RAMBLINGS OF A TRAVELER IN CHILE & ARGENTINA: Terro del Fugo & Cape Horn

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The history of the southernmost point of the AMERICAN continent has always been linked to seamen and adventurers, frontiersmen and mythical native inhabitants such as the Patagones or “Patagonian Giants”.

The Portuguese seaman Hernando de Magallanes (Ferdinand Magellan) arrived at the area in 1520 and baptized it with the name Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), after observing the bonfires the Onas or Selknam natives kept burning in their canoes to navigate by night and keep themselves warm. I also think the sunsets may have lead in part to the Land of Fire idea.

This is an area of vast indomitable landscapes, islands and channels.

 

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the south of South America, separated from the mainland by the Magellan Strait. The eastern part of the island belongs to Argentina (the Territory of Tierra del Fuego) and its main towns are Rio Grande and Ushuaia. The western part belongs to Chile (Magallanes province) and its main towns are Porvenirand Puerto Williams. Cape Horn is at the southernmost part of the archipelago, in Chilean land (Wikepedia).

USHUAIA

Ushuaia Argentina is the tourist center of Tierra del Fuego, and base for most excursions, treks and trips to Antarctica. Ushuaia is the most southerly city in the world.

Ushuaia itself is a cute town, but for backpackers, it is very touristy. Many boat and cruise ships dock here from Chile, other parts of Argentina, and many, if not most, cruises to Antarctica leave from there.

 

There are a few museums town. One that’s pretty cool, literally speaking, is the Prison Museum of Antarctica. I can’t believe they really needed a prison for bad boys – it seemed like the good guys could just load up the bad boys and take them on a short boat ride over to Antarctica in the winter, not give the prisoners any down coats, UGGS, food or shelter. That would probably be all that was necessary to cool down the bad boys – you’d think!

Anyway, the Prison Museum was pretty interesting. In 1896 the prison received its first inmates, mainly re-offenders and dangerous prisoners transferred from Buenos Aires, but also some political prisoners. During the first half of the 20th century, the city centered around the prison built by the Argentine government to increase the Argentine population and to ensure Argentine sovereignty over Tierra del Fuego. The prison was intended for repeat offenders and serious criminals, following the example of the British in Tasmania and the French in Devil’s Island.

Escape from Tierra del Fuego was difficult, although two prisoners managed to escape into the surrounding area for a few weeks. The prison population became forced colonists and spent much of their time building the town with timber from the forest around the prison (Wikipedia). They also built a railway to the settlement, now a major, stunning, and not-to-be-missed tourist attraction known as the End of the World Train(Tren del Fin del Mundo), the southernmost railway in the world.

The prison operated until 1947, when President Juan Perón closed it by executive order in response to the many reports of abuse and unsafe practices. Most of the guards stayed in Ushuaia, while the prisoners were relocated to other jails farther north.

Much of the early history of the city and its hinterland is described in Lucas Bridges’s book Uttermost Part of the Earth (1948). I recommend this book if you are going to the end of the earth or are hoping too.

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24 Hours Of Le Mans- The Oldest Car Race

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24 hour of Le Mans is an amazing sports car race that was started long back in 1923 near a town named Le Mans in France. This is the world’s oldest car race that is packed with all the elements of the sports drama. Both the performance and endurance of man and machines are tested in 24 hours of Le Man that goes on for 24 hours and each year a new chapter is added in the automobile history.

Purpose:

Before 24 hours of Le Man got popularity in France, Grand Pix racing was the most popular form of Motorsports and the 24 hours of Le Man was mainly introduced to bring a different test in the race. So, the manufacturers concentrated on building the race cars that are not only speedy but also sporty, reliable and fuel efficient. Along with all these, the track required to introduce cars that have better aerodynamics and are stable at higher speed as well.

Reliability was mainly important because the public road is not made for the racing cars as a result the parts need to bear more strain which increased the need of reliability. Also the oil crisis in 1970 forced the companies to follow a fuel economy formula. Another reason of fuel efficient car is that, this enduring racing requires the car to spend as little time as possible in the pits. And all these technology was used in the consumer cars.

Image credit: “Le Mans 2008 Rolling start” by Wonker

The Race:

This race generally takes place in hot weather of June when rain is very common. The race is started at the mid-afternoon and lasts for long 24 hours. That means the race is ended on the next day. During that long 24 hours the competitors travel as long distance as possible. The modern competitors travel approximately 5000 km distances. The record is 5410 km that was made in 2010. The drivers are required to avoid mechanical damages while striving for speed. Also the primary car consumable such as fuel, tire and braking materials should be managed well.

Cars:

There are 50 competitors in the game. And each car should have two seats. But now a car with the ability to put up a seat in the cockpit is good to go in the racing. The car should not have more than two doors but the open cockpit cars will not require any doors. In 2014, all the cars of LMP1 category were instructed to have roofs to maintain safety.

There are different classes in the race and the overall winner and winner of each class is rewarded. The number of class varies each year.

History:

26 and 27^th May in 1923 were the day when 24 hours of Le Man was first ran on the public road of Le Mans. Primarily it was planned as a three-year-event and the winner was awarded with the Rude-Whitworth Triennial cup. But it continued and the races were dominated in the beginning by French, Italian, British drivers while the top brands cars such as Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, and Bentley were used in the game. The race was cancelled in 1936 due to a strike in France. But the Second World War II brought a long 10 years gap in the game.

Read more: http://thethrillsociety.com/24-hours-of-le-mans-the-oldest-car-race/

A-Holes Of The Week: San Bernardino Terrorists

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Congratulations to our most recent A-Holes of the Week, San Bernardino Terrorists!

On Wednesday Tashfeen Malik, 27 and Syed Rizwan Farook, 28 committed the first act of terrorism on U.S. soil since 9/11 by killing 14 people and injuring 21 in San Bernardino, California.

Malik had pledged allegiance to a prominent leader of IS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Malik is a native of Pakistan and lived in Saudi Arabia for more than 20 years.

Malik and her husband Farook were killed in a shootout with police after their attack of during a holiday party of the Inland Regional Center social services agency. The couple fired over 150 bullets inside the center.

Farook was an employee at the Inland Regional Center. He attended the holiday party, appeared to become agitated, left the party, and returned with his wife in full tactical gear. Most of the carnage was confined to one room at the center.

The couple was armed with two .223-caliber assault rifles and two 9mm semiautomatic pistols all legally obtained. Luckily the couple did not detonate an explosive made of three pipe bombs that they brought to the center.

Read more at: http://thethrillsociety.com/a-holes-of-the-week-san-bernardino-terrorists/

Rosebud Social: New York Days

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For 15 years Rosebud Social rocked the Twin Cities area. They have recently disbanded, but guitarist/vocalist/spokesman, Tom Keteri continues playing with his new project Won Raido. 

Follow Tom on FB at Thomas Keteri and Twitter @tomketeri66

Rosebud Social – “New York Days” (2012)

I’m very happy to share something with you this week that you’ve never heard before. A few days ago an old friend of mine from back in high school – a guy who I’d lost contact with over the years but through the miracle of Facebook, as so often happens these days, have been back in touch with recently – a musician kind of guy, drummer, posted this song on his Facebook page. It’s an original song, performed by his long running band Rosebud Social, titled “New York Days.” Well, you know right away what I was thinking: “Hmmm, seems perfect for this blog I know about…” So I shot dude a message asking him to tell me a bit about the song and video and to give me a bit of “introductory” who/what/where infomation about the band Rosebud Social and the song “New York Days.” In response, I instead heard back from guitarist/vocalist/spokesman, Tom Keteri.

“Rosebud Social has been actively playing since 1992 and the core members (Pat Olds, drums, and Tom Keteri, vocals and guitar) have travelled many miles together, and the band has outlived most of their influences. Joel Moede (bass player of 20 years, stood down in 2010 to have a family) and was replaced by Brian Kislia of “The Swing Dogs,” a Minneapolis blues rock band. Brian brings organizationl skills to the band and having been the singer in his band he also opens the door to more vocal range on the back ups. he was the guitar player and songwriter in “The Swing Dogs” so the writing has also been enhanced and we are not such a one trick pony.

Our influences range from old Country to Metal and everywhere in-between, we all have our “favorites” as a band and definately have a “continuity”, but we are a mix of Soul Asylum, The Replacments, and most of the “other usual suspects” from the Midwest.”

As for the song itself?

“The song was written from the standpoint of never experiencing New York in the “physical sense,” it was a dreamt up interpretation of someone from the Midwest moving there and isolating one person (in this case a girl) that you see every day on her schedule among the thousands of people on the street and sort of occupying your day with what you would say and do, had you had the chance to meet her.

The song was written several years ago, in ten or fifteen minutes, before attending a Jayhawks concert on the North Shore of Lake Superior in the dead of winter The isolation of Minnesota’s North Shore and the isolation of being amongst so many people in New York (although completly different in fabric) is what we shot for when writing the song. The two situations are so different, but also alike.

The song was written shortly before Ryan Adams released the album “Gold” in 2001, which contains the song “New York, ” so there was never a big push on our part to market this song back then because of the similarity of the content. The original song, (that is heard in the video) is the version we will be finally releasing on our new C.D. We always felt it was too good to be a b-side piece, and now with the tradgedy of the events of 9/11 at a respectable distance in the past and no “New York” songs out there at the moment, we feel it is time to finally release it.

Read the rest of the article at: http://thethrillsociety.com/rosebud-social-new-york-days/

Fantasy Football Week #13

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Week #12 is in the books and fantasy football teams are looking forward to week #13. There is a lot to discuss this week so let’s jump right in to the action.

Undefeated Patriots fell from glory this week leaving the Panthers as the only undefeated team.

Bye Week

No byes for the rest of the season. You are in the clear and can relax about starting a player on a bye week.

Mismatches

Panthers vs. Saints, and Packers vs. Lions, although the Packers are starting to cool down, Bengals vs. Browns, Broncos vs. Chargers, Patriots vs. Eagles, and Cardinals vs. Rams.

There are a lot of uneven matches this week that could lead to a great chance for fantasy players to make a lot of points. At this point in the season there is a lot of data available. Start your best players based on 11 games of data.

Quarterbacks

The top seven quarterbacks in most polls deserve to be there.

Looking down at the #10 is Big Ben. Big Ben had a concussion against the Seahawks, but he will probably start and if he does expect huge numbers against a porous Colt’s defense. Ben racked up huge yardage last week, but fell short in touchdowns. This week it could be a shower of touchdowns. He has the receivers to make it happen.

Look hard at starting Rivers against a stout Broncos defense. Rivers has been a decent scoring fantasy quarterback all season, but against the Broncos defense look at your bench and waiver wire.

Wilson lit up the Steeler’s decent defense for 34 fantasy points last week. The Vikings have a better defense than the Steelers and I predict Wilson will struggle this week.

Running Backs

Peterson is ranked #1 in most polls this week. He scored 29 points last week against the Falcons, but only nine points the week before against the Packers. I believe the Seahawk’s defense is better than the Packer’s defense. Consider what RBs you have on your bench and check the waiver wire.

Williams is ranked #2 in a lot of polls and goes against a Colt’s defense that is giving up 18 fantasy points per game. Williams caught 8 passes last week against the Vikings, but this week the Steelers will feast on a porous Colt’s secondary. #2 is a bit optimistic for Williams.

Freeman ranked #3 is way too high. He is coming off of a concussion and facing a decent Buc’s defense. It has been since week #6 since he has scored decent fantasy points. Maybe a flex starter, but not a starting RB unless he is all you have on your rooster.

Tight Ends

Gronk is possibly out for this week’s action with a knee injury, so if you have been relying on him all season for TE points production you will have to do some researching this week. Chandler had a season high 11 fantasy points last week. The Patriots are injury riddled in the WR department and like to use a two TE formation. However, Chandler will face an Eagles defense that is second best in the league against TEs with 3.8 points. Starting Chandler will be a real head scratcher this week.

Another head scratcher will be Eifert against the Browns. He had three touchdowns last time they meet, however he is struggling with a neck injury. To start or not to start is the question. Wait until the last second before submitting your fantasy lineup this week if you are considering starting Eifert.

Read the rest of the article at: http://thethrillsociety.com/fantasy-football-week-13/

Fitness: Core Training- Helps You Stay Healthy And Fit

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You must have heard about the phrase core training but it is vital to know first, what is the core part of our body which will help you realize the importance of core training. The mid section of our body part is referred as the core and it includes all the parts of that area such as front, back and side muscles. The transverse abdominis (TVA), oblique, erector spinae, and the lower lats fall in that core part. Now these muscles are the main stabilizer of the entire body and when these muscles get weakened, it can lead to various harmful diseases. Core training is all about those exercises which work to strengthen the core muscles so that our entire body is stabilized.

Effects of core training

Core training is associated with innumerous health benefits. The core fitness training has various positive effects on human body. These are:

• Core training strengthens the abdominal structures that help our entire body to move.
• The muscles can work together effectively and efficiently.
• The respiratory function is improved a lot.
• The neuromuscular efficiency is improved that helps in efficient body movement and physical positioning.
• Core training strengthens the torso’s stabilization.
• The absorption and transfer of forces is regulated perfectly while the body weight is distributed properly through the help of fitness training.
• Helps to flatten the tummy.

Image credit: “Crunches” by embhoo – embhoo.

Functions of abdominal muscles in core training

The abdominal muscle that is the core part of the body handles various activities such as breathing, coughing, sneezing along with maintaining the position and speeches in various species. So, it is really important to develop the abdominal muscles through core training process. The rectus abdominis muscle, the internal obliques, the external obliques and the transversus abdominis are the main four abdominal muscles that take part in various body functioning. Now, the main aim is to follow a balance exercise that can improve all those muscles.

Core training requires most of the muscles to be involved thus it maintains a proper balance and all the abdominal muscles are being developed which in turn help to stabilize the body.

Types of exercises:

There are lots of exercises and all of them have different usefulness. Mainly the exercises are categorized in 4 different groups and these are: Endurance, Balance, Flexibility and strength. Now one might go for the one that is mostly needed by his body but it is always better to follow a combination of all those to obtain more benefits.

Endurance training: The main aim of endurance activities is to improve the heart rate and breathing system to keep the lungs and circulatory system healthy. So, you can stay safe and fit while it also helps to do other daily activities such as walking, dancing and jogging smoothly.

Strength training: The aim of strength training is to strengthen the abdominal and other muscles so that climbing the stairs and lifting weight become much easier for you. Weight lifting, using the body weight, etc. fall under strength training.

Flexibility training: This training involves the stretching of various muscles so that muscles become more flexible and help our body to stay limber.

Balance training: Balance training aids at improving the balance thus it prevents falls. For example, standing in one foot, Tai chi, etc. are the result of balance training.

Safety concerns during fitness training:

The importance of fitness training can’t be overlooked as our physical, emotional and social health is being enhanced through it. But at the same time, risk is also associated with this. So, it is must to follow some safety rules during the exercise:

• Always wear the right shoe
• Use correct equipment
• Warm up and stretch your body in every 10 minutes
• Take help of a fitness instructor. This point is especially intended for all those who have some pre-existing injury. Also consult the doctor or physiotherapist before starting the fitness training
• Read the rest of the article at: http://thethrillsociety.com/fitness-core-training-helps-you-stay-healthy-and-fit/