Instructor's Course Guest Starring Michael Pardy

This will be a very short post because I'm darned tired. I just finished a Paddle Canada "Kayak Instructor Introduction to Kayaking" course. It was a three day course, running all day Friday, Saturday & Sunday and included classroom sessions, on the beach sessions, and lots of paddling (at Pike Lake). The course was operated by Viki of Kingston Kayak Instruction. Viki is herself becoming certified as qualified to teach instructors so had Michael Pardy here assessing her. Viki is a very good instructor and I've enjoyed her courses in the past, but having the added element of a paddler and leader of the caliber of Pardy here in Saskatoon was something remarkable. I only wish I could have taken even greater advantage of that resource. Although right now I feel burned out from the sun (a rare thing here lately) and being on the water, I would have eagerly taken a few more hours of his time if I had the opportunity.

I'm proud to say that I have received a conditional pass (as did all 6 of us in the course), and following the submission of my yet to be received homework assignments, will be officially a flatwater kayak instructor qualified to teach the Paddle Canada Introduction to Kayaking 8-hour course.

New progeCAD 2010 10.0.8.9 Released from CADDIT; Automatic Upgrade for Current Users

progeCAD 2010 Professional 10.0.8.9 is available from CADDIT with several more small bug fixes for issues reported from our forum, customer and user feedback. These fixes include:

- Fixed "copy as block" when name is already defined in the destination drawing
- Fixed a hatch display regen bug
- Fixed polar Lisp function
- Wblock file format now uses system DWG default version (2007)
- Fixed point dragging when ORTHO and ESNAP are On
- Occasional crash on auto-save issues have been addressed
- Fixed memory leaks found with the MIRROR command
- Fixed some issues with display of some non-Latin characters
- Fixed graphics visualization issue after REDO

Current progeCAD 2010 users also having an Internet connection will be upgraded automatically if the automatic update tool is enabled. No manual download will be necessary when the update works in that case. On some systems it may be necessary to first login as administrator before this update can be performed.

Other CAD users are encouraged to download this latest as a version free trial. progeCAD 2010 Professional will run for 30 days before users can choose to license it or not. Current license options for progeCAD include single-seat, floating network licenses, mobile USB, large office licenses and more. SME small and medium enterprise may also inquire as to our quantity discounts for 5- 10- and 20-license packs. progeCAD is free for schools who join the CADDIT progeCAD educational program in Australia and New Zealand. Other questions about progeCAD software can be directed to our support office in Liverpool, Australia.

The Pilgrimage to Oh Be Joyful Creek

Oh Be Joyful creek is a pilgrimage for paddlers every year.  It has all the makings of mecca for paddlers.  If the season in the Crested Butte valley were a couple months longer there would be 100s of paddlers moving in for the summer but because the season is only a few weeks long it has the feeling of a carnival camp with new members rolling in daily and a frantic pace of paddling and partying up and down the valley.   Camp itself is an awesome scene.  Its a beautiful spot directly at the base of the Oh Be watershed with the Slate River flowing by.  Just upstream is Daisy creek and up the valley from camp is a fantastic view of the mountains of Gunnison National Forest and the snow pack that promises the next days adventures.

If you haven't paddled continuous fast pace stuff your first time on Oh Be can be disconcerting at best.  As you walk up the run, earning every turn, you see lots of slides and fast paced whitewater.  The 9,000 foot elevation makes the eddies look very small and the holes look bigger but as the light headedness dissipates and the first run is under your belt the butterflies calm and you become more comfortable.  Most folks do a few laps on the first walk up from camp.  Two things happen during the session.  You as a paddler get more comfortable and the river begins to rise.  The morning runs are often a little bonier and the evening runs can get downright juicy.  And as the paddlers come down off the mountain side the excitement is intense.  The stories are of all kinds.  First timers are jacked with adrenaline and excited about how fast and long the last slides are or how sick their line off the big drop was.  There is goodness for the old pros and the setting itself is different from just about any river you will ever paddle.  There are stories of whoa from missed lines, tortured gear, and drowned vehicles that didn't quite make the trip across the Slate river.  This year in the first 36 hours we were in the area 3 vehicles were stuck in the river while trying to cheat the hike up to the put in.  I did climb into one rig that was stuck mid river to have dinner and a couple shots.  It was a pleasant mid river camp spot but expensive I think.

The Glorious Ride Across in the Morning.

The Unfortunate Aftermath in the Evening

Even putting in on OBJ is a different experience.  You have a couple choices.  One option is to put in above a drop called Ankle Breaker which is fun but it does land in 3 feet of water (not many people do this).  The other option is to put in, I kid you not, 15 feet and 4 to 5 paddle strokes above a good 15 foot drop that they call the 18 footer.  Fortunately you are well warmed up and light headed from the hike up the valley, or holler as we call it here in the Appalachians.  From there the river is pretty much non stop with small eddies and lots of willows overhanging the banks.  We coined a new phrase this time up..."willow turns".  There are times instead of doing eddie turns you have to do a "willow turn" to stop and set safety.  Here are a few shots and a slide show as well as a link at the bottom to 100 shots of our stay at Oh Be Joyful.

Cheers
Shane

Put In Above the "18 Footer"

The 18er

The 8 footer

Grace Stylin' the Big One

Headed back to Camp

Versa Board down Gore Creek in Vail, Co.

The last couples weeks has had me traveling in Colorado for a couple events and a couple rivers.  This past weekend I was helping at the Teva Mountain Games with the Extreme Race down Homestake Creek and the Freestyle Event in the middle of the Vail Village.  I also signed up for the SUP surf cross sprint down Gore Creek which is the first time I have entered any kind of an event on a stand up paddle board.  Its also the first time that I have run a river that I hadn't first run in a kayak.  So it was a personal first descent for me and my Versa Board.

Theres a video at the bottom of the story.

 Gore Creek is very continuous especially at the levels we were on it.  The video is from the day before the race.  The water came up several hundred CFS the next morning for the sup race which made all the waves bigger and the whole section much more continuous.  There were a couple of solid class two drops that were made more difficult by low hanging bridges.  Its one thing to stand up down rapids but to also duck under bridges, pipes, and trees makes it more like a class 3-4 experience.  The first trip down was pretty uneventful.  I managed to not fall in at all but I could feel how tired my legs were after three and a half miles of maintaining my balance and paddling.  Lets just say it was a good workout.

The race went well.  I finished 16th out of 39 guys. The water was much higher during the race and the waves and rapids were a lot bigger.  I fell 3 times I think mostly because I was exhausted.  When I stepped off my board my legs were shaking and my arms were tired.  It didn't help that we were racing at 8000 ft.  It was a great time and I will do it again.  One of the cool things that happened during this event was that a team of Hawaiian SUP racers flew over for the event.  Of course they came and kicked all our asses but they also brought a good vibe.  Before the race they handed out shell necklaces to everyone and asked us to remember the things that were important.  They wanted everyone to look out for each other and remember that just paddling and friends were what it was all about.

I hope you are all getting out on all the water.
Shane

Here is a video of the session on Gore Creek on the Versa Board.

Free Pro/ENGINEER Tryout Edition DVD from CADDIT

A new free PTC Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire DVD software kit is available in Australia for evaluation from CADDIT Australia. This free "Pro/ENGINEER Experience" kit includes an interactive tutorial DVD (disk #1) and an easy-to-register 30 day full evaluation version of Pro/ENGINEER software (disk #2). Pro/ENGINEER is a high-end 3D modelling, manufacturing and simulation PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) platform used in industrial and product design, automotive and aerospace, marine and manufacturing for delivering a total single platform which can scale to meet the needs of any design requirement. Some of the improvements in Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 5.0 include:

• Completely new 2D detail drafting environment (this was first revealed on our blog here). The new framework uses the ribbon-like Fluent UI command navigation from Microsoft. Improved plot preview and use of Adobe TrueType fonts in text.
• New social product development capabilities using Pro/ENGINEER’s brand new ProductPoint^® platform, built on Microsoft^® SharePoint^® to better enable design teams to work together.
• Enhanced Weld Design - New weld features, symbol annotations, and simulation enhancements enable you to design, document and analyze welded structures. You can analyze weldment models up to 10X faster, shown below:

• Realtime photo-realistic rendering with raytracing support for shadows and reflections. Pro/ENGINEER Advanced Rendering Extension (ARX) now includes the mental images rendering engine for unsurpassed realism.
• Machine simulation can drive slot motor components along curves, quickly create belts to account for kinematic and dynamic coupling, analyze dynamic gears, and model 3D contacts. More high-end analysis capabilities with expanded support for heterogeneous units, improvements to icon and label displays, an intuitive dashboard UI for surface and volume regions, and support for materials plasticity.
• Improved 5-axis CNC machining quickly and easily duplicate tool paths and leverage the process manager for turning operations, such as area turning, grooving and profile turning.
• Exchange Autodesk Inventor® and SolidWorks® files, including non-geometric data exchange capabilities - you can preserve 3D notes, annotations and metadata in neutral formats. And the new 3D import wizards and usability enhancements for AutobuildZ™ and Import DataDoctor™.
• Improvements in speed, ease of use, completely new Pro/ENGINEER Spark Analysis and Manikin Extensions, a new "Rib Tool" for plastic part design and many other enhancements...

This DVD kit is a valuable, limited time opportunity for companies to have easy access to the latest parametric CAD design technology in Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 5. For those interested in data management and the new Social Product Development technology, a chance to work with a live ProductPoint PDM server will also be provided. Special discount prices for Pro/ENGINEER licenses are also available until the end of June.

Australian SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) companies, individual company staff members or management can request this kit from CADDIT HERE (Australia only). In other countries you may need to contact your local PTC partner or contact PTC directly.

Getting ripped off

Now I think I’m a reasonably relaxed sort of guy (my wife would probably say different! :-) ) But a good friend of mine passed this link to me today. It would seem somebody has been passing off my blog articles as theirs. They do at least make reference to the source.

http://revitinfo.com/Revit_Forum/Entry_Details/EntryID/223.aspx?&getindoolabinfo=aboutlink

Whilst I’m not that precious about what I write about, I little bit of credit or just a quick email to say, “hi, you ok if we link to your article?” wouldn't have gone a miss. Now I would probably say no problem, just make reference to who wrote the article. I remember Steve Stafford highlighting a similar issue around 12 months back and he wasn’t exactly thrilled by it then and either am I.

Fancy Schmancy Peanut Butter Jars?

Sammy over at Gearpods.com recently got in touch with me about sending a sample of their product my way for testing. Probably I could have considered his post on the blog as spam, but I was intrigued. "That's a fantastic idea" was my quick response. At least, that's how I responded after figuring out what a "Gear Pod" is.

You see, I received Les Stroud's book Survive! a while ago as a gift. Since then, I've been meaning to put together a survival kit (or perhaps multiple kits) in a waterproof container. The kit would come in handy if I (or the folks I were paddling with) were separated from my gear or had some sort of emergency that left us stranded. My container of choice so far: a plastic 2kg peanut butter container (sans peanut butter, even though that in itself would be a useful survival item). The kit would contain a variety of means of starting fires in adverse conditions, some means of providing shelter (a sheet of plastic or an emergency blanket, either of which would have multiple uses), signalling devices, and a variety of other useful items (fish hooks, wire, string, fish line, safety pins, bags, tape, button compass, etc.). I tried and the peanut butter container can be squashed into the bow or stern of my Swift Yukon canoe.

So, back to Sammy and Gear Pods. These Gear Pods are essentially, waterproof containers to do the same sort of thing I had in mind for the peanut butter jar, only they are intended to be more versatile and tougher. They also cost a bit more (it's hard to compare prices to free recycled plastic jars). They sell the Gear Pod jars either empty in a variety of sizes, or as part of pre-packaged kits. Some of the kits are specifically survival-oriented, while others are first-aid, shelter, or food oriented.

Sammy has my address and has promised to send me samples to test out over the coming months. I don't actually know anything more specific about what is being sent but I look forward to putting the Gear Pods to the test over the summer. I will have the opportunity to take them north to the shield and boreal forest of Saskatchewan, and out to the saltwater of the West Coast, and next winter, into the extreme cold of a Saskatchewan winter. So, stay tuned for updates and eventually a Gear Pod review!