Fresh Air Fiend

Bouldering

2011-03-08T00:07:00.001-05:00

Went to the stronghold after work. Now have two C1 routes on easy, working on a third.

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Skating at airdrie July 9, 2010

2010-07-10T07:48:00.001-05:00

I worked my way up from pushing into the snake and bowl to dropping in with speed. Really enjoyed the park today. Felt much more confident on my new board, after loosening the trucks. Was able to do 180 turns on the quarters without problem, hit the couple of rolling hills at speed as well. Will be working on attacking this section with more speed next time we're there to get higher up the bank.

Spence and lydija also seemed to enjoy themselves. She was working on hitting a small decline while spence worked on the snake and doing small airs by grabbing his board.

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spence dropping in on the quarter pipe at Cochrane Skate Park

2010-07-03T17:07:00.000-05:00

Skating cochrane skate park

2010-07-03T17:00:00.000-05:00

We went off to cochrane skate park this morning where spence was attacking the middle hump, dropping in on the quarter pipe and riding switch on the ramps.

Golfing at the hamptons

2010-07-03T07:35:00.001-05:00

Spence and I went golfing at the Hamptons with mom and dad on Friday. I shot a 97 with a 10 on the 17 th hole (two lost balls, doh). Spence's game kept getting better and better, he was really pounding it by the end. We both had a fantastic time. Good company and a good day for it not as it was not cold or to hot.

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Skatepark with spence

2010-07-03T07:27:00.001-05:00

Thursday afternoon spence and I went off to the local skatepark. It is a moveable deal that stays in our neighborhood for about a month. He was dropping into the half pipe and practicing his rock the fackie, as well as dropping in the quarter pipe and manualling over the box.

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Location:Silver Springs Dr NW,Calgary,Canada

COP Freeskiing December 23, 2009

2009-12-23T13:24:00.005-05:00

-20 C outside so was a quick session today. Spence and I hit the progression park and did a couple runs. I snapped pics while he hit the kickers and the superpipe. That superpipe is huge, must be 15ft or so from top to bottom pure ice.

Skiing COP - December 22, 2009

2009-12-22T18:46:00.002-05:00

Spence, Lydija and I hit COP today. Spence and I took two runs thru the larger terrain park hitting the kickers on the right and then the left of the super pipe. Then two runs thru the small terrain park hitting kickers, the half pipe and kickers at the bottom (spence hit the boxes).

Monday April 2, 2007

2007-04-02T18:44:00.000-05:00

Wow, swimmers ear hurts. No pool today as planned. I substituted a 40min bike ride on the recumbant bike downstairs.

Friday March 30, 2006

2007-04-01T09:19:00.000-05:00

Chest day in Gym:
Incline dumbell press 35lb
Hammer press 35lb
Incline dumbell fly 25lb
machine fly 105lb
tricep pushdowns 75lb

Pool time

100m front crawl
100m breaststroke
100m kicking fins on front
100m kicking fins on back
200m alternating 25m u/w 25m on back frc
200m alternating 25m u/w 25m on back full lungs
100m kicking on back
100m kicking on front

Freedive Training update

2006-04-16T12:55:00.000-05:00

Friday April 14, 2006
20 min on the treadmill from 3 to 13 incline at a steady pace of 2.5 mph.

Saturday April 15, 2006
20 minutes on the bike, interval training level 3

Sunday April 16, 2006

Got out to the Eau Claire YMCA pool with Bryan this morning. Very light training. Did maybe four 25m's, one 32, and one 37m with fins on, slow with 10 or so breaths in between. Then did a couple 25m's dolphin as fast as possible. 4 or 5 dives to the bottom with 10 to 15 kicks - empty lungs. Then a few laps without fins including to 25m dynamics.

All in all very enjoyable to get back in the water!

Back in Alberta!

2006-04-12T07:22:00.000-05:00

Well we're back home in Calgary, Alberta. I've managed to hook up with two local freedivers and am getting excited about our first road trip to saskatchewan in May.

Monday I hit our new excercise bike for 20 minutes. Tried to use the cardio settings but it appears the built in heart rate moniter is kaputs.

This morning was another 20 minutes on the bike, intensity level 2, calories burned 120, set on increasing intervals.

Hoping to hit the weights tonight, run tomm morning, bike and / or swim friday, swim sat and swim sunday.

We're also looking forward to a family rock climbing class weekend after next!

Dive # 45 LBTS With Trev 10/8/05

2005-10-09T08:16:00.000-05:00

Dive #: 45
Location: Hibiscus street, Lauderdale by the Sea (Marvel's)
Time: 8:00 am show 8:15 go
Dive Time: 99 minutes
PSI Start: 3,200
PSI End: 800
Average depth:16 Ft
Maximum depth: 20 Ft
Water Temperature: 82F
Weight: 8lbs
Exposure Protection: shortie wetsuit, wetsuit socks

Trev and I were up early and headed to the dive shop at 6:30 to get my tanks filled and grab a couple rentals for him. We were in and out and over to LBTS by about 8:05. After waiting for about 15 minutes for the rest of dive crew we geared up and headed out. As we were swimming to the first reef we saw Andrew pull up and frantically assemble his gear. We stopped to float and noticed a northeast bound current pulling us along. After Andrew had assembled his gear and joined us we decided on a dive plan (go to the second reef follow marvel) and dropped down.

Visibility on the first reef was about 8 to 10 feet and we kicked due east to get to the second. Visibility at the second reef was much better and varied from about 10 to almost 20 feet. We pulled south and spotted the usual characters, conch shells, nurse sharks and lobster. We also saw some smaller grouper, and decent size reef snappers as well as a selection of tropicals.

After kicking for an hour or so the reef really seemed to die down, but after another ten minutes we came upon an extremely well built up section of reef that had a lot of life and action. After an hour 15 or so I signaled to Marvel that I thought it was time to turn around. She agreed and started kicking north, then east. We had loaded trev's pockets with what we thought was enough weight, but with the surge, and his full skin he was losing buoyancy as his tank lightened up. At the 99 minute mark he thumbed the dive and after surfacing we found ourselves well, well south of the exit. We started kicking north, and after trev massaged out a cramp we started making some good progress. After exiting it was time for mulligans! I asked trev what he thought about doing the second dive, he couldn't believe how long the first dive was "about three dives back home!" and decided he was done for the day.

Dive # 44 Night Dive w/ Andrew Zero Vis 9/23/05

2005-10-09T07:58:00.000-05:00

Dive #: 44
Location: Hibiscus street, Lauderdale by the Sea (Marvel's)
Time: 4:00 pm show 4:30 go
Dive Time: 25 minutes
PSI Start: 3,200
PSI End: 2,800
Average depth:14 ft
Maximum depth: 16ft
Water Temperature: 82F
Weight: 8lbs
Exposure Protection: shortie wetsuit, wetsuit socks
Met Andrew at 4pm at Marvel's place. The past few weeks had been stormy with plenty of wind surf and rain, so we were expecting poor visibility. On dropping in we realized the vis was worse than expected at about 3 to 6 feet. Andrew and I stayed on the first reef (but in retrospect should have headed to the second immediately) and started heading in a southerly direction. Normally navigation is easy on the reef stay on the west side and you will always have sand to the right of you. Within about 15 minutes we'd been turned around in the zero vis and ended up heading due east. After reaching the eastern edge of the reef we surfaced to discuss. Andrew had his compass so we decided he would lead us south. After another ten minutes of meandering around andrew thumbed the dive and we headed in.

2005-09-09T08:34:00.000-05:00

Dive #: 42
Location: Hibiscus street, Lauderdale by the Sea (Marvel's)
Time: 6:00 pm show 6:40 go
Dive Time: 70 minutes
PSI Start: 3,200
PSI End: 1,600
Average depth:12 ft
Maximum depth: 17ft
Water Temperature: 82F
Weight: 16lbs
Exposure Protection: shortie wetsuit, wetsuit socks

Met Marvel at 6pm at her place. We geared up, and headed in. At the surface there was no current and no waves. After dropping down we felt a bit of a north running current and swam south on the first reef line. The reef was sandy and vis was clouded but there were still lots of fish to see. After a 45 minute swim, we turned to return to home. As soon as we turned around we found we actually had a bit of current running. Marvel spread her arms to indicate she was flying and we floated back home!

Dive Log, Saturday July 30, 2005

2005-07-30T12:28:00.000-05:00

Dive #: 42
Location: Hibiscus street, Lauderdale by the Sea (Marvel's)
Time: 7:30am show 8:48 go
Dive Time: 111 minutes
PSI Start: 3,300
PSI End: 800
Average depth:12 ft
Maximum depth: 16ft
Water Temperature: 84F
Weight: 16lbs
Exposure Protection: shortie wetsuit, wetsuit socks

Marvel, Steve, Krista, Blondey (Scubaboard nicname ;) ) and I met at Marvel's at around 7:30 / 8:00am. After some humming and hawing over the less than ideal conditions we bit the bullet and suited up.

On the way out to the second reef I spotted a smallish Nurse Shark nestled inside a hole in the reef. Visibility was a murky 25 feet or so and was very silty, lots of somethin floating around. We continued out to the second reef and because of an outgoing tide it was a pretty easy swim.

At the second reef we headed south and stayed on the western edge of the reef where we toured for an hour or so. I saw two live (and one carcass) Lobster that escaped the Lobster mini-season we had hear last week, both of a decent size. I also spotted a squid hovering about 6 feet away and having a look at us divers while we swam. Thats the first live squid I've seen while diving.

After about 50 or 60 minutes Krista thumbed her dive as she began the dive on a half tank of air. Her and Steve headed back to shore while Marvel, Blondey and I continued our tour. I spotted a ray, and a sea snake, as well as a multitude of parrot fish, trumpet fish and the other usual reef fish. After another 15 minutes or so Blondey indicated she was at 1,500 psi so we headed for home with Marvel leading the way.

Pictures from July 24, 2005 Shore Dive

2005-07-25T08:34:00.000-05:00

All of the following pictures are courtesy of Renee (Learn2Dive@earthlink.net). Shoot her an email if you're looking for dive instruction in South Florida!

Dive Log, Sunday July 24, 2005

2005-07-24T10:26:00.000-05:00

Dive #: 41
Location: Hibiscus street, Lauderdale by the Sea (Marvel's)
Time: 8:00am show 8:21 go
Dive Time: 74 minutes
PSI Start: 3,300 PSI End: 1,500
Average depth:13 ft
Maximum depth: 18ft
Water Temperature: 82F
Weight: 16lbs
Exposure Protection: shortie wetsuit, wetsuit socks

Steve, Renee and I met at Hibiscus at 8am. We were all immediately ready to go and wasted no time hitting the water. The ocean was flat today and there was very little current, visibility however wasn't the best at maybe 20ft. We followed Renee out to the second reef and had a good look around. We saw a sand skate, a small eel, lobster and a huge king conch shell. After a bit of exploring on the second reef we headed back to the first and had another good look around before heading in.

Surfing Sunday June 26, 2005

2005-06-28T07:49:00.000-05:00

Today we all got up early and headed for Island Watersports in Deerfield. The four of us met Mr. Kali Montero who set us up with some boards and introduced us to his three helpers.

We walked over from the shop to the pier at Deerfield Beach.After a safety section and a review of surfboarding basics we hit the water. Lydija, Leora and I spent some time with Kali learning some basic paddling skills while Spence started surfing. By the time we'd figured out how to paddle, and turn Spence was riding waves!

After the paddling section Kali split us up each with one helper. Our surf guides pushed into a few waves and before long Lydija and Leora were surfing! I felt like I was trying to ride a toothpick but kept at it. We spent about 2 hours in the water and everyone was thoroughly stoked with the experience.

We all agreed it was well worth the cost and that Kali, and crew, were terrific instructors. Lydija Spence and I are planning to head back next saturday morning for more lessons from IWS.

Dive Log, Saturday June 18, 2005

2005-06-28T07:01:00.000-05:00

Dive #: 40
Location: Hibiscus street, Lauderdale by the Sea (Marvel's)
Time: 8:00am show 8:17 go
Dive Time: 54 minutes
PSI Start: 3,000 PSI End: 2,000
Average depth:12 ft
Maximum depth: 17ft
Water Temperature: 82F
Weight: 16lbs
Exposure Protection: shortie wetsuit, wetsuit socks

Today was a quick dive before we went off to fish ID class. Visibility was good but not great and we saw the usual assortment of fish on our dive.

Dive Log, Friday June 26, 2005

2005-06-28T06:06:00.000-05:00

Dive #: 39
Location: Hibiscus street, Lauderdale by the Sea (Marvel's)
Time: 6:00pm show 7:00pm go
Dive Time: 94 minutes
PSI Start: 3,000 PSI End: 800
Average depth: 13ft
Maximum depth: 19ft
Water Temperature: 82F
Weight: 16lbs
Exposure Protection: shortie wetsuit, wetsuit socks

We went for a dusk dive tonight and although we had our lights with they were hardly needed until the end of the dive. The reef was very active on this dive and we saw lots of them scurrying around. We say a sand colored sting ray, lobster, lobster and more lobster, eels and a variety of reef fish.

2005-06-11T11:20:00.000-05:00

The reef.

2005-06-11T11:06:00.000-05:00

Reef Fish

2005-06-11T10:44:00.000-05:00

More reef.

2005-06-11T08:47:00.000-05:00

Reef Fish

2005-06-11T00:34:00.000-05:00

Reef Fish.

2005-06-11T00:21:00.000-05:00

The Reef.

2005-06-11T00:13:00.000-05:00

Reef and fish.

2005-06-11T00:04:00.000-05:00

Another reef fish.

2005-06-10T23:34:00.000-05:00

A small reef fish.

2005-06-10T23:26:00.000-05:00

An eel pokes his head out of the reef at us.

2005-06-10T23:19:00.000-05:00

Reef fish, will identify at a later date.

2005-06-10T23:08:00.000-05:00

Here am i smiling for Jenn!

2005-06-10T23:02:00.000-05:00

Dive buddy Jen once again.

2005-06-10T22:53:00.000-05:00

Dive buddy Jenny on reef dive. Picture taken with disposable camera, no flash, scanned into computer.

Dive Log, Sunday May 29, 2005

2005-05-29T15:46:00.000-05:00

Dive #: 38
Location: Hibiscus street, Lauderdale by the Sea (Marvel's)
Time: 8:00am show 8:30 go
Dive Time: 97 minutes
PSI Start: 3,000 PSI End: 400
Average depth: 13ft Maximum depth: 17ft
Water Temperature: 79F
Weight: 16lbs
Exposure Protection: shortie wetsuit, wetsuit socks

Report:We had intended to dive off datura but Jenny phoned while we were en route and detoured us to hibiscus as the parking lot was already full. We arrived at ten to eight and found that parking lot full as well! All was not lost as we found a spot accross the street.

After getting Hermit Crab (Julie, Jenny's daughter), Spence and Lydija set up with some chairs, an umbrella and some beach toys we hit the water.

We noticed straight off that the visibility was stunning. There was hardly a ripple of wave action as we entered the ocean. Our plan was to swim out to the second reef, which had us working against a fairly strong current on the way out. I was initially worried when I ripped through 500 psi of air on the swim to the reef, but once we got out there and were just enjoying the sights my air consumption went way down.

Today I took along a cheap camera to burn thru the roll of film on it. Jenny was a fantastic guide and pointed out a variety of sea life that I would have missed and frankly don't have the vocabulary to describe. We saw two or three variety of eels, a largish lobster, lots and lots of fish who all seemed to be happy to have a nice day on the reef as well!

We swam around the second reef for near an hour until I had burned thru both a roll of film (will hopefully have developed monday/tuesday) and 2,000 psi of nitrox. We settled in for a leisurely stroll back to shore and because there was next to no wave action we were able to dive until we were in about 3 feet of water. Jenny managed to guide us back to within about 20 feet of the crew of bubble watchers on the beach, so we swam the extra bit back.

After a breather to defrock, stow away our gear, and consume some water, we took the youngins out for a snorkel. Spence had a terrific time but got cold, so Spence, Julie and I headed in while the Momma's kept at it.

After they had their fill we packed up and headed home. We all had a terrific time diving and are looking forward to heading out to hollywood tommorrow!

Dive Log, Friday May 6, 2005

2005-05-07T08:49:00.000-05:00

Dive #: 37
Location: Hibiscus street, Lauderdale by the Sea (Marvel's)
Time: 7:00pm show 8:30 go
Dive Time: 70 minutes
Total accumulated dive time 20:12
PSI Start: 3,000
PSI End: 1,000
PSI per minute: 28.6
Average depth: 12ft
Maximum depth: 17ft
Water Temperature: 75F
Weight: 16lbs
Exposure Protection: shortie wetsuit, wetsuit socks

Report:

Arrived at Marvels' place around 7pm after stopping to get air at fill express. Even tho they had just closed I was lucky enough to get a fill. Simon arrived a few minutes later, and Jenny around 7:30. The other two divers we expected were no shows.

Once we decided it was just the four of us, everyone suited up quickly and we walked to the water. The waves were coming in pretty good at 3 or 4 feet, breaking onto the beach. It was dark but surprisingly easy to get out past the surfline. Jenny had some trouble getting past the surf and it looked like she was thumbing the dive so we started kicking for the reef. It was a struggle to stay even with our starting point while kicking and after awhile we decided it was time to go down. Just then we heard Jenny yell for us to "wait up" and sure enough she was making her way towards our dive flag which was marked with a glowstick.

After we assembled we obeyed Cpt. Marvels command of "Dive, Dive, Dive!" and made our descent. After reaching the bottom the current was much abated, and although there was a fair bit of surge it was actually pretty relaxing to get pulled accross the reef.

Visibility was not good, made worse by the fact that my light seemed to be much dimmer than everyone elses. Still I was able to see a variety of fish and a few lobster who kept poking their heads out of the holes in the reef to check us out. About 40 minutes into the dive I was counting lights and could only count two others than mine and thought, oh oh we've lost someone. At that point we assembled and just then I realized Marvel was still with us, but her light had burnt out. Simon handed her his backup and we continued on.

About 10 minutes later I noticed my light was very very non-existant. I flipped the trigger to activate the other bulb but it was still toast. Luckily I carry a backup so i flicked it on, then secured the primary to a d-ring. I will be changing out the batteries on both today! Since the primary had been going dead most of the dive the backup light, which is much smaller, still provided plenty of illumination.

After about 60 minutes in the water Marvel indicated she was cold and pointed towards home. I've dove the reef often enough that I had recognized some coral formations and figured we were in line with her street. We kicked due west until we were in about 4 feet of water then stood up.

That's when we discovered that we weren't at Marvels but about one block north. Everything had seemed right to me because that was the block I was used to diving off of. After a short hike back to Marvels we stripped our gear showered down and then unfortunately I had to head home. The rest went on to Mulligans.

Diving, Saturday March 26, 2005

2005-03-27T17:29:00.000-05:00

Today we went on the Avid Diver, a terrific boat that leaves from the 14th street bridge boat ramp in Pompano Beach. Show was at 1pm go at 1:30. I threw my gear on board at 12:45 as I arrived early and settled in to wait for the rest of the crew while keeping hydrated with a bottle of Gatorade. Matt, Andrea and Charlie arrived shortly thereafter and we loaded the boat and set off. The seas were relatively calm on the way to the first dive site, The Union Express, which lies in 110ft of water. I geared up wearing some thinsulate underwear and my drysuit on the ride out.

Once we arrived we discussed the plan and split into two teams. Andrea and I and Charlie and Matt. The captain asked if someone was available to drop and hook the buoy to the wreck, since we were unwilling to split up the team it was decided that rather than anchoring we would enter the water quickly and follow the line down to the wreck as a group.

Matt and Charlie hit the water first and immediately descended. Andrea hit the water next with me immediately behind her. She immediately sank down, while I quickly deflated my drysuit. I started to head down and noticed the current had already taken her away from me. I started kicking hard to catch up and lost the heel strap on a fin. After stopping to replace said finstrap I noticed that I could see no line or bubbles and thumbed the dive. Upon surfacing the Avid Diver was quick to see me and pick me up. At this point I was feeling I should call the dive and just sit it out. My team was obviously continuing the dive and upon re-entering the water I would be solo.

As I was coming to this conclusion the boat arrived back at the buoy and the captain told me to jump in and descend, which I did. In retrospect, even tho nothing happened, I believe this was a terrible idea which I would never do again.

I descended along the line and hung at about 90 feet observing the Union Express. The visibility was excellent and I really enjoyed seeing the wreck from the line. After waiting on the line 5 minutes I decided to ascend and get myself back on the boat, where I should've been the entire time. At this point I spotted the team and swam over to them. A minute later Andrea signalled she was cold at the same time I hit 1,000 psi tank volume so we headed up the line. We made our safety stops and all went well until about 40 feet. At this point I had 500 psi remaining in the tank. I decided that that would be more than enough to get to the surface and so continued with the safety stop. Charlie saw my low volume and signalled to share air, which we did until the 10 foot stop where I resumed breathing my tank.

Back on the boat we debriefed for a long while and discussed all of the multitude of sins committed. In general the dive was a terrific learning experience. A learning experience of which I have no intention of ever repeating.

We moved on to our next dive site which was a 40 ft reef. Matt and I teamed and Charlie and Andrea teamed. The reef was beautiful and was teaming with fish and the dive was uneventful. We clocked 45 minutes of bottom time and surfaced with several mid water safety stops, an area where I need some work as I'm still not completely comfortable hanging with no reference point except my depth gauge.

Pictures from the day can be found at Matt's Site , he is a terrific photographer.

All things considered I had a terrific day. I learned a tonne on the first dive, and really enjoyed the second dive.

Jeep Maintnence

2005-03-10T20:12:00.000-05:00

Upon closer inspection the bolts holding the seats to the seat risers are rusted into the seat. They are impossible to get out so the new seat project is put on hold.

Repairs made to the ignition system, as well as standard oil change.

Rear brakes are shot, including the axle seals. These are next item scheduled for maintnence in a week or so.

Additional engine probelms noted are a leaking coolant bottle, some missing vacumn hoses, a missing bolt on the exhaust header and continued rough idling even after the changes to the ignition system.

We forage ahead!

Camping Canceled Jeep Maintnence scheduled

2005-03-09T11:07:00.000-05:00

Due to work obligations that my wife can't get out of we're going to have to forgo the camping trip. :(

The upside is that gives me Thursday and friday to work on the jeep! Saturday and Sunday we are still going to the Kennedy Space Center.

Scheduled maintenance for tommorrow and friday includes:
- New sparkplugs, cables, distributer cap and rotor
- adjust timing and idle
- oil change, and new oil filter
- insert fuel line cleaner change fuel filter
- change air filter
- install new drivers seat bracket
- install new front seats
- install new seatbelts

New Seats, Tuesday March 8, 2005

2005-03-08T21:40:00.000-05:00

Well with the help of a local Plantation Jeep Club member I was put in touch with someone who had the following seats in his garage. He was willing to part with them at a reasonable price so now they are in my garage!

I discovered the drivers side seat riser is busted so will pick up a new one next week once we're back from camping. Once I've got that installed I will clean the seats, the grease and dirt on them look much worse in the picture due to the flash, so this won't be a big chore. Hopefully they'll be installed by next monday night.

2005-03-08T21:37:00.000-05:00

Bestop High Back Jeep Seats.

Geocaching, Monday March 7, 2005

2005-03-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

We took my 4 year old, but still plenty opperational e-trex GPS out to try this interesting hobby. You locate small boxes or film canisters using only your GPS for guidance, you can find out more at the geocaching website.

Today we found the film canister cleverly hidden inside a bike rack at Winn Dixie at our first site which was called "publix enemy". It was really close to home so didn't take long to find. Spencer operated the GPS device until we got within about 10ft, then we had to hunt a little to find it.

At the "overflow caching" site we had a lot of fun meandering throw a soccor park with spencer navigating using the GPS. When we couldn't find it inside the park we drove around to the additional parking and searched on that side of the fence as well. We really didn't have any luck but we had lots of fun!

Project CJ, New Seats!

2005-03-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

We are hoping to acquire two slightly used seats tommorrow night for the 1979 CJ5 project 4X4. I will then try and install these wednessday before we leave for Orlando on Thursday morning.

2005-03-07T20:38:00.000-05:00

jeep again