Mud Hero Rocks

This past weekend we had an awesome experience, I was part of a team that participated in Mud Hero, a 6km (with what felt like 2kms vertical traversed as part of that) obstacle course. True to my motto, I sacrificed speed for maximum time in the mud, and staying with other members so that no one would be left behind. We had a large portion of the most active Silent River I Ho Chuan members (8), and a fair number of past members of the team as well, plus a few more affiliated members from the school, 17 in total, plus another 8 that were not old enough to run. A great time was had by all, many of us camped at Gull Lake before and after, for many good memories. The only thing missing was the other I Ho Chuan members who were unable to run showing up to cheer us on or post encouragement, as we crawled through the final mud pit by the finish line. This was a SRKF event, and we have the shirts to prove it. This was a true team  effort and I would like to personally thank Sihing Lowery and Sihing Csilliag for organizing the team sign up, and convincing me that I could actually do this race. You Rock!

Dennis Donohue

Death Racers thumbs up!

Congratulations to the Death Race Team! You 5 did an amazing job. Next weekend, Mud Hero’s. I am off for a few days relaxation and to get some of the jobs around the house done. I am getting constantly reminded by my elbow that it is not healed; it is so easy to just reach out to do something, then get the pain feedback. My chiropractor says it is a bit of tendonitis. Due to this, my numbers are way down, with no pushups until I get some healing. Hopefully I will be able to function for the Mud Hero’s event, I may have to pass on some of the obstacles, or at least take the easier option. 

I was recently involved in a facebook conversation regarding someone being against a pipeline for the tarsands, because an unidentified group, (the Royal “We”) presumably the Canadian Government, and or Canadian Society, should be instead promoting Green Energy and solar panels as a goal. Now these are all lofty goals, which I share, but what does the opposition to a pipeline really have to do with them? Now I may have been influenced by concurrently reading the ArchDruidReport, and attendant comments, so I am biased on this subject. I have been active in the solar energy field for over a decade, and have invested a considerable amount of time and money in trying to walk the talk. When someone tries to conflate two items, such as Tar Sands & pipelines bad, solar panels good, with no real connection between how stopping one will lead to improvements in the other, I get ornery. If it was a case of there are X many million dollars that can be spent on either oil sands or solar energy and conservation, but not both, it would be a different story. The funding and permissions required for the two are only very indirectly related, and have completely different drivers. Green jobs, solar panels and conservation are all domestic issues, and could use much better legislation, but require a change in general attitudes more than funding increases that benefit fly-by-night operators. The oil (or tar) sands are a different story. This is all about exports, and keeping the 900lb gorilla to the south of us happy (be careful, or they will drop a few hundred tons of high explosive “democracy” on you). Shipping crude oil out and importing finished product is another matter, which revolves around the economics of building new refining capacity in North America when there is already more than required, just in inconvenient places, is another subject. 

So what has any of this have to do with Kung Fu? For me, it is all about whether you actually go out and do something to change your world, or just sit and gripe. I may not be the fastest progressing student at Silent River, but I am doing something about what my goals are.  

An Excellent bootcamp

This weekend we enjoyed an excellent bootcamp, thank you to all the instructors and organizers. The lung drugs I am on have certainly made a difference, as my shuttle run and 2km run times were vastly improved, and I didn’t have to throw up after either! All the seminars were very enjoyable, and I now have two more weapons that are actually legal to carry in Canada. It was nice having the RV there to just climb into after as well, maybe we can get a few more next year.

Dennis Donohue

Back from vacation

We are back from our vacation in Montana, and I am catching up on yard work and greenhouse stuff this weekend. The most interesting discovery at home was in the greenhouse, where I set up the automatic watering system at the last minute before we left. It turns out that I missed one button push, so that it did not actually water while we were gone. I thought that the plants looked a little dry and heat stressed, but overall were doing well. So I went to adjust the programming on the timer, and found my error. Normally the consequences of this would have been a lot of dead plants. In this case though I have been experimenting with a soil mix recommended in the book “Square Foot Gardening”, which is 1/3 each of compost, peat moss and vermiculite (exploded mica rock, which acts like a sponge) and the plants made it through OK. So if you are going to be gardening, I recommend reading and following his book.

Dennis Donohue

Tia Chi, Violence and NovaBrik

July 7, 2013

   This weekend we started section 4 of the Tia Chi form class, which is where I started a year ago. I am feeling a lot more comfortable with the moves, the terminology and the stances. I don’t directly remember the moves, but I noticed with all experienced people in the class that we went a lot faster than last year, so I think I am getting the hang of it. I figure that I may actually know the form by the time I reach retirement age.

    I thought that the Demo last Canada day went very well, and was somewhat surprised that my cane application with Sifu Prince was judged “most violent”. After all it was just an old guy with a cane defending himself, right? Spears and Swords and other scary looking implements of destruction seem like they should be the violent ones, not an innocent little cane. Must be Sifu Prince’s acting skills, thank you for being a great partner.

   In other non-kung fu type stuff, other than trying to fit more projects into my life, I think that we have found the product that we would like to put on our house in place of the poorly installed, mouse friendly vinyl siding that is currently there. The product is called NovaBrik, and is a concrete block veneer. This will add 3 ½ inches of thickness to our walls, but once installed it will be completely mouse proof. I am intending to tackle just one side of the house at a time to make the project a bit more bite sized, as opposed to an immense, overwhelming task. It will also be a learning curve, as everything with this house has been, but it is the only way that I can see to get what I want (the vinyl was not our first choice, but we needed something to seal up the outside, and it was getting into November that year we built). So if you are considering something like this for your own house, and want to get some hands on experience, I expect this fall I will be needing a bit of help.

Dennis Donohue

Rambling on about what makes me tick

Where is our civilization going? And how fast is it getting there? These are some of the questions being discussed over on the ArchDruid report. I like reading his report because he offers a well reasoned, historically accurate view of the world. I used to read all the conspiracy sites, but other than convincing me that much of the information that passes for news is fabricated for one purpose or another, it did little good in the real world. By this I mean that even if you knew for a fact that space lizards had taken over the government, how would this knowledge affect what your day to day activities were?  I have some non-mainstream views of the world, but then again most people that do any significant work at Kung Fu are also non-mainstream too. I believe that peak oil is real, because the actual predictions made before the peak are consistent with what is actually happening in the world I can observe. There are other predictions that indicate infinite growth on a finite planet is not possible, so those predictions that involve infinite growth, or worse, infinite exponential growth (that the economy can grow at 4% compounded forever is good and healthy is one). So what is the value in these world views? The value is that seeing the world “as it is” will allow smarter choices, rather than being led down the garden path due to wishful and/or manipulated worldview. The current topic of discussion at the ArchDruid Report is the trajectory of our current civilization, and the American empire within it. He is making the argument that civilizations and empires have life spans, much as all other life forms on this planet. Much of the conversation has been on the subject of “but this time it’s different”, and the rebuttal that yes, this time is unique, just as every single person has a unique life, but we all are born, go through puberty, slowly age then get old and die. Some live a full life; some are cut short by accident or war. Our current situation is that we are a part of the American Empire  and that empire is showing a lot of grey hair, and is getting short of breath when it attempts things that in its youth just got its blood flowing.

So how does this help on a day to day basis in the real world, as lived by real people such as us? It helps to see through the smoke and mirrors, and get a better handle on where life will actually take us. The stock market is not reality, and its ups and downs are only somewhat related to the question whether or not supper is affordable. Here are some of my predictions, and what I am actually doing about them (the most accurate prediction is useless if you don’t act on it). First, energy will get more expensive, in all its forms, the response is to improve the energy efficiency of my home, and add solar panels to reduce what I have to buy. Replacing vehicles at this point is more than I want to pay, but by combining errands, I can reduce the miles driven. Second, healthy food will get more expensive, so put in a garden, buy in bulk, make friends with a master gardener. Third, the health care system will become more and more stressed, especially as the baby boomers retire. Here the best defence is to stay in shape, and eat healthy. I already addressed eating, so here is where the plug for Kung Fu comes in, get in shape, stay in shape. This is an ongoing process of course. Another prediction that is directly related to Kung Fu is crime. As the economy hits the bumps in the road (aggravated by peak oil) crime naturally goes up. Only a small percentage of those without paying work turn to crime, but it can still affect you along the way (I shouldn’t have to spell out the connection between Kung Fu and self defence).

Now, the decline in this civilization will take its time, probably several generations, but the catch is that the decline tends to be patchy and localized. Some parts of the country are doing great, and others are in trouble. Right now, Alberta is the place to be (until the bill for flood damage comes in), but my parents told me stories from the 1930’s, when our economy wasn’t so great. I would rather be prepared and not need to be, than discover that I needed to prepare and no longer have the time and resources.

Dennis Donohue