viewing pleasure.

540 kick tutorial: I'm learning these in Capoeira. To train I've been wearing weights and doing a lot of jumping. My legs are getting quite a bit stronger which helps with the pop. I find that leaning forward helps. I'd also like to learn the sideflip.

Crash at Pacific Raceway: With the warmer weather marks the start of the 2007 track-season. Scroll backwards through the photos to see what happens. Both parties are okay. The track was cold and this was only the 3rd lap of the day. The rider that went down first had cold tires and was probably going in a little hot. Here's some discussion from the rider of the yellow bike.

Fireworks factory explosion: This guy survived with some injuries. Apparently these factories blow-up all the time. Not my choice of a place to work.

Friday vids

It's Friday! Time to share some videos.

Kiteboarder getting blown away: can wind really lift a boarder? maybe

Capoeira Ne Veia: capoeira trailer with good tunes

BMW M3 on Isle of Man: insane driving

Capoeira Samba: crazy muscle control

Got any vids to share? Post a comment!

Null season, Whistler pics, R32

As mottie suggests everyone's laying low these days. There's no fresh snow, the weather is bleak and work is busy. But all is not lost...

Today VW announced the release of more R32's in America. For $500 you can put down a deposit on 1 of the only 5000 vehicles to be released here. The car comes in 1 of 4 colours and the only option is to get nav for $1800. Some of the most interesting specs are that "The R32 features a narrow-angle 3.2L V6 producing 250 horsepower mated to a six speed dual clutch DSG transmission, with steering wheel mounted shift controls." Yes you read that correctly, paddle shifters with a dual clutch. I've never driven a DSG transmission before but I plan on test-driving a VW equipped with it this Sunday. My roomie has one of the few R32s in the US (released in 2004) and it's proven to be great for snowboarding expeditions, commuting, lookin hawt, and resale value. Maybe I'll throw down a refundable deposit Sunday. I'm going to research some other options like the WRX and EvoMR. Either way, I won't buying a new car until this summer.

While we're waiting for the next dump of snow I decided to put up pics from the last Whistler trip. George/Cam/Gil/Gil's cousin Susan and I hit Whistler in force 2-3 weeks ago. Hamilton, Eric and crew were there too and I stayed in style with Cam's folks who fed us immensely (fondue!) and kept us entertained with stories of Cam's youth. At one point Eric's brother smashed his face into some ice and got his first bloody nose ever but was okay. We enjoyed some sunshine and beer at the top of 7th heaven in the pub at the end of the day then I rode the couloir (no fall zone!) on Blackcomb for the first time ever. Overall, one of my best days ever even though the snow wasn't great. Here's a video (26MB) of Hamilton and I boosting over a knoll and getting a few seconds of hangtime.