Four Gone

Two years ago (June 2013) it was a different time for the big boys in the UFC.

Every division from 170 pounds on up had a dominant champion.

The welterweight titlist was George St. Pierre, and he'd held the spot since 2008. The middleweight king was Anderson Silva, and he'd been there since 2006. Light heavyweight had Jon Jones, who took the belt early in 2011, and heavyweight had Cain Velasquez, the rookie who had come in six months earlier in 2012.

Since then all have fallen. St. Pierre won another defence, then retired. Silva lost two title fights, and after a minor win since is still trying to regain former glory. Jon Jones won 3 title defences, but was stripped of his championship after a run-in with the law.

Cain Velasquez, the heavyweight king, defended is title once late in 2013, but due to a rash of injuries didn't fight at all in 2014, or in the first half of 2015. Last night he took on Fabricio Werdum in Mexico City, and was stopped in the third round.

There still are some dominant champions in the lighter weight classes. Demetrious Johnson has ruled the flyweight division since 2012 in 6 title defences, while Jose Also has held the featherweight belt since 2010, and has made 7 title defences.

Interestingly, Ronda Rousey, the female bantamweight champion is the third-longest-reigning title holder. She got her belt in 2012, and has defended it 5 times.

Don't get me wrong. I do like a division with a bunch of gifted fighters all vying for top spot. The boxing heavyweight division in the Ali/Frazier/Foreman/Norton days comes to mind, but that's not what we've got.

The situation in the 4 heaviest male divisions is not exciting. Each pretty much has a knot of fighters who were never good enough to rise to the top while the dominant champions were around. They are getting pretty long in the tooth. The younger crop are having a hard time getting past them. Quite possibly, these older guys might end up in a champion role that they were unable to earn in their prime. Alternately, some younger fighters might manage to get passed them, and be just good enough to hold off their challenges. In either case, the champions could end up being the best of a sorry lot.

This is even assuming that a “best” fighter emerges at all. It could be that the titles rotate rapidly between these guys. This is about the same thing.

Perhaps this is unfair. There are a couple of interesting prospects coming up, and the middleweight champion, Chris Weidman, has already made 3 successful defences, although all of his challengers were pretty long in the tooth, being 38, 36, and 38 at the time of their fights. In his most recent fight, Weidman was 29.

None of the other men who has held any of the 4 heaviest division's belts since the fall of the dominant champions has made a successful defence.

I'm Cheap

I can't believe how many people don't understand what cruise travel is all about. They think of it as some kind of confining, hoity-toity rich people vacation.

One of the most common responses we get from people about our cruises to Alaska is they'd, “much rather travel to Alaska on our own.”

Really?

We just did a ten day Alaskan cruise for $2534 dollars American. That's for two people. Let's compare that to a drive from Vancouver to Prince Rupert (with 2 nights in a hotel on the way), followed by a ferry trip to Ketchikan, a night there, a ferry trip to Juneau, a night there, and a ferry trip to Skagway and a night there.

From Skagway, I made two versions of the trip. Trip A goes back the same way it comes, while Trip B drives back with 4 nights on the way.

Both end up taking 9 days in total.

In both cases I allowed $100 a day for the two hypothetcial tourists to eat, drink, and pump gas into their car. Trip B is the cheaper at about $2900, while Trip A's cost is $3600.

Both are considerably more money than we spent on our cruise. Likely it would be much more than my hypotheticals allow, as nobody would do all that travel to get to places like Ketchikan and only stay one night in each. It would seem that our richy-rich trip is actually cheaper than one done on a shoestring budget. Must be that only poor people are being forced by cost to limit themselves to cruising.

Even at that, I left a lot of stuff out of my hypothetical trips to keep the cost down. On our cruise we saw all those places, as well as Sitka and Hoonah. They both have very limited schedules of ferry service. Hoonah only gets two boats a week. We also got to see all the places that we visited without doing multi-day mega drives. Every minute on the boat is wonderful.

But isn't being on a ship confining? In both hypothetical trips, day after day is spent crammed into cars, or onto small Alaskan ferries. I'd much rather be trapped on our 91,000 ton ship than on a 1,492 ton ferry, or a one ton car. I suspect that the Alaskan ferries don't have swimming pools at all, let alone the two we had (one indoor and one outdoor) or the gym, or the plethora of places to eat, to the bars, or the walking decks, or the shops, or the two-deck theatre.

Come with me on a typical ship day. That's one where the vessel doesn't visit any ports at all. There must be nothing to do.

I awaken early; dunno why, but I do. So that Helen can sleep on, I quietly get dressed and head up to deck ten. There I would meet with my friend, and we'd chit chat while drinking coffee. About 7am, we would head back down. Our entire party meets up at 8am and heads off for breakfast in the dining room. That is a leisurly affair that might drag on a bit as we enjoy our surroundings and companionship.

The next step is usually several people heading off to activities put on by the cruise line; painting lessons, kitchen tours and things of that ilk. I would normally hit the gym for about a bit. Bernie often goes to read in a comfy chair, next to a massive window, of which there are plenty.

Being traditionalists, we do lunch at noon, either in the dining room or in the kick-ass buffet.

The pool always gets a visit sometime later. I also like to take naps, and I often get too busy when at home. Around 4pm or 4:30 we meet up at the pre-designated cabin for happy hour. There we share a glass of wine or two. Did you know that most cruise lines allow 2 bottles aboard per cabin when passengers first embark? That becomes our stash. Of course, more can be purchased on board but at painful prices.

On this last trip, our dinner time was always 5:30. This was always a multi-course affair, but if that's not to somebody's liking, the buffet is always waiting. We would finish around 7-7:30. Most nights we'd all do to the show in the magnificent, two-story theatre. Afterwards some would visit the cassino, or go dancing or to a movie. We are not go-out-drinking folks, but there are dozens of venues for people that want to go for a snort or two.

And everything, everywhere, is always scrupulously clean and first rate.

Oh, yes. I almost forgot. The ship takes also you places.

That's a bonus.

Dominoes

We slowly chug into Vancouver. Our cruise is about to end.

They took most of our bags last night. We shall see them next on shore.

The vast majority of the passengers will be hauled to the airport on fleets of buses. Lola and Bernie pick up their car on the dock, drive The Momma home, and then continue on for five hours to Vernon.

Helen and I cover far fewer miles, but it is quite complicated.

We'll pull our bags a dozen blocks through downtown to catch a particular city bus. It will run us about half an hour out of the city, where we pick up a ferry north.

On the other side of that trip two more bus rides await. The final will deposit us a kilometre or so from our door.

So for us it will be walk, bus, ferry, bus, bus, and again a walk. If it all connects perfectly, we may be home within five hours. Taken together, it is a great buffer between our time aboard and our real lives.

Snags can add to the travel time considerably, but are unusual. I fully hope to make it to Jiu-Jitsu. I always miss that greatly when we travel.

***

We have hit a snag already, and we're not even off the ship yet. Our predicted departure time was around 9am, but things were already 40 minutes behind on offloading even the very first batch of passengers. I would guess this means we'll end up a bus or two behind, which will have us missing our ferry, which adds two hours onto our arrival at home. Oh, well.

***
A miracle. We finally got off the boat, very late, and rolled our bags through down town. I think we looked quite strange. Helen is a shade taller than her bag, but it is both thicker and wider. We reached the bus stop, and the exact right type was there waiting for us. On we hopped, and fares were being waved due to some big transit kerfuffle.

Got into the ferry terminal with moments to spare, ending up on the exact same boat we were shooting for before experiencing the cruise ship unloading delays. The only problem is that the ferry is well behind schedule, so we'll miss our bus on the other side, which will make us also miss the next. This whole trip is a shakey construct made of dominoes.

***

I can't believe it. Many times Helen has managed to magically produce rides home for us in the ferry. She knows tons of people, and they are always ready to help her out. I get to tag along.

This time, there were no friends on the boat.

So what happens? She meets a professional driver that is heading through to Powell River. After chatting to Helen for a minute or two we are in his vehicle being given a ride almost to our door. I am gob-smacked.

Home on time.

White as Snow

Read a blog recently by a Purple Belt who moved from the UK to the US and her experience in finding a new school. Very briefly, she mentioned that she chose to wear a White Belt again.

That unleashed a storm of controversy. People said she shouldn't have been "demoted," even though she clearly stated that it was her own decision. They countered by saying that her "demoting" herself was disrespectful to her old teachers.

When I walked into my current school I, like her, wore a White Belt. I left my decades-old Black Belt at home. Granted, it is a Shotokan Karate Black Belt, but why didn't I wear it. Simple; in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu I was a raw rookie.

Before you start saying that that isn't the same thing at all, how about my next example.

After receiving a Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt, my wife and I made an extended visit to be with family in Victoria. I indulged a long-time wish to train at the renowned Victoria Judo Club. What belt do you think I should have worn; my beat up old Black Belt, or my shiny, new Blue one? I wore White. They made it quite clear either of my others would have been acceptable. I thanked them, and explained.

If I'd worn Black, students with much higher Judo qualifications would have been bowing to me. Some might even have asked me to help them with technique, which would have been ridiculous. It wouldn't have been quite as bad with a mere Blue Belt on, but I think you see what I mean.

I wore a White Belt on the Judo mat, as that was the most appropriate rank. I wore a White Belt when starting Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, because it was the most appropriate rank.

The woman who changed schools wore White as that was the most appropriate choice. Her new school is a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu one, and they have very specific ways of doing things. You have to be able to do things their way.

Let's say you have a kick-ass Kimura. You join one of their schools, and wear a Purple Belt earned at a different type of school. Some White Belt asks you for help with their Kimura, and you proceed to show them your way. You aren't really helping. They were asking you for help in how they need to do a Kimura for their upcoming exam, not for any other variation. If you'd had a White Belt on this wouldn't have happened.

You are actually allowed to take the exam demonstrating your proficiency in their requirements anytime. Why not eliminate any confusion by wearing White until then? Of course, that would only make you a Blue Belt. So how does one get a Gracie Purple Belt or higher? Simple; you need to be evaluated in person by one of the Gracies, or by one of their designated Black Belts.

What's the big deal anyhow? Are you so proud of your belt that you can't put it aside? I'm pretty proud of my Black Belt, but wore White when starting Jiu-Jitsu and Judo.

I also didn't try wearing it when I did some Iado (Japanese swordsmanship) either.

Even within an art, every variant has different ways and standards. My Karate is Shotokan. I sometimes train at a nearby Shitu-Ryu dojo as a guest. If I should ever choose to really join them, I would have to pretty much re-learn everything from Katas to basic movement. That would see me putting on a fresh, new White Belt yet again.

Bonus stoop

Contrary to what most people think, the ports that cruise ships visit don't matter at all.

Take this trip. We start and end in Vancouver, and in between that stop at Sitka, Hoonah, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria. There are also three "sea" days.

On the port days, many if the ship facilities are running in a reduced fashion, and there are hardly any activities at all.

On sea days, everything is in full swing. Every venue is running and fully staffed, and there are activities galore. Although the little towns are fine, I prefer the fully-operating-ship experience a great deal more.

*****

Disaster on board at 5am. No coffee. These people are dead to me. A failure of epic proportion.

Today it's Ketchikan, which vies with Skagway as my favourite Alaskan stop. It all depends on my mood.

They have the finest tourist junk-n-tshirt shop. It's really big, with an equally big upstairs where none of the stuff is tourist related at all. It's all sporting goods, quality clothing, and workman's wear.

The old downtown is nice, and we walk through it both ways getting to Creek Street. That's where the hookers used to be, but it's all gussied up for tourists now. The buildings are on pilings over the local river, which is usually packed with salmon.

A fun town, and all accessible right off of the cruise ship dock. No busing required.

On a normal, one-week cruise we would already be unloading back in Vancouver. We still get a full day here in Ketchikan, then a ship day, and a day in Victoria. This 10-day trip is much better. I'm not ready for things to be over just yet.

Thalassotherapy

We've been on a lot of cruises, to Mexico's west coast, Alaska, the Bahamas, down the American West Coast, and in the Caribbean. On every one, the largest group on board has always been Americans. Not on this trip.

The largest bunch is Canadians. On an Alaska run this isn't too strange, as it originates in Canada. Canadians usually are the second largest bunch on these trips, but it isn't that we've just exchanged the number one and two spots with the Yanks. They are only number four on this trip.

Pretty much tied in numbers are Australians and Brits. There are about 575 Canadians, and about 400 of both these nationalities. There aren't many of any other single nationality after the 375 Americans, but collectively they make up 400 or 500 souls. For example, there are two people from South Africa, and two from Argentina.

As a result of our unusual mix, Alaska is unknown territory to most of the passengers. More than usual walk around dressed as if for arctic expeditions.

Just how would an Australian or Brit have any idea how to dress for Alaska? Americans and Canadians do it badly enough, and should know better.

Today, I've been wearing shorts, with a tshirt and hoodie. If it was any colder I could have switched to long pants and added a jacket as a third layer on top. If that still wouldn't do it, I would have stayed on the ship. I used to live in a northern area and am not doing parka weather ever again.

Never did go for a run. After breakfast we headed into town. It was Helen's day, and let her take us as she willed. We stayed in town until about a 1pm return to the ship. We poked a bit into museums, and stores, and generally wandered about. Then it was lunch onboard, after which I crashed into a nap and Helen went to the pool.

I woke up when she returned to the room, and wanted to go back into town a bit more. I went along, still a little bit drowsy and dopey. We went fast, as she had a planned meet-up with Phyllis for a crochet fest. Then it was supper time.

No time left to squeeze in a jog. My Skagway runs all go between one and two hours and there wasn't a block of time remaining that large available.

After supper, it was time for the show; a repeat of our first few evening's headliners doing encores. They were all fine, but hadn't blown me away. I headed to the pool instead.

It is a very hot pool in a large space enclosed with glass. They call it a "Thalassotherapy" pool, which seems to mean a "bubbly pool with hot salt water". Problem; some of the windows can be opened. Normally they are shut, but for some reason strollers had opened them all up and left them that way. The lovely warmth was gone. I zipped around and shut them. What is wrong with people? It didn't take long for things to start warming up again. The pool is very hot, and that heat gets convected into the room, and I suppose it radiates out as well.

Boating

When I was a kid, we did some pretty great holidays. We did everything as a family, which had both its good and bad aspects. I liked being with my family, but sometimes the things we did together were horrid.

I remember one trip to LA where we did our usual single day at Disneyland, followed by a day visiting Forest Lawn Cemetery. Are you kidding? A cemetery rather than a second Disney day?

Cruises are nothing like this. You can be together or apart as much as you like. Our group of 5 does a lot together, but not everything.

Last night 4 wanted to go to the show, and 1 felt he would prefer sitting in a comfy chair, listening to music, and reading. We all did what we desired. Afterwards, one of the show goers wanted to hit the hay, and the rest wanted to go find the reader, which we did. For a while we were a new group of 4, and then split evenly as 2 wanted coffee, and 2 went dancing.

This morning, one stayed on board, one went running, and the other three went ashore to poke around and walk the forest trail. One of the walkers returned to the ship, and picked up the stay aboard for a short jaunt ashore in the shopping area. The runner, (me) returned to the ship, had a swim, and ate his first lunch. No idea what the other two are up to.