02Oct 2024 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#88 Lesson] The Conundrum of Fear

[#88 Lesson] The Conundrum of Fear

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #88 Swim with Sharks. Swimming with sharks; BASE jumping; driving. Go ahead, rank them in order of most dangerous to least dangerous. These all play a part in this next story. In June 2024 I set off on an adventure to Europe to learn how to fly my tracking suit in a BASE environment. New Zealand does not have massive shear cliffs, so my friends and I head to Europe in the northern hemisphere summer to practice terminal flight. And no, not terminal like “certain death”; terminal like “terminal velocity”. Terminal tracking in Italy While I already had 180 BASE jumps from lower objects, and without a tracking suit, this was a new discipline for me. However, I had been training…
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16Nov 2022 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#98 Lesson] The Preparation-Fear Correlation

[#98 Lesson] The Preparation-Fear Correlation

LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #98 Go BASE Jumping. The thing that surprised me the most during my first BASE jump was the fact that my heart was not beating out of my chest. It was elevated, but not excessively. This didn’t make much sense in the moment, but I was overwhelmed with the urge to do it again, so the thought slipped away from my consciousness. It was only on the drive back that my brain had time to make sense of it all. While preparing for my BASE jump, I told myself that it was going to be scary as hell. I had done my first bungy jump at the age of 12 and my heart was racing. When I stepped to the edge of…
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07Sep 2022 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#48 Lesson] Ask Friends for Travel Advice

[#48 Lesson] Ask Friends for Travel Advice

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #48 Drink from Das Boot. Although Canada is home turf for me, I know very little about Calgary. I grew up in Halifax, which is over 4,000 kilometres away from Calgary. I knew Toby had some good local knowledge, so I made sure to get some highlights from him before my trip. To my benefit, Toby provided much more information than I was expecting. Instead of a few highlights, Toby provided me with an itinerary for my whole time in Calgary. Some people are reluctant to ask for help or for advice, but I have made this a part of my life for many years. If I know that one of my friends has been to a location that I am planning…
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10Aug 2022 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#37 Lesson] Push the Limits of Your Guides

[#37 Lesson] Push the Limits of Your Guides

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #37 Go More Than 200 km/h on Land. Driving the Lamborghini was exhilarating! I pushed myself to go faster, and faster, each lap. Luckily, I had Trevor giving me pointers, but his job was twofold: He was there to teach me how to drive the track like a pro, but he was also there to make sure that I didn’t total their $300,000 car. I knew that they were used to seeing thousands of tourists come through each year, and that I was just another tourist. Spinning out and ending up off the track must be commonplace in their industry. I was confident in my driving abilities and knew I would be able to push it, but there was no way that…
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13Jul 2022 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#70 Lesson] Make the Most of Long Layovers

[#70 Lesson] Make the Most of Long Layovers

LESSON, TRAVEL
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #70 See the Hollywood Stars on the Sidewalk. Sometimes when people are booking their flights, they hate to see long layovers in their itinerary. Around 2-3 hours is ideal because it gives you a chance to stretch your legs and get some food, but beyond that is surplus to the requirements. I’ll admit that I hate a 4-6 hour layover but anything above 7 hours can be great. This gives you enough time to get from the airport to the city, see some sites and do some fun stuff, before heading back to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Two layovers come to mind for me. In 2016, I was flying back to Halifax for a wedding and had…
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15Jun 2022 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#32 Lesson] Language Barriers Make Travelling Interesting

[#32 Lesson] Language Barriers Make Travelling Interesting

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #32 Drink Sake in Japan. Our trip through Japan was one big culture shock. From the moment that I stepped off the plane, everything felt vastly different from any country that I had travelled to before. The food, the signs, the outfits, the lights; it all felt so strange. I am only fluent in English, but I know bits and pieces of a few other languages. This is usually enough for me to get by while travelling to new countries. During my 10-hour flight I made sure to practice a few key words and phrases to help me out. Speaking the language is not too bad if you are shown the phonetics of how to pronounce the words. The problem lies in…
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04May 2022 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#31 Lesson] Peer Pressure can be a Good Thing

[#31 Lesson] Peer Pressure can be a Good Thing

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #31 Eat Blowfish. When we first went into the restaurant, there was no way that Toby, Maria or Claire were going to try fugu. By the end of it, we had all tried it. We were cracking jokes, having fun and taking silly photos. All thanks to peer pressure. Peer pressure is commonly regarded as a bad thing, but it really depends on the outcome. Peer pressure towards a negative outcome, such as doing drugs, is a bad thing. However, peer pressure towards a positive outcome can be a good thing. Maria took a bit of convincing to eat the fugu but admitted that she was glad she tried it when she had the chance. This goes for all of us. We…
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06Apr 2022 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#72 Lesson] Try, Try and Try Again

[#72 Lesson] Try, Try and Try Again

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #72 Walk on a Glacier. I usually try to avoid diving too deep into the world of clichés, but this title was just too perfect. My first attempt was foiled by a lack of money. My second attempt was due to inclement weather. And even the third attempt was affected by the weather, but I managed to cross this one off the list. There are a few items on the list that I have had one crack at, and failed, but this is the only one that has taken me three attempts. It really is true what they say, the harder it is to achieve something, the more rewarding it becomes when you do achieve it. Perhaps I was just being stubborn…
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26Jan 2022 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#61 Lesson] Marvel at Human Capabilities

[#61 Lesson] Marvel at Human Capabilities

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #61 Watch the Tour de France Live. Just as I described how I Marvel at Engineering Capabilities, I marvel at human capabilities in the same way. I have never been a fan of road cycling, but I love the Tour de France. The reason I love the Tour is because of the feat of endurance that all these athletes put on display for us. For a month straight, they bike all over France, through some grueling stages in the French Alps. This is what I truly love to watch. Endurance athletes have always impressed me. Although I am a fit person, I would not be able to complete many of the endurance races that this world has to offer. I have completed…
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29Dec 2021 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#27 Lesson] You Don’t Know Until You Go

[#27 Lesson] You Don’t Know Until You Go

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #27 Watch a Bullfight. The first time that I heard these words, laid out in that exact order, was from my friend Jesse. He was referring to a surf report that we were trying to decipher. Modern surf reports are very accurate and used by every surfer to figure out whether the drive to the beach is worth it or not. However, they are still based on a computer model that is susceptible to inaccuracies. From Halifax, the nearest break is about 40 minutes away. When the reports are marginal, it becomes a gamble to determine the value of the next 80 minutes of your life. If you don’t think the conditions will be surfable, do something else. Or take the chance…
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