CanuckInUSA

So true ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yeah the Atom is a pretty cool machine. But it is too big for the Karting tracks and well I lost access to my full sized race track. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Skydiving is awesome, but I hate to say it, it got to the point where all I wanted to do was swoop. Those who know me from Colorado, know me from the competitive swoop scene back in 2004-2006, know that all I ever did was hop n' pops and then swooped the course or the pond. But ever since I moved back to Calgary (where half the year it snows), I just could not stay current with my swooping and felt I could be an accident waiting to happen if I thought I could just pick up where I left off after the winter breaks. So I sought out new adrenaline rush addictions. It started with me driving my 1997 Porsche 993 at my local race track during open lapping sessions. And I got three fantastic seasons in where I really learned to drive the 911 at my limits and pretty darn close to the car's limits as seen here. But then the city permanently closed down this race track and no replacement has surfaced yet. But I found a new addiction to fuel my need for adrenaline. I just purchased a used (2012) racing go-kart and took delivery last night. This is not one of those "put put" machines you rent down at the local amusement park. It is a full fledged racing machine that is capable of hitting speeds of 85 mph (140 kph) on the kart race track straights, and it corners like you would not believe where you pull 2-3Gs in the corners. The Kart has a 2-stroke 125cc Rotax DD2 engine with duel front disc brakes to go along with the normal single rear disc brake and it produces 34 HP at just under 14,000 RPMs weighing in at about 180 lbs. Tracking my Porsche 911 is a walk in the park compared to this Karting beast. Without a doubt this Kart with it's power to weight ratio is the most powerful machine I have ever driven and I have so much to learn concerning how to be smooth and not over drive it, because it is very easy to over drive, spin up the tires, over heat them and scrub off speed as opposed to building speed, There is a common saying in racing world which is "Slow is Fast" and well now I understand what this means. In my one hour of driving this Kart to date (5 x 12 minute stints), I am lapping in the 0:51.XXs at the local track, but I need to be lapping in the 0:48:XXs to 0:49.XXs to be competitive with all the other more experienced shifters and fellow DD2ers. So I have my work cut out ahead of me. Weather permitting I will be down at the track every Tuesday and Thursday evening until it gets too cold to drive. Here are some URL links to pictures of the new toy: Rotax DD2 - Side View Rotax DD2 - Front View Rotax DD2 - Rear View Rotax DD2 - Cockpit View New Cargo Trailer used to haul the Kart around in Let the learning curve begin. Just hope my semi-old body can hold up to the punishment this Kart delivers. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Between Natalie's good looks and ubber cute British accent, I am in lust. But she is married. Lucky bloke Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I get to watch the races live with a re-packaged BBC version complete with "picture in picture" commercial breaks (which I hate, but beggars can't be choosy) and while the BBC offers decent F1 coverage. Sky Sports is the bomb, the best by a mile English language F1 coverage. I have to wait hours after the races are over, but then I download the Sky Sports coverage of the races. They have numerous former F1 drivers on their team and well they also have Natalie Pinkham. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That's not too hard to rationalize. 1) Hamilton's failure ... you can't have a Brit winning at his home Grand Prix while driving for a German team, even if that German team is based in England. 2) Massa's failure ... under all circumstances we must remember that "Fernando is faster than you", and well Massa was ahead of Alonso when his failure occurred. 3) Vergne's failure ... there is only one seat opening up at Red Bull next season and that seat will either be taken by the Iceman or the Aussie Ricciardo. Can't have no stinking Frenchmen driving for Red Bull. 4) Perez's failure ... can't have a Mexican finishing ahead of his teammate who is the so called #1 driver at the team, a Brit and a former World Champ. No brainer, Perez had to be taken out. 5) Vettel's failure ... three time WDC and 2013 WDC leader Sebastian Vettel didn't get his tires shot out, but that was only because the sniper Barry Pepper didn't correct for the wind and got Vettel's gear box instead. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If there are any F1 fans out there who watched the 2013 British Grand Prix, they will know that the race was plagued with numerous tire failures. All week long people have been asking "What happened, why did the Pirelli tires explode on four different occasions, and to four different drivers on different parts of the track"? Well the truth has come out. Click Here to see what really happened. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Commandments #1 through #4 are religious laws that the religious follow. Commandments #5 through #10 are just common decency that everyone should follow. As an agnostic, I just don't get the fuss from both sides. The religious should be allowed to practice their religion free from persecution, but should also respect that not everyone believes in what they believe in and should leave the non-believers alone. Likewise the non-believes should let the religious do their thing. The atheists who erected this latest monument are just as bad as the people they mock. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

They didn't actually kick down the doors. They went door to door with locksmiths. But they did enter and search every home in High River. The police are supposed to be protecting the homes from looters, except that the police themselves became the looters. BTW about 1000 High River families are being allowed to return to their homes today, but it will be weeks if not months before the rest are allowed to return. Much of the town is still under water. As far as Calgary is concerned, something like 10,000 people have still not been allowed to return to their homes and upwards of 100+ houses will need to be demolished. But at least the derailed train cars on the Bonnybrook Bridge were safely removed with none of the contents of these rail cars leaking into the Bow River though for a while there on Wednesday raw sewage was being pumped into the Bow. This raw sewage didn't effect me though, I am upstream of all this. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The police were tasked with the role of keeping looters out of resident's homes while the residents were displaced and the police turned out "to be" the looters. If the police do indeed return every firearm once this is over then maybe we can turn a blind eye. But with the record the RCMP have, I am not holding my breath. The people of High River have a lot to be frustrated with concerning how they have been treated by the authorities, and this only adds to the insults. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

As I said there are too many water borne diseases now to just let everyone return to their homes all at once. But what the authorities could have done was escort each family one-by-one to inspect their homes and possibly retrieve certain small possessions that had not been damaged by the flood waters. The people of High River have a right to feel pissed off about how they have been handled in the crisis. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The situation in High River is getting desperate. It's been a week now since the water first came and most of the town is still under water. The residents feel helpless, but how can they be let back into their homes when the town is still flooded. There are too many water borne diseases to allow the people back into their homes. I know someone from High River (a fellow I met from the local Kart Racing Club) and it's just horrible what he and his family must be going through. It wasn't just his home that was flooded, it is also his business. Now the seizure of these firearms is another can of worms. There are people who could be motivated to steal firearms from the vacated homes, but they had to know which homes had them and where to look. So on one hand you can see why the RCMP does not want the firearms to be stolen. But on the other hand, how can you trust the RCMP to give the firearms back given their history. Things are challenging in Calgary post flood, but Calgary is a walk in the park compared to High River. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Did I hear that Banff was cut off for a while? Not exactly ... the Trans Canada Highway runs through Banff as well as Canmore and due to the surrounding mountains in both towns, the highway is pretty much the only way in and out for both towns. Now the Trans Canada Highway was severed in Canmore. So any east bound traffic from Banff could only go as far as Canmore. But everything to the West as well as the north in Banff was still open. From what I have heard, limited access through this severed highway has been opened. But the highway in Canmore needs major work before it can get back to normal. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Here is some more aerial footage of the damage. Aerial Footage of Calgary Aerial Footage of High River Note: the High River footage is mistakenly labeled as Calgary on YouTube and the audio was obviously never meant to be broadcast on TV. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I have not heard anything on the news concerning Claresholm. I am sure they are fine. There are no big rivers near the town. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Long post, bear with me ... I know some people are aware of this (a shout out goes to Lawrocket for sending me a "I hope all is well" IM this morning) but I am sure many aren't aware due to the lack of news coverage Canada gets in the world. But Calgary and Southern Alberta have been hit pretty hard with a perfect "100 year storm" and flooding like we have never seen before has occurred. The eastern half of downtown Calgary (a city of well over one million people) is under water and while the worst of the rain has stopped, a ton of rain also fell in the foothills next to the mountains and guess which way the water is coming. That rain will hit Calgary which is downstream of the mountains tonight. So additional flooding dangers still exist. I purposely avoided starting a thread earlier in the day because I wanted to avoid letting it get political (just remember low pressure systems rotate counter clockwise and guess where the Rocky Mountains are located? just to the west of the city and the moisture was unable to clear the mountains so it just fell from the sky and the storm just kept feeding off of itself. Of course it did not help that it has been raining a lot this Spring and the ground was already saturated. Now if someone wants to make this thread political, I can't stop them. But I won't be participating in the partisan BS. Now is not the time for politics. Canmore Alberta, a picturesque town 20 minutes east of Banff at the foot of the Rockie Mountains was hit hard when the usual almost non-exist Cougar Creek turned into a raging river and the Trans Canada Highway has been completely washed out in Canmore stranding travelers and many transport trucks. Video from Canmore Bragg Creek a small town in the foothills 30 minutes west of Calgary was also hit hard. If some of you have heard about our floods you very well may have seen a video from Bragg Creek of a house slamming into a bridge. Video from Bragg Creek Then of course there is Calgary, a metropolitan city of over one million people, the hub of financial affairs in Western Canada who's entire downtown business core has been closed down thanks to all the water coming in from the Bow and Elbow Rivers. But so far the city did the right thing, they evacuated all the low lying areas adjacent to these two rivers and so far knock on wood, nobody has died despite the massive flooding damage we are enduring. However not to be out done, the towns of High River, Black Diamond and Turner Valley have been hit just as hard if not harder and it has been confirm that at least three bodies have been pulled from the Highwood River. Aerial video of the flooding in Calgary and High River (sorry about the commercials) I myself a resident of Calgary am fine. I live in one of the highest elevations in the city. But I had a bit of an adventure getting home from work today (I left work soon after lunch) as most of the bridges crossing the Bow River had been closed and well I can't get home without having to cross that river. Fortunately I did find a bridge that was open and was able to cross. But what I saw crossing that river is a sight I have never seen before. The river was about three times it's normal width where I crossed, the surrounding streets and fields were flooded and most impressive was how violent the river was where I crossed. Water can be a very destructive force. This is a tough time for Calgary and Southern Alberta. But Albertans are tough, resourceful, community oriented people and we will endure and we will rebuild. If there are any other Calgarians/Albertans reading this, by all means let us know how you are doing and if you need anything. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Good thing the Calgary Flames did not make the Stanley Cup finals and set to host game #5. The Calgary Saddledome (home of the Flames) is flooded this morning due to some heavy rain the last 48 hours that has been plaguing the city and overflowing the banks of nearby Elbow and Bow Rivers. Picture of the Saddledome Picture about 5-6 blocks southwest of the Saddledome Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Sounds like I missed a good game. But I have been boycotting the NHL this season thanks to the lockout and while I know hockey will go on without me, I still felt I needed to finish what I started. I am sure eventually I will come back to hockey, but the first lockout in 2004/2005 tainted me and this lockout only made things worse. I know my loss, sounds like the finals are good. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

In the last few years I let myself pork out too much with a daily fast food diet and far too many sweet or salty snacks. Then last fall I told myself "You need to do something before it is too late and you need to do it the right way". With the guidance of some experts, since November of 2012 I lost 40 lbs going from 225 down to 185 and my body fat went down from about a 35 to now below 20. I was NOT on a fad diet, but I did lose all that weight simply by: 1) Stopped eating fast food on a daily basis. 2) Stopped eating processed food. 3) Stopped drinking pop and severely controlled how much juice was consumed. 4) Controlling the number of starches I took in on a daily basis. 5) Snacked on fresh fruits and vegetables. 6) Drank tons of water. 40 lbs later my blood pressure is down, I feel fit again, I look better (even though I am one ugly duckling with or without the weight) and while exercise is a heck of a lot easier now, my success losing all that weight wasn't because of exercise. No my success was because I was willing to listen to people who know more about the subject than I did, I followed their advise and I made a lifestyle change. Instead of eating fast food, I now eat plenty of meat, fish and poultry mixed with plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, a set amount of starches and I can still treat myself to a tasty treat just as long as I don't over do it. It wasn't easy, temptations need to be controlled, discipline needed to be kept. But losing weight is something anyone can do if you have a goal and can stay on course. I was NOT on a fad diet. I was on a common sense diet and it work. Now I never want to go back to being a porker. But now that I have the knowledge knowing what to eat. I like my chances. Piece of cake. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

First thing we need to do is kill all the lawyers. all except for lawrocket, we can let him live. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Egypt is pretty high on that list. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I wouldn't say PA's don't happen here at the DorkZone (as they occasionally do). But the difference between this site versus many anonymous internet sites is that some of us have actually met each other and jumped together. Word of advice. You are going to need to grow thicker skin if you felt insulted by what was said. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I didn't blame Obama for anything. If anything I was criticizing the consensus mainstream media for their approach to selectively covering news. But are you sure what you claim hasn't happened yet, hasn't actually happened? After all this administration did send weapons to the Mexican drug cartels without telling the American people about it. You trust your government so much that you believe everything they tell you. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

that's it, you're getting a tax audit and we're taking your guns and calling you names I know for a fact that the FBI has had a file on me since 2001. You see I was taking flight lessons and was only weeks away from my check ride when 9/11 happened and the FBI went around to all flight schools asking questions about who was a foreigner taking lessons. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

We should all chip in and get the less than moderate moderator one of these to remind him that his use of the progressive's beloved "Race Card" is rather old and stale whenever anyone criticizes the messiah and savior of humanity. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over