Friday, February 13, 2009

Books you should read.


Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the eponymous adolescent wizard Harry Potter, together with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his friends from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The central story arc concerns Harry's struggle against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents in his quest to conquer the wizarding world and subjugate non-magical (Muggle) people to his rule. The novels revolve around Harry Potter, an orphan who discovers that he is a wizard. Wizard ability is inborn, but children are sent to wizarding school to learn the magical skills necessary to succeed in the wizarding world. Harry is invited to attend the boarding school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life, and most of the events take place at Hogwarts. As he struggles through adolescence, Harry learns to overcome many magical, social, and emotional hurdles.


The series includes:

The Sorcerer's Stone

The Chamber of Secrets

The Goblet of Fire

The Prisoner of Azkaban

The Order of the Phoenix

The Half-Blood Prince

The Deathly Hallows

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Rockclimbing :D


Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up or across natural rock formations or man-made rock walls with the goal of reaching the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route. Rock climbing is similar to scrambling (another activity involving the scaling of hills and similar formations), but climbing is generally differentiated by its need for the use of the climber's hands to hold his or her own weight and not just provide balance. Rock climbing is a physically and mentally demanding sport, one that often tests a climber's strength, endurance, agility, and balance along with his or her mental control. It can be a dangerous sport and knowledge of proper climbing techniques and usage of specialized climbing equipment is crucial for the safe completion of routes. The wide variety of rock formations around the world has led rock climbing to separate into several different styles and sub-disciplines.Although rock climbing was an important component of Victorian mountaineering in the Alps, it is generally thought that the sport of rock climbing began in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in various parts of Europe. Rock climbing evolved gradually from an alpine necessity to a distinct athletic activity. Aid climbing (climbing using equipment that act as artificial hand- or footholds) became popular during the period 1920 - 1960, leading to ascents in the Alps and in Yosemite Valley that were considered impossible without such means. However, climbing techniques, equipment, and ethical considerations have evolved steadily, and today, free climbing (climbing on holds made entirely of natural rock, using gear solely for protection and not for support) is the most popular form of the sport. Free climbing has since been divided into several sub-styles of climbing dependent on belay configuration (described below). Over time, grading systems have also been created in order to more accurately compare the relative difficulties of climbs.

Snowboarding :D


Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is either partially or fully covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set into a mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the United States in the 1960s and the 1970s and became a Winter Olympic Sport in 1998. The snowboarding way of life came about to rebel the more sophisticated way of skiing, and skiers did not easily accept this new culture on their slopes. The two cultures contrasted each other in several ways including how they spoke, acted, and their entire style of clothing. Snowboarders embraced the punk and hip-hop look into their style. Words such as "dude", "gnarly", and "Shred the Gnar" are some examples of words in the snowboarding culture. It was a crossover between the urban and suburban styles onto snow, which made an easy transition from surfing and skateboarding culture over to snowboarding culture. The stereotypes of snowboarding have been known to be "lazy", "grungy", "punk", "stoners", "troublemakers", and numerous others, many of which are associated with skateboarding and surfing. However, these stereotypes may soon be considered "out of style". Snowboarding has become a sport that encompasses a very diverse crowd and fanbase, so much so that it's hard to stereotype the entire community. Reasons for these dying stereotypes include how mainstream it has become, with the shock factor of snowboarding's quick take off on the slopes wearing off. Skiers and snowboarders are becoming used to each other, showing more respect to each other on the mountain. "The typical stereotype of the sport is changing as the demographics change".

Wakeboarding :D


Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water behind a boat. It was developed through a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques.
The rider is towed behind a boat or a cable park; typically at speeds of 18-24 miles per hour (29-38 km/h), depending on water conditions, rider's weight, board size and most importantly, the rider's personal preference. Wakeboarding can also be performed on a variety of media including closed-course cables, winches, PWCs and ATVs.
Using edging techniques, the rider can move outside of the wake or cut rapidly in toward the wake. Jumps are performed by hitting the wake and launching into the air. This can also be done by hitting a kicker (a jump). The best russian rider is Valentin Sverdlov, who is known for his stunning perfomance. There is also the slider (a rail bar) in which a rider approaches and rides along keeping his balance. Once a rider improves in the sport, he or she can progress to tricks high in the air. As the rope tightens the rider gains speed toward the wake. When the rider goes airborne, the tightened rope launches him and while in the air, the rider may attempt to do tricks.
Wakeboarding arose in the late 1980s after the advent of Skiboarding. The actual sport of ski boarding is credited to Porter Daughtry (who invented the Skurfer in San Diego, CA), Tony Finn( Carlsbad, CA), Jimmy Redmon (Austin, TX) later drilled holes in skurfers to affix bindings. The term "wakeboard" was coined by Porter Daughtry (Brooks, GA), as well as the concept and design, along with his brother Murray and a Pro snowboarder they sponsored. Paul approached Herb O'Brien with the idea and the introduction of the "hyperlite" wakeboard, named by Eric "The Flyin Hawaiian" Perez, laid the groundwork for evolution of the wakeboard throughout the 1990s. Liquid Force was started by Finn and Redmond.
The World Skiboard Association was founded in 1989 and the First World Skiboard Championships was held on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii, on the Wailua River. The next year Eric Perez defended his title against Darin Shapiro. This is when the Hyperlite wakeboard was introduced and blew everyone away. The first US Nationals were held later that same year in Colorado Springs, CO on Prospect lake, hosted by Tommy Phillips. Competitions began popping up around the United States throughout the early 1990s. Wakeboarding was added as a competitive sport in the X Games II. The World Skiboard Association "changed its focus" and was re-named the World Wakeboard Association.