Stop the Madness!

Gas shortages have become a reality for us in Ontario as of late. CBC best describes the situation with this article.
As with most current events in the news paper, I had originally dismissed the possibility of gas shortage as something that wouldn't affect me and my immediate surroundings. Well that has changed, as the gas stations around my house are currently out of fuel. Alright, this problem does affect me, and I have accepted it. Seeing has how the rail strike is over, the situation will clear itself in the near future. I am not worried about it.

What really does worry me are how irrational 'civilized' people get when faced with dilemmas beyond their control. The lineups at gas stations with any inventory are winding onto the roads, people are jockeying for the next available pump, and 'pump rage' can be seen. All this makes me really wonder in amazement. These are the same people, who idle their cars while running errands, accelerate as if there is a race to be won, purchase vehicles with ever more powerful engines. It seems that we live in a society that doesn't really care about the resources that we use until there is a possibility that may no longer be available to us. And then we just go mad!!!

I wonder how many people actually started carpooling, took public transit or used other alternatives for commuting? I wonder what will happen if we are faced with a loss of other resources? How would we react? Recall the 2003 Blackout, when electricity, a basic utility was not available to us. We were a society without computers, cell phones, radios, and other gadgetry. It was a good time for humanity. We interacted with our neighbours, bonded as families, read books, slept at normal hours, but most of all, we could not waste what was no longer available to us.

The Importance of Practice

There's an old saying, "Practice makes perfect", and this past weekend I had faced that reality again. As much as I want to keep this blog impersonal, the following story will serve as a reminder that as humans, we get better at things by repetition; practice.

I am currently enrolled in HOSF 9134 Baking – Basic and have a wonderful chef as my instructor. As with my previous experience with culinary arts, HOSF 9088 Culinary Arts I, I have proven (sufficiently to myself anyway), that I know my way around a kitchen and I am quick to learn new skills. Recently we had made some soft rolls in class, and I had planned to reproduce the creation for my family to enjoy. While we do not have a professional quality kitchen at home, I did not think that it would affect the outcome. The reality is that even though I scaled down the recipe as per my mixer's capacity, the dough that I produced was not of the same caliber as in the classroom. I partially attribute the outcome to the fact that this was my first attempt outside the controlled environment of a classroom, however, I would have to say that the I was missing a key ingredient: practice.

The following are some photos.

Classroom results

Baking at home

4-Minute Workout...

... still requires the same amount of dedication and membership fees.

Today, I went to H.I.T at the Royal Trust Tower for a free trial of the 4-minute workout. What's so special of the workout? First, look at the machine:



What is it? Its a machine that is similar to a rower, fly machine, benchpress, stepper, all in one. R.O.M stands for Range Of Motion and your muscles are being flexed for the entire range.

As a skeptic, I tested the machine out with a trainer who walked me through the proper use of the machine. First, we started out with a separate warm-up machine that I will call the butt shaker. This machine was particularily interesting because it works on the principle of balance; your body is forced to flex its muscles because it is thrown off balance. The rower/fly-wheel version of the 4-minute workout that trains the upper body was nothing special, however, it was interesting to have to actually use my muscles in both directions of an excercise. The second 4-minute workout was the stepper located at the rear of the machine. It is no different from a regular stepper, except for one very important point: its range of motion is about the height of your waist! There is no real resting position between steps unless you wish to stretch your step to its maximum - this in turn will make your transition to the next step super hard, as I soon found out.
I did break a small sweat after the workout, but after speaking with the trainer regarding effective routines and membership fees, I have no choice to conclude that while the machine will produce results, it really is no different from going to a normal gym. Bottom line, if you want results, stay dedicated to your routine... you can even do a high intensity routine at a regular gym!

For those curious about the membership fees, I was quoted $39 biweekly on an annual membership or $5xx in full for a 6 months. This is similar to a membership at the YMCA per se.