interesting read here about YEAR OF THE SNAKE
February 8, 2013
YEAR OF THE SNAKE
I’m not overly superstitious – don’t think twice about walking under a ladder or stepping on a crack but I must admit an idle fascination with the Chinese Zodiac. There’s something about the connection to the animal kingdom and the various similarities the ancient predictions draw from. Interestingly enough, February 10 marks the start of 2013 – the Year of the Snake.
The ancients say things can shift in a big way under the sign of the serpent and those born under the sign should move with caution and be prepared for change. The energy surrounding the snake can be quite positive or negative and overall, signifies steady progress when one applies discipline. Chinese wisdom says: a snake in the house is a good omen as your family won’t starve.
I was born in the year of the dragon and am more or less compatible with the snake as the Chinese believe the snake fell from the sky, an off-shoot of the dragon, which I will take as a positive spin for my year 2013. I find myself looking to resources like the Zodiac and Totallyamaha to help ground the energy surrounding the new model launch that happens every year around this time. After-all they are both filled with Zen knowledge and the predictions of the ancients
The TY thread on 2014 MY Yamaha has grown to over 55 pages and what a fantastic read for someone who has the complete inside POV. For the record Yamaha did not buy any shares in any of our competitors companies outside of KYB shock absorbers, which is kind of ironic when you consider Skidoo now buys their shocks from Yamaha.
Speaking of our pals in Valcourt, I had a weird one last weekend. I was heading down the lake on my kids Phazer when a fella on a red machine veered towards me waving his arms like crazy. As we came together he hops off and starts asking me directions to a local watering hole which as I tried to explain to him, wasn’t easy to find without knowing the lakes and portages. I happened to glance past him at his sled while he was riddling me with questions and had to interrupt - ‘er, uh, hey pal, your sled is on fire!’
I could see some healthy flames licking the engine through the shroud vents and told him to start packing snow into it while I tugged the string to move my machine. When I ran back to him he was acting stunned and kicking snow at it. I threw down and paddled as much snow into the hood as I could while he stood by and watched. More sleds started to arrive and when I realized they were all together and they started to pitch in, I bailed but not without a cruel dig. I asked him if the steaming sled had an E-tec engine (I had just read the formal recall bulletin on the potential fire hazard for all e-tecs). He informed it was not but the expression on the other three guys faces were priceless – they were all on e-tecs!
It is snowing like crazy here and I made the decision to head north to my cabin (and Apex) in lieu of south to the office and the insane gridlock that is surly happening while I write this. Don’t get me going on min-vans and all-season radials… There is a good foot of fresh snow waiting for me and I have the grand idea of strapping on the snowshoes and blazing a new portage trail to circumvent a temporary bridge that is the only way for us to connect to the trail system without a long detour around the river. Something fun about a toque, a chainsaw, a Bravo and a mission with a warm fire and pints waiting at days end.
Cell phone on stun, Stevie Ray Vaughn shredding in the truck, I’m going off-line for a couple of days, hope you get out to enjoy some fresh pow this weekend as well!
cheers cr
But im bias too. 
