Leisure taken to new heights

You only turn 60 once  As you do any other age but that's besides the point. To mark this momentous occasion, Old man Nussey and I decided it would be a good idea to jump out of an airplane from 10 000 feet.  With a short drive to the Moncton Skydiving center, Brian and I readied ourselves for a sweet amount of high altitude leisure.  We boarded the 180 Cesna single prop airplane, held together with old crusty duct tape, and made the climb to 10 000 feet.  Brian was the first to go as the door opened sending a gust of chilly air into the packed plane.  I could see over my shoulder as Nussey senior tumbled out and began his 40 second free fall.  You can see his flight in the video above.  Next up was myself.  I backed into position and looked out the door with nothing between me and certain death if anything went awry. Stepping out onto the tiny tiny foothold, a surge of adrenaline came over me and I was ready for the fall into oblivion.  Rocketing toward the ground at 120 mph is a great feeling.  The speed was crazy and the noise from the wind was deafening.  After a 40-45 second free fall the chute thankfully deployed and it was smooth sailing back to solid ground.  The leisure quotient was high today and I recommend that anyone keen of giving skydiving a try make their way to Moncton ASAP.

Deck Party @ Pat and Fud's!

Matt and Helen are presently enjoying the wonders of summer in the Maritimes and would like to invite all y'all to 817 Aberdeen St. for a cheeky drink tomorrow (July 28) night.  Stop by anytime after 8:30.  Kids are welcome, providing they aren't already in bed. 

Four Day March Nijmegen 2010 a Success

---
Leisure Notes on Walking
Dan Fitzgerald

For the second time I succeeded in walking the 94th annual Nijmegen 4 day marches (vierdaagse). According to legend and wikipedia (1), it is the biggest walking even in the world, with around 40 thousand walkers and hundreds of thousands of visitors and partiers.

Waking up every morning at 3 for a 4 am start, your exhaustion is somehow offset by the throngs of drunken well-wishers and blaring techno. Once accross the bridge and out of town, the long stretches of beating feet are similarly uplifted at turns through tiny villages awake as only the year before. The mob of walkers continues on for hours as the millitary and civilian 50/40/30 km walkers mesh and split throughout the route.

About 12 hours later, knees tired and feet aflame, the groups return (often hobbling) to the beginning and then off to prepare for another day. For some needed rest and pain relief, many a substance is applied - leaving only an abbreviated sleep before the looming next day.

Out on the path, time starts to shift into meters. A coffee or soup break take on whole new meaning, as do sleep, water and proper posture. The mind-body connection is much more palpable as you finish up on day 2 with another 100 km to go. It isn't all soreness and blisters though - the comradery that develops between walkers new and old is really something to experience.

The point when you start walking for everyone else more than yourself is when the little troubles go away and you make easier and easier progress towards the finish. My walking group consisted of 2 Canadians, 3 Dutch, 1 Russian and 1 Peruvian - who all made it through to the via gladiola (see below).

Sunday Sexy Time: QSLS Member Edition

For the ladies:  Bardo is an animal lover who enjoys long walks on the beach, discussing philosophy with a 24 of Moosehead and french camp

For the guys:  Meg is a tiger.  Use your imagination.

Flashback Fridays - People so stupid sometimes

It looks as though BP may have finally regained control of the spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico.  In honor of the 3+ months it took, Flashback Fridays takes a look at another Louisiana drilling disaster in 1986.  

Happy Birthday Amy T!

Our homegirl Amy Theriault made it through another year!

Making Monday Merrier

This week:  Some Advice from Dr. Steve Brule

Sunday Sexy Time: World Cup Final

For the ladies:  Maradona back in the day

For the guys:  Paraguayan fan Larissa Riquelme

Friday Night Fights: RIP Bob Probert

New Father Has Even More to Celebrate!

New father Duke Allaby is on top of the world.  A week ago he welcomed his first son Sammy into the world.  Duke thought things couldn't get any better but he was surely mistaken. 
This Thursday Duke took to his newly established back yard golf course "Kate's Country Club" for a round on the lynx and did the incredible.  He sunk a hole in one.
Down big on the score cards, the old Duker lined up a shot and bounced right in the cup.  The swing of momentum turned the game around and on the next hole Duke won the game.
The hole in one was witnessed by David Barry (who also ended up blowing the game and losing to Dukey).

Oranje advance to world cup finals over Uruguay

Late into the night, the sounds of vuvuzelas and crowds of drunken orange men throng in the streets of Utrecht. For the first time in 32 years, the Netherlands football (soccer) team has a chance at the World Championship finals this coming Sunday. Until then, a certain contingeant in a more southerly country will be cheering their German hearts out that it will be a black and orange finals to cap off an amazing world cup.

This fellow's jacket captures the spirit: Beer, sex and football. In a land where nationalism for females means wearing an orange neon dress cut no longer than an inch below one's love biscuit and plenty of cheap beer, it only takes a shot of FIFA to get the revelers into high gear.

Now don't get me wrong, sisters of the QSLS - said microskirts are worn by strong Dutch women (see above) who are largely unafraid of what traditional fashion or sex roles would have them follow. That said, one can see some of the slightly weird Dutch female group behaviour in the following clip. Now imagine streets blocked full with multitudes more of similar-minded revelers and you can imagine what this Sunday night will be like if the Dutch team wins.

Ain't got your Dutch footbal fix yet? Watch the ultimate tribute video.

Tuesday Tunes: Home

Making Monday Better....

This  new addition in a long line of famous QSLS alliteration series (following in the tradition of Sunday Sexy Time, Friday Night Fights and Tuesday Tunes) brings you something to make your Monday better.

This week:  At least you don't have a hard life like this guy

Sunday Sexy Time: Forth of July

For the ladies: All American Muscle Apollo Creed

For the guys:  Brooke Burke raises your flag

This dude got a little agitated over security measures imposed during the recent G20: we are the Toronto public and we want to shop!!