How to get your kids along on your next hike

How to get your kids along on your next hike is really a challenging question to answer. No matter, whether you are an experienced hiker or just a beginner, perhaps this is the biggest dilemma a parent can face in their lifetime. Most of us think that it is almost impossible to go on hiking with kids, especially on long and risky trails. But you can get your kids on your hike by considering two things i. e. making some modification in your goal and another is little planning. What type of goal you should choose for hiking with kids and what you should plan are two keys for a successful kids hike. Needless to say, if you win over these two things or combat these two issues then you can certainly take your kids on hiking. Although you may face a little difficulty with kids but it would be a wonderful experience to carry them with you. Kids really like outdoor events and they can reap different benefits with outdoor events. As a parent or guardian you must take your kids on relatively shorter hikes. Outdoor events such as hiking increase their knowledge, increase their team building skills, and increase their endurance along with other health benefits. Hiking with kids would be a great decision from the perspective of family health and it is also fun. For many children, it's the journey that's important, not how long the journey is. So, whenever you get a chance to take them along never miss it. So make your hike a fun with kids; surely you can do it, you don’t need to give up your hiking as you have kids. However, you need to be a bit more careful and planned than usual, but it is not very difficult especially when both of you are determined. So, guys when you plan your hike with kids change your goals. According to experts, goals should be based on the ability of the youngest child, as they are the weakest link in the whole chain. Perhaps the best idea is to take some of their friends or siblings along with them, so that they won’t feel bored. As these young buddies are slower, delicate and inexperienced, so they can’t move like you adults. Think carefully about your goal or destination where you wish to go, and as far as possible keep your goals easier if you are taking your kids for the first time. While deciding the visiting place keep in mind that it should be easy to reach and near the home because you have a little creature with you and which is not tough like you. Next, as far as possible encourage them to carry their own backpack as it gives them a sense of belonging as well as a purpose to be there, but be prepared to carry their backpack in case they get tired or exhausted. Sometimes, they don’t like to carry their own backpack even when they are not actually tired. In such events encourage them to carry their backpacks and motivate them by candies or chocolates as special treats or rewards. Quite obviously, keep their backpack small and light, otherwise they may hurt themselves. Initially, instead of backpack, you can encourage them to carry their own water bottle or snack. As they get stronger and experienced, let them take their own small backpack. There are different types of child backpacks available in the market, so you should get a good quality backpack for them. Keeping your goal shorter and easier has multiple benefits. First, you yourself will not be able to go very far or high because you have a much heavier backpack than usual because you have to carry many extra things for kids like napkins, shoes, clothes etc., second there is a less strong companion with you in terms of abilities, third kids often lack in patience and if their delicate feelings are hurt in anyway they may not like to go along with you next time. Therefore, better to start small children on short trails over easy and low terrain. Although, it all depends upon the strength and temperament of your kid along with few other factors, but according to experts in terms of ability, children can cover about 1 mile for every year they are in age. That means if your kid is 4 years old then he/she has an ability to go for 4 miles. But, never treat this formula as a rule of thumb as they may not actually want to hike that far, but in general they could have the ability to do so. In addition to the above mentioned considerations, actually there are many more things to be considered while going on hiking with kids, such as special kids clothing & footwear, Wet wipes and tissues, kids backpack, water & snacks along with a compass, a map, a flashlight, waterproof matches, bug dope, sunscreen and a whistle. Last but not the least, you should pay utmost respect and attention to various safety considerations. As they are young, delicate and inexperienced, so you need to be very careful about their safety. First of all equipped them with right gears and accessories such as running or tenis shoes instead of open-toed shoes, adequate clothing as per the weather conditions in several layers that can be removed easily when they get warm, and added when they get cool, special purpose kids backpack to distribute the load evenly on their body. Next, when you go on hiking with kids, be prepared to survive from any injury because they are common especially in the case of kids. Never forget to carry a small, travel sized first aid kit for short hikes in the event of accidental scrapes or insect bites or other small injuries. Moreover, as far as possible keep them in your sight and watch them carefully even when you allow them to play with their buddies. Educate and warn them to keep away from bushes, steep ledges, overhangs, poisonous plants and dangerous falls. And ask them to make signals using whistle or any other alarming device in case of any emergency. Well, if you can take care of these points, you will be having a rocking time together with your kids while on any hiking or trekking. Not only you will feel great, but your kids would also have a wonderful time in the outdoor trips filled with enough good memories of wonderful sights and time with their family. Although encourage and empower them to take initiatives, but never allow them unattended for a long time. Have patience, positive attitude and realistic expectations during the whole trip to make it more enjoyable and memorable. I am sure, by following these simple tips, steps and ideas, your children will have a wonderful time in the great outdoors with you. And, the next time they will be more matured and learned to go along with you on longer hikes with more difficult goals!

Ironman triathlon run equipment choices

There are several run-equipment choices I feel can help you quite a lot in your quest for your first Ironman Trathlon finisher medal. SHOES - Of course well fitting shoes are a priority. I've tried every sort of shoe you can imagine over the years and have come to this conclusion: You can train just as well and stay just as injury free in $50 shoes as you can in $150 dollar shoes. For instance, what if an outlet has a brand new 2005 model shoe on sale for $69, and sells the new, improved (same shoe) 2006 model for $149. Does that mean the older model was no good and will hurt your feet? Of course not! In order to stay competetive, manufacturers have to continually make small changes and/or improvements in their product to stay in step with the competition. The change from one year to the next may just be in the color, or new lacing system or a bit more build-up in some part of the shoe. Sometimes the change is really small. Just shop around. See whats out there and in your training try several different types of shoes and when you find the one that just feels great, fits perfect, and never gives you blisters no matter how far you run---then that's your race day shoe. Try and make your choice for a race day shoe the lightest of all your shoes. Remember: Whatever you do, don't go out and buy some fancy shoe for Ironman day because it looks really great. Go with the old shoe that got you there. Don't make any late changes. I heard this story years ago and have never forgotten it and it's just a great example of what I'm talking about. It's 1960, Rome Olympic Games. An African from Ethiopia shows up for the games. He is running in the marathon. He has no shoes. He didn't train in shoes. He trained back home by chasing rabbits for miles in his bare feet. A major shoe distributor at the games gave him a brand new pair of shoes to wear. He put them on. They hurt his feet. He took them off. Said "No, thank you". He ran the marathon in bare feet. Twenty miles were over the cobblestones of Rome. HE WON THE GOLD MEDAL!! Now the shoe manufacturer really LOVES him and gives him shoes to train in at home. FLASH AHEAD 4 YEARS TO THE NEXT OLYMPIC GAMES-- This African runner from Ethiopia shows up at the Olympic Games. He is entered in the Marathon again. He is wearing shoes that he trained in at home. They don't hurt his feet now. HE WON THE GOLD MEDAL!! AGAIN!! HIs name is Abibe Bikila. The first African to win olympic gold--now they are a dynasty. The moral of the story is: If he had worn the shoes for the 1960 Olympics, not only would he have not won gold, he would have trashed his feet. Just imagine the blisters. He wasn't accustomed to wearing shoes. If he had not worn shoes in the 1964 Olympics, not only would he have not won gold, he still would have trashed his feet. He wasn't accustomed to bare feet anymore and his feet would not have the same toughness as the previous olympic games. So I repeat: Go with the footwear that you've done lots of training in. Don't make any late changes. When I found a pair of racing shoes I just loved, I wore them training until they were nicely broken in. I put those elastic, lock laces on them, so I never had to tie them again and I put them away. I wore them for 5 Ironman races. In that last transition, it was like putting on a favorite pair of slippers. I NEVER had blisters or foot problems. I ran one Ironman marathon in 3:34 in those same shoes. FUEL BELT-I was so glad to see these come on the market. It used to really bug me to run a long distance in training with a water bottle on my hip. I just seemed out of balance. For that reason, I never bothered taking a water bottle out on an Ironman run course. You should really make a fuel-belt a part of your Ironman run-equipment for training and racing. The belt I prefer holds 6 smaller containers. They are spread out around your waist so you don't feel out of balance and you hardly know they're there during your runs. These are a particularly good idea for the Ironman marathon because you can use them for your favorite fuel if its not being supplied on the course. The belt also has reflectors built in for night running. HEART MONITOR - I really feel that everyone training for an Ironman should make use of a heart monitor. It's just a really important piece of run-equipment. See my page on training with a heart monitor. WEAR A CAP - I'm not sure why some Ironman Triathletes don't wear hats. They provide protection from the sun of course--but more than that--they are ideal for putting cold water in(or ice) at aid stations to keep you cool. On extremely hot days you just HAVE to do everything you can to keep your body cool. CLOTHING - For training of course, you have to dress for the weather in your part of the world. For race day however there are a few ways you can go. TRISUITS are a really good idea. You wear the trisuit under your wetsuit and you're good to go for the other two events. Usually they dry out pretty quickly, but you may be cool in the early portion of the bike ride. A second option is tri-shorts and a seperate top. The shorts are padded for the bike and like the trisuit, you just wear the shorts and top under your wetsuit. A third option is just wear a swimsuit under your wetsuit and make a complete change into clean, dry, and warm cycling clothes. Then make another complete change at transition two into running clothes. In my later races when time was more of a factor for me, I went with the second option. I preferred a seperate top, because I had pockets(similar to a cycling jersey)sewn into the top to hold food. Normally trisuits don't come with pockets and its not really the type of material you can sew a pocket onto. Also, if I felt like changing into running shorts at the second transition it was a simple operation. Just wear the same top and change shorts. For your first Ironman the run-equipment you choose can make a big difference in how you perform on the day. The clothing you choose will make a difference to your comfort level on race day. I would recommend for your first Ironman Triathlon, that you take your time and go with clothing option number three. Just wear a swimsuit under your wetsuit, make a complete change into cycling clothes, and make a complete change into Your favorite running clothes and shoes for the marathon.

Billiard. what exactly is the definition of this word

What is Billiard? I mean what is the true definition? We hear people talk about playing pool or sometimes it is referred to as billiards. I did some research and found that billiards is of course the plural of billiard. The definition to me has always been a ball deflecting off another and striking another. (target) like a Carom. (Three Cushion Billiards) I did a search on Ask dot Most of the online dictionaries including Webster’s referred to it as the singular of Billiards. The first result on the Ask dot com page defined it as an adjective and stated see also Carom. Below I provided Wikipedia’s definition. A billiard is a dynamical system where a particle alternates between motion in a straight line and specular reflections with a boundary. When the particle hits the boundary it reflects from it without loss of speed. This means that if you hit the edge of the one ball with the edge of the cue ball, and then the cue ball travels along the tangent line and strikes the nine ball, you have executed a billiard. Last night in a BCA Pool League match, I had solids (small number balls) and my opponent had stripes. One of my solids was right behind one of his stripes and that particular striped ball was next to the corner pocket. I hit the edge of my solid ball thin and the cue ball rolled into the stripe, putting it in the pocket and then stopped behind my solid ball. I made a billiard on his stripe and executed a safety in the same shot. Cool. My opponent failed to hit one of his stripes on the next shot and I took cue ball in hand and ran the rack. Thanks to a billiard and safety shot, I was able to win the game. Billiard shots will come up quite often if you know what to look for. I wrote this article to help you understand the true meaning of the word billiard. I still think of the above examples as a carom. To Your Run Out Success. Ted

Casino et football fsont ils bon ménage

En effet, Casino 888.com sponsorisait le FC Toulouse et PartyGaming le FNCA de Nantes! Oui mais voila, c'йtait sans compter sur la Ligue Professionnelle de Football. Dimanche dernier, sur les maillots du FC Toulouse, on retrouvait bien les couleurs du casino mais les signes ???. Qu'est ce donc ???.com me direz-vous. Il s'agit tout simplement de son sponsor Casino 888. Pourquoi? Alors que les joueurs ont pour obligation de porter les couleurs et le nom du casino, la Ligue professionnelle a, quant а elle, dйcidйe d'exclure les casinos de la publicitй et du sponsoring. D'oщ l'omission. Or, tout le monde l'aura compris le sigle ??? faisait bien rйfйrence au casino sponsor de l'йquipe. La Ligue explique son refus. Du fait de l'arrestation de certains gйants de casinos en ligne depuis le mois de septembre, dont le derneir en date de Bwin arretй en France, la ligue se voit le droit d'interdire la publicitй, le sponsoring pour les paris en ligne. Samedi, une autre йquipe, la FC Monaco a rencontrй le mкme problиme que le FC Toulouse lors de son match face au Mans. Un reprйsentant de l'йquipe explique que, sans cette alternative, le coup d'envoi du match n'aurait pu кtre donnй. On se souvient encore des paroles de Jean-Luc Gripond, vice-prйsident du club nantais, "le FCNA a dйcidй de s'associer а un nouveau sponsor disposant: "premiиrement une dimension internationale, et notre football a besoin de partenaires de cette dimension, deuxiиmement un lien avec les nouvelles technologies, ce qui reprйsente pour nous le futur". Qu'en est il aujourd'hui? Un enquкte a йtй menйe ( voir notre article Bonnes Nouvelles pour les Casinos en Ligne). Les paris sont monopole d'йtat en France et on pourrait penser que l'arrestation des cadres de BWin s'est opйrйe au bйnйfice de la Franзaise des jeux. Aussi, peu de temps aprиs, la Commission europйenne a dйcidй de s'intйresser de plus prиs а la question du monopole d'Йtat pour les paris et les jeux. La volontй de la commission est clairement affichйe, soit les Йtats membres les considиrent nйfastes pour leurs ressortissants et interdisent totalement les jeux en ligne, soit ils les autorisent et permettent aux sociйtйs comme 888.com d'offrir leurs services sur le marchй.

Wakeboarding for beginners

You might have probably heard of wakeboarding already. And you have the first impression that this is a "no fear" game - for daredevils; that sounds difficult. Perhaps you're right, but how you approach it is all up to you. Getting started is easy if you follow these simple steps. Firstly - have the right equipment; the latest pro board is not always the best to learn with. Give yourself a chance and get a board that is forgiving and helps you to progress. Choose a board which is light and easy to manage. A larger board with one or more large rear fins helps to give the board direction, which is important when learning. Getting closer to the boat is helpful for learning to wakeboard. Thus a shorter rope is highly recommended – about 15 meters (50'). Another essential bit of gear is a buoyancy vest. It is not only basic safety equipment but it will also save you a lot of energy as you hit the water regularly. The driver should remember that you need a lot less speed to get going and to stay planeing than water skiing - 35–40 kph max. A wakeboard offers more resistance when starting, so start slowly! If you have all the necessary wakeboarding equipments ready, the next thing to do is to learn the stance - how and where to stand on your board. Your first stage is to determine whether you are a regular lead (left-foot-forward) or goofy lead (right-foot-forward). For those who have skateboarded or snowboarded before, this is easy. If this is your first board sport, don't panic. Stand up, facing frward, feet together and have someone push you from behind. Whichever foot goes forward first is your lead foot. Now that you know which foot you'll place forward, it's time to set up your bindings. Riders just getting started should try placing the bindings at about shoulder-width apart with the rear foot slightly farther back (closer to the rear fin) to aid with directional stability. The angle of your bindings is important. Start with the rear foot straight across the board (O degrees) or slightly forward to 9 degrees (one set of holes in the base plate). Your front foot should be at an angle of 9-27 degrees (2-3 sets of holes) to get started. For your safety, before you get started, double-check the security of your fins and bindings. Do this again every time you hit the water. You should even periodically check them during your ride after a fall. Learn first the Deep Water Start by floating on your back with a buoyancy vest. The board should be perpendicular to the rope with your arms either side of your front knee. Signal the driver to put the boat just in gear. As you are pulled slowly forward, the pressure against the board will allow you to get into the proper starting position with most of the board below the surface of the water. Let the pressure on the board push your knees into your chest, then push your front foot forward toward the boat. Signal the driver to hit it and remain in a crouched position. As the boat begins to go, keep your arms slightly bent near your lower stomach. Shift your weight toward the front foot while keeping the nose above the water. As the water begins to give you support, slowly rise to the standing position by extending your legs until your knees are slightly bent. Once you are up, get comfortable on your board with slightly more weight on your rear foot. Let your hips and shoulders turn away from the boat. Riders with a skiing background have a tendency to try to face the boat, this will often lead to a face plant as they catch or drop their front edge. Practice getting comfortable in the sideways position and relax. The key to the deepwater start is letting the boat do the work. Stay down low and stand up slow! Wake boarding has the inherent dangers of all water sports, plus the dangers of motor powerboats, with screw propellers. So always observe precautionary measures and you will not get into trouble.

My favourite hobby snow boarding

Since moving into the suburbs, I have developed a new hobby: snow boarding. Snow boarding is great fun, and the reason I got started is because I used to go surfing when I lived by the beach, and when I moved away from the coast I had to find something new to satisfy my fix for extreme, white-knuckle sport. When I moved to my new college, everyone was talking about snow boarding, and a lot of my peers considered snow boarding an excellent hobby. When they asked if I wanted to attend, I was more than happy to come along and take part. The next thing I knew I was at the slopes, and I had to let everyone know that I had absolutely no experience of the sport whatsoever. They appeared to understand, and everyone was really helpful when it came to explaining how to get started. In fact, there were so many people trying to teach me what to do, I actually found that I would rather just one person would teach me at a time. The next thing I knew, I was going down the slope, and had no idea how to break appropriately, or how to turn. OK, so I'll admit that getting tuition from a bunch of teenagers was hardly the best idea, but it ensured that I didn't hold back on anything, and I certainly got off to a flying start. The fact is that you realise it is mostly just common sense, and the thrills that you get are amazing. When you are going down a slope at 30 miles an hour and you do not have to put in any effort to accelerate: that is like flying. The fact is that I also enjoy snow boarding because it is a great social activity for everyone to enjoy. I had just moved to a new area, and snow boarding really gave me an opportunity to get to know people, and is actually the reason why I am friends with the people that I hang around with at the moment. After visiting the slopes a few times, my new friends and I have discovered more common ground, so now we enjoy other activities together, along with the occasional visit to the slopes of course! I'd recommend snowboarding as a great hobby for anyone, particularly those with a passion for extreme sports, or anyone with a sense of adventure. And it's really great when you actually get involved - there's a whole culture attached to it. Some of my friends suggested taking up skiing, but this is something I think I'll avoid. It is almost like trying to compare a car and a motor bike. A car maybe burns less gas, it may be safer and may even turn corners with more precision, but what would you rather travel in for sheer thrills? Skiing just looks boring compared to snow boarding and the more I get into snow boarding the more my opinion is re-affirmed. I am glad that I moved away, and I am glad that I managed to find a sport that I enjoy more than surfing. I am hoping to start entering into competitions soon, however I have a lot of catching up to do with my new friends first!