PNWPA Blog :: Archives

Archive for May, 2010

29

What do we name our Roomba?

WARNING - this post is about vacuuming…the parkour will return next week ;)

Alright, the experiment was a success – I now really dig Roombas :) I’ve had to babysit the anthropomorphic little guy the last two nights but he – or she – is almost ready for its own run. It picked up a disturbing amount of fuzz and dust that we were missing – even with sweeping every night – on it’s first run (I emptied it a few times due to some errors) and does a pretty good job at covering the gym, at least one room at a time. I’m not so sure though that he’ll be able to handle the lounge without tumbling to his death…I had to disable his cliff sensors with some paper since apparently our black flooring absorbs the IR light they use to not run down stairs.

It’s a 530 model that I picked up refurbished on Woot for really cheap, unfortunately it doesn’t work with lighthouses which is what it sounds like we need for the three rooms. I did order an Aerovac for it to boost the power and capacity a bit. I find it funny that I’ve had it for two days and have already hacked it a bit and sent in for upgrades…

28

Possibly my beat idea yet :P

If this works I will be extremely happy :)

27

Where do the children play? | KaBOOM!

A recent report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that only one in five homes has a park within a half-mile. Half of the children surveyed said that it’s difficult to get to a playground or park from their house.

Apparently, we have a long way to go toward realizing our vision of a playground within walking distance of every child. The CDC asserts, “Youth without access to opportunities for physical activity during nonschool hours are less likely to be as physically active as their peers.” It goes on to say, “Preliminary evidence also suggests that access to parks, playgrounds, and recreation centers may lead to other healthy lifestyle choices, such as using modes of active transportation—like biking or walking to a park location.”

The full report is here and this is one more reason we need to get more parkour education out to the kids. Our whole Jump Washington program is built on the idea of building the ‘parkour vision’ to turn a random access ramp into a playground in case you don’t have access to any nearby.

25

Prince of Persia Parkour screening

Last minute little demo and introduction to parkour at the Prince of
Persia screening today. For everyone looking for more info or who
wants to learn take a look through http://parkourvisions.org and the
local community at http://washingtonparkour.com

If you’re at the UW most of the Parkour folks you saw today train
there and are trying to start a club – find them on Facebook and say
hello!

22

New boxes, more bars! Building Day

The new boxes are almost finished! We’ll need to finish sheeting a few more, put handles on, then sand down and stain them.

And I don’t want to jinx it but I got a new plan for floor railings that I may be able to put in effect :)

Volunteers welcome! Bring sanding tools of you got em – 206.923.8864

21

Gymratattack

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_0021.mov (6625 KB)

Messin’ around with the beast post classes.

17

Parkour Visions Seminar In NJ june 12th

Parkour Visions Lead Instructor Rafe Kelley will be teaching a seminar in New Jersey for Crossfit Hoboken June 12th. Covering the basics of parkour, and programming parkour training. This great learning opportunity for anyone interested in training parkour.

Check out the flyer

Download now or preview on posterous

hoboken1.pdf (2683 KB)

12

Lowline

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_0011.mov (6606 KB)

Intermediate class May 11: ground movement. Worked on switching support sides on ground (QM) and obstacle face, and direction changing via spins. Stay low!

10

Grab your cameras and measuring tapes: let’s plan a park!

The sprint is on for ParkOurPark!
 
We had a great conversation yesterday about the Park Proposal, with a lot of new ideas and enthusiasm from friends and volunteers. Now it’s time to put theories into action.
 
Our SketchUp artists are hard at work creating models of what can go into ParkOurPark. But they need pictures and measurements to get it right.
 
For the next three days, we need ALL OF YOU to take pictures and measure the city elements all around you:
  • bus stops
  • bike racks
  • railings
  • traffic barriers (tall ones, thick ones)
  • curbs
  • railroad ties/tracks
  • benches
  • picnic tables (long ones, octagon ones)
  • dumpster
  • scaffolding
  • stairs
  • walls
  • access ramps
  • bollards (single pole/column car stops)
  • boulders
  • telephone poles (lying on the ground)
  • lamp posts
  • playground equipment
  • random heavy things used in construction
  • par course pieces (workout stations along trails)
If you see soemthing and wonder if it's what we're looking for, share it. The more options, the better. If it looks like it would make a good parkour training obstacle, take a picture, take some measurements, and upload it to http://drop.io/ourpark
 
We need everything ASAP. Like, this week.
 
If you are a SketchUp person, let us know and we’ll get you in touch with Garrett, our project lead for modelers.
 
The ParkOurPark team will be meeting again at the gym at 5:00 on Saturday, May 15, to lay out the park. Come join us!
 
Questions? Email Beth.
 
 
 
 
 

08

Build day and parkour park planning

We'll be at the gym or down the street in the new workshop tomorrow from 12-5 working on the 10 or so new boxes that are partially constructed. Hopefully it's nice out and we can assemble outside! If you are available to help out please bring a cordless drill/driver or a table saw ;) Can't wait to get these done! Call 206.923.8864 if you don't see us

Around 5pm we'll order some pizza and gather to discuss plans for the new parkour park project! All are welcome