Skate ski tracks look like the trail of the giant Karhu bird 

High Altitude Tennis Continued 

Chilling with the P's

My parents are hanging out here at the moment, where it's a balmy -33 with windchill and calling for a blizzard warning. Good times, good times. Most Canadian parents, if they travel in February, tend to be snowbirds, but not to Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay) to coach the new territory's badminton coaches.

Alaska Ice Wall - 04-05

Zowie! It's now 136 feet tall!

Welcome to Smackerel

Look! It's Accordion guy's original home in TO! Read the chapters - for people of a certain age and interest, it's totally a flashback...

High Altitude Tennis

Cool!

The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time

Mobile PC - Features - The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time

Free Stanley

Now that the NHL season has been cancelled, Free Stanley is urging hockey fans to demand that the Stanley Cup trustees, Ian "Scotty" Morrison and Brian O'Neill, award the Stanley Cup this season. Free Stanley believes the Trustees have authority over the Cup and are duty-bound to award it this year. There are numerous scenarios that can be used to decide a worthy hockey champion this season. Free Stanley is asking fans to contact the Trustees and demand a challenge for the Stanley Cup. Email the Trusees at: info@hhof.com
Or send a letter by regular mail to:
Ian "Scotty" Morrison and Brian O'Neill
Stanley Cup Trustees
Hockey Hall of Fame
BCE Place
30 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5E 1X8

Olympic Ski Jump at the Science Centre?

In 1933, the Toronto Ski Club decided to bring Hogtown in on the action by constructing a 65-foot-tall launch tower in the valley—directly behind where the Ontario Science Centre now stands. The Thorncliffe Ski Jump became the site of several elite international competitions, regularly drawing upward of 10,000 fans

View from downtown Fernie. 

Balbulican Ultimate Dismissal chart

Brilliant list of retorts includes:

Category 1: Contradiction Codes

C-1: Basic Denial (e.g.: That didn’t happen).
C-2: Complex Denial: (e.g.: That can’t possibly be true, because if it were, other unpleasant things that I don’t choose to believe in would be true as well.)
C-3: The Missouri Variant - (e.g.: That might have happened, but you can’t prove it to my satisfaction.)

Category 2: Bullying Codes

B-1: Righteous Wrath (e.g.: How DARE you even suggest such a thing about our brave troops/the Pope/the left/me?!)
B-2: Blackmail (e.g.: Don’t you realize that by saying that you’re endangering our brave troops/the credibility of the UN/Western Civilization As We Know It?)

Category 3: Diversion Codes

D-1: Burden of Proof Reversal (e.g.; Oh, YEAH? Well, how can you PROVE that their proofs are correct, to MY complete satisfaction?)
D-2: The Red Herring (e.g.; How come you’re ALWAYS picking on my beloved country/President/side of the political spectrum/browser?!)
D-3: Archeoblogogy (e.g.; Three years ago, in another thread on another site on another topic, YOU SAID…)

Category 4: Mockery Codes

M-1: Lofty Dismissal (e.g.: There’s a lot of debate on the ‘net about this, most of it low quality – this is just one more example. No need to discuss.)
M-3: Mock Deference (e.g.: Oh, right, well, (snort, guffaw) because YOU say so (snicker), it MUST be true (chortle). No need to discuss.)

Category 5: Assorted Fallacy Codes

F-1: Straw Man (e.g.: So in simple words you believe…(insert highly distorted misinterpretation of your opponent’s position here, then triumphantly defeat the stance your opponent never took.)

Notes:

1) Dismissal codes may be used in conjunction with each other. For example, Basic Denial (C-1) can be combined with any of the Derision Series (Category 4, M1 to 4) to devastating effect. Please list in the appropriate order when using multiple dismissal strategies for maximum effect.

Beyond Burgers

A list of cheap eats.

Weekend recap

Friday: watched King Arthur on DVD. The clash between the screenwriter's attempt at revisionist English history and the producers' need for titillation and excitement is pretty, umm, lame. Too bad, esp. as I really like the leads - Kiera Knightly and Clive Owen.

Saturday - brunch north of Orangeville; skate ski at Horseshoe for 20+ km (Katy's climb is hard btw) and then board for four hours.

Sunday - weak brunch on Bloor West West at Caffe Demetre (could have been fine, but they just didn't try very hard), followed by meeting the P's and then xc skiing at Albion Hills, where there was a distinct lack of snow.

Montreal - the mecca for private health care

"Montreal, in effect, is now the mecca of private health in Canada, attracting patients from as far away as Vancouver Island."

The funniest line in this article is from the doctor who grimly points out that Quebec would get to push the boundaries because Ottawa will never slap a federalist provincial government down - unlike say, Ralph Klein or Gordon Campbell...

From a fall hike.  

toronto subway buttons

A large, but clever art map of the TTC, using their new mktg promos.

Disc golf is not a crime! 

Not Bad for an Old Guy

Yep, making us young un's look bad. Paul G's account of summer climbing with my dad includes some nice shots of the Premier Range. Go Dad!

Cool picture from a great site

...and it's sfw

Just for you, Paul!

Parking Nazi.

Ann Coulter gets busted by CBC

Nice. Awkward, but nice.

Great Word Choice

"intoxipontification"

Legend of Bode grows

"Racing in the downhill portion of the combined competition (one run of downhill and two runs of slalom scored by cumulative time) at the Alpine World Ski Championships, Miller lost a ski on a low jump 15
seconds into the course and then skied for roughly 90 seconds over more than a mile of steep, twisting snow on one long, thick downhill ski. Peers in the finish corral marveled at his skill and reveled in the theater. 'He was superb, even on one ski,'' said Austrian downhiller Michael Walchhofer."

Damn. That's amazing. The DH races are skied on super-hard, slick, icy runs at sick speeds. Skiing virtually the whole thing on one ski - fast! - is an amazing feat of athleticism. A friend of mine once tried to race the women's DH at Lake Louise. The pro women do it in less than 90 seconds. Granted, it wasn't a closed course, but they got down in something like 3:30. Now try that with one ski !?!

Because it's so much fun!!! 

More climbing shots -  

Employees to be billed for personal Net use? | CNET News.com

Aaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhh!!!!

Tactical Care

Interesting analysis of the differences b/w civilian care standards and military ones.

CCR :: Unofficial CCR Photo Contest

Some great shots and inspiration for next summer.