I see all kinds of horse run in sheds on the internet and in magazines. There are plans to build them out of lumber, and kits to build them out of pipe, boards, and steel angle iron. I would like to go over the pros and cons of some of them.

There are a lot of horses just turned out for the winter with only an occasional bale of hay. I guess the horses if they had any choice, would rather you spent your money on hay rather than a shelter. I hate to see them standing out in the rain with their back humped up to the wind. A run in shed might cost a little money that we all hate to part with, but some shelter might be a good investment. If a horse is out in the rain, and wind he stands a good chance of getting sick. Too much sun is also bad. If they get sick it is going to cost you for the vet to come out and the medicine. Not only that but you lose what you have the horse for in the first place. Pleasure of riding him. Young foals don’t have time to build up much of an immune system and it would be a shame to have anything happen to one of them. I’m sure we all know this. It’s just something that happens that we don’t like.

Now if the wife talks you into parting with the money what should you buy? Most people tend to buy something that is too small. We all have a boss horse and he is going to hog most of the shelter so you need something that will give the boss about two thirds of the room and then the second one will get the rest. For two horses you need a 10 x 20 or 12 x 24. Might seem big and some wasted space. But it is a shame to buy or build something that is too small and have a horse outside watching the boss inside the shed.

Build vs. Buy a kit

A lot of us think we are carpenters and would like to build a horse shelter and save the money. It’s not that easy to end up with something that’s strong and tight enough to stand up in a good wind storm. You might end up with something you want to keep the horses out of in a storm.

Wooden run in sheds

There are companies that advertises a run in shed kit made out of pre cut wood that is ready to nail together on the internet. Looks good, probably need a machine to set some of the 6 x 6’s. Probably take a couple of men a couple of days to assemble it. Price is almost as much as some of the metal kits and the labor is three times as great. Also you are going to need a backhoe to dig the corner posts holes. Being anchored in like that the tax man might be interested in it also.

One of the down side to it is it’s wood construction. Do you have any horses that have a cribbing habit? Might not look so good in the spring.

Metal run in shed kits

I have noticed a couple of metal run in shed kits on the market. One is made out of 2 inch metal pipe and the other out of 3 inch angle iron. Can not find out the thickness of the pipe or the weigh but the angle iron one is 3/16 and the frame kit weighs over 600 pounds and 1200 pounds when finished out. I would like to compare the weight of the pipe one. The siding for the pipe one is bolted to sliding clips on the pipe and the angle iron kit has the siding bolted to the angle iron. Both have the ability to stake it down in case you’re in a windy area. They both look better than the wood ones. Whatever way you go I’m sure the horse will appreciate it.

If you are looking for a drafting table for your designing work but you are not sure which is the best to get, the Alvin drafting table is a good choice. Professionals who work in the mechanical and technical field would appreciate a large and multi-functional drafting table when they are working because these tables are not only very big but the top is also adjustable.

People such as engineers, artists, fashion designers and architects need to work on their projects for long hours at each go. As such, having a table top that is adjustable will help ease the strains on their backs. You can raise the table to fit your height or according to what you need to be working on at that moment.

However, if you want more functions, you would really love an Alvin drafting table. Although it looks just like any other tables on the surface, it has functions that can out beat others. One great advantage is that it has a top board which you can adjust according to the position you want. If you need to work at a certain angle in order to get the drawing right, you can easily adjust the top board and you can even extend it to help you in your stretching work. To ensure that you work does not slip off the table when you are adjusting the angle of the table top, there is a special lip at the edge of the table.

Before you decide on which Alvin drafting table to buy, you should first consider whether you want it for a longer or shorter period. You should also keep your budget in mind when choosing. For someone who only needs the table for a short period because you intend to upgrade it a couple of years later or that you have a smaller budget now, you can consider getting a foldable short term table.

A foldable table is also advantageous if you have very limited space in your office or apartment because such a table can be easily folded and put away. You do not have to worry about its durability as the foldable drafting table is just as robust and can last you for a few years easily. However, a disadvantage of a foldable table for short term is that you cannot adjust the table top to the specific angle that you desire. The extension is also very limited.

On the other hand, if you do not want the hassle of changing tables once every few years and you can also afford something more expensive, you might want to get something for the long term. In this case, you will have more choices available as you can get either a foldable table that has more extensions or a strong four posts table. Such tables are also bigger and heavier so they will take up more space.

Before you decide on the model of Alvin drafting table to buy, you should first consider the space you have in your office or home as well as the budget you have to spend on it. It is also dependent on your working needs. If you need something that allows you more adjustability, you should get a long term table that is hardier.

If you are anything like me, you are always on the lookout for sailing tips that make sailing easier with less effort. When you first learn to sail, it can be tough to “see the wind”. You can feel the wind on your cheek or the back of your neck. But how can you see it? Check out these three simple, non-electronic type wind indicators that are available for sailors:

Types of Apparent Wind Indicators

Sail Luff Telltales

Your Genoa or mainsail may carry telltales–small strips of yarn or ribbon–attached the luff (in the case of a headsail) or the leech (on a mainsail). These telltales show the flow of apparent wind across the sail. But sail telltales can be tough to see. You have to bend down, crane your neck to see the luff of your Genoa. And when you sail short-handed or by yourself, that can be a lot of work. Plus the fact that luff telltales just show the apparent wind flow across one sail.

Masthead Fly

If you have a wind “fly” at the masthead, this miniature wind-vane shows how the wind flows across the boat. It’s just about the perfect apparent wind indicator because it’s not obstructed or blocked by another sail, mast, rigging, or blocked by land nearby. But masthead flys can be tough to see way up at the top of your mast.

Shroud Telltales

Shroud telltales are an easier alternative to the masthead fly and still give you a great picture of how the apparent wind flows across your boat. They’re easier to use than luff telltales for shorthanded sailors because you don’t need to bend down and strain to see the luff of your Genoa or headsail. Best of all, they are cheap, easy to make, and super simple to use. Follow these three easy steps to make and mount your shroud telltales in just a few minutes:

1. Find the Right Material for Shroud Telltales

Go down to your local fabric and sewing store. Find the aisle that sells yarn. Buy a roll of Angora wool yarn. Dark colors are good for daytime sailing, while brighter colors stand out better at night. Angora wool makes the best telltale because it’s light and shows direction even in those super light morning zephyrs.

2. Make and Attach Your Shroud Telltales

Cut off two 6″ to 9″ strips of wool. Attach the yarn to the upper shroud on each side, as high off the deck as possible. You want the yarn in clear air so that it’s not blocked by your cabin roof, Bimini top, or spray dodger.

3. Match Your Telltale to the Point of Sail

Use a “sail and study” method to learn to read the shroud telltale. Sail onto each point of sail, get the boat steady, and watch the telltale. Observe how it points. After a few times of doing this, you will be able to recognize just how the telltale should look when beating, reaching, or running.

How to Use Your Shroud Telltales

Concentrate on three specific points of sail: beating (close hauled), beam reaching, and running. On each point of sail, observe the angle that your shroud telltales make. This takes a bit of practice and patience.

For beating, find that “razor’s edge” between luffing and sailing. Glance at the windward side shroud telltale. Note how it makes a slight angle off the bow. Hold your course and concentrate on that angle. Fall off a bit and note how your windward shroud telltale changes its angle. Head up back to a beat (close hauled course). Again, note the shroud telltale angle. Repeat this several times until this shroud telltale angle becomes second nature to you.

Follow this same sequence with a beam reach and running course. As you can see, shroud telltales will force you to first find the point of sail and then assist you to hold that point of sail. This will make you less reliant on luff telltales and take less effort because they will always be visible while you steer from your tiller or wheel.

Use these three fast, easy steps on your journey to learn to sail better than ever before. You will increase your speed, power, and performance on any point of sail–wherever in the world you choose to sail!

The variety of curio cabinets is almost as diverse as the many types of curios themselves. In basic terms of the construction and operation, however, all cabinet styles can be grouped into two broad categories: those mirrors again with wooden panels and back panels. Both require different curio cabinet lighting and techniques to optimize the display of content. Choosing the right light for a curio cabinet that may have been imported or custom built can be very difficult if not impossible, especially when shopping online.

In general terms, the most difficult obstacle to overcome when curio cabinets with custom lighting glass is reflected back reflections. Any source of light above the eye is a potential bomb glare. Curio cabinets for the lighting of solid wood, the problem is the shadow of their pockets as a result of the uneven distribution of illumination and the size and specific way of collecting. Anything that casts a shadow, as they say, to try to get rid of all shadows requires multiple fittings, which often causes a monstrosity when more than two fixtures are installed.

Many cabinet lighting manufacturers attempt to find a compromise between the brightness, shadows, lighting and distributed by the installation of one to three lights on top of large cabinets of curiosities. These lights shine through a series of glass shelves, lighting stored in the process of collection. The reasoning behind this is simple. Multi-platform lights to eliminate most of the shadows, and whether it reflects a rear happens to be present, the reflection rather than disperse the lighting.

Frankly, this is not a bad approach to lighting a curio cabinet, provided that this is a permanent wall cabinet over medium size, and where the shelves are made of glass. Recessed light pass through the lower shelves and reflect off the mirror, wrapping around the collection process. However, those visiting the safe side of an angle or a sitting position to do too much glare that blocks the details of the topics presented.

This is almost an inevitable disadvantage when the lighting on a screen in front of a mirror of any kind.

In a curio cabinet wall made of dark wood, glass General will pass the light to the floor of the cabinet without the hassle of reflexes. However, every object casts a shadow beneath itself, so without an accent lighting LED secondary source of some kind, there will be more pockets of darkness as the eye moves up and down.

If the shelves are made of wood, which of course block lights, something completely different and has to be implemented in its place.

To generate a source of lighting display for your curio cabinet, you may want to go further to consider any of the traditional curio cabinet lights and instead invest in low-voltage linear strips Phantom. These unique, patented lighting strips offer two things that no other accessory lighting offers precise fit to the horizontal, vertical and radio, including the dimensions and a low profile design that is hidden from normal viewing angles.

Of the six unique designs linear Banda, three offer optimal lighting curio cabinet with specific features that work to overcome obstacles before. The key is the innovative technology of cable and the ability to hide and protect the light source itself to the viewer sees the light, not the media.

Phantom strips can be fitted with incandescent, xenon, or LED, each of which offers unique advantages for the particular type of curio cabinet that the light and the nature of the collection on display. Curio cabinets with wood interior mirrors do not need the brightest light possible, so we generally recommend that incandescent bulbs are known to produce white light. You can set the slider to change to a higher setting when they are active customers throughout the house, then turn the light down to leave them at lower levels after most people have gone to bed.

Xenon lamps are a low-voltage lighting for best choice of a curio cabinet showcases glass, porcelain or silver articles. In the world of lighting design, xenon is considered the most sophisticated light source and generates a slightly golden aura that works to improve the details of the most expensive.

If the extreme cost consciousness is a consideration, Phantom LED lamps now have the ability to provide color at levels equivalent to about xenon. Only an expert in lighting can really say the difference, so you may want to consider using LED bulbs if your cabinet is on display in an office, library, or special room in the home of more than 20 hours at a time .

A curio cabinet lighting made entirely of wood offers greater flexibility in lighting a curio cabinet reflects a plane back (s.) You can use up to three different types of Phantom linear strips, all of which remain hidden any viewing angle. Our Majesty (horizontal), the series is mounted either on the back of the horizontal structure or the front lower a shelf or cabinet top. VM (vertical Mount) series mounts to any vertical surface inside. A variety of combinations of the two sets can be used to create a “field” of life in sourceless shelves that seems to come from multiple directions. This is shadow free and tends to create an effect that increases the shroud refined and less expensive ornamental curiosities seek more sophisticated.

In some curio cabinets with wall mirrors, HM series linear strip lights are some of the best lights in the cabinet of curiosities that can be used. The depth by the forces of light across the surface of the mirror, and then outward around the collection. Whereas in the mirror panels greatest potential to show the reflections of the cabinet linear strip to the guests seated, wall-mounted cabinets feature closer to bottom surface actually helps to create the optical illusion that the lights are made of actually built on top of the box.

A major source of lighting effect in curio cabinets can be achieved with our Mounted Cove (CM Series) to suit any circular or semi-circular enclosure top. These strips are specifically designed to fit any radio, and can literally move a circle of light down through a series of glass shelves, without shadows or fall in the levels of illumination. Inside is reflected in the mirrors, the field of the light they generate is really radiant and seemed to come from in and around the exhibits.

The Anolon 52588 Advanced 15-Piece Knife Set is one of the best products in the market in its class. This 15-piece set allows the users to keep the knives in compartments in a wooden block that comes with the set. The slots are inclined at an angle, and allow the user to easily retrieve the knives with ease. The blades can be used to cut meat, vegetables, fish and other food and related products.

Constructed with precision German technology, the steel blades of the Anolon 52588 Advanced 15-Piece Knife Set are durable, and maintain their sharpness and strength even when used for harder cutting tasks. Furthermore, these knives do not require as much sharpening because the steel that goes into their construction was specially treated to improve their strength. The set comes with a lifetime warranty.

Most of the consumers who have bought this set, and reviewed it on various forums on the internet, have found this a most reliable product. Most of the reviews have commented on the blades in a very positive light. Their reliability gets a constant mention in most reviews. In our search for the reviews for this set, on Amazon and other sites, we have not found any negative of its functionality or the product at all.

The set allows the user to prepare food at a much faster pace. The rubber grips are useful in providing a steadier grip, which ensures that you are least prone to any cuts etc to your finger or hand. The weight and balance of the knives has also been specially calculated to ensure that they do not tire the user while using them over longer periods. Though the set comes with a sharpener, not many users have said that they have used it at all. Apparently, the Anolon 52588 Advanced 15-Piece Knife Set is one of those products which customers not only don’t regret buying, but go on and recommend others to buy too.

Most people have probably seen a wooden dummy before. There is a famous scene in “Rumble in the Bronx” where Jackie Chan uses one in the beginning of the movie. But even though Jackie Chan’s moves on the dummy are flashy and impressive, there is much more to using a dummy than just looking cool.

Wooden dummies (“mook yan jong” in Chinese), while primarily found in Wing Chun kung fu, can generally be adapted to any martial art style. The advantages that wooden dummies provide are numerous, and are not limited to:

Developing a powerful structure: When you strike the solid dummy you receive instant feedback regarding your structure. If your strike was solid and true and with good structure, you will feel the power transfer from your body into the dummy. If, for example, your wrist was at the wrong angle, you will receive negative feedback from the dummy.

Wooden dummies are available to train 24/7: Regardless of if you always train at the same time every day or if you train at odd times, a dummy is always available as opposed to doing drills with a partner where you don’t have to set up a time that works for both of you. Another advantage to this is that wooden dummies can be used throughout the day, too; Perhaps you are going to train a specific technique every time you walk past your dummy, or every hour for the entire day (to build central nervous system efficiency, also known as “muscle memory” or “greasing the groove”). It would be difficult to find a training partner who would agree to that regimen!

Building power: While a dummy does not necessarily have to be used with full power, there is nothing wrong with doing so. Over time, as you build your speed and power on the dummy, you will eventually begin to develop tangible power in your strikes, which leads to the next point:

Building confidence: When you are able to strike with great force, and you know that you are able to strike with great force, your fighting ability will increase exponentially. The difference between being able to perform a powerful technique in the air and knowing that you can perform a powerful technique against resistance such as a dummy without getting injured is extremely empowering.

If you decide that your training would benefit from a wooden dummy, there are some things you should keep in mind as you shop for a dummy:

The body must be between 8.5 and 9.5 inches in diameter. The reason for this is to allow the upper arms to be placed at the correct angle. Any narrower than this and they will be too close together; any wider and they will be too far apart.

The arms: The upper arms must be set at the same angle. Some dummies have upper limbs where one is resting 1 or 2 inches above the other one. This is incorrect as it will develop imbalances in your techniques. On a properly made dummy, the arms will have offset shanks allowing the arms to rest at the same height despite the holes in the body being at different heights.

Training with a wooden dummy is an effective way to improve your technique, your power, and your confidence. Although it is traditionally used by Wing Chun styles, any style of martial arts can adapt its techniques to the dummy.

Hello! My name is Owen and I was a paragliding instructor in England for a number of years. Nonetheless, all information supplied here is merely referential, not advisory, and any actions you take are entirely your own responsibility. Paragliding is a hazardous sport, and you should check with a fully qualified instructor before attempting any of the following manoeuvres. If you have not qualified at a fully endorsed and licensed school then you have no business being in the air, except as a paying passenger.

This article is about rapid descent techniques. As paraglider pilots we spend most of our time trying to get up, and a very small amount of time trying to get down. Unfortunately the times that we do want to get down are usually the most serious, and all the praying in the world won’t do any good; good training and pre-planning will. If you get yourself into a situation where you have to use a rapid descent technique then you have already stuffed up, but we’re dealing with an invisible element here, so that’s not hard to do.

Big Ears

The most commonly taught rapid descent technique is Big Ears. As this is usually taught in schools it is commonly regarded as being a safe technique, which it mostly is, but I have seen it go very, very wrong on more than one occasion. Changing the shape of your wing from its optimal flying form is a risky process, but it can be better than the alternative if conditions have changed. Most accidents with the Big Ears technique occur because of bad training or a lack of understanding of the forces involved. Here are a few points to bear in mind (though these suggestions are constantly updated, and so should definitely be verified with a current instructor):

• Each “ear” should be pulled in one at a time, not together. This point is debatable, but as the main danger of pulling in the ears is that the angle of attack is increased (due to the glider descending at a steeper rate), pushing the glider closer to stall-point. It is therefore preferential to lessen the sudden change in angle of attack by taking it in stages, one ear at a time. You will often see pilots pulling in both ears together, but this can go disastrously wrong, as I have personally witnessed.
• A good way to reduce the angle of attack is to use you speed bar. Before pulling your ears in you should make sure your foot is resting in the speed bar stirrup, and then once your ears are in and your wing has stabilised to push out on the bar, though not necessarily to full stretch. Be careful not to use your bar before pulling your ears in, or you could get a front tuck.
• The wind gradient is your enemy in this case. You may well be using big ears because of increased wind speed, but it is the descent through the wind gradient to lower wind speeds that can cause a deep stall, brought about by the increased angle of attack. A deep stall at low levels is very dangerous, because you do not have time to recover. Again, speed bar can help to prevent a deep stall, but remember that it is when you think that you are near to safety that the danger is at its greatest.
• DON’T pump your ears out. This technique used to be taught in schools (pumping the brakes to exit Big Ears), but it is now comprehensively discredited. Pulling on the brakes would increased your angle of attack further, putting you closer to a stall. To exit, simply release the a-lines and allow the ears to unfurl themselves. On some higher performance gliders the ears may stay in, so if you’re flying anything over a DHV 1/2 glider READ THE MANUAL before you fly the thing.

B-line stall

This manoeuvre is intended for use at a good height (over 500 feet at least) only, and should not be used close to the ground. The danger is that the glider will not recover and will enter a deep stall. To recover a deep stall you should apply some speed bar, which will decrease your angle of attack back to normal flying range, but at low level this may not be an option. B-line stalls are for escaping cloud suck, not for landing.

Spiral dives

Spiral dives are also an up-high method of descent, and not for low landing. Spirals are very disorientating, and it is possible to black out due to the g-forces involved. Another danger is lock-in, where the wing will not come out without pilot input (or may actually tighten in the turn when the brake is released), which coupled with the disorientation and speed of descent might mean a big, you-shaped hole in the ground. In theory entry-level gliders should pull themselves out of spirals quickly and automatically, but recent evidence suggests that this is not always the case, due in part to variable factors, such as pilot height, weight, centre of gravity, and whether or not you are using a cross-braced harness.

Another problem with spirals is that unless you know what you are doing with them, and bad exit can land you in more trouble than you started with. Spirals need to be exited slowly, because otherwise all of the energy (and there’s a lot of energy involved in a spiral dive!) gets converted to lift, and your wing goes behind you and then dives in front. Assymetrics can easily occur at this stage, and before you know it your wing is performing its own improvised spiral and you’re along for the ride. Scary.

Tight turns (wingovers)

Tight turns will get you down, but your wing is inherently unstable in the process, and coupled with the wind gradient and any low-level turbulence you might encounter, you’re just asking for a collapse. Not recommended.

Pilot-induced asymmetric tuck

Similar to Big Ears,this technique involves collapsing just one side of your wing. This means that you have no real options for reducing your angle of attack, and the side of the wing that is still flying has a much higher angle of attack. Also if you collapse too much of your wing at the wrong moment, you may end up with a full frontal, or a collapse-induced spiral. Big Ears is the safer option, which is why it is taught in schools.

All in all Big Ears comes across as the safest rapid descent technique for low-level flying, while B-line stalls are the most useful for high-level stuff. Any of the above techniques should not be attempted for the first time when you need them, but in schools or on properly-run SIV courses over water, with a recovery boat in attendance.

The main danger with any of these techniques is ignorance, especially with Big Ears, which is so often performed incorrectly due to pilots not keeping themselves up-to-date with the latest developments in the sport. Remember: you may be a qualified pilot, but the sport is still young and the air unforgiving. Keep current.

“Look Jim!” I chuckled. “We don’t have to take you out for your birthday dinner, there’s a barbeque right here.” Jim grabbed a hold of the latch and swung open the large outside door to the Angle Armoury building. At that same moment a chorus of voices shouted out from inside the building. “Happy Anniversary!” Stunned, I instantly glanced over at Jim still holding the door open. Jim glanced back at me. Then a lady yelled from inside. “Gordon and Trish!”

Trish and I were completely taken aback and were completely dumbfounded! We had no idea that our relatives and friends had gathered here to celebrate our 30^th wedding anniversary! I was in a daze. It took us several minutes to wrap our minds around the fact that we were NOT going out for our son-in-law Jim’s birthday celebration!

How did they pull this event off without Trish and I becoming even the slightest bit suspicious that something was afoot? Well, here are the details as they happened and this may be a template that you can follow that may help with planning your surprise party, whether it is for a milestone birthday, a coming home celebration or a wedding anniversary like ours.

The Idea

Our eldest daughter Amanda had the idea for planning our 30^th wedding celebration and approached her twin sisters, Melissa and Kimberly about it. Kimberly, who is in the military, suggested that they use the Angle Armoury in Kelowna for the venue, as she had access to the facility and the bar. When you have an idea for a surprise party share your idea with other family members or colleagues. They may be able to suggest the perfect venue to hold it or help you pull it off seamlessly.

The Distraction

The three of them discussed a distraction or ruse for Trish and me to accept as a plausible event. Amanda’s husband Jim’s birthday was on May 18^th and that date was chosen for the celebration. That date would obviate a plan to celebrate his birthday and therefore alleviate any stress on behalf of the planners, because it was the perfect diversion from the actual event. The fact that our 30^th wedding anniversary, which is on June 2^nd, never even crossed our minds. No suspicions would be triggered and no red flags would go up. Why wouldn’t we be celebrating Jim’s birthday? Viable distractions work well and won’t signal anything out of the unusual. If the planned event is more important than a missed birthday celebration, then the sacrifice will be worth it. Or you can always have a follow up celebration for that missed birthday.

The Plan

As Amanda, Kimberly and Melissa live in the Chilliwack/Vancouver, B.C. area, all the planning for the milestone anniversary event took place in Vancouver. Amanda phoned Uncle Marvin and Uncle Ron (Ron is Gordon’s brother and Marvin is both Trish and Gordon’s brother-in-law) to ask them to give speeches at the event. The venue was secured and a cousin brought a barbeque to the event. The girls phoned the couple’s long time good friends, relatives, etc. A baker (co-worker of Jim’s parents from a bakery where they had worked together) and his wife from the church that Gordon and Trish attend were asked to bake the 30^th anniversary cake for the occasion.

It is important to make an exhaustive list of everything that needs to be done for an event like this. It is important, if not paramount, to form a small committee and delegate the tasks that need to be done to accomplish the goal of staging a flawless surprise party. One person, usually the person who had the initial idea, should be in charge of the arrangements. At the first meeting the various jobs should be delegated, such as phoning or E-mailing the guests, arranging for the food, special cake, beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) plates (paper or china), utensils (plastic or cutlery), serviettes, condiments, coffee urn, teapot, coffee, tea, sugar or sweetener, etc. Communication between committee members is essential to ensure that all those that have been invited have responded, with either a yes or no. That the food, whether catered or potluck is confirmed, as well as the cake will be ready and delivered on time. The Special Event Committee Chairman should check things off the list as they are completed. Shortly before the event there should be one last committee meeting, either face to face or videoconference to ensure that everything to the last detail has been accomplished.

The Pre-Event Planning

Our three daughters, Jim and Amanda’s two children, Rayn and Phoenix arrived at our home on the Friday before the Saturday event. Amanda arranged that Trish and I would take the children to a popular kid’s movie at the Grand Ten in Kelowna. This diversion allowed Jim and our daughters to scour our photo albums for photographs and got additional pictures from my brother Ron to use for a static display and audio-visual presentation. Decorations for the venue were put up. Locally, another cousin, Lonnie phoned people that were coming to organize the potluck items that each of them would bring for the event. She got a number of people to make salads, others to cook food and some to bring baked goods or desserts. Gary, another cousin was asked to bring his barbeque to the venue and his job was to cook the meat for all the guests.

That evening Trish and I went to our usual work, cleaning the offices at a golf course. Amanda suggested that we take our grand daughter along with us to help. Meanwhile, during that 3-hour period that we were away, Amanda put together the stills and photos from our wedding album, family albums, etc. Uncle Ron helped with the project as well. Amanda casually asked Trish and me some time before the event what the name of the song for our first dance was at our wedding. It was “Fools Rush in” by Elvis Presley. That song was used as the audio for the slide presentation.

The Day of the Event

We awoke on May 18th to have a lovely breakfast of bacon and eggs with toast and hash browns, after all, we were celebrating Jim’s birthday. That was firmly etched on my wife’s and my mind. Later that morning Jim and I traveled a short distance to Summerland, in the southern Okanagan Valley, to play 18 holes of golf. It was my treat to pay for our green fees. It was my birthday present to Jim. Sadly, for me, Jim won the game, but we had fun!

While Jim and I golfed, the venue for the real event, our 30th wedding anniversary celebration, at the Angle Armoury in Kelowna, was taking shape. Decorations were put up, a table with photos and memorabilia was set up, the video/audio equipment for the short video production was hooked up and tested, and the cake bakers delivered the lovely 30th Wedding Anniversary cake. A table with refreshments and finger food was also set up. Lastly, the nephew with the barbeque set up the grill just outside the main entranceway. Our daughter Kimberly directed the Angle Armoury set up. Lastly, all the guests who were arriving were asked to park their vehicles at least a block or two away from the venue to avoid them being detected and identified as vehicles belonging to family members or friends. This is very important!

When Jim and I returned home, we had a quick bite to eat. Of course, we didn’t want to spoil our appetite for Jim’s birthday dinner at a nice restaurant in Kelowna. Trish announced to our daughter Amanda. “Rayn (Jim and Amanda’s daughter) can help me bake a birthday cake for Jim.” Amanda replied. “No, Jim doesn’t want a birthday cake.” Trish replied. “We got to have a birthday cake for Jim!” Amanda relented. “OK, but just a small cake.” Then Trish and Rayn gathered the cake ingredients together and started putting them together. Rayn, who was 8 at the time, mentioned that there were going to be other members of our family joining us to celebrate Jim’s birthday. Well, that revelation almost resulted in the cat getting out of the bag! Amanda hastily countered. “No, Rayn doesn’t know what she is talking about.” Trish replied. “Well, we just have to make a bigger cake!” Amanda acquiesced. “OK Mom, go ahead, but really, we don’t need a bigger cake! So Trish and Rayn made a bigger cake.

Even though this was a very stressful turn of events for Amanda, not realizing that an 8 year old could innocently spill the beans, and spoil the surprise element of the party. She coolly deflected her daughter’s comment in a convincing manner that gave Trish no reason to doubt her. Nevertheless, that was a close call!

At around 4:30 p.m. we all got nicely dressed up, and headed out the door to head to Kelowna for Jim’s birthday dinner. There was one last hook, to avoid any suspicion from Trish or me. Kimberly had made arrangements for our group to stop on the way to dinner for Jim to come in to the Angle Armoury to play a new military war game on their simulator. When we arrived there Trish wanted to stay in the vehicle while the rest of us would go in to watch Jim play the game. Amanda casually coerced her mom to come in. “No Mom, come in and check this out. It’s pretty cool!” Trish relented and thankfully joined us for an amazing celebration that we will never forget!

Summary

Planning a surprise birthday, milestone-wedding anniversary, retirement or special event celebration party, is no easy task. You need a dedicated team with diverse skills. To begin with, a good leader, either yourself or one who is capable and experienced, must be able to plan the event to the last detail, and follow it through to the moment the party yells “Surprise!”

1) Choose a genuine celebration, like a birthday, to plan the event around. That way no one has to lie about the upcoming celebration. The subject or subjects being honoured won’t suspect that something is going on behind their backs. The last thing you want is to create any suspicion from the subject/s.

2) Set up a small committee. Delegating the various tasks that need to get done is a unique and sensitive skill. It is always wise to ask those on the committee what they would like to do for this event.

3) Choose a date and time for the event. Determine the budget for this event, and how the funds will be acquired. Source and book a venue that will suit the type of event you plan. If you require a kitchen to prepare food or utilize a caterer, then you will need a larger venue. If you are having finger food and pastries, then a meeting room will be fine. If you or members of your committee have friends or contacts that can help you source a venue for the event, bake a cake, provide decorations, offer catering services, entertainment, etc., This is the time to get in touch them. You may even get some of these services or items for free, or at a reduced cost.

4) Draw up a guest list and confirm those that will attend the event. Follow up before the food is made, ordered or catered with your guests to again confirm their attendance. This will give you an accurate number of people that will attend the event.

5) If there is going to be entertainment; either live or recorded, that will need to be arranged and booked. Live music groups will need approximately an hour to set up their equipment, tune their instruments and practice. Disc Jockeys will need a half hour to one hour to be able to set up their equipment and test it. Also, if there is going to be a video presentation included in the formal part of the celebration, they will need time to source photos and edit the production, with music, together. They will require from two weeks to a month’s lead time for this task.

6) If other memorabilia, such as photos, books, papers and items, etc., are being displayed on a stand, table, etc., a team member will have to contact those attendees that have these items and organize the display. This too, will take several weeks to gather these items.

7) Food and Drink will need to be decided upon by the group. Once decided, a team member will need to either get quotes from a caterer, ask those that will be coming to the event to bring a cold or hot dish and/or dessert, noting what items everyone will be bringing. The team member responsible for this task may ask a potluck contributor to provide another item if there is duplication of a popular food.

8) Speeches during the formal part of the event should be kept to a five-minute limit in order to keep the event flowing smoothly, and keep the audience captivated.

There will be other details that come up during the planning and implementation process of the event. Some of them will be expected, while other will be unplanned. The leader will need to be prepared to deal with these as they come up.

Lastly, when and how the honoured individual or couple plan to arrive at the party venue needs to be discussed, understood by everyone and organized in detail. Will they arrive in their own vehicle or will they come with someone else. Failure to implement this strategic party arrival plan flawlessly will result in the failure of this event being a surprise. A lookout person outside the venue to alert an inside contact via a cellular phone or walkie-talkie will give ample time to prepare the party participants (when the individual or couple opens the door) to yell in unison… Surprise!

Don’t get mad when the foul light goes off. Bowling alleys have a reason for not wanting you to go past the foul line on the approach. There is oil out on the lane. It is slippery. If you try to walk down that lane, you will fall. It will not feel good.

There is a scientific method behind the existence of oil on a bowling lane. Three very important components of bowling are the speed in which you throw the ball, the accuracy of your throw, and the angle that the bowling ball enters the pocket. The combination of these is what makes someone very good or very bad at bowling.

If you watch the professionals on television or any avid bowler, you probably will notice that they make the ball hook into the headpin. They do this because it creates an angle into the pocket that increases their ability to throw a strike. When I say the pocket, I mean the area just slightly to the left or right of the head pin. You never want to hit the head pin square on; you want to hit off to the side.

The amount in which avid bowlers can make the ball curve greatly depends on how much oil there is on the bowling lane. The more oil there is, the less the ball tends to hook, because less friction is created. The less oil there is, the more friction is created, and the ball will hook more.

When bowling centers put oil down on the lanes, they normally don’t put the same amount evenly across the lane. For regular leagues and open play, bowling alleys will put down what they call their “house shot.” The house shot is considered the easiest and yields the highest scores among league players. There is a higher concentration of oil put in the middle of the lane, and as you move toward each gutter, that amount of oil tapers off.

This yields the highest scores because the margin for error is large; in other words, you can be less accurate, but still throw a strike. Remember what I said about friction earlier? When the lanes are oiled like this and you miss your target to the inside part of the lane, the ball is going to curve less because it is skidding through all of that oil in the middle of the lane, so it will just skid into the pocket. If you miss your target to the outside of the lane, there is less oil there, and more friction is created, so the ball will be able to curve more to get back to the pocket.

In more competitive situations, like in bowling tournaments, they are more likely to put a more even layer of oil across the lane, requiring players to be more accurate.

Learning to conquer the different variances of these lane conditions will allow you to be more successful and have more fun and hopefully make some money in your league or your tournament!

All instruments have their tricky ‘corners’, areas of the instrument where technique is tested to the full. With oboe fingering, and, indeed, on many other instruments too, any busy playing which involves the little finger and ring finger on either hand is one of these areas. These two fingers share a single tendon and always want to work together. Of course, when playing there are occasions when they can’t! So, let’s look at the problems associated with each hand in turn.

THE LEFT HAND: The left hand little finger works the G# key. This involves finger changes where the little finger sometimes has to work in conjunction with the ring finger and sometimes alone. This means that the two fingers sometimes have to work as one single digit and sometimes as two separate digits. This left little finger also has three other keys to contend with, the long D#/Eb and the two bottom notes of the oboe, B & Bb. These three keys, sometimes called the Feather Keys (because of their similarity to the Prince of Wales feathers) require more of a stretch than the G#. Young hands often find these a bit difficult to use at first. (On some oboes there is the additional long C#/Db key which is also worked with the left little finger, but this is not an issue that young oboists are likely to encounter)

THE RIGHT HAND: The right hand little finger works the C# & D# keys as well as the bottom C key. These tend to be less of a problem than the left hand keys but can be a little testing for small hands. Changing from C# to bottom C is awkward as it involves zipping the finger from one key to the other; – especially tricky when slurring. This manoeuvre can be achieved either by sliding or by ‘rocking’ the finger from one key to the other. (This is a bit difficult to explain. You need an experienced oboist to show you how to negotiate this bit of oboe fingering!)

So what advice can I offer to help overcome the problems which these particular oboe fingerings pose? Well, first of all, it is vital to keep the little fingers above the key work at all times and never tuck them away underneath. This is an issue which often arises when the young oboist has previously played recorder. The left little finger is the one finger which has no hole to cover on a recorder so many young players, as the finger is never used, have a tendency to tuck it underneath to help support the instrument; – they shouldn’t actually do this, but, unfortunately, many do!

Good oboe fingering requires the fingers to hover over the keys ready for when they are needed; – this applies to all the fingers including the little fingers. Indeed, it could be said that it is more important for the little fingers than any others, as a good little finger position will tend to spread the hand nicely and bring all the other fingers into their correct positions.

One other thing which will further enable a good use of the little fingers is having a good posture, standing with a straight back, with the head up and the oboe held at an angle of at least 60 degrees. Holding the oboe at too low an angle will impinge on oboe fingering significantly and make reaching for the little finger keys more difficult.