A FIRST for team STIX & STONES

It’s official…

As a challenge to get me fit again after injuries (ankle, back, and recently cellulitis in the elbow – yay me!), me and my physical trainer cousin Wendy are going to be taking part in the Grim Challenge at the very end of November.

The Woo: Tougher than the Grim Challenge itself.

The Return of the Black: What doesn’t kill me better be able to outrun me…

Dirt, rocky roads, gravel, mud, man made mounds, obstacles, water holes, more mud, more hills, ditches, more muddy wet holes… 8 miles of tough challenge. She’s not used to the Nordic style which I really enjoy, and I’m not used to straight running… Hopefully we’ll learn the right things from each other…

We’re doing it for Cancer Research UK, and just to make it interesting we thought we’d attempt to do it using Nordic X-country poles.

Like it wasn’t going to be tough enough in the first place…

The thing is, the Grim is technically a run, although some folk do end up walking as it is a very tough course. We didn’t know if actually starting out ‘walking‘ was going to be a problem (albeit Nordic Walking, which is a different ball park to hiking or normal walking – especially how I do it…).

The organiser is not in favour of people who turn up just to walk the route… but in the organiser’s own words when I suggested about us using Nordic X-Country poles: “… I know all about Nordic walking and suspect you guys are not the strolling type!”

Team Stix & Stones.

Our TEAM PAGE is STIX & STONES – (Stix due to the poles and x-country, and stones, because it’s both off-road, and you need figuratively two of them to do the challenge…). Please visit it to make donations.

It turns out that we are officially the first people to attempt the Grim Challenge using the Nordic method. I wonder why?

Course (taken from the Grim web page):

This land is used to test Army vehicles so expect it to be interesting!

You will reach a long hill shortly after the start before descending again eventually reaching a water filled ravine.

You will run on over puddle-strewn paths before having to crawl under camouflage netting.

You’ll eventually reach some man-made mounds before arriving at and running through some rather large puddles.

Expect to get very wet!

You’ll run on to the fast vehicle driving circuit where it is rocky underfoot.

This brings you to some more large areas of water and the finish area.

Sounds delightful!

Jesus people! Get an education!

This is the YouTube hosted version of a video from the Christian ‘YouTube‘ clone ‘GODVINE’… (no… I’m not kidding).

Here is the actual Godvine site:

Woman Drowning in her SUV is Miraculously Saved

No one at this scene can explain how this woman was able to be rescued. It defies everything we know, and it can only be seen as a miracle of God.

http://www.godvine.com/Woman-Drowning-in-her-SUV-is-Miraculously-Saved-1342.html

No one at the scene can explain how the woman was rescued?

Well, that PROVES one thing and one thing only…. that the people at the scene did not have a clue about real world physics.

It does NOT prove the existence of a God.

Simple physics.

• She would have gone for the door handle, because the electric windows wouldn’t have worked due to water ingression.
• The door wouldn’t have opened initially, due to the high water pressure keeping it shut.
• She would have carried on trying the door as she saw people trying to get to her.
• Once the car is submerged, the water pressure inside the car matches the pressure outside the car. The door is easily opened.
• She puts her arm out and is grabbed.
• As the car is pulled forward out of the water after the rescue, the doors would shut in the current.

Some people find God in the most dubious of circumstances, but this again shows people using ‘God‘ because they don’t understand physics.

As someone mentioned on the Facebook feed:

…a lot of faithful Christians are insulting their own intelligence by immediately declaring this to be a miracle, when it clearly was the work of men and physics that saved this idiotic woman…

It’s a ‘wonderful‘ bit of commentary too, what with the misdirection about the window not being broken…

Also of note is how all the video comments from the Christian site (not the attached Facebook comments underneath it) are all praising God… and then the comments were locked. Makes you wonder how many comments like mine, telling how it REALLY happened, were posted on the original clip….and deleted.

Pathetic… and not ONE word of thanks to the real heroes who swam out and rescued her.

Very nice and Christian… Screw you guys, I’m thanking GOD…..

Ah, yeah… I address the “Thank God” crap HERE.

Whilst I’m at it, please feel free to look at some more of my religious picture rants over at Pinterest.

As I state on the Pinterest page:

 If you find offence in religious humour or commentary, then back away now. I’m not forcing you to look, so don’t go going all preachy on me. Respect. Peace Out.

Have a look, but go tongue in cheek, if you catch my Tokyo Drift. Don’t get all Fast and Furious on me!!!

Rusty Gob Iron Blues

Once upon a time I used to be pretty nimble playing the blues harmonica (blues harp / gob iron). I’ve played a few impromptu gigs, jammed backstage with bands at concerts, and randomly joined in with street blues performers who noticed I had a harp in my pocket (shut up….you KNOW what I mean).

I haven’t played/practised for quite some time, but hey, It’s a bit like riding a bike…. At first it is a struggle to get going, but after a while – and a fair bit of frustration – you get the hang of it… and then you get good…. You start to pull a few tricks and the more you do it, the better you get.

You never forget how to do it, but after a break from doing it, you do lose the subtleties and wobble a bit… You need to keep practising.

So yeah…. Several years down the line I’m talking to a friend who is starting to play and foolishly say I’d post a clip of me playing.

First the excuses….

Rusty from lack of playing, cheap microphone and a cold… Yet I promised a twitter friend @AliQuant, that I’d lay down some bits and pieces of me on my old blues harps… I had no idea what I was going to play, so this was all off of the cuff.

Hence…. “Rusty Gob Iron Blues“….. Not exactly fast and furious… but then again, I like my blues dirty.

I like the Delta Blues scene. Simple call back blues – Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson… A bit dirty, a bit gritty, but full of life.

This recording showed me that I have the right ideas still…. but Jeeeeeez, I need to practice and get it back together!

Black Rhino Down

The Western Black Rhino has been declared extinct.

Good job guys. Hope you feel proud.

We look back at the human caused extinction of the Dodo and we think how stupid we were… and yet it goes on.

Anyway, with this in mind… a philosophical question for you… (fictional…)

Pay to Kill
A company is set up to breed endangered species.

This costs a lot of money to run, so to fund themselves they open a reserve for hunters to pay top dollar to hunt & kill the endangered animals.

They plan to release a breeding pair of an endangered species for every one of that type that is shot.

So, for every three lions they breed, one is put on the reserve to be hunted, and the other two (breeding pair) are released to the wild.

This means:

Without the company, for each endangered animal that is hunted & killed there is one less of that animal in the world (until they are extinct).

With the company, for each endangered animal that is killed there are two introduced back into the world.

Allow this company to set up breeding & controlled hunting & save a species OR don’t allow it and wipe out a species through illegal poaching…

There are only two options to discuss:
For or against?

Join The New Zealand Internet Blackout

http://creativefreedom.org.nz/blackout.html

Join The New Zealand Internet Blackout

Join The New Zealand Internet Blackout to protest against the Guilt Upon Accusation law ‘Section 92A‘ that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny. This is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party.

Join thousands of New Zealanders already against this law by blacking out your Facebook photo, your websites, your Myspace pages, your Twitter account, in protest against this unjust new law that may come into effect on February 28.

Just use this image (Right-click, Save-As) with the text:

(your name) is blacked out: Stand up against “Guilt Upon Accusation” for New Zealand http://creativefreedom.org.nz/blackout.html

Instructions for

• Blacking out FaceBook
• Blacking out MySpace
• Blacking out Website / Blog
• Blacking out Twitter
• Blacking out Bebo

This was suggested for the UK, but did not get through… trouble is, if it gets through in NZ, then the UK Government will have that little bit more leverage… and then what? Europe… America….?