Monday, May 26, 2008

Bouldering at The Glen

Aaron successfully sends the ultra-high 23ft tall Flywall boulder.

This past weekend, I went bouldering at Niagara Glen with my friends. The Glen as it is commonly called by those familiar with the park is downstream of the falls along the edge of the rapid river. It is a popular hangout for climbers locally as well as those south across the river from the United States.

Prior to the trip, Aaron painstakingly converted a website about Glen climbing routes into a 150+ page PDF book. I asked the guys that work in my company's print shop to make 2 copies in black and white but the main printer was down. So instead, they had to print it out using the colour printer! If this was an official transaction, I would have been billed $100 for each copy.
Luckily, I only promised coffee.

The trip was fantastic due in part to great weather. The air was cool and crisp and even the bugs left us alone. We all completed some challenging climbs but we also all left with unfinished business. I'm already thinking about a return visit the weekend after. Or maybe a visit to Old Baldy instead to do some lead climbing... Anyhow, cheers to the start of the climbing season!

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Playing the guitar - 1st month

I'm teaching myself how to play the guitar. Here are two short songs I recorded today.


Stay tuned as I hope to be posting my progress regularly.

Equipment:
The guitar that I am playing on is the Yamaha FX310A with a bridge pickup.

I recorded the songs by connecting my guitar to my computer soundcard's Mic-In jack using a 1/4" to 1/8" audio cable. It's a cheap setup, but the recording quality isn't great since the mic amp is pretty weak. I'll probably invest in a USB unit with a stronger amp in the future.