There are two main types of races. These are canoe (C1, C2, C4) and kayak (K1, K2, K4). The number tells how many people are on the boat. In a kayak, a person sits. In a canoe, a person kneels on one knee. A kayak has a rudder. It is used to steer the boat. A canoeist (person who uses a canoe) uses the paddle to move the boat. This is done by moving the paddle from the bow to the stern (front to back). After each race, the boats are looked at to make certain they are legal. If a boat does not have enough weight, the racer is disqualified and cannot win the race.
Races are divided into several groups based on how long they are.
In short distance races, the races are either 200 m, 500 m or 1000 m long. The path of the race is laid out using buoys. Each person has a separate path to follow from the starting line to the finish. On longer races, there may be a point where the paths cross each other to let the person turn their boat.
Long distance races are 5000 m long. Marathon races are at least 15 km. Men's marathon has a minimum length of 20 km. Women's marathon has a minimum of 15 km. Most major races are 30 km or longer. There is no maximum distance for marathon races. There is a marathon race that is about 1000 km long on in the Yukon. The longer races are usually broken up into several parts and may be raced over several days. In long distance and marathon races, all racers start at the same time. They do not use "intervals" where the racers are started at different times.
Geocaching
Geocaching is an outdoor sport activity based on GPS (Global Positioning System). Players use a receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide or look for containers, called "geocaches" or "caches".
One of the main ideas of geocaching is putting caches in places that are interesting, but not often visited by tourists. In the listing of the cache, information about the places is given.
After 19 years of activity there are over 3,000,000 active geocaches. There are over 5 million geocachers worldwide.
Geocaching was invented shortly after the removal of artificial error from GPS on May 2, 2000. Accuracy of the GPS before this date was about 100m, after this date is less than 3m. Improved accuracy allowed geocachers to specify where caches are located.
The first cache was placed on May 3, 2000, by Dave Ulmer in Beavercreek. It was found by Mike Teague of Vancouver on May 6, 2000. The original name of the game is "GPS Stash Hunt", but it was changed on May 30, 2000 after the discussion of several players to "Geocaching".
The cache is usually in a waterproof plastic container with a logbook where geocachers write their registered nickname and date they find it. Larger containers usually contain items for trading like plastic toys, hockey cards or special trackable items called Travel Bugs or Geocoins. Trackable items are logged on the website and moved from cache to cache.
The coordinates of a hidden cache with the rating of the difficulty and terrain and information about size are placed by owner at the official website Geocaching.com. After checking by a reviewer, they are published and available for other geocachers.
Traditional cache: The basic cache type, hidden on the place defined by coordinates in header of listing.
Multi cache: The geocacher usually has to go over the stages, find some information at every stage (such as number on information board etc.) and at the finish calculate the coordinates of the final cache.
Mystery/puzzle cache (also called "Unknown cache"): The coordinates of the final cache are usually hidden in some cipher, image or text and the geocacher has to discover it.
Letterbox hybrid cache: A combination of geocaching and letterboxing in the same container. Instead of a classic cache there is a stamp, which the finder can print to his or her diary.
Webcam cache: It is not a typical cache where the geocacher has to find a hidden box with a logbook. Instead, he has to find a webcam on the published coordinates and take a photo of himself.
Virtual cache: Similar to webcam cache, there is no hidden box at the coordinates. The geocacher only has to find out information such as the name on a monument and send it to the owner of the cache.
Earth cache: Very similar to virtual cache, but in a geographically interesting place. The geocacher has to find out answers for the questions in a listing, take a photo here, and send it to the owner of the cache.
Event cache: Meeting organized and attended by geocachers. There is also special type of event – CITO (Cache in, trash out), where geocachers have to clean up an area. An event attended by more than 500 people is called a Mega-event, and an event attended by more than 5000 people is called a Giga-event
Cardinal-nephew
A cardinal-nephew (; ;) was a pope's relative -- a nephew -- who was raised to the rank of cardinal. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages.
Cardinal-nephew was an office in the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church before 1692. After the death of the reigning pope, the office of cardinal-nephew was vacated.
The pope's cardinal-nephew was his chief assistant and confident. The man in this role was expected to act as if he were a relative of the pope; and sometimes -- often, he was in fact a member of the pope's extended family.
After 1692, this office was banned by Pope Innocent XII in "Romanum decet pontificem."
This role and function is now filled by the Vatican's Secretary of State.
Notable cardinal-nephews include many who would later become popes:
Chemical energy
Chemical energy is the energy produced in a chemical reaction in the form of heat. Using Hess's law it is possible to calculate the amount of energy an exothermic reaction produces.
El Cid
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (about 1043 – 1099 AD), known as El Cid, was a Castilian nobleman. He was a military leader in medieval Spain. After his death, he became the hero in a mediaeval Spanish poem, "El Cantar de mio Cid".
Exiled from the court, El Cid went on to command a Moorish force. After the Christian defeat, El Cid was recalled to service. He took command of a combined Christian and Moorish army. He used this army to create his own fiefdom in Valencia. He was a brave general that lead his country to victory. El Cid was born in Vivar, also known as Castillona de Bivar. The Muslims gave him the nickname "El Cid" from the Spanish Arabic word al-sid, meaning "lord."
El Cid was brought up at the court of King Ferdinand the Great and served Ferdinand's son, Sancho II of León and Castile. He rose to become the commander and royal standard-bearer of Castile when Sancho became king in 1065.
Sancho wanted to reunite all the three parts of his dead father's kingdom. Rodrigo lead the Castilian military campaigns against Sancho's brothers, Alfonso VI of León and García II of Galicia, as well as in the Muslim kingdoms in Al-Andalus. Sancho was murdered in 1072.
After his brother's death, Alfonso returned from exile attempting to claim his dead brothers throne. El Cid then swore Alfonso to the throne and named him King.
Although, Alfonso feared that El Cid would not prove loyal, but with no proof. In 1074, El Cid married Alfonso's niece, Jimena. Some believe the marriage was encouraged by Alfonso to bring El Cid under his watchful eye. Alfonso never gave El Cid a chance to make a better name for himself in the military, and kept him from becoming famous.
El Cid soon became fed up, and in 1081, without Alfonso's permission, he invaded the city of Toledo.
This made Alfonso very mad, and his advisors told him that El Cid had tried to betray him by attacking the city without his permission, false information. Alfonso then banished him from the Kingdom of Castile.