Task #37 - Make fire without matches - Attempt 1

Bad news dear reader! I bring you sad news of my first task failure. I was hoping to create a video of my successful fire creation, but instead it became just a video of me holding a magnifying glass above some paper for nearly 10 minutes. So in the interest of entertainment value I have decided not to post the video for fear of boring you. Instead I have included a short description of how my attempt failed:

When I got home from work this afternoon, and with the sky cloudless and sun shining bright, I decided this would be a good time to atempt to start a fire without matches. I did a little research on how to do so by watching how others have been successful on youtube a few weeks ago, so I had the basic knowledge on how it could be accomplished. I decided that my method of starting a fire without matches would be by simply using a magnifying glass to concentrate the light from the sun onto some pieces of tissue paper, which would hopefully start smouldering, and voila, a fire would be born.

Unfortunately, when it came to the time to create the fire, things didn't go to plan. Firstly, the wind kept blowing the tissue paper off of the table. Next came the problem of trying to judge how far away from the tissue to hold the magnifying glass so as to maximise the strength of the sun. After several minutes of holding my arm in an awkward position it became evident that it wasn't going to work since it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep my aching arm still.

Never one to give up, I have decided that I shall try a different method of starting fire at my next attempt.

Task #37 - Failed! - Damn and blast!

Tasks #17 And #67 Begun

On the 22nd I returned from a trip to Germany to visit my brother who is studying over there. During the trip we visited the capital of Germany, Berlin, and this photo shows me standing next to a piece of the famous Berlin Wall, situated in Potsdamer Platz:

So thus begins the challenge to visit every European capital city.

Task #67 - Begun!

Whilst in Germany, I stayed with my brother in a little town called Jena in the old East Germany. Whilst there I noticed that the little green man used to signal when people could cross the road was different to that in the UK. This picture shows what it looks like:

I found it amusing that the green crossing man was wearing a little hat. Then, when we visited Berlin I saw much more of the wee man. All credit to the Germans, they know when they are on to a winner, and sure enough the little guy was popping up on mugs and T-Shirts in all of the tourist shops. I saw this in one of the shops and had to have it as a reminder:

It was when I returned to the hotel that it occured to me that this little man could be the beginning of my pointless collection of a keyring from each European capital city.

Task #17 - Begun!

Task #55 - Score A Winning Goal

Over my 4 years of playing football, I played in the two positions of central defender, and in the last two years goalkeeper. These postions (especially the goalkeeping positon) provide few opportunities to score goals. However, I did indeed manage to score two goals during my time as a defender.

Goal 1:

At a corner kick, I was positioned near the 6 yard box when the ball came sailing over. The ball bounced off one of my teammates' back and dropped at my feet. Without thinking I prodded te ball into the back of the net.

Goal 2:

At yet another corner kick, I positioned myself at the egde of the box, by the "D", and as the corner was taken I began my run towards the front post. As I reached the edge of the 6 yard box the ball landed perfectly on my forehead, so all I had to do was steer it into the corner of the net and reel away in celebration.

Task #55 - Complete

Task #3 - Win An Award

Below is a picture of the trophies I was awarded from playing football (soccer for our American cousins).The trophies were awarded to me for various reasons. These range from two consecutive years of personal achievement as well as for being in the team for various tournaments, and even in one case, for being in the team that came second in the league.

Task #3 - Complete!

Tasks #52 and #57 Lists

I have now added links to external sites where the lists for which books are to be read to complete task #52 and which films to watch to complete task #57.

I have chosen to use these sites to display the lists as it provides a way to quickly scan the list and also check off the books/films as I finish them. It also provides a handy percentage of how much of the list is completed to help spur me on.

Tasks I've Completed

Ok so I guess the best way to start this blog is to cross of the things on the list that I have already completed prior to starting this blog:

Task #3 - Win An Award/Trophy

During my teenage years from 11 to 15 I played for a Sunday League football (Soccer for our American friends) team. During my time in the team I was awarded a couple of trophies, both as part of the team and individually. I will go into a little more detail in a future post.

Task #12 - Get A Piece Of Art Into An Exhibition

At High School in art class I created some piece of art that I now have no recollection of either what it was or what the subject matter was, but all I remember is that it was on a piece of paper of about A5 size. Anyway, despite not being very good at art in my opinion, this piece of art was chosen to be displayed in a short exhibition of art created in all of the local schools and was displayed in a gallery somewhere in Stockport, UK. Although my memory may not be the clearest on this task I can at least remember it achieved it so can check it off the list.

I hope in the future to produce someting else that I can have displayed in an exhibition, but for now I am happy with this task being complete.

Task #51 - Learn Another Language

Another task achieved thanks to attending High School. From the age of 11 through to 16 I studied french and from 12 to 16 I learnt German, taking German as an option for the first year of college.

Task #55 - Score A Winning Goal

During my football playing years, being a central defender never gave me many goal scoring opportunities. However, I can proudly check off this task as I managed to score two goals, with a third being cruelly denied to me. I shall explain these in a future post.

Task #91 - Publish A Cult Website

For now I am half claiming this as checked off as I hope that one day many people will follow this blog and allow me to completely check this off, but I also have other ideas that may one day come into fruition that will allow me to create a truely cult website.

The Quest List

Here is the list of the things I would like to do to complete my challenge. I have made some alterations to the original list to make it more realistically achievable as well as to do things I would like to achieve more:

1. Write a Best Seller
2. Swim with a Great White Shark
3. Win an award, trophy or prize
4. Catch a fish with your bare hands
5. Make a Discovery
6. Find my signature dish
7. Stay Up All Night
8. Realise your childhood dream
9. Learn that instrument
10. Leave your mark in graffiti
11. Create My Own Home Brew
12. Get a piece of art into an exhibition
13. Grow My Own Food
14. Send A Message In A Bottle
15. Take a spontaneous trip
16. Break a World Record
17. Own a pointless collection
18. Study the Karma Sutra and put theory into practice
19. Master Poker and Win Big in a Casino
20. Learn a magic trick
21. Learn sign language
22. Visit Auschwitz
23. Watch a sunrise
24. Watch a sunset
25. Capture the moment in an award winning photo
26. Bungee Jump
27. Red or Black?
28. Sky Dive
29. Meet your idol
30. Stay in a 5 star hotel
31. Build something
32. See the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)
33. Improve my fitness and maintain it
34. Design your own cocktail
35. Appear on TV
36. Restore a vintage car
37. Make fire without matches
38. See a Rhino, Hippo, Elephant, Giraffe, Lion, Monkey, Kangaroo in the wild
39. Make a movie
40. Get a free upgrade on a plane
41. Travel the full length of the Trans Pennine Trail
42. Hit your targets
43. Throw a dart into a map and travel to where it lands
44. Attend a Film Premiere
45. Live Without Something You Love For A Week
46. Spend a night in a haunted house
47. Milk a cow
48. Start a business
49. Complete the Real Ale Trail
50. Stand on the equator
51. Learn another language
52. Read the greatest books ever written
53. Complete a Coast to Coast Road Trip Across America
54. Make at least 1 purchase you cant afford
55. Score the winning goal/try/basket
56. Visit Disney World
57. See the all time greatest films
58. Live in the place you love
59. Leave a job you hate
60. Be an extra in a movie
61. Get away with the perfect practical joke or hoax
62. Complete a 365 Day Challenge
63. Make the front page of a national/local newspaper
64. Drive a car at top speed
65. Attend a music gig
66. Be part of a flash mob
67. Visit Every Capital City In Europe
68. Save someones life
69. In various languages learn to say...
70. Own a pet
71. Start A New Hobby
72. Have enough money to do everything on this list
73. Stand on the international date line
74. Do at least one random act of kindness for a stranger
75. Sail somewhere
76. Invent something
77. Learn astronomy and read the night sky
78. Drink a vintage wine
79. Answer a personal ad
80. Make something out of wood
81. Stay in Raffles Hotel, Singapore
82. Buy your dream house
83. Skinny dip at midnight
84. Sell all your junk on ebay
85. Go on Safari
86. Run 5k
87. Conquer your fear
88. Get married unusually
89. Throw away instant noodles and start cooking more
90. Do Something Charitable
91. Publish a cult website
92. Own an original work of art
93. Visit Halong Bay, Vietnam
94. Get something named after you
95. Get revenge
96. Be an Extra in a Film
97. Live out of a van
98. Go on a demonstration
99. Confess
100. Start a Trend
101. Continue your gene pool
102. Solve a Rubik's cube (unaided)
103. Research my family history
104. Visit New York at Christmas
105. Get From A To B Using A Map

This list may have items added to it in the future that I would also like to achieve. I have also edited the original list to remove items I deem too personal to talk about, and added other tasks that I'd rather attempt.

The Quest

This blog is about setting and achieving little goals in life, while having a bit of fun at the same time. My challenge is to complete a list things I'd like to do before I meet my maker. This all began when I was randomly browsing Amazon.co.uk and came across the book 101 Things To Do Before You Die, which sets you the challenge of completing everything on the list. At first I thought nothing of it, but after a few days the idea began to grow on me that it would be a fun thing to do so I went ahead and bought it.

A few of the things in the list are impossible/difficult to complete such as reach 100 years of age, so I will be using the original suggested list as inspiration to make my own list which will be more accomplishable. The finished list will be published in the following days/weeks when I have finalised what i would like to achieve in my life.

Some of you may ask why I would want to do something like this. Well it is just a bit of fun, and will be interesting to see if I can achieve the completion of the list. As the book says:

"It's better to regret something you have done, rather that to regret something you should have done but didn't. Living is the middle bit between life and death, it's what you do in the middle that counts."

I shall use this blog to update how I am going with my ongoing tasks, and announce when I have been successful in completing them. It may also inspire others to try a similar thing themselves, and I would fully advise you to do so as it is something you are unlikely to regret (unless you take the original task #23 Get Arrested to far and end up doing life in the slammer).

Soon I will publish the list I intend to complete. If anyone has their own ideas that they think I may like to add please contact me and I promise to read all ideas openly.