FORTS'S PLACE

New Entry

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:59:00 +0000

In case you are wondering....I actually wrote something. It was something that was on my mind and I thought it was a good way to bridge into the new blog. It pulls a little of both blogs together. There are many coming up that will be a little different and I hope interesting.

http://uber-fit.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

Want to get FIT?

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:26:00 +0000

Don’t have time for one blog? Why not start 2? So among other things I have been working on a second blog with my partner in many crimes. The blog itself is designed to relate the activities we endure as well as all the elements that come with our daily lives i.e. diet, training, trip reports and so on.

The main focus is to provide others with some possible help in the aforementioned areas; be it someone who is looking for a trip report on a hike in the Adirondacks, to wanting to know what good food options are available to get you through a normal day, race or epic hike. The main focus is to share our gained knowledge, to hopefully educate as well as inspire those to get out there and explore or to merely live a healthier life...

So hope you will come and check it out.
http://uber-fit.blogspot.com/

At the Finish

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:07:00 +0000

A couple pictures from the finish

Always Improving.

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:07:00 +0000

Highlights; a new record time for a male amputee in the 10K, 38 minutes amazing. All the athletes that participated was phenomenal the biggest year to date. The top runners are always impressive slightly over 2 hours for a marathon and roughly 1:10 for a first place half is amazing. Parker told me that during the wheelchair marathon a female (I think) participant raced to the finish and once she was a few feet away she laboured her way out of her chair and walked across the finish line. That is the definition of inspiration, dedication and determination.

For me Sunday went really well including my time for my first half marathon 1:46:56. I was shooting for 1:45 to 1:50, so I am happy with the outcome and have a time to think about for next year. The atmosphere and race itself is so addicting.

Thinking of 2010 there are things that I have learnt in this year’s attempt that I will apply to my training and race next year. They are the little things that we learn to better us next time...

First major lesson; although I said no some events during my training there were a couple nights that I should have been in bed a little earlier. Although I made sure I had a rest day after those nights, my recovery the week after was hindered. Stricter next year.

Second; overall diet was good but realized that with while burning thousands of calories I sometimes over ate, and some choices were not 100% ideal. Another change for next year.

Third; I weigh 182lbs and am 5’8" not a long distance runner’s build. During training I dropped leg weights other then for injury prevention but maintained heavy and exhausting upper body training. This caused me to be over tired at times plus I was still carrying a decent amount of weight up top. Next year instead of dropping the weight and frequency of upper body training two weeks prior to the race, I will do it at the beginning of the 16 week program. This will result in slimming down by maintaining a crossfit style training for stamina and strength.

Finally; check your time. I started two pace times ahead of mine at the 1:35 pace bunny so when I saw my pace bunny next to me at the 18K I thought all was good and although I sprinted past him I came in at 1:46:56 and he at 146:10. This was a mistake I made as when I crossed the start line I was ahead of my pace bunny. If I had checked my time at the 18km I would have noticed that I was a little over 1:30 by a minute or two and should have started picking it up a little quicker then I did, that is if I would have the energy to.

Overall a great weekend and a lot of fun. I am addicted to the half marathon distance and learnt a great deal as I have stated and will attempt for an even faster time next year. Only 361 days to go!

RACE DAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Sun, 24 May 2009 11:21:00 +0000

6:10AM: wake up and shower.

6:45AM: Breakfast; Sesame bagel peanut butter, honey and banana. One cup of coffee and 10oz of water.

7:00AM: Stretch, pack, listen to music and go through mental prep until;

8:30: Depart for start line.

This is what my morning has looked like (it is now 7:15) and how it will continue from here on out. It has been a long 16 week training program with injuries (one of which flared up last Tuesday rendering me out of commission for the last week of training...lovely), illness early in the training and all the other aches and pains that come from the fun training. But overall it has felt great and I believe that I am ready.

It is my first attempt at the half marathon and it should be an interesting experience to say the least. I have a time but as usual it is something that I cannot say out loud for fear of a jinx (this is the only thing I seem to be superstitious of). I will say that anything above 1H 50Min, I won’t be entirely happy.

Well back to stretching and prep, so good luck to all those running today the weather looks perfect cool but sunny, and those in the marathon that started about 20 minutes ago, I hope it is going well.

Be Strong

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:07:00 +0000

Just last Saturday I was feeling sorry for myself for not getting off the couch. I spent most of my day watching two movies back to back and then a hockey game later that night, followed by another movie. This was of course due to a relatively late night the night before. It was also my rest day but even on rest days I do something i.e. work around the house, walks, light hike...

But after I thought of that I was reminded of all those times that I may have made excuses to not do something physical or challenging (be it mental, emotional or physical) and I am not proud of those moments. Luckily I don’t make excuses often as I get a great deal of enjoyment from pushing myself to do better, to succeed, to overcome... It is the reason we complete school. Compete for a career or position. Take care of our kids. Train for health. It is why most of us continuously push ourselves to meet all the little and big goals in all realms of life.

But there is a flipside to this, isn’t there? I have talked about it again and again; excuses. The other day when I sat on my couch, and did absolutely nothing, I was thinking of these excuses we create for ourselves and end up believing them, they become a part of our life.

Perfect example I asked a friend if she thought she was addicted to smoking or if she chooses to smoke. She was the first person ever to give me the intelligent and realistic answer without having succumbed to denial: "I suppose everyone who smokes is (addicted), including myself. I know it is gross and terrible for my health, but I make no attempt to quit.

Most people I ask that question usually state: I chose to smoke because I like it. No you chose to smoke because you are addicted to it and the addiction tells you, you like it.

So the point is that when I thought of this in great detail I decided to think of how I inspire myself to stay healthy and active and often it comes from within, or those around me or sometimes I seek the inspirational lives of others. I decided to search for others who have overcome far greater challenges and see what they have accomplished

Thanks to Crossfit CDA I came across the post, aptly titled, No Excuses. It begins with

"I’m tired. I’m getting over a cold. I’m too old. I’m too fat. Working out makes me sweat. It’s too cold. It’s too hot. I’m sore. I don’t have enough time. I have 2 kids. My job is too stressful. The gym is hard.

The blog showcases athlete and author of; No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life, Kyle Maynard. Born with congenital amputation of the forearms and lower legs. Kyle has accomplished a great deal and as his autobiography states; "he excels: as a champion athlete, inspirational speaker, college student (who can use a cell phone, type fifty words a minute, and maintain an A average), and male model.

So the next time you start reminding yourself of those excuses take some inspiration from this man;

Having a hard Day? I know I am Bored as Hell...

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:06:00 +0000

Meeting my time for the 10 last year I decided to tackle the half marathon, 21K, and although I had a week off of training from an injury and another from a slight cold, my training is coming together. I have 3 more weeks of speed training as I finished hills last week and started speed this past week. It is amazing what proper training will do as yesterday I ran my 18km run and from all the weeks of increasing by 2 km and then going back down I was moving rather quick right till the last K. Mind you my legs were finished after but that is expected after running 18km, close to race pace.

I love cult films and find they are far superior to the crap that comes form the mainstream Hollywood, think that is why I prefer shows like Sopranos over movies as well. Anyway a great portion of cult films are Horror and slasher flicks. I enjoy both genres based on a decent story and/or unique story (the grind house collection for example) and the ones that are truly well done and watching a director get better and of course the ones with a decent amount of cheese that just makes it entertaining (especially the 70’s and 80’s stuff).

Now as far as progression; Rob Zombie. He started with House of a 1000 Corpses and I must admit I was not expecting much but was hoping there would be something there and there wasn’t. Then I was blown away by the jump he made in Devil’s rejects just amazing movie, really well done. Then came his Halloween remake and again the progression was there a terrific movie, not to mention his wife Sherri Moon Zombie’s progression as an actor.

So I have been downloading a great deal of these types of movies from Night of the living dead 1968 to Dead Air 2008 (featuring a Zombie cast member, Bill Moseley who was great in TDR). Great site for everything evil and scary http://www.horror-movies.ca/ just don’t get caught watching trailers of horror movies at work, it is difficult to explain why you are watching Zombies killing humans and so on…The pic above is from High Tension a remake from an earlier French slasher film. High Tension pays homage to the 70’s films as well.

Some fun at work. A great prank for your colleague, in my case my supervisor, use clear packing tap and tape the top portion of their receiver to the base of the phone. I could not stop laughing this morning as I watched the phone almost fly across the room and miscellaneous items being strewn about during the chaos. Good thing he has a sense of humour…it was also pay back for a few things he had done to me.

Education we all need it.

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:13:00 +0000

Please be thoughtful and caring people that I hope you all are and watch this, and not just a minute of it the whole thing. I hope that you will...and of course comments are welcome. Link below;

Education

Thanks

Shane McConkey 1969 - 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:08:00 +0000

Only a few days prior to me posting my ‘driven’ blog, the extreme ski world suffered a horrible tragedy. While filming a new ski movie Shane McConkey (who appeared in the Steep film that I discussed in Drive) fell to his death during one of his scenes.

Shane skied off a cliff in the Dolomites Mountains in Italy and was supposed to transition from a double back flip into his wingsuit. He was having trouble getting one of his skis off and began to spin out of control. During this time he had been falling for 12 seconds and it was just to close to the ground for the suit or chute to do anything...he never go the chute deployed.

Shane was a highly respected skier and his awards and accolades built a resume of skiing that could not be matched by many and held him in the group of an elite few. He will be missed by those in the community and of course more so by his family, including wife and 3 (I think) year old daughter, and friends. He was only 39 years old but he gave his passion his all and like any, was well aware and I am sure, accepted the risks. He inspired many and changed his sport for the better. He was one of the main individuals that inspired me from Steep and Warren Miller's Higher Ground, just to name a couple.

This video is well worth looking at. It was posted by a fan in his memory. It showcases what Shane did best. And as one other person posted so appropriately R.I.P. Rest In Powder. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUfF-kyKdGU)

Drive.

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Everything we do takes varying amounts of drive to be completed. No matter if it’s a hobby we take up at home, staying in shape with or for a sport we love or training for a race. Last week I watched a recently downloaded video entitled Steep.

The film showcases the evolution of extreme big mountain skiing from the first decent of Grand Teton (which is in the National Park that carries the same name) by Bill Briggs to the present day adventurers like Ingrid Backstrom or Seth Morrison. The Briggs decent was one that stuck with me as there are no real areas to make a run as there are jagged rocks and 100- foot cliffs in every direction. Add to this the fact that no one had ever dreamed of skiing a mountain like it. But what impressed me the most was that Briggs stated that this was the best day of his life and at the age of 76 stated that it was the most amazing accomplishment he ever had.

Those are the words of a person who lived their life to the utmost in their personal passion. He will remember that day till the day dies and will never once regret taking that risk that others simply thought was crazy and unthinkable. A couple days after the run people had a hard time believing he had skied the mountain. A friend of Briggs and the editor of the paper (I believe) chartered a plane to fly over the mountain. This is what they saw; yes those are his tracks

Now just two days ago, in an attempt to get even more pumped for the mountain bike season, we sat down to watch two films that I have been waiting a great deal of time to see; Seasons and Roam. Both films have been created from top pro mountain bikers and as a group for the film they are known as; The Collective.

One thing that I have not discussed a great deal on my blog was my road trip with three others to Moab Utah. This area is truly the mountain bikers mecca. While watching Roam two of the riders began discussing how amazing the biking is in Moab and how it is the "perfect place to take a road trip to."

This was exactly the idea that a few of us had and in 2005 we did it. We bought all the food, first aid kits, and extra tires we needed. We then piled four bikes, all our gear and food oh and four people into a Hyundai Elantra and made the 36 hour drive traversing the U.S. from Ottawa.

After all the time was considered for driving we had exactly 5 days of riding while in Moab. Every morning was the same routine, out of bed at 6 or 7am eat and get the car ready. We biked for an average of 4 to 5 hours every morning only to stop and rejuvenate with lunch. By 1130 every morning it was already 98’F so the stop was good. Most afternoon’s were filled with a few hours of hiking in the desert which always ended with a trip to the a hidden area mainly frequented by locals. It was a water hole that was feed from the cold waters from the snowy La Sal mountains only about 50 miles to the west. It was a great area to relax cool off and do some great cliff jumping into the creek.

The city alone is worth the visit. There is a great brew pub and a all you can eat pizza joint where you can order a pizza with all the toppings you want on it and once it is made it stays at the counter they call out your name and instead of taking the whole pie you take a slice or two and leave the rest of the large pizza there for others to try your favorite. It was great to try what others had as their staple pizza. And after a full day of ridding hard and hiking , we definitely deserved beer and pizza, there is nothing better ten being rewarded after a hard day of fun.

We have always planned on going back and with my 2010 hiking/biking/road trip consisting of BC, California, Nevada and Baja, we may have to take the time to swing by Utah before we head back. Imagine one day biking and/or hiking in BC, then driving to hike a 14ner(one of the 14000foot peaks in California) seeing the coast and some of the major cities along the way to do one of the 7,000 footers in southern Baja. Then back up North to Nevada or Moab for more of the same and maybe even some gambling in Vegas. Drop the rental off and fly home for some rest.

Never limit yourself and do the things you want to do while you can. And how can you not be sure you are good at something or will enjoy something if you never give it a shot. We all need to drive ourselves to do whatever it is we wish to do, that’s what living is; no regrets.

Preparation.

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

The city of Vancouver is super busy getting prepared for the 2010 Olympic games. I would imagine that urban planners, contractors, city officials, Olympic coordinators and so on are all feeling the pressure and making sure that their check lists have been completed.

Things like buildings that have or need to be designed and built. Are there enough accommodations? Will the water and sewage handle the influx of people? Transportation issues are a major headache, which I have been told from a friend who grew up in Vancouver, that this has been an issue for regular daily travel as the city and, more importantly, its surrounding areas had not expected to grow as fast and as large as they did.

Not to mention all the prep on the mountains and surrounding areas to look clean and presentable. The mountain runs need to be designed. The courses for new games like snowboard and ski cross need to be figured out. All of these things need to be prepared and ready right down to the last details. I can’t even think of all the stuff they need to go through.

One thing I really hadn’t thought of but my friend from Vancouver told me to look into ones aspect that the coordinators and city officials did not overlook. So I did. And when I got my answer I could breathe a sigh of relief. You see the good people involved with the Vancouver 2010 games are truly thinking of everything, and I mean everything. They’re thinking of those who will be in Vancouver from the celebrities to the investors to the regular slobs. You see they just want the area to look clean, neat and tidy.

Now how do they accomplish this look? Well do all the above stuff I mentioned and one I didn’t; remove reality and truth so the view and visitor is not reminded of reality and thus does not have to think for themselves. You see these great people involved have figured out that if they charter a whole whack of buses and get a massive security detail they can round up all the cattle that line the streets. Oh sorry not cattle the homeless.

It is a perfect idea. You get some buses, get a bunch of cops together, grab some tasers and tear gas (just in case of course) hell throw in some cattle prods just for the fun of it because there is nothing like seeing a homeless person piss themselves when they get hit with 10,000 volts.

The comments from those involved including police officials have stated that these people will be offered space at area shelters. "We will not be engaging in any kind of social cleansing," Deputy Chief Sweeney said. Some will obviously not want to go and there will probably be a shortage of space so many will be sent to other areas off the grid, sort’a speak. Essentially this is a sort of ‘Homeless Relocation Program’ an HRP. And those involved with HRP could be named…oh got it; Citizens UNified Transfer Service (feel free to shorten that to an acronym).

But honestly why bother even offering them places to stay? I mean they are homeless people they’re kind of use to sleeping outside. Also, come to think of it, bullets are not that expensive. They mean nothing and contribute nothing to society. What have they done for us? And could you imagine if they would beg for money from the visitors of the Olympic games? Imagine those greedy, filth covered animals stinking of feces and mouth wash attempting to make money off this event. Or the idea that a visitor would have to look at one of these god awful people while riding the bus on the way to watch some figure skating? No that would just not do.

So thank you Citizens UNified Transfer Service (or CUNTS for short) thank god you are looking out for us respectable people and ensuring that those, man even thinking of calling them humans makes me sick, vagrants are taken care of

*Disclaimer: For those who may not know me well or are unsure of what sarcasm is, the preceding message was.

What to snack on?

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:15:00 +0000

I have been writing a few things but have been so busy at work that I just can’t seem to get anything finished. But I couldn’t let something go as I hear it every day on the radio and had to be sure that what I was hearing was actually, what I was hearing. Ok that was redundant for no reason. After some quick research (i.e. google) I found out that what I was hearing was actually…alright you get the idea, so here it is.

Have you ever had the feeling that your lunch was just not quite filling enough and a snack was required? Or let’s say it is 3pm and you had your lunch at, let’s say noon, now two hours have passed and that is a normal time to reach for some calories right? But wait what are you hungry for? What will quench that craving?

Ok so you could go to the fridge grab a yogurt, a fruit and some nuts. Or maybe a granola bar and fruit. Hard boiled eggs and crackers (hmmm love that one). Maybe if you are running in a couple hours some pretzels or a bagel. Crackers cheese and grapes…we are only limited by our imagination. But sometimes aren’t you just craving something with a little more oh I don’t know sustenance?

If you are then you will be happy to know that I have found it and am happy to present it here. For all those times you didn’t want to take the excruciating long time to think of and pack a snack in the morning, or forgot to throw a granola bar in your lunch bag, or didn’t want to buy some fruit or pretzels at a store or vending machine near or on the way to work, or maybe you just felt like leaving your office waiting for the elevator, taking a walk, waiting in line, placing an order, wanted to spend extra money, wait for your snack to be prepared, grab some condiments, walk back to your work, wait for the elevator (b/c god forbid you take the stairs you know you could have a heart attack walking up all those flights) return to your office and finally sit down and then remove the cylinder shaped object from the bag all shrink wrapped in plastic, and finally sink your teeth into….wait for it…THE NEW MAC SNACK WRAP.

Yes MCFU*KS have created a snack on the go for all those on the go people who just don’t have time to grab a granola bar (insert prepared snack of your choice) and have more time to run into mcd’s and get some good old meat and special sauce as a snack. Not that we don’t eat enough meat or crap in our diet as it is, although there probably is no real meat in this thing and still that isn't the point we shouldn't eat from this crap factory at anytime for any reason, we might as well add it to our snacks as well. Why don’t they just get to the point and change their tagline to

"If smoking won’t kill you we will do our best to" or "If you are unsure what fat and unhealthy really is, come and dine with us"

A Few Things...

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:32:00 +0000

Stealing a form from SBP since I have been off for so long I thought that I would post a few updates and thoughts;

- In recent months it seems that time is just flying by. I really wouldn’t mind creating a time machine, not to travel back and forth, just to for pause or slow mode. A great deal of my time has been training for the up coming Ottawa race weekend half marathon.

With obtaining my goal of a 45 minute 10K last year, I original though of going for a sub 45 but have decided that I wanted the extra distance. The training has also rendered me back at the chiro’s office as well as getting some sports massage therapy. The clinic I go to do wonders for my injuries and with some rest and ice I seem to be back to form and hope it didn’t set me back all that much.

- I have also been working on a green committee at work with a couple colleagues while also attempting to write a green article for the green section of our bimonthly newsletter that circulates throughout the bank. Once it has been edited by the chief editor I will be sure to post it.

- While passing the pro-choice protestors that line the street directly across from an abortion clinic near my building, I have been asking myself how long it will take before I make a comment. All I want to ask is; why they are such fair weather protestors? I agree with freedom of protest (except what they are attempting to do which is remove other people’s choice based on a bogus religion, so the whole idea is wrong) but it seems funny that on the cold or snowy days there was maybe 2 to 4 protestors and I am being generous. But now that the nicer weather is here they are out in one big massive heard of close minded, brainwashed catholic mindless fanatics. When I saw them approach a 15 year old girl to ‘talk’ you know these people need to be stopped…or maybe they should save their own lives by getting one.

- Politically I am not shocked at all those individuals who are asking "why hasn’t Barack fixed the world yet?" Also I am not super shocked that he is more conservative then most figured he would be. One does hope that he gets the full eight years as it is obvious that four years is only enough time to decent damage, and it takes a greater amount of time to do good.

Oh and speaking of this subject, I really hope one day I can become a CEO of some major corporation so I can drive the behemoth directly into the ground while watching all those parish along the way and wait for that final gasp of air as its limp figure thuds against the pavement face first, only to be given a bonus from a ‘stimulus’ program and asked to fix what I already fucked up. And then what I would do, and this is just me, I would ride that dwarfed company right back up to the heavens, receive the praise of being a financial and enterprising guru, and then proceed to drive that son of a bitch right back down again, because kids if history tells us anything is that we reward incompetence; reference Bush 2004, Merrill Lynch's Stan O'Neal, NHL teams who get a point for overtime, or lets face it, society as a whole. A little less patting on the back and a little more kick in the ass is needed. We are getting soft on one another excuses are simply a simple way of avoiding the truth.

- I am getting uber stoked for my upcoming trip to Europe. While in school I was able to travel to Peru, the first spring, and then Mexico for my honeymoon, which is now three years ago. So it will be really exciting to get on a plane, trek and sleep in the alps (which just look amazing and I am sure the pictures don’t do any justice), stay in mountaineering and trekking capitals like Chamonix in France and Courmayeur in Italy. Finally we will see some major cities including Paris, Venice, and Rome to name a few. Can’t wait!

This trip also requires a great deal of training and preparation. I have been throwing crossfit back into my regular routine on a weekly basis. Utilizing a great deal of the movements with the repetitions and pace is ideal for our 7 day trek through the Alps.

- While thinking of the trip, we were watching one of our new favourite channels RUSH (HD). They showcase high adrenaline travel, sports and so on. They have a series of episodes that showcases pro-big mountain skiers’ base jumping sometimes with pro base jumpers. The other night they were in Chamonix France. It was interesting to see the area we will be in but more interesting is that there are no official rules agents base jumping in Europe so there is greater range and what better range would you want then skiing off a cliff and opening a chute? This show has sparked the question of; when are we going to go skydiving? The itch is getting stronger and I am hoping for summer of 2010 or 2011 in the latest. Here are some clips from the show.

- I am also working on a separate blog with a different spin. This was also another reason why this blog has been put on hold slightly.

More here then expected…I shall return.

Paddy, Pie, and Pints!

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:41:00 +0000

As you can see from the counter on my blog, today is indeed St. Patrick's day. I have arrived at work wearing the Ireland jersey I purchased while visiting the green Isle. Of course I realized on the way to work from a comment that my wife made, that it is Tuesday and wearing jeans and a jersey to work may not be such a good idea. I can only hope that others will have a decent sense of fun and humour.

Regardless of that I will be enjoying a couple pints after work today a our local pub. It will then be off to home for some steak and mushroom pie, that my lovely wife has made. Meanwhile washing it down with a few more stouts and all the while listening to a few of my favourite Celtic bands.

What more could you ask for? Oh yeah and it is supposed to be about 12’C and sunny, so for the first paddy’s day in memory, I may actually be on the patio at the pub and on the deck at home enjoying my Guinness.

Sláinte

Dave Grohl.

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:05:00 +0000

Sitting here I am bombarded by the deafening and bone rattling sounds of Probot. Funny thing is that I would have never put heavy metal and Dave Grohl in the same sentence but here I am listening to Red War featuring Max Cavalera (Soulffly) with Grohl at the drum set hammering out some of his best. But Probot will come up a little later as the project itself is worthy of some reflection.

I had no idea on how to even begin this process. The biggest problem is attempting to forget what Grohl has done musically since the fall of Nirvana. The list is so impressive that there are very few rock stars that could ever have a similar resume. From Foo Fighters to his contributions with; Motorhead, Toni Iommi, Eddie Vedder, Paul McCartney, Queens of the Stone Age…I could honestly keep going but I think the point is made; the guy is revered by some of the greatest.

As I was reading everything I could about all members of Nirvana (including Kirst Novoselic' Blog at Seattle Weekly really worth taking a look at) I personally don’t think the band would have continued on after grunge. I could see some sort of album afterwards but it most likely would have ended up being something like Mad Season.

Assuming that the band would not have continued on or would Grohl be who he is now...these questions are as hard to assume or fathom as; Would Jesus have been as popular if his mother would have been knocked up in the old fashioned way (new way then I guess)? or would have Adolf Hitler chose the same path in life if he hadn’t read anti-Semitic literature including Martin Luther's On the Jews and Their Lies, in a very influential part of his life? We can only make assumptions.

But concerning the Grohl question and without knowing the individuals in question or ever being around these people it isn’t an exact answer but I do believe that even if Kurt would not have tragically taken his own life, Grohl while with Nirvana (for whatever amount of time that would have lasted) would have had side projects and other bands to work with.

The answer can be traced Grohl believing that his style was negatively affecting Nirvana. Grohl wouldn’t even contribute his writing with the band as he believed it would ruin them for good. But he was still writing and creating songs on his own and then the clincher was an indie album named Poketwatch.

The album was written and produced by Grohl as a solo project which enabled him to lay down ten songs that, now knowing the Foo’s, would be its ground work. The album was hard to find but when I did I couldn’t stop listening to it. It resembles a rough Foo Fighter sound with some heavier punk influence including scratchy vocals that were fitting of the time.

So there you have it Poketwatch sealed the deal for me making me believe there is no doubt he would have had at least a similar path to that of what he has had. From Nirvana to the Foo fighters or the influence on the Queens of the Stone Age and even though you may not be a metal fan you should sit down and listen to the homage Grohl created for those greats in metal that influenced him so much.

This aforementioned album is under the name of Probot. It only has one collaborative album to date but I hope that Grohl will continue on this in the future. To hear Lemmy from Motorhead sing Shake your Blood with Grohl on the drum set is, for the lack of a better word, mind blowing. The song is steeped in old school metal mixed with the originality of Grohls writing and harmonious nature.

Then when I think of his range I think of when I listened to the awe inspiring acoustic/classical guitar song The Battle of the Beaconsfield Miners for the first time, I literally had chills. I then find out several months later that this song was dedicated to two miners who were trapped in the mine they were working in. Grohl sent them a letter stating his support and thoughts of the two men with a deal stating: "Though I'm halfway around the world right now, my heart is with you both, and I want you to know that when you come home, there's two tickets to any Foos show, anywhere, and two cold beers waiting for yous. Deal?

The two miners took him up on it and had a ‘meet and greet’ at a Sydney acoustic performance with the Foo Fighters. I mention this song and side story only as a confirmation of his talent along with his contribution and utter devotion to music perfection and above all a true understanding and respect of what real and true music is.

Music From The Oak

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:39:00 +0000

I am presently working on something that will be posted later today

Would Dave Grohl be where he is if Kurt had not killed himself? Just asking it makes me want to punch myself and leaves me with a chill that massive Grohl fans (myself included) are going to storm my home late at night and force me to listen to Celine Dion or a continuous loop of 'walking on sunshine' (that one might just kill me).

The original talent Dave Grohl contains is endless. But this question crept up into my head while I was reading Krist Novoselic's blog at Seattle Weekly (bassist from Nirvana). It got me thinking of what Krist is doing now and brought back memories of Nirvana and so on. So once I am satisfied I will share my thoughts and findings here.

Why Me? Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:23:00 +0000

Ok so this is part II and part I was up earlier so you don't have to read I to understand II but it would make more sense.

Perfect example is the mother of all resolutions; "this year I am going to in shape and join a gym." This one drives me nuts for more then one reason. 1. is selfishness, which I will explain, and 2. As I want the best for people and know that failing or allowing yourself to fail is not a fun thing.

To explain ‘1.’ This starts with the fact that I have been going to the gym about five times a week since I was fifteen. Each and every New Year there is an influx of new members, I like to call these people the ‘resolutionists’. Every year they clog up the system by creating line-ups for everything from treadmills to showers. I am selfish in this respect because I hate my gym crowded.

What happens after the first couple months of every new year? Numbers in the gym start to fall and by the end of March things get back to normal. This happens every year and only a very small portion of the resolutionists actually stay on and stick to it. By March there are no line-ups for treadmills and it is back to us regulars to take control of our gym, until the next new year of course.

This is where you might think I am jerk as I hate the influx of new members trying to get in shape. But year in and year out I see people join a gym only to fail and drop out a few months later. People drop out for many reasons: being in a gym isn’t for them and they will work out or do activities elsewhere, perfect. They feel that, this particular gym isn’t working for them….and so on. But the most common reason; they simply quite and give up.

Now I will put this whole thing to sleep and explain #2 while tying in the self-pity. Although I hate a busy gym, I would much rather alter my workout times if it meant that more people were meeting their personal goals. But what happens to many of these people is that after that first month, even if they see minimal results they don’t feel it is fast enough or to maintain this new routine is to hard. This is slowly when the determination and effort is lost.

The more they think it takes to long they become frustrated and become upset with themselves. This is the crucial point; the individual needs to take that energy (frustration) and redirect it to their health and exercise. We all have moments when we want to quite but if we push past it by changing things up, like in this case a new form of cardio, we can continue on day after day.

If they don’t the next step introduces excuses; its too hard, I don’t have time, I don’t see any change. These are bad for mojo and will lead to greater frustration; "I don’t care how I feel I will not workout." From there it isn’t a short fall to self-pity "I can’t workout it doesn’t work for me". Majority of the resolutionists are in the later category.

But this can all be avoided. Self-pity is no different then any of the obstacles we face in everything we do. Attempting to be social and entering a new group of friends is terrifying, why? Rejection. We fear rejection and some so much that they won’t even make an effort. Self-pity can lead to depression and if an individual allows themselves to get here it is even harder to get back. But you can not lose what you have not put in.

I truly believe that the greater sadness here is people give up on themselves and allow feeling sorry for oneself to be the justification for it. Self-pity and the negative patterns that come with it can be broken. We must focus and determine what we want (risks, goals…) and go for it. Establish time lines and mini-goals. If they are not met allow understanding of why then refocus that energy to work harder and take that risk again but now better prepared.

This was of course not meant to pick on people I merely combined one personal observation with a negative state of mind. But then again if someone felt guilty or angry after this I would assume it’s potentially that they have given up on something and this merely reminded them.

Life isn’t much fun without having something to strive for and the thought of failure should be a motivational tool to push on and succeed. Unfortunately many of us see failure purely as a negative which leads to rejection, self-pity and finally resulting in not making efforts or not taking risks.

Why Me?

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:41:00 +0000

My new blog title is a poem from author, poet and painter D.H. Lawrence. His genre resided in modernism and a societal deconstruction as a result from industrialization. His main themes were society and sexuality and later of religion and the occult – funny how many Christians have this obsession.

The title of this particular poem is;

"Self-pity". So let’s look at it again;
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A bird will fall frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.

There are only two lines to this poem but every single time I read it, it seems to be infinite and filled with meaning and power. Obvious but...First line: statement referring to a wild or free animal never accepting self-pity. Second: an example: even in death the ‘wild thing’ never regretted possible failure.

This got me to thinking about how humans on the other hand have the ability to allow themselves to be affected by self-pity. Some of us tend to almost bathe in it at times more then others. When some of us have a run of bad luck, a common reaction is to ask "why me?" This is normally followed by our preferred method of ‘dealing’ with this rejection or misfortune i.e. not leaving the comfort of home, turning to a vice i.e. food or alcohol, and so on.

Now to be fair to us humans, we live and deal with emotions, sympathy, empathy and for some of us sensitivity. But these feelings should not allow us to use them to fuel depression resulting in excuses.

We have recently ended our first month of 2009 and with reference to things I have said about "obtaining goals" the first month of the year is probably the best time to start reflecting on the positive things we would do in the new year, i.e. resolutions. [Ok at this point I may come across as a bit of a jerk (ya I know what else is new?) but I will explain later why I am not.]

Ask yourself; Am I meeting those good intentions? That question must be reviewed with any promise we make to ourselves. Each of us must answer this honestly, if we do not we are lying to ourselves and failure is immanent. It is acceptable to have a few missed steps as long as we recognize why, get back to it and learn from our mistakes as to avoid failure.

Part II; will be posted later today. It was just a little to long to put in as one.

What we don't see...

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:07:00 +0000

Recently I have been doing a great deal of reading involving military history, manoeuvres (w/ positive and negative outcomes), weaponry and so on. When I was asked why? not long ago the simple and straight answer was; military and war interests me. Just that simple it is like being a civil war buff or a car buff; "so Biff wants to be a Buff"….that kind of thing.

Anyway the other reason that just came up recently as to why I am doing this is that I am working on a story or article if you will, about soldiers in today’s day and age. Not to release anything I will keep the core of it to myself.

No matter if you disagree with the wars at present or war in general we all have to support the troops. They do something they take pride in and believe in and even if some of them don’t believe fully in the reasons for certain wars, they still fight as it is what they were meant to do. It’s what they train for and want to do and they do so with their life on the line and require our support for that reason alone.

During my research I have not only read a great deal of articles and stories online I have also been watching historical movies (only the ones that actually have truth to them, not Navy Seals with Charlie although I do like that movie) and documentaries also first hand videos on Youtube by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. I suggest if you ever wonder what war looks like to take a look.

Obviously it is nowhere near what it would be like to be there but it gives you a small window of perspective. I will also state that if you chose to look at them, do be careful. If you do not want to see anything too graphic stick to the videos that do not have warnings stating: Graphic Material or similar phrases, some of it is hard to watch. The ones that don’t usually depict soldiers that were nearly hit by IEDs, fire fights in streets, air strikes and so on.

Now although I am not done I wanted to write this because there is a major part of a soldier’s life that is left behind when they head overseas. Family, friends, and children wait and hope that their loved one will be back safe and sound.

Last night I was watching a special on the doctors who left Canada to help those in Afghanistan. They showed the story of an afghan boy who was near an IED when it went off and was severally injured and now will be scared for life mentally as well as physically. And most of us say (I was one of them) "this is hard to watch" but this is someone’s reality as we see it through a television screen.

That was not where I wanted to go right now but it is part of it. Reason being is that I came across this picture and story (which follow) this morning and couldn’t even go on reading anymore. None of the most graphic videos I have watched (and I have watched many) from these wars ever hit me as hard as the story last night and this story did;

Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News; picture and story I used from this link.

The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted."

Before you die; A few more.

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:07:00 +0000

One on the more practical side of the list as opposed to the ones I spoke of last time, is to volunteer for peace work in a third world country. Parker and I have always planned on giving back and helping others by taking a month or so of holidays to help in anyway that those needing it could use it in countries in Africa for example.

A hiking trip to base camp Everest which again in on the more practical side. The only exception is finding the time and it would have to be tied into a longer trip to spend some time in Asia and/or head to Australia or New Zealand. There are many of these trips on the list leaving me feel that there are some many places and so little time.

One that is high on my list and always have been that is slightly impractical due to costs, is obtaining my helicopter pilot license. I have always wanted to fly a helicopter and think that the opportunity of maneuvering a machine like that and to see the ground below in that fashion would be fantastic. Hell I could even kill two stones with one bird by flying a helicopter to the top of a mountain and ski down it, of course someone else would have to fly it down for me of course.

But could you imagine getting enough couples together or your buddies to rent a copter and say, oh I don’t know, fly to Vegas, NY, a hiking destination (within reasonable distance of course) what ever the imagination can come up with…of course I figure it would be hard to convince people to fly with me…

All though it is rather cliché it is still on the list just the same; skydiving. It isn’t high on the list but its there and the reason why it is that not matter if its mountain biking, skiing, or boarding…whichever the sport we always strive to get better. One of the main objectives most of us have is to get better and more efficient at jumping specifically with the size of jumps.

The bigger the jump and the more speed you can carry into them. Obviously, the higher you will go. This free moment in free air is the excitement or rush we are after. It makes us feel free, powerful and vulnerable to the outcome all at the same moment. It is an amazing feeling.

So when I think of those jumps on skis or on a bike I can not fathom the feeling one receives from free falling from a plane. Imagine falling at 190 km/h (120 mph) that has to be one hell of an experience.

Before you die; The List.

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:07:00 +0000

This is something that many of us think of from time to time and some take it more serious then others. A few years ago my wife thought that we should actually sit down and make a list of things that we actually wanted to attempt, accomplish or experience before we perished. The idea was to create a list starting with the most tangible and realistic to those more challenging and improbable ideas. They are all potential challenges or impressive events from travel to a specific task i.e. finishing a marathon. Each varies in probability due to timing for some and/or financing for others.

The other day I started thinking of this list and I can not remember what sparked it but I believe it had something to do with an ill individual completing a race or hike as it was one of the things they had always wanted to do sick or not. So I thought of my personal list and started going through some of the things accomplished and to my surprise I am not doing bad. Graduating from university was high on the list as it was around the time I had to decide if I was going to apply or not. These are the types of things I had but I also had some fun stuff too.

One last thing before I start, although this topic is somewhat sad or morbid, in a way it really isn’t. Although we all have varying levels of acceptance of our own death, the fact remains that we all have one thing in common no matter who we are; we are all going to die eventually. This is why the list should be something of enjoyment for ourselves a sort of reminder of the things that we want to do while we have the chance.

Many people share some of the more common ones on travel, completing a marathon, writing a book and so on. So I thought that I would start with the ironic ones that are only ironic as they belong in the category of;

Things I want to do before I die that may actually result in my death while doing them.

Since we are in heavy snow season and areas like Revelstoke are prime for avalanches I thought that I would start with a skiing adventure that I would like to complete at least once in my life; Heliskiing.

For skiers there is nothing better then gliding into fresh powder with your skis and breaking trail at your local hill. Most local hills in the eastern areas only have about 500 to a 1000 vertical feet on the small side and approximately 2100ft (Jay) on the bigger end. Even places (although I want to go and not saying it is small by any means) Whistler and Blackcomb have a combined elevation of 10000 ft and it is not necessarily all accessible.

Now if you were to say multiply that feeling by about 100 you have heliskiing. A seasoned and prepared big mountain skier can break trail in DEEP powder and be skiing down 7000 to 15000ft of ski hill. Companies like Great Canadian Helisking will guarantee 72600 vertical feet of skiing over 5 days, that’s 14000ft a DAY!

But these amazing views, deep powder and lengthy descents come at a price, both financially and physically. You need to be avalanche ready and mentally prepared for this grade of adventure. Weather is always the first factor and in the high mountains can change in literally minutes. Helicopters, although agile, are still affected by high winds and of course gravity. Helicopters can also initiate avalanches upon landing as well as after dropping of its cargo and taking off.

Once out of the copter and on the hill there is still the decent to think about. Although that massive terrain to ski is impressive but is also quite deadly. A skier or boarder must use common sense with ski conditions as if the top layer is lose and the bottom is complete ice or over if there is reduced friction in certain areas depending on the ground surface then avalanches are common.

Tree wheels and crevices are extremely dangerous. Many people get trapped in a tree well where trees that might be 10, 15feet…or more could be buried by massive amounts of snow but the branches create a space big enough for a person to fall through the snow and be buried themselves at the base of the tree. Same can obviously happen in a crevasse.

So although it is not number 1 on my list, heliskiing is definitely high on the list of those things I want to do before I die that may actually result in my death while doing them.

The list will continue as I have time and for now other next few days of holidays and up coming weeks and moths of winter I will be more then happy with local ski hill trips as well as the backcountry trips, which have a potential for avalanches, are comparably a little more tame then heliskiing.

Personally I feel we should all have this list, feel free to add yours as I go through mine.

A Few Things

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:36:00 +0000

First off; it is winter out and I could not be happier. This weekend I will be scoping out some trails that might be perfect for backcountry skiing and that are not a 2 hours drive in one direction. The only thing that is missing form my ski kit are new boots and I am on the hunt for those at the moment. Added bonus to my backcountry skis I was missing a few screws (yes just as I am in the head) for the bindings and one day walking by a neighbors garbage I found an old pair of alpine skis and the screws were the perfect size.

Hmmm come to think of it I really hope those skis weren’t just resting on top of the garbage can??? No pretty sure they were done as they were not in good shape. But with the new screws alpiners, and skins (that I have been told my brother in-law has an extra pair for me) that makes my entire backcountry ski conversion FREE! SO brand new skis for ski hills and updated backcountry skis for backcountry.

Oh and at the T & L sale in the summer I scored an awesome helmet for 75%off. Helmets are great for ski hills, terrain parks and a must for skiing in backcountry where falling into tree wells, off rocks or directly into trees are all common hazards. So not free but at only $50 I was rather happy. Although I am in for the weather we will see if the Christmas mood changes as I am not in that yet.

Speaking of skis I may need to grab some cross-country skis for work for the next little while. That is of course if the OC Transpo and the city can not come to an agreement before 12:01am Wednesday morning. The idea that I only live 4.4kms door to door I would much rather walk which would take about 45mins. But in the snow carrying my gym stuff lunch and so on, this extra 1.5 hours a day would be a pain.

This would mean that I would have to be out of the house by 6:35am and not a minute later. Then after work got to the gym from 45mins to an hour and then walk home around 530 putting me there at about 6:20 that isn’t all that bad and the extra cardio would be great but it consumes a great deal of time in an already busy season.

I do have spare mountain bike tires that I put screws in for traction but there are still the chances of skidding into traffic or other larger objects. So it will be a waiting game to see if the strike actually happens and if so it will be a last minute decision.

Regardless I hope that those involved get there proper raise they require after the long freeze on wages. But with the union not even bringing offers of 7% over 3 years to their members…it’s not looking good. I don’t know enough at this point for the overall negotiations to state if one side is being unfair over the other. Is the City holding out to not have to pay what these employees deserve or are the Transpo employees holding out for an increase that is not justified. I have been busy but am attempting to catch up on this story today.

Finally in the Coldplay vs. Satriani case I have heard that Satriani attempted to contact Coldplay months before he ever filed charges, stating that he would prefer to stay out of legal proceedings. Obviously the band was never in touch with Satriani and thus the charges were filed.

I was listening to Satriani’s song, ‘If I could Fly’ and Coldplay’s garbage Viva la ‘coño’, and I as I went back and forth I could hear the similarity but needed to hear them side by side. I then cam across this clip; Did coldplay copy Joe Satriani? Take a listen to it and you tell me.

No More Rip-offs!

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:03:00 +0000

Sometimes it is the simple things in life that give us pleasure. Thanks again Stan.

The article; Guitarist Satriani sues Coldplay

a) Satriani is a guitar phenom, who taught other greats like Kirk Hammet from Metallica. b) Who is Coldplay? They are a bunch of soft, mediocre sissies who can’t come up with their own ideas. I really hope they get what they deserve…the Verve comes to mind (they stole the opening from the Stones for their hit Bitter sweet symphony and lost everything).

Grammy nominees Coldplay have been sued by rock guitarist Joe Satriani, who claims the band's song Viva La Vida uses one of his riffs.

In court papers filed in Los Angeles on Thursday, he said the song used "substantial original portions" of his 2004 instrumental If I Could Fly.
Satriani, 52, wants a jury trial and is seeking damages and "any and all profits" for the alleged plagiarism.

Coldplay are shortlisted for seven Grammys, including song of the year.
Viva La Vida is credited to the band's four members - singer Chris Martin, bass player Guy Berryman, guitarist Johnny Buckland and drummer Will Champion.
The song's title was inspired by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

It appeared on the album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends - which was released in June and went to number one in 36 countries - and was also one of their hit singles.

Satriani's track appears on his album Is There Love in Space?

"You know how I know your gay? You listen to Coldplay"

Quote from 40 year old virgin, sorry thought it was fitting.

Pathetic.

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:42:00 +0000

Day in and day out we all take things for granted, it is part of human nature it seems or at least it seems that we have allowed it to become this way. Those of us that reside in wealthy nations do it all the time in one form or another. How many times do we stop and think about how great we have it and how many don’t? I know personally we attempt to as much as we can and do what we can but it is not enough.

Our time in history is one of the most affluent, especially here in the west. We are feeling the pinch of a financial downfall at the moment but nothing close to the 30’s or the hardships felt in third world nations each day.

We (North America) have been involved in a war in the Middle East for many years. It has provided some success, although it may have been started for various reasons and through some lies, it still produced some positive outcomes. But the numbers of fallen soldiers and innocent victims is nowhere near any of the world wars. Added to that the socioeconomic times we have are far greater then those who preceded us.

We over eat and drink while others fetch water from a well and must eat food we would turn in disgust from. We have more objects and items for entertainment than necessity while others have shelter and nothing more. We have more clothing and footwear for every activity and outing while others don’t even own one pair of shoes.

"I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."
~Chuck Paulinick~

In a round about way the quote states that we have it all but we waste it chasing things we don't need. Oh I know we all know this and that I am pointing out obvious examples but it will all be forgotten in a few minutes once we distract ourselves. Last week I followed the Mumbai incident as it unfolded. People died needlessly and we see it all the time and it is a passing news story. More die in Iraq, protesters or enraged in Pakistan, Nigeria and the list goes on.

My point? Do you know what the most disgusting, frustrating, embarrassing, and disgraceful article I read was?

"Wal-Mart worker trampled to death."

Why? Because last Friday was Black Friday in the U.S. "Come on out and get some great deals people!" That’s right the biggest shopping day of the year.

A person died from shopping!!!? Are you fuc*kin kidding me! What the fu*k…?

I personally make a conscious effort to stay away from Wal-Mart because of their practices, but the blame here sits on the shoulders of the people stampeding into the store to SHOP! I hope every single person that ran into that store lives the rest of their lives with utter guilt and hatred for themselves that they can hardly help from vomiting when they look in the mirror each and every day.

Come on Forts who are you kidding? Those who do care will feel some remorse but others that were there that day will simply chalk it up as an unfortunate accident, because really it is an unfortunate accident. Now don't get me wrong we should all be able to enjoy the fruits of our labour but there is a limit.

And it does not remove the fact that in North America one of our top stories and tragedies is "Wal-Mart worker trampled to death" so that we can shop, shop, shop. Sick!
As North Americans many of us are truly pathetic.

You know the stickers and patches that say "Mean People Suck"? I think we might just have to alter it to;

North American People Suck!

CPAT

noreply@blogger.com (Forts) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:34:00 +0000

CPAT Time allotted to complete 8 events (stairs are 3:00 mins) : 10:20

Goal time during training: 8:00 or less

Time of completed CPAT:

7:50

HOOYAH!

Beer will taste even better this evening.