Imagine – ripping your torso as you hit a curve launching your sprint kart down the circuit. Pressing on the accelerator as you exercise dead-on hand-and-eye coordination determining the smartest way to turn the drift in the 21st minute of an hour-long enduro race. Or perhaps be a spectator – routing for the likes of Fernando . . . → Read More: Go Karts – Becoming a Racing Enthusiast]]>

Imagine – ripping your torso as you hit a curve launching your sprint kart down the circuit. Pressing on the accelerator as you exercise dead-on hand-and-eye coordination determining the smartest way to turn the drift in the 21st minute of an hour-long enduro race. Or perhaps be a spectator – routing for the likes of Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher as they race neck-and-neck on the last lap.

Guess what – you are breathing and witnessing (even smelling the distinctive aroma of clay dirt on the dirt track) the atmosphere that comes with go-kart racing. Developed in the 1950´s by pilots with a zest for tinkering with motorcycle engines to propel simple frames, go-karting extended internationally after the construction of the first go-kart by Art Ingels in Pasadena. Before dwelling on it’s mass European appeal and discussing the pinnacle of Formula 1 racing, let’s backtrack for a second. Riding go-karts (or karting) is the best way to break into professional racing. It is the simplest means of exploding your chassis down the track before getting into the sophisticated arena of professional racing. Single cylinder engines, basic chassis models, and lack of speed producing components provide go-kart racing with the air of simplicity, geared towards beginners and novices.

The concept of sprint karting comes to our mind when we think of the prototypical kart & track in amusement parks, recreational areas, and arcade palaces. Impeccable karts with sleek designs and sturdy frames rip through on short tracks, usually made from asphalt or concrete – ranging from half a mile to a mile in length.

Sprint karting is divided into classes (think boxing middleweights and welterweights) that distinguish engine-types (two-and four-cycle), driver (classified according to age and weight), brand of kart (Yamaha and Honda are popular choices), and specifications. No carbon-fiber made frames and McLarens built with lightweight materials here! Sprint karting is a simplified, scaled-down form of professional go-kart racing with shorter tracks, downgraded technology, less experienced drivers, and downgraded components across the board. Other forms of karting include enduro racing. Endurance racing, or “enduro” for short is a prolonged version of sprint. Propelled by aerodynamical butterfly steering, enduro karts are an upgrade over sprint karts – participating in races lasting an hour or more. Dirt, oval tracks is the staple of endurance racing and is more prevalent in the Midwest than anywhere else. Because of the long racing period, special emphasis is paid to durable karts and pit stop maintenance than focusing on just speed.

In runner’s terms, enduro is a marathon – not a sprint. If you sacrifice chassis and tire maintenance for speed throughout the course of a race, reaching the finish line is out of the question. Behind every successful sprint car are its well-performing components, specifically its frame, engine, and tires. The dynamics of a go-kart is two-fold: to be built to withstand the rigors of racing and to serve as the backbone for speed. Usually made of steel, frames have the option of being flexible or not. Flexible frames mean easier maneuvering along the track, especially when turning as to maintain good “side bite” and control of the kart. Because non-professional go-karts have no sophisticated traction and suspension system to withstand bumps, frames are usually subject to more punishment.

Sprint kart tires usually do not have indented grooves, as they are soft in nature and more suited to all-terrain. 900 BHP horsepower engines are the norm for souped-up Honda Formula One karts. Capable of reaching speeds of 200+ mph, they represent the all-out nature of karting technology. For the novices, a simple 2-cycle engine will do! Running on gasoline and electricity instead of petrol (typically mixed with other fuels to suit environmental conditions for Formula One,) sprint karts run on either 2-cycle or 4-cycle engines. 4-cycle engines are the weakest engine around, with horsepower topping 20 HP. Think of the power needed to run a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner – that’s how much power a 4-cycle engine exerts. 2-cycle engines are typically associated with the likes of Vespas (European motor scooters) and mopeds. These go up to 90 HP. Added cylinders (individual horsepower generators in go-karts) can boost horsepower, adding pure speed & power to your machine. Perhaps 10-cylinder Formula One kart engines and its incredible capabilities ring bells to you now! Want pinpoint control over the speed of your go-kart? No problem here! Go-karts have basic transmission systems with gears that control speed to its desired amount.

Coming with clutches, shifter karts (a popular type of sprint kart that allows you to move at a certain amount of speeds) make the best use of engine power when zipping along a straight path or maneuvering over the short or wide curve. Depending on the amount of cylinders and engine, shifter enthusiasts can lay opponents in their dust blazing trails up to 90 mph. Shifters usually run on larger road courses known as road racing. It is flush in structure with qualification criteria like class of kart, weight of driver, etc. Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha are popular suppliers of engines. These companies are at the forefront of karting technology, regularly tinkering with what’s already available or creating new concepts of their own. Sprint karting opportunities are available to everyone.

If you want to enjoy it as a form of recreation instead of competition, visit your local track and rent a kart! Make sure to sign any insurance waivers and become acquainted with the rules and regulations! If you like to compete, inquire from within. Sprint karting is one of the least expensive sports out there. People from all walks of life and all economic backgrounds can drive a kart, or even purchase their own with a powerful engine. There are many karting schools available all over the nation that will let you ride their karts for a nominal fee.

In essence, karting is more than a pastime. It is a bonafide sport capable of preparing you for more advanced karting by helping you shape your judgment, hand-eye coordination abilities, and technological/dynamical know-how of the instruments you’re using.

Michael Walker

Scrooge must have been pretty smug, sitting by a fire with a nip of brandy while shoppers bustled their way through blizzards to buy the most wanted in Dickensian gifts, such as horsehair hairbrushes and tortoiseshell soup tureens. Festering in a drunken grumble, he would have then toddled off to bed alone, woken up alone, and . . . → Read More: Scrooging – the How-to Guide to Merry Gift-giving]]>

Scrooge must have been pretty smug, sitting by a fire with a nip of brandy while shoppers bustled their way through blizzards to buy the most wanted in Dickensian gifts, such as horsehair hairbrushes and tortoiseshell soup tureens. Festering in a drunken grumble, he would have then toddled off to bed alone, woken up alone, and had another nip of brandy —for breakfast—alone. Thankfully the activity of gift-giving is possible whereby you keep your friends, your sanity and ease the burden on the environment.

Gift-giving—whether it be Christmas or birthdays—is a perfunctory gesture of modern times as expected by all, as much as tax cut promises in election campaigns; the more you give, the more popular you are. But as anyone knows, shopping for gifts involves overheating the radiator while cruising for a parking spot, then traipsing around endless aisles with sweaty swollen feet. The whole thing rarely has the glow of goodness ascribed to cherub-cheeked Santa Claus. The elves do all the work and Santa rocks up to a house, gulps down some milk and cookies then pats the cat and ho ho hos on his merry way. Easy! But us mere mortals are faced with the dilemmas of gift-giving: unwanted presents, piles of packaging and exploitation of resources to provide the latest in gadgetty gimmicks.

In 2005, Australians received over $700 million of unwanted Christmas presents (ref 1) and in the UK in 2004, an estimated 1.6 billion pounds worth (ref 2). This fiscal waste is also manifest in bulging cupboards and bursting drawers full of dowdy underwear and nanna doilies. We keep things out of obligation or laziness—some more enterprising folk may jump onto eBay and make the most of a hydrosonic cleaner to fund the latest edition of Halo. Polling by ICM Research for eBay revealed that 65% of adults would consider passing on unwanted gifts (ref 2). So why give presents if no one wants or needs them? Physical entities take up much valued space, even in wheelie bins— full as a beltful of Christmas lunch with bubble wrap, boxes of plastic to wrap plastic to wrap paper wrapped in paper.

The packaging associated with gifts, such as plastics and paper, accounts for 10% of domestic waste (ref 3). This may not sound like much, but consider the fact that each on average each year, each Australian household produces 400 kilograms of waste and an average person buys about 1500 packaged items (ref 4). Saying ‘oh it’ll just be recycled’ is false—only 20% of domestic waste is recyclable (ref 4). Even the raw materials to make ‘stuff’ is wasteful considering the absolute need for hot dog steamers and egg cookers is about as necessary as a fly swatter in an igloo. Anyone ever heard of a saucepan and water?

The glow of giving seems to be tarnished by the stress of shopping, unworthy recipients and on the acres of land needed to cram that foil wrapping paper away post-Noel. Is it possible to ‘do the right thing’ by your sanity, your friendships and the environment?

Ho ho ho it is possible—the term is ‘scrooging’. A scrooge-gift is an experience— nothing physically to hold, break, stow or lose, but a service performed, a memory to cherish, or a feeling of making a difference. By gifting an experience to someone, you get to shop online, the person gets something they are more likely to enjoy, and there is minimal packaging waste.

Just imagine sitting at your computer with a nice cold drink while you click your way through Christmas shopping online—no more cheesy Christmas carols muzak while waiting at the checkout. There’s even Santa /aka Australia Post to deliver it all for you. The wheelie bin will have room to fit New Years Eve champagne bottles because the only packaging is a few envelopes and an empty jar of cranberry sauce. The scrooging method of shopping is easy, personalised and green—just match the person to the scrooge-gift.

Possible scroogey presents:

***Arty types
Movie vouchers, season tickets to opera/theatre/ballet, concert, magazine subscriptions, website subscription, Itunes music voucher
—http://www.greaterunion.com.au/giftcards/index.asp
—http://www.opera-australia.org.au

***Motoring Enthusiasts
Petrol vouchers, car wash vouchers, supercar rides
—http://www.thesupercarexperience.com.au/

***Family
Family pass to zoo, fun park, picnic
—http://www.dreamworld.com.au/content/standard.asp?name=BuyTickets

***Science types
Buy a star, sponsor a shark, shares in new growth forest
—http://www.nccnsw.org.au/
—http://www.universalstarcouncil.com/

***Sporties
Tickets to games, membership to sports club, gym membership, gym passes
—http://www.brumbies.com.au/act.rugby/page/53094

***Adventure Addicts:
Gift vouchers to kayak weekends, bridge climb, parasailing, flying lesson/s
—http://www.freemanx.com.au/
—http://www.australianexplorer.com/experiences/

***Epicureans:
Restaurant vouchers, cooking classes, wine tastings
—http://www.perfectgiftcertificates.com.au/PG/restaurants.aspx

***Humble Humans: Charity vicarious gifts
Water wells, goats, RSPCA donation, Oxfam, donations.com.au
—http://www.karmacurrency.com.au/about.aspx
—http://www.perfectgiftcertificates.com.au/PG/restaurants.aspx

And what about the humbuggers out there saying that Christmas is all about ‘stuff’, that to ride through the neighbourhood on a bike has more street cred than a cardboard promise, well, you won’t have to change a tyre, reboot software or dash down to the shops for batteries. Just share a brandy with your friends by the fireplace and toast to Scrooge.

References:

(ref 1 = SMH article)
Clarissa Keil, Dec 13 2007, “End the unwanted gift cycle – give a goat or two instead”
December 13, 2007
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/

(ref 2 ebay article)
eBay, 20 Dec 2004, “Santa’s unwanted £1.6 billion Christmas presents could be a Boxing Day bonanza”
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/community/aboutebay/news/pressreleases/consumer/12_20_2004.html

(ref 3 Tuckerman)
Robin Tuckerman, Nov 10 2005, “Packaging the Statistics”.

(ref 4 PCA)
Packaging Council of Australia, Feb 2006, “Submission to the Productivity Commission – Waste Generation and Resource Efficiency Inquiry”.

Adrienne Gross

The recent surge of wildfires in California has started people thinking about what they would do in the event of a wildfire. If you live in a high-risk area, how can you prevent something like this from happening? If you can’t prevent it, how can you protect yourself and minimize the property damage?

Wildfires generally begin . . . → Read More: Wildfire Protection Plan]]>

The recent surge of wildfires in California has started people thinking about what they would do in the event of a wildfire. If you live in a high-risk area, how can you prevent something like this from happening? If you can’t prevent it, how can you protect yourself and minimize the property damage?

Wildfires generally begin in more remote areas, going unnoticed until someone spots them. Usually by this time, they have ignited nearby trees and buildings. They are generally placed into two classes: surface and ground, and the more advanced, crown fire. Surface fires are often caused by negligence, such as cigarette butts thrown into dry brush, or untended campfires. Ground fires are usually started by lightning. By the time a fire reaches the Crown fire stage, its being spread by the wind through the tops of the trees.

Making Your Home More Fire Resistant

- Keep your roof and gutters, and areas around your house free of debris, and clean your chimneys at least once a year (inspecting at least twice).
- Make certain your chimney or stove pipe meets local requirements and building codes. Deposit the ashes in a metal bucket, soak in water for 2 days, and then bury the cold ashes.
- Apply 1/2 inch mesh screen beneath porches, decks, floors or any other openings.
- Install protective shutters or extra-heavy fire-resistant drapes.
- Landscape with fire-resistant plants such as hardwood trees, and use more native vegetation. Trim your trees to create a 15-foot space between tree crowns and remove limbs 15 feet from the ground.
- Consider boxing in the eaves, fascias, soffits and subfloors with fire-resistant materials.
- Use double-paned or tempered glass for exterior windows and fire-resistant roofing materials on the roof.

Creating a Safety Zone

- If you have branches overhanging power lines, call the power company to have them cleared.
- Remove vines from the walls of your home.
- If you have a wooden fence, do not connect it directly to your home.
- Clear a 10-foot area around propane tanks and the barbecue.
- Store gasoline, oily rags or other flammable materials well away from the base of buildings.
- Stack firewood at least 100 feet away and preferably uphill from the building. Clear an area within 20 feet of the wood.
- The distance between your house and the closest tree should be greater than the height of the tree or a minimum of 10 feet. The same rule applies for sheds or other out-buildings. Planning Water Requirements

- Determine where your closest water sources are and maintain them.
- Have a garden hose(s) handy that will reach any area of the home.
- Consider purchasing a generator in the case of electrical power loss.

Personal Safety Measures

- Ensure your home address is clearly marked for identification by emergency vehicles.
- Post fire emergency numbers, and ensure family members know where to find the fire extinguishers and how to use them.
- Plan a home and neighborhood escape route.
- Have working smoke alarms installed on each level of your home; test them monthly and change batteries twice a year.
- Keep fire tools handy such as an approved ladder that will reach the roof of the building, buckets, chainsaw, shovel, rake, and an axe.
- Keep a battery-operated radio nearby, with charged batteries.

Neighborhood Safety

- Organize neighborhood meetings to discuss wildfire safety, ways the group can work together in the event of a fire, and invite guest speakers from the local fire department.
- Have those interested in helping to fight fires attend training sessions.

Mike Taylor

You may have heard of it before – the octagon. It’s the place where warriors meet to battle each other into submission by knocking the opponent unconscious or forcing him to give up by imposing explosive pain on his body. It is the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The UFC is a mixed-martial arts organization that pits 2 . . . → Read More: The Story of the Ultimate Fighting Championship]]>

You may have heard of it before – the octagon. It’s the place where warriors meet to battle each other into submission by knocking the opponent unconscious or forcing him to give up by imposing explosive pain on his body. It is the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The UFC is a mixed-martial arts organization that pits 2 opponents against each other, each using different styles of fighting. It was created to answer that age-old question: who is the better fighter, the boxer or the wrestler? It started as a sideshow and has since turned into a multi-million dollar sanctioned organization that grows in popularity year after year.

UFC – The Beginning

In the beginning it was just a tournament, the brainchild of Art Davie, a creative advertising executive who witnessed the energy-bursting excitement while watching a mixed-martial arts (or MMA) fight. He thought it had all the right ingredients that people find in hockey, boxing or karate. MMA, he thought, was the next level, a mixture of everything. He brought on board a Brazilian legend in MMA technique training, Rorion Gracie and a screenwriter, John Milius, who became the creative director. They brought in 27 investors and the Ultimate Fighting Championship was born.

Still in it infancy, the UFC had limited rules: no biting and no eye gouging. The result was mayhem. 400lb fighters fought 100lb fighters. Blood sprayed the octagon red like no other event had ever dared to allow. It did not go over well with the mainstream and the UFC quickly became an underground fighting spectacle. Some advocated against the existence of such extreme barbarism, including Senator John McCain of Arizona. It was a downward spiral that ended with the UFC being dropped by cable distributors and individual cable providers. The audience was reduced to almost nothing and the UFC itself was forced to submit.

UFC – The Comeback

The UFC was on the verge of its demise with no rules, no audience, no cable access and U.S. Senators calling for its break-up. It was time to step back and re-evaluate the situation. People are interested in the idea of MMA, but not in seeing the type of fight that has 2 fighters fighting in pools of their own blood. The first step was to add protective rules. Weight classes were introduced – heavy weights, middleweights and lightweights. The number of unacceptable striking areas on the body were increased to include the back of the neck, pressure points areas and the back of the head. Protective gloves were mandatory and there were now 5-minute rounds, all of which helped the UFC legitimately begin calling itself a sport, rather than an underground cage fight.

After the organization cleaned up the fights, it was time to start getting officially recognized by fighting associations. The improved image played well with the athletic commissions, as did the petitions for sanctioning made by other clean MMA organizations. It wasn’t until September 30th of 2000 that the International Fighting Championships hosted the first MMA sanctioned event in New Jersey. 2 months later it was the UFC’s turn. Their first sanctioned event also took place in New Jersey under the State Athletic Control Board’s Unified Rules. The Ultimate Fighting Championships had lost legal battles and suffered financially, but now it was a legitimate sport.

The time seemed right for new leadership. Two casino executives and a boxing promoter placed and won a bid to buy the UFC for $2 million in 2001. That same year, the organization successfully secured the sanctioning of the Nevada State Athletic Commission and returned to Pay-per-view. Slowly but surely, popularity was growing. It gained a spot on Fox Sports Net, which aired it as the first American mixed martial arts match in 2002.

Today.

Thanks to better promoting, bigger ticket events and the necessary funding, the UFC aired its own reality TV show on Spike TV called The Ultimate Fighter. It was slotted just after a large wrestling event and the UFC show quickly rose to the top for the station. Spike TV then began airing promotional half-hour teaser shows to promote UFC pay-per-view events. All of the widespread attention exploded its popularity. In 2006, the massively hyped event UFC 61 earned near 775,000 pay-per-view buys, the second highest in US history. The UFC, it seems, has officially arrived.

So what’s next for the growing organization? They’re thinking about expanding internationally. First stop: Mexico.

Adrian Adams
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/the-story-of-the-ultimate-fighting-championship-96306.html

Thanks! Omaha, wow, I’m from Omaha, . . . → Read More: I want to start kick boxing classes in Omaha?]]> I want to start taking kick boxing classes but I don’t know where I can go that has a reasonable price. Also, it HAS to be around Omaha!

Thanks!

Omaha, wow, I’m from Omaha, try this:

http://www.google.com/#q=kickboxing+omaha&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&prmd=ivnscm&source=univ&tbs=plcs:1&tbo=u&ei=aT02TYXgJsH38Abf-tCCCQ&oi=local_group&ct=more-results&resnum=1&ved=0CC8QtQMwAA&fp=fd0f73886609171d