Speak Into the Mike

My whereabouts

2011-10-05T13:01:00.000-03:00

Mike is currently hanging out at his Tumblr -- http://themikestand.tumblr.com/

And the House is Still Standing!

2011-03-15T12:32:00.000-03:00

The sun is out! The wind is blowing at a paltry 40km/h! Birds are singing frigidly in the bare March trees! It must be Spring. Well, maybe not, but here I am to say that I made it through the winter as a stay-at-home-dad. Since the Baby Girl was born, I had planned to take some SAHD time (though between you and me, I prefer "DILF"); it worked well for The Lovely Wife's plan to start a new job before the end of 2010, and I was finally in a job that offered some salary top-up, if only for a couple of months.

Time-warp to now... some three months later...

I knew that stay-at-homes did a lot of work, and that it would be challenging to have the Baby Girl every day of the week, and Five (middle child, younger son... damn, these nicknames are so confusing) for most of the week, while Seven (SEVEN! HOW DID HE GET TO BE SEVEN?) was in Grade 1. [update video montage not available]

So it was no surprise that I learned just how much work it takes to keep a house (which I did only moderately well) while keeping kids happy and, more importantly, alive all day.

Other things I learned:

1. I am a Ninja
Wait. Let me clarify. I'm not a ninja Ninja. But I have so finely tuned my senses that I can now step on a Cheerio and retract my foot before it disintegrates into a dusty pile of aaaannnnd-now-I-have-to-clean-that-up. The first week of being at home, I swept the kitchen floor more times than I think I did all last year. The floor was so clean you could eat off it (and if Baby Girl had her way, she would.).

2. Some Naps are Sacred
You'd better have a good reason to not high-tail it home from dropping off kids at school, or to decide to only let the Girl nap for a short time in the morning. This is Golden Time, both for you and her. It lets you get things done, like cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast, putting in your first (sometimes second) load of laundry, or teaching your kid to read (aka "waterboarding").

3. The Clean House is a Myth
How is it that I can be in this house all day long, constantly picking things up, and at the end of the day, it looks like a rave happened here? (Less all the glow sticks and ecstasy. There may be some children's vitamins laying around, but I swear those are legal.)

4. The Laundry. It is Never Ending.
Seriously, people. I know I wear one of three pairs of jeans and the same hoodie for two or three days (I usually change it before it looks tie-dyed with barf) so I'm not contributing to the Pile as I used to, but is going through every bit of clothing in your drawers your new job? Because it seems that the answer to the question of "what should I do next" could always be, "Well, you could do some laundry!".

5. Don't Tell Me "At Least You Get To Rest On The Weekends" Or I Will Slap You
All week long it's a chore to remain on top of what activity is happening after school: soccer? basketball? Other soccer? Skating? Sure, the weekends are slightly lower on the insanity scale, but they were a far cry from "relaxing". But hey, at least the shopping is done! I would have done that two or three times through the week. Which is probably why we have no money to do anything on the weekends? I figure maybe once I got caught up on all the laundry and got the house into a state that didn't look like a laundromat or a dorm room, with underwear strewn about haphazardly.

6. 8:30 is A Completely Respectable Time To Start Your Day
Suffice it to say that getting out of bed at the same time as everyone else (not 30 minutes early to get coffee and breakfast ready, get in a hot shower, etc) is an extremely relaxing way to ease into your day. I have never gone so many days without having a shower AND NOT EVEN CARING. The three-day beard is almost expected of the stay at home dad, if other stay at homes dropping off kids at school are any indication. As long as I don't look like the Unabomber or look like I should be driving a van with no back windows, I figure I'm doing alright.

7. The Grocery Store Is My New Home
I swear, going into this gig I thought we would save so much money on groceries. Sure, we buy mostly organic and natural stuff, but I was sure TLW was being imprudent with her purchasing habits. I can now safely say that there is no way to shop for "a few things" without breaking the $150 mark. Also, I have no control when it comes to sale items. I don't mean to suggest that I come home with 14 kilos of basmati rice or a Bar Mitzva pack of Fruity Pebbles every time I shop, but I admit I may go off the list from time to time. I also kind of got used to parking in the spot for "pregnant women and moms with small children". And to all of you who are using that spot and NOT pulling kids out of your car? Eff. You.

8. These Blogging Stay-At-Homes Must Be On Drugs
Where, oh where do all these women (and a few men) find the time and energy to blog while getting all their shit done (My guess? Pharmaceuticals) Or maybe it doesn't get done? I suppose with more time at this gig, I could find the time to throw at least a picture up now and then as proof of life. Alas, in the spare moments of quiet solitude, I did not rush for the computer, except maybe to check the weather, download some music, or pay a bill. Blogging was an unfortunate casualty.

By the time all was said and done and I was ready to go back to work, I had decided that the stay-at-home gig was pretty sweet, and if TLW could just make a quarter million dollars a year, we could do this forever. Alas, she claims "we" need my pension more than we need me to stay at home and play house. So I guess it's back to the grind.

*Note: The title of this entry is based on this Bill Murray quote.

Anatomy of a Night from Hell

2011-01-31T08:34:00.001-04:00

Last night started out just fine... after a day of skating and a nice dinner with the cousins, we hit the sack at a reasonable hour (10:00!) and drifted off into merry slumber. Sometime after that it all went off the rails.

Midnight - Baby Girl stirs. The Lovely Wife gets up to replace soother and/or see what's up. One or both of the boys are moaning in their sleep.

0100: Five and Six take turns moaning in their sleep. Bad dreams?

0224: I wake to the sound of the gate banging closed over and over, just outside our corner of the house. TLW informs me it's been doing that for half an hour and that she's had almost no sleep so far. I put on my boots, grab a flashlight, and hope I don't encounter any snacking raccoons as I pass by the compost on my way to close the jammed latch on the gate.

0250: Six exhibits signs of influenza (read: runs to the bathroom and barfs.) Aside: I'm glad that I have at least one of my children trained to run for the toilet when feeling queasy.

0300: Six is once again purging. By now we're at the mostly-dry heave stage. Yay.

0330: Snowplows driving up and down the neighbourhood streets. Evidently the inch dusting of snow we've received overnight (is it still overnight at this point?) requires an army of trucks scraping and salting the streets. Ah, taxes. They are seemingly endless.

0400: Six is still going at it. We give him some childrens' gravol and decide to move Five out of the shared bedroom and into our bed. Baby Girl has stirred again, and we hope she doesn't have any ideas about getting up for the day.

0415: TLW moves out of our bed and onto the couch. I attempt sleep beside a snoring, but thankfully not barfing, Five.

Somewhere after that I drift off, until...

0530: Six is again sprinting for the bathroom. Baby Girl is chirping happily in her crib. Five is snoring still. At this point, the day has begun. TLW hits the shower in hopes of getting to work, I grind some beans for coffee (really, what damage could I do with a loud coffee grinder at this point?) and offer myself up to a day of challenges, including the possibility that someone else in the house could be flu-ridden by the end of the day.

Now it's 0755. Cartoons are on. One child is ready for a nap, an hour and a half ahead of schedule. This can't end well.

Post Script: After taking Five and Baby Girl out for a brief sleigh ride and driveway-clearing party, most everyone is in better spirits. Even the dry heaver hasn't done the 10 metre sprint for over an hour now.

Fingers crossed. (But feel free to send saltines and gatorade.)

7 Days Winter 2010

2010-12-27T15:11:00.008-04:00

Here's the wrapup from the 7Days project from Winter 2010... apparently I missed Day 5? Ugh, how did that happen?

7days: Day 1 - late to the party

So, with a gentle reminder from @Citystreams, I'm back to celebrate the season (of 7Days) with you all. Yesterday was a 5th birthday party and an overnight visit to a close-by hotel with a pool and a great water slide.

Here's me (with the rest of the adults not captured) relaxing as the kids were all amusing themselves in one of the rooms and the baby was asleep. Hopefully this bodes well for future overnight trips!

7Days: Day 2 - Bright and cheery

A little bathroom photoshoot last night with Stella, who was her usual bright and cheery self. Getting her to look at me-in-the-mirror and not me-sitting-beside her is the real trick, of course. Lots of outtakes to this one (like this, and this) which are actually better framed, but I couldn't pass up the face. At 7 months, she's fairly used to the camera by now, and I'm happy to show her off to the 7 days crew when she's not asleep!

7 Days: Day 3 - Merry Birthdaymas!

Since Oliver's birthday is on the 24h (long story here), every year we do the birthday thing well before we do the Christmas thing, and I always make sure to keep the birthday paraphernalia up right up until the actual birthday. I have been recycling this banner for years now (and I don't think anyone has noticed). The worst thing would be for him to think he's getting the short end of the stick due to his ill-timed birthday. Frankly, his older brother got stiffed on his third Christmas, as that year it fell on the 26th ;)

7 Days: Day 4 - The Fridge Door

This is the Fridge Door. In some ways, it's the family bible. If it's not on the calendar, it DOES. NOT. HAPPEN. *

Also included are various pictures with The Lovely Wife has posted. See the notes, of course.

*There's also another calendar. This will be my undoing.

7 Days: Day 6 - In da haus

I finally gave in to the Gingerbread House Project, and the boys and I took on the task or raising the literal roof on this bad boy. A word to the wise: The purple icing? Don't. Special appearance by Stella, who I don't believe was in attendance for the construction project. Possibly napping? Who knows.

7 Days: Day7 - Not even a mouse

It's Christmas eve! How many of us have The Night Before Christmas as a bedtime ritual? (Last year we had to print it off because we couldn't find the book). Well, we found, or possiibly borrowed the book this year and continued the tradition. Clearly the youngest could not stay up long enough to endure the tradition.

a quickr pickr post

Movember 2010

2010-11-04T09:47:00.001-03:00

Folks, it's been a while since I've checked in with you all. And one of the reasons for my absence has been this thing called "Movember" (click here to learn more, or here to see all my previous Movember adventures!). I've been asked to chair the Halifax Committee for this year's campaign to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer research. Along with a fantastic team of volunteers, this year's efforts in Halifax (indeed, in the world) is going to break all previous records. So far we've had TV time, two radio stations are involved, and we've surpassed our expectations in terms of registrations for the city.

I have the same high hopes for my own moustache, only I think that it's going to be tough to make major follicular improvements with the genes I've been given!

My own fundraising goals are very ambitious this year: $2,000 in personally collected donations. So far I'm off to a good start with over $100, but if you have the ability to donate to this very worthy cause, I would much appreciate it.

To make a donation (you can use a credit card! and get a tax receipt!), go here: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/3289/ and click the "Donate to me" link. If you'd like to go another route, you can paypal me and I'll make sure you get your receipt. Email or leave a comment and we'll work it out.

For those of you who've supported me in the past, I thank you. For those who've meant to donate but haven't done so, now is your chance :)

Oh, and I promise to post pictures again...who doesn't like to see my attempts at growing the Mo!

So far it all looks like the "before" shot:

(All my daily pics can be seen here: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/3289/ ) Don't forget to donate when you visit ;)

-Mike

Tri hard, have fun.

2010-09-15T10:30:00.001-03:00

Here's a bit of a late update: Last month, I competed in my first Triathlon. As part of the Wolfville Triathlon Festival, they held a Just for Fun triathlon (the fun was un-missable -- it was printed on everything!). I had done some training for the swim portion with K-Bez, a friend, elite cyclist, and eager competitor in everything from running to cycling to swimming (seemed like a no-brainer to go for the Tri, you'd think). Otherwise, I've been pretty un-trained this year, instead taking to being a "recreational" runner and cyclist, going out on lunch hours and getting in the odd weekend run or ride here and there with Ian L (click to read his race report) and Bicycle Boy.

Owing to the fact that Bicycle Nova Scotia was having a Time Trial event that day and Triathlon Nova Scotia was holding a "real" triathlon in Guysborough that day, the Wolfville Just For Fun Triathlon seemed the perfect event: not too long, not too crowded, and above all, very inexpensive. There were several categories; I entered into the Adult Long course (which wasn't long, but they needed to distinguish it from the reallyreallyreallyshort course): 400m in the pool, 10km ride, 4km run. Of the three, only the swim was of concern to me. I hadn't swum 400m without stopping before, so knew that adrenaline would have to carry me through the panic when it undoubtedly would hit.

I drove up with Bicycle Boy, who was volunteering at the event and would be stationed at the dismount line. We arrived with not much time to spare, so I quickly got changed into my gear and set up the bike and running shoes at Transition. Then on to the pre-race meeting, and down to the pool deck for the 0815 start time. I was in the first of what would turn out to be three heats (we thought there would be two, so some people doubled up in pool lanes, something I'm pretty used to). Ian L and K-Bez weren't in my heat, and it would turn out that they were in separate heats themselves. We received our pool instructions and jumped in, waiting for the start. I found it particularly strange how low-key the event was. When the race director said "ready.... go!", I was oddly calm, possibly too calm to be taking this seriously, Just For Fun moniker notwithstanding.

The swim progressed without major issue. I was able to push through the 400m in mostly OK form, head out of the water a little here and there to stave off the panic and pushing well off the end walls (probably not legal in real triathlons?). I was swimming with David W, a long time friend and avid cyclist, and I had no idea where we were in relation to each other. I thought I was about half a length ahead of him, while he maintains I finished a lap and a half ahead. Seems unlikely, but whatever.

For your benefit, no pictures of me post-swim. You're welcome.

Into transition, I had a devil of a time getting my cycling jersey on, tearing two of the four pins out of my race number. I would endure the bike course with an annoying, flapping number before tearing it off completely on the run and stuffing it in my jersey pocket. I have no idea how long I was in Transition -- my stopwatch wasn't running in the swim, and therefore any splits I attempted to monitor weren't being logged. Silly me.

The bike course was a 2.5km stretch of road through the Town of Wolfville, and the out-and-back was repeated for 10km total. I felt alright on the bike, though my legs were pretty sluggish. I hadn't warmed up at all prior to the swim, a mistake I wouldn't make if I were to compete in a longer, more competitive event. In the end, I would average about 27km/hr, which isn't too bad considering the hairpin turnarounds and one pesky little hill in the middle. I heard Bicycle Boy's cheering each time I came to the turnaround/dismount line, which was very helpful!

Back into Transition again 20 minutes later, the guy I had passed just 100 metres from the dismount line ("Oh, come on!", I would hear him cry out at the time.) streaked past me onto the run course (a 1km out and back, repeated twice for a total of 4km) and I followed about 100m behind him for most of the run. I figure I ran about 6:00 kms for the first couple of kilometres while my legs adjusted to that 'brick' feeling and I pushed through it and found my cardio zone. The second two kilometres I gained a little on my competitor in front, and found enough energy for a little kick at the end. What I didn't know is that the guy ahead of me was in FIRST PLACE in our heat, and would end up finishing two seconds ahead of me. So I finished second in the heat, but middle of the pack overall (9/22). I did definitely have fun, and can see some specific areas for improvement in my next Tri.

We would have to wait for our results until the following day or the day after, and with all the hubbub associated with three heats on the same course, it was really tough to tell how well you did. None of us had timed our splits, so about the best we could do is guess on our run time and read the bike computer for our ride time/pace. Finally, the results came out:

That's me around the middle there: #504. K-Bez would finish first in the event (right up top there, #522), Ian L would finish second (#502), and David W (#508) would finish 14th. We joked about getting our One-Tenth Ironman tattoos.

I was sure I could have done all the events better and done better in transition. I guess it's good to have goals, eh? At the very least, I should have kicked earlier on the last run and beat out my new nemesis, "Eric". Eric, if you're reading this (you're not), I'm coming for you next year. For more of THE FUN.

Since then, K-Bez and I have been hitting the pool with more regularity and have worked up to 1,500m in the pool in one workout (not continuous, but in under an hour). Next year we'll definitely sign up for the Sprint distance (750m swim), with hopes of someday completing an Olympic Distance Tri (1,500m in the pool, 40km ride, 10km run).

For more pictures from the event, check the Facebook album.

When I put the boys in their first Tri this summer, I briefly considered that I wouldn't get to do one this year, so I'm extremely happy that I got to compete in a Tri and complete it. And I gotta hand it to the organizers: it was fun.

First Day of School

2010-09-02T15:22:00.001-03:00

First Day of School
Originally uploaded by themikestand

How the hell did these kids get so big?

Three months, and what do I have to show for it?

2010-08-16T10:06:00.000-03:00

So, the Little Girl is now a quarter of a year old, and I've been delinquent in my posting. Not because this is going horribly wrong, but perhaps because it's going so well. Sure, the zone defence is taking some getting used to, but we managed to take a two week vacation to a cottage and everybody came back well rested, one of us learned how to ride a two-wheeler, and another became a master body-boarder. Pictures to follow, naturally.

But to the Girl. Because really, when a Daddyblogger creates another progeny, let's face it: people want to see the train wreck. They want to hear about the sleepless nights, the up-to-your-elbows-in-poop (okay, maybe they don't want to see that as much as just hear about it), the zombie-esque trip to work every day, and all the other things that make them feel like Wonderful Parents Who Are Doing Just Fine.

Folks, I'm here to tell you: It's not that bad.

I had a hard time imagining myself (or even recognizing myself) as a Dad of Three. Since I met The Lovely Wife, I was pretty sure we only wanted two. Then two came along, and after a brief four-year recovery from He Who Shall Not Sleep*, we started into negotiations again about it. She promised to do her part overnight and let me sleep a little more, providing the kid slept a reasonable amount, and was extremely keen (not like that, you sickos) on the idea of the big family. Hey, three is big. I come from a family of two kids, and so does she. So do each of our parents. You can see why I implicitly was expecting to be done after two.

But she sleeps.

Thank your preferred deity: SHE SLEEPS!

Most mornings, she wakes up and coos and babbles to herself quietly and happily until I come in and retrieve her from her crib. And all we have to do is stay up a little later at night and get in the late-night (okay, 11PM) Sneaky Feed and she's good to go for the next 7 or 8 hours.

And so the biggest challenges in our life these days (besides our diminished family income) is getting the troops rounded up in time to make it to tennis/soccer/swimming, and the added guilt of me not being there to take the load off The Lovely Wife enough, or get home fast enough from work. To be clear, the guilt is completely self imposed, and not at all being dished out from TLW.

This, of course, will change two times in the next four months as the school year starts up and the eldest becomes a grade-One-er, his little brother goes back to daycare three days a week, and TLW gets some quality time with her girl. And it'll change when, in the new year, I become the Stay At Home Dad. You read that right, I'm taking the plunge. Going over the foxhole wall and facing both winter and family head-on. God help us all.

But before any of that happens, there's a fantastic summer and fall to enjoy. And the ever-changing family adventure goes on...

A shot from the inside of the cottage, with all family members smiling. I know, a rarity.

Beach floaties make excellent pillows.

The two ladies in my life:

I grew a beard. Blame it on the vacation. It lasted one day past vacation, just so that the people at work could mock me a little. There were not so silent cheers at home when I shaved again.

a quickr pickr post

*We read Harry Potter with the eldest while on vacation. I hope this is another tradition we keep into the future, unless of course he reads the next four books before next summer.

On Music and Cop Shows

2010-07-14T12:13:00.000-03:00

I received another email today from my friends at YouCast telling me about Turner Global Domination's (Kidding, It's TNT, but honestly, aren't they heading that way?) new show, Memphis Beat, starring Jason Lee. Now, I have to say that even though I've not been a fan of My Name Is Earl and continually wondered how it dodged the programming axe year after year, I haven't turned my back on him completely since his Mallrats days.

Anyway, now he's no longer a country bumpkin (or maybe he still is, but that kinda ruins my segue) getting himself into trouble ... he's a cop.

TNT says:

Memphis Beat centers on Dwight Hendricks (Jason Lee), a quirky Memphis police detective with an intimate connection to the city, a passion for blues music and a close relationship with his mother. He is "the keeper of Memphis," a Southern gentleman who is protective of his fellow citizens, reverential of the city's history and deeply rooted in its blues music scene.

Coming off the heels of watching all of Treme, where in my opinion the music was just as good as the story, and the actors fantastic, I am actually looking forward to what Memphis Beat could deliver. With Keb Mo' at the musical helm, if the storyline and characters hold up.... this could be very, very good. Apparently it debuted a couple of weeks ago, so you can go catch up on back episodes.

If this sounds like something you might like, you can see more of Memphis Beat here.

Edited to add: Since the show is three weeks old, I previewed Episode 1 last night and I have to admit, it didn't disappoint. The music was quite good, the story solid, and the characters compelling (though in my opinion it suffered from the same necessary hook issues that all pilots have).

*PS Despite the tag "mike sells out", I'm actually not getting paid for this. The folks at YouCast did say they'd send me some Memphis Hot Sauce in exchange for this post. But really, I just like to talk about TV and music whenever anyone will listen.

Kids of Steel

2010-06-28T11:14:00.000-03:00

Saturday was the local Kids of Steel Triathlon and the boys participated. The event was not timed, and the race course was as follows (if I recall correctly!):

Born 2003/04
Swim: 50m
Bike: 1 km
Run: 500m

Born 2005/06
Swim: 25m
Bike: 250m
Run: 100m

The bike/run distances might have been even shorter, but the boys had a lot of fun in the short time we were there! If you don't believe me, have a look at this face:

So, the boys beat me in the race to who can do the first Triathlon, but I'm still holding out to complete one by the end of the year (even though you'd never know it from my lack of training). There are still two events that I could squeeze into the family schedule that is otherwise jam packed with other weekend activities right through to the end of September.

Cabot Trail Relay 2010 race report

2010-06-18T13:27:00.000-03:00

The long overdue race report from my weekend in Cape Breton is now, well... due.

I notice that the last entry was about the Bluenose weekend, which makes me remember that last year I did the half marathon and then took my chances in Cape Breton with a long run the following weekend, which, clearly was a silly thing to do, risking injury and all that. So this year I had planned only the 10k at the Bluenose and a slightly harder leg at the Cabot Trail Relay Race (last year's report is here).

I picked up the three guys I would be travelling with - one was a good friend, Ian, and the other two were people I'd not yet met but who turned out to be great runners and travel companions (Craig and Kevin). On the way up, we listened to the "new" Cabot Trail CD containing each runner's song contribution, as well as last year's mix. Both were excellent, of course. And if you care to ask, my pick was Smoke and Wine by Hank Williams III (click here for the video -- not really safe for small ears). Our team name was Everything is Coming Up Orange, presumably related to the orange-in-colour nature of the online running forum which brought together many of these runners. Last year's team name was the Fundulators. Frankly, I think that's a slightly less "tough" name, not that it matters. We had a lot of the same names on the roster this year, as the Fundulators did not get in due to the lottery at registration time.

We arrived in Baddeck, Cape Breton on Friday evening for the team meeting and to have a beer or two (I think I only had one), have supper, and then head to the ceilidh in town. We stayed at the Hunter Mountain Chalets, which were well appointed, though not very close to town. The dinner was served at the fire hall, and consisted of a plate of spaghetti and meat (or non-meat, if you choose) sauce about the size of one's head, a roll, and some salad. I polished off my plate, knowing that I would probably need the extra energy for the morning's 0830 run.

We hit the ceilidh for a little while, and knowing I had an early morning,I bailed out early and headed back to the chalet for a good night's sleep. Three of us (Ian, Kevin and myself) climbed into the car and headed into town to pick up our boxed lunches. Kevin had Leg 1 and was welcomed by bagpipes, something I didn't get to hear last year but really got the day started right. We supported him with blaring music (Alabama 3- Power in the Blood) and then headed to the start line for my leg. While walking to the start line for warm-up, I hooked up with Bill from Herd of Cats, who introduced me to Sarah, who would be running Leg 2 with me. I don't often have anyone to talk to during runs, so maybe this would work out.

The weather was sunny and cool, but the day's heat was starting to be felt, and I had a hard time figuring out if I would run with the long sleeved technical shirt and a sleeveless over top, or just lose the sleeveless. In the end, I opted for just the sleeveless, and I'm glad I did.

Uphill starts are less than motivating, if you ask me, and though I was expecting this one, I still wasn't happy about it. I think I got away reasonably quickly, not playing my usual leap-frog catch-up game that I seem to have perfected in previous runs. I really had no idea where I was in the pack, but I watched the leader (who ran shirtless and with no hydration, if that gives you any indication of how long he was planning to be on the course) disappear into the distance, and kept pace with a shortish girl in front of me. I don't run with a garmin, so I really don't know what my usual race pace is. Usually I can sustain a 5:00/km pace pretty well, and I can duck under the 5:00 pace if I have someone to run with to keep me focussed (that is to say, to keep talking with me!). Eventually I passed her on a downhill and sidled up behind a guy in a Toronto Triathlon Shirt for a few kilometres, listening to his race watch beep now and then, and trying to figure out if it was beeping for his pace, his time, or his distance. I still have no idea, but I enjoyed having something to think about while I was tailing him.

Kevin supported me, again with blaring music and supportive shouts, while Ian headed to the start line of the next leg to pick up Karen's car and take it to the end of her leg / the beginning of his (Leg 4 - Cape Smokey). With Kevin's support also came some support for Horst, my Toronto Tri guy, in the form of "he's gonna catch you!" taunts from his team, and eventually a little smack talk about my "drafting" behind him. Frankly, there was no wind, so I wasn't drafting as much as borrowing his pace a little. Finally I acquiesced and passed Horst, introducing myself as I offered to "pull" for a ways. I think I probably lost him on the first hill, but in my defense, I confessed that I didn't know what pace he was keeping but I didn't mind running in front for a while.

I kept watching the Timex, trying to figure out how much further the race would be, but not knowing your pace makes it difficult to figure out how far you've gone. With nobody to talk to and no idea how much more race was left, it was hard to gauge whether I should try to attack the guy ahead of me. But I'm kind of dumb, so I did. I caught him on a hill that was probably in the final 3km or so as he stopped for some water (I was carrying water, gatorade, and gel, so I didn't have to stop at all) and maintained my position until the end of the race.

Seeing the "1km to go" sign was amazing. I hit my lap counter to see what my final 1km split would be and picked up the pace for a while. At one point in that last km, I looked down to see how much longer I would have to run, assuming I was running a 5:00/km or less -- and was shocked to see what I interpreted as 1:24 on the watch. At that point, my heart fell, as I was sure I was closer to the finish than only a minute and a half into my last kilometre, but I pushed on. Evidently I can't read my watch, as it was telling me I'd been running for an hour and 24 minutes, and that wasn't part of my final split time. My final split was definitely under 5:00, though I don't recall what it was now.

Distance: 17.92km
Time: 1:26:10
Pace: 4:49
Placing: 18 / 69

Last year, as it turned out, I think I had the best placing of my team, though not the best pace that year. This year, my placement record would hold for only a few legs, and then I would take a backseat to a few speedy runners. I grumped in jest for a while, but of course congratulated them on some fantastic paces and placing. I guess the competition is actually part of it, or I wouldn't even bother to mention placement.

Oh, and I never did see Sarah from Herd of Cats on the course. From the results, it looks like she was a couple of minutes behind me, still beating a 5:00/km pace. Horst would come in a minute and a half behind me. I found him and congratulated him on a good run and for being a good pace bunny. Hopefully he didn't have any hard feelings about the alleged "drafting".

To wrap up the following 25 hours or so in a paragraph: we helped support Ian on his conquering of Cape Smokey (24th place at a 4:41/km pace!!), and a few other friends in the following legs (Karen, Jeffrey, and the very-speedy-yet-totally-untrained Colin), before heading through the rest of the trail and meeting up with those same people in Cheticamp for a great fish and chips dinner, and then a twisty and dark drive back to Baddeck, before getting up and cheering on the final three runners of the event.

In the end, the team finished 48th, with a total time of 25hrs, 9 minutes, 56 seconds, and an average time of 1:28:50 per leg. We were extremely happy with our placement, and I think most runners were happy with their performance and the weekend in general.

Next year, I have the uncomfortable task of choosing between running with this team and my previous team. I suppose that will only be a problem if they both get in again, but I know the Fundulators will be granted a spot in 2011, likely because they didn't make it in for 2010. Both were very fun teams (probably because of so many team members shared between the two!), so I have no idea how I'll choose.

Bluenose 2010 Race Report

2010-05-26T08:54:00.001-03:00

I figure I might as well title these with "Race" in them so that anyone not interested can skip along to whatever is next in their feed reader. But for those of you keeping track of what happens in my life, cardiovascularly speaking...

The Bluenose Marathon was this past weekend, marking my third (?) venture into that Bluenose race category: The Bluenose Marathon has 5km, 10km, half, and full marathon categories, as well as the 4.2km youth run, which I am happy to report my eldest took part in on the Saturday morning. Here's the proud boy with what would turn out to be the 'zacksame' medal his father received for completing the 10k race the day after.

Previously, I have competed (I use that word loosely... maybe "challenged" is better, even though I'm only challenging myself) in the 10k (2005) and the half marathon (2009). Here are my stats this year:

Gun Time: 51:35.3
Chip Time: 49:46.1
Place: 255/2320
Gender Category: 198/857
Age Category (men 30-39): 60/220

And here's where I complain about Gun Time vs. Chip Time. Gun time exists so that races can have clear "winners" denoted by those who first cross the finish line. Basically, this means that your ten or so fastest runners are standing on the start line, electronic chips zip tied to their shoes, ready to all start at the sound of the gun, much like a track meet. It makes sense for these people that they all be at the start line, and not, say, 150 people back of the start line when the gun goes off.

But here's my beef: it really screws up the post-race statistics gawking.

For instance, and not that it matters, because I'm really only running for me (so they all say!), but if you look at the chip time alone, my placing moves from 255 to 222. In my Category (Men 30-39), my placement goes from 60th to 54th. And so on, and so on. Of course, if a bunch of fast old guys were to start off behind me and finish with me, my gun time would be more favourable. So it's all about perspective, except that the stats only give one perspective, and gun time kind of shortchanges the stat-hound in me. In marathon qualifying times, gun time is all that matters, so I guess if you're super serious about qualifying for something, you push your way to the start line before the gun goes off. I guess I'm not there yet.

For the past year or two since I started actually training and timing myself, I've brought my average pace time down from just under 6 minutes per kilometre or 9:39/mile, to about 5 minutes per kilometre (better if I'm actually training!) or 8:03/mile. As a comparison, my 2005 Bluenose 10k chip time was 54:52.7, or a chip pace of 5:29/km or 8:50/mile.*

This year I am definitely not trained as well as I was last year, and I ran with my friend Ian (another Ian friend of mine was pace-bunny for the 55 minute 10km run, which is a whole lot slower than his usual pace, but he was doing a good deed for some folks who wanted to achieve a goal.) Ian (the former) and I ran together for most of the 10k, until about the last 2km where he split and pushed the limit to the end -- I waited about another kilometre before pushing it myself and passed a few people at the last water stop (why they have a water stop 1km from the finish I have no idea).

All in all, I'm happy with my performance on the weekend, and very happy with my son's performance. He walked and ran and still managed to get 4.2km done in 36 minutes and change. It's hard to keep a kid on track and continuing to jog/run when their brains are telling them that this is silly (and maybe it is), but I think he'll run more and walk less if he wants to enter into other races. I don't need to make a runner out of him, but it would be nice if he had the base cardio ability to pick up and run a 5k if he wanted to.

Coming up is the Cabot Trail Relay Race (I usually omit the "race" part of the title, because I'm noncompetitive and stuff) -- I'm running Leg 2, which is 17.92km, starting at 8:40 AM on Saturday. Thereafter, I will be doing support for the following few legs and then just having fun cheering on the rest of our 17-person team and awaiting the excellent steak and lobster dinner at the end of it all.

Until next time ... happy running.

*This little tool is fantastic if you like to mess around with your run times and calculate pace. And really, who doesn't?

Kids Photoshoot: May 2010

2010-05-12T06:57:00.001-03:00

I got the kids together for a photo session on Sunday, indicating that:

a) this was going to happenwhether they liked it or not, and

b) if they didn't resist, it would happen quickly.

And I must say the whole event went very smoothly, and I'm very happy with the results!

a quickr pickr post

Click for the set

The inevitable return to daddyblogging

2010-05-11T11:56:00.000-03:00

When I started this blog some five years ago, I was a new parent, eager and (let's face it) terrified of the journey that The Lovely Wife and I had started on. I would post about the everyday mundane activities that go with child rearing, usually trying to find some humourous insight into the adventures. Then came Kid Number Two, and it became an adventure in juggling children and dealing with all those things that come with the terrible twos in addition to having a newborn. FUN.

Since then, my blogging (when it happens) has strayed to other ventures -- politics, music, general silliness -- in addition to the random parent-based witticisms.

Now the third has come along, and I'm sure I will have new fodder for blogging and stories to regale you all with, but at the moment, I'm not sure just where these adventures are going to take me. So far, everything has been both predictable and not too hard to handle [looking for something made of wood to knock upon]. She's sleeping reasonably well [knock, knock], the feeding is going very well, and honestly it feels like we always had room for the third kid.

But there's one thing I've perhaps forgotten: She's a girl.

I'm going to have to be a new kind of Daddy. And I don't know how I'm going to handle that. for starters, there are all these PINK THINGS around the house these days. Sure, they're small and frilly and adorable, but they seem so foreign to me. The only experience I have with clean and tidy clothes, or anything remotely girl-ish, is with my niece, and I can't say I've ever had to pick out her clothes. Does this mean the end of T-shirts with dinosaurs, monster trucks, and Hot Wheels decals on them? No more buying of horrible sweat pants? Will I have to learn to braid hair? Throw an impromptu tea party? And what the hell are Polly Pockets?? I guess only time will tell what kind of kid she will grow up to be (her mother will admit to being raised as a big ol' tomboy). But one thing's for sure. She won't be the only one on that journey.

Stay tuned, loyal reader(s).

Stella

2010-05-04T10:32:00.001-03:00

Born May 4, 2010. 8lbs 9oz. 21" long.

Welcome to the world, pretty girl.

Earth Day 2010

2010-04-28T11:24:00.001-03:00

(Note: while most of this was written on Earth Day, I got a little distracted and had to finish it the following week.)

I don't know how many Earth Days I have blogged about/on in the five years and change that this blog has been around, but today I started it out right: on my bike. On the fixie*, actually. Now I can say I've managed to ride each and every one of my (too many) bikes to work, which is a good thing. Wouldn't want all those bikes sitting around getting dusty in the garage now, would we?

I won't get all preachy about commuting by car, or single-passenger vehicles, or anything like that. People obviously have different reasons for driving into an over-crowded, expensive-to-park-in city all by their lonesome: maybe they come from REALLY far away, or maybe they don't usually drive but had to today, or heck, maybe it just doesn't bother them one little bit. But today's commute was a great way to wake up the brain and the body before sitting in cubicle-ville.

At lunch, I participated in an Earth Day ride hosted by the Halifax Cycling Coalition. I wasn't sure how many people I would run into that I actually knew, seeing as how I'm not part of the "urban" cycling community (and the suburban cycling community is mostly 13 year old boys on bikes with ridiculous suspension units). Turns out that I knew very few people, and that I was a little self conscious out there. Not because I don't know how to ride on the city streets, but because I know that people look at cyclists riding together as something of a rogue group of "citizens" (Okay, fine. They see us as dirty hippies). I feel more a part of the global movement of two-wheeled, self-propelled folks than I do part of the local scene. Maybe it's all the suburban living, and the weekend warrior nature of those long road rides with my little group of friends.

That day, after work, I enjoyed my commute back home and, while it was pretty tough on the legs going up the hill to get home, but the sense of accomplishment was as pervasive as the pain my quads. All in all, it was great.

So, having gone through my first public group-ride, I've decided that though I want to be part of the cycling scene, I want it for me, not to be some kind of public spectacle akin to a revolutionary or rabble rouser with a cause. I'd like to be the one that people point to from their cars or from the sidewalks and say, "Look at that guy. He's totally content on two wheels and not causing a fuss. We should all be like that." And to that I say, "Indeed. We should."

Happy Earth Day

*The pictures in that link are not what the fixie currently looks like, as it undergoes constant change, upgrades, toubleshooting, and general messing around with. Tat's just part of the fun.

One down

2010-04-20T12:09:00.000-03:00

So, two nights ago this happened.

It was a long time coming, actually. Over two years ago he took a header over a truck he was pushing along the floor at playgroup when the truck hit a mat and he learned all about momentum and inertia. And his mom, I understand, learned all about screaming kids and blood and teeth going through upper lips. At any rate, we expected this a long time ago, but it finally started wiggling out at its proper time, and so it was with excitement that he stood in the mirror, toilet paper in hand (it improves the grip, you know), and we heard the "thok!" sound that would produce his first lost tooth.

His brother claims to have seen the Tooth Fairy that left the $2 coin, describing her only as "wearing a purple dress, a crown, and carrying a big tin of money". Alas, I could neither locate this person nor her booty. But rest assured, I will sleep with one eye open next time someone loses a tooth around here.

Dear Dad

2010-03-31T10:21:00.000-03:00

Dear Dad:

You wouldn't believe what life is like. Well, you just might. I know you were a very busy father, doing shiftwork, playing Mr. Mom to us while Mom also did shiftwork. You took me to soccer, to birthday parties, and loved your steak and potatotes like no man I have ever met. It seemed that though you were born in Montreal and moved to Winnipeg, you were never truly at home until your feet landed in Alberta. And while I knew Winnipeg and Alberta, I wouldn't land until my feet touched the East Coast. I think you always knew the ocean would call to me and I would feel at home here. Settled. And now playing the Dad role that I could have only got from you.

You took care of your family, protected them, made sure they had all they needed, most of what they wanted, and weren't going to be in financial hardship, even though you had no idea you'd be the victim of Leukemia in your 55th year. It was then, perhaps, that your true strength became evident to me, as you fought through all the treatment so that you could attend the wedding of your first-born. We saw how it broke you down, and we saw you bounce back up again, if only for a few glorious months of being a "survivor".

You'd like your grandkids. What am I saying? You'd love them. They're handsome and goofy and just ill-behaved enough that you could rib me about my own childhood. You'd be embarrassed and honoured all at once that we gave your name to our first-born, since you missed meeting him by only a few months. And now there's another one on the way. You'd probably feel bad that you only have two knees on which to bounce kids, but I know you wouldn't let that stop you. I think Mom tries to make up for it. She's doing okay, you know, though we're feeling the distance a lot lately. We'll get to see her more when the baby arrives. She'll bring with her all those stories about me and my brother, and almost always those stories end with some reference to you.

Today you would have been 63, but you probably already know, you didn't get to see past 56. Since I can't pick up the phone and talk to you, I'll light a candle and find some Canadian Club to recognize you today.

Happy birthday, Dad.

7 Days - Spring 2010

2010-03-28T19:55:00.002-03:00

The Lovely Wife is incredulous whenever I announce to her that the 7 Days (of Self Portraits) is about to start again. Honestly, it's a week every three months, so when the last one was at Christmas, naturally the next one will be in early Spring!

And so it was!

Here's what you missed, if you weren't paying attention. (Click here for my set. Click here for EVERYONE'S awesome pictures)

So glad to be back doing 7 Days!

We've been having some unseasonably nice weather around here, so today started off with a hike through Hemlock Ravine.

iPhone timer set by me with The Lovely Wife as stand-in tripod.

(This is the same ravine where I took these pictures. Oh, and this one too!)

The pace of life in the last six months (along with the winter season) has meant that my attire outside of work is basically pajama pants or workout wear and a hoodie or some other type of comfortable sweatshirt. I'm hard pressed to find any style on the weekends when the first thing required of me on is to jam my head into a hockey helmet and take the ice with my kids.

And so I find myself on Sundays wearing the same thing I put on when I came home from work on Friday night (though I should clarify I wasn't wearing it the entire weekend!), unshaven and with hair that looks like a bad salad.

Don't tell me busy parents have no style.

I'm reminded of a scene in a TV show (name redacted for personal shame reasons) where the father drops off the kid at school still wearing his house slippers. He's dubbed Slipper-Dad by the kid's schoolmates. It's become a common benchmark around here, though I stress I have gone no further than the end of the driveway while still wearing my house slippers. Not that I haven't been tempted.

Incidentally, this is the same sweatshirt that appeared in this picture from 7 Days: Spring 2007. I think it's worn pretty well :-)

My only two mind-numbing pursuits at home these days are researching the building of fixed gear bicycles (pictures are coming, Barry, I swear) and reading this book, Nikolski, which won the Governor General's award, and has just been chosen as the Canada Reads novel of 2010 (which essentially gives it a little more exposure than just sitting on the shelves, waiting to be read "because it's Canadian and we should read Canadian literature, dammit!").

It was a rainy day in Halifax....

No, wait. Well, it was, but that's not entirely why I took this opportunity to engage my captive audience in some 7 Days action. And so here you have a pretty good rendition of the Canadian National Anthem by Jack, age 6, with some mugging in the background by Oliver, 4.

As with other busy households, I'm sure, dinner is a bit of a balancing act. This "taco" dinner turned out with help enlisted from the boys, but once the beef was prepped and the cheese grated, they were pretty much out of things to do that interested them. So as I finished things up (behind me are brown beans, refried beans, and the aforementioned beef, and to my right are the rest of the cold-fixins for the meal), Jack read his daily "readers" to his brother.

This is one time when I can say that the peaceful look was not misleading. They didn't even know I was going to take the picture until they sensed the flash.

Well, it's finally done. Since last summer, and over the winter I've been dealing with bicycle withdrawal, and have been thinking about building a fixed-gear bike. For those unacquainted, a "fixie" has one gear and does not coast. That means you can pedal forwards or backwards and the wheel will move in the direction you pedal.

This was the My First Fixie project.

I wasn't looking to do anything expensive or particularly involved. I just wanted to see what it would be like to build one. The early 1970s Torpado that was supposed to be the target of the MFF project was just too pretty to hack up and toss parts away, so I waited for another option and just cleaned it up.

Eventually an old beat up Nishiki chromoly frame turned up and my friend and I built it from spare parts he had laying around, and a few new bits and pieces to complete it.

While it's probably not in its final form, it's perfectly functional and more important than anything, it's super fun to ride.

(And in case anyone is wondering, I actually am balancing in this shot, though it didn't last long. I'm working on that.)

Another 7 Days has come to an end (excepting all the comment love I have yet to give, which appears to be a lot), so I raise my glass to all of you, my friends, for coming out time and again, and to the new ones I've met this time around.

It doesn't matter what kind of mood I'm in, or if I'm "ready " for 7 Days when it comes around; by the end, I'm always happy I've taken part again.

...So I'll raise the glass. Not the first or last.
Come join me in this toast.

Because the old black rum's got a hold of me.
Like a dog wrapped round my leg.
And the old black rum's got a hold of me.
Well I live for another day, Hey.
Well I'll live for another day.

- Great Big Sea, The Old Black Rum

(Note: the contents of this glass is indeed not black rum, but some particularly nice Macallan 12 Sherry Cask scotch whisky)

Surfacing

2010-03-25T10:53:00.000-03:00

This post is brought to you via a strange series of events. And even as I'm typing this now, I have no idea how long this post will be or how it's going to turn out at the end. Honestly, I don't even know if I'll finish its last sentence.

I didn't, and I don't, come here strictly to complain. Lord knows you don't come here to be regaled with morose drivel about my life. But you do read, so I guess I haven't lost you all yet.

It should come as no surprise that Canadians and other cold-weather dwellers get a little lethargic in the winter months. I won't use the "D" word, but you get the idea. Basically, we get out of our rhythms as we move to a warmer place (indoors). That is, unless you're some sort of gym rat, aerobics isntructor, or biathlete. So, basically, 98% of us. This lasts until the sun emerges again, which depending on where you live, could be June.

I am no exception to this rule. After the final "events" of 2009, my training went from "doing pretty good at keeping this up!" to "starting to trail off just a little", to "wow, better get your ass in gear, pal" to "now you're just being lazy". Folks, I'm slipping. And I don't like it.

But it's not just the exercise. Yesterday I was informed via a good friend, Scott, that my name came up in conversation, and made it to his blog. This friend has recently become someone I have confided in, and someone who gives me very constructive advice (equating often to "you should really deal with that, you know").

Turns out that in his new "interview blog" format, he was interviewing Stacy of Jürgen Nation, another long-time (in Internet Years) friend of mine. She was talking about how blogging for her is like therapy, and if she doesn't get it out? Bad. Things. Happen. I like this about her (not the bad things, the exceptional writing), and remember a time when I had plenty of fodder and plenty of gumption to get it out in black and white. Nowadays, I find that the blog is yet one more sign of things slipping through the cracks.

I know that changes are coming, but the sun has emerged and maybe it's time to find the "new normal" that I'm always preaching about when people complain about change. People freak out about change. Change isn't good or bad. It's just change. If you don't like the way things are changing, then maybe you do see change as bad. But in the end, the adaptation to change is key to moving forward.

I'm in no way stressed out about the way things are going to be in a month(assuming I remember how to be the parent of an infant, with all the waking up at ridiculous hours and the tripling my caffeine intake), but there are a lot of great things and great people that used to be a part of my daily routine that just haven't been there lately. I miss it. And I want those people to know.

Hey, the sky is blue and the sun is coming out. Bring on the New Normal.

I'm 37. I'm not old.

2010-03-13T08:35:00.001-04:00

Just call me Dennis.

Six

2010-03-09T10:18:00.009-04:00

Six years ago I cut the cord, unwrapping a 7lb 9oz baby boy, instantly joining the ranks of sleepy parents the world over. Six years (and fifty five pounds!) later, I'm a proud, yet behaviourally in-check, hockey dad. Who is still sleepy. Because eight o'clock practices are still really early.

Happy birthday, Jack!

Swifter, Higher, Tighter. (or, The seven per cent bonus)

2010-03-01T14:21:00.000-04:00

Hey, so the Winter Olympics are over. Did you notice?

And Canada (who else am I going to talk about here?) set the record for the most gold medals won by a host nation, which is something I think the Canadian Olympic Committee was striving for (after the whole Own the Podium thing was deemed too unattainable, or maybe just too un-Canadian). Speaking of un-Canadian, The Lovely Wife and my offspring (including the one in utero) were in Florida visiting her parents and doomed to watching the American coverage on television and I did my Canadian / husbandly duty by sending emails when Canada medalled, and updating her on the curling scores (shut up). Upon her return, half-way through the olympic fortnight, we compared notes on views of the Olympics from both sides of the border, and she expressed shock that the Americans seem to think that the event is all about the hockey, but gradually started to understand their point of view, and that maybe they were right.

That's not to say that one event, or one game, is the crowning achievement of the entire course of the Olympics, but this gold medal is 1/14th, or 7.1% of our victories. It wasn't the first gold we won on home soil (thank you Alexandre Bilodeau), but it was the last. Maybe that's more historic, or at least as important as beating the Americans at "our game". For a lot of Canadians, hockey really is religion. Despite the professional leagues being increasingly international, we like to think that we grow 'em right up here. For local hockey fans, Sidney Crosby's winning goal in overtime was the cherry on top. But how would we have felt if Team Canada had lost in the gold medal hockey game? Probably still pretty good, but there would once again be that horrible feeling of "if only" niggling at our insides for four more years.

I think more realistically, Canada is pretty happy to be successful at the winter games because it's comparatively difficult for us to compete at Summer Games events, given that most of the planet has snow-free periods in their year, while a far lower percent of the planet has as much snow as we do. Sure, international travel makes it easy for athletes to train all over the world, but it helps if you've been doing whatever your winter-sport-of-choice-is since you were five. So when it comes to skiing and shooting, or bounding down a bumpy mountain at high speed, or streaking around a frozen oval with knives strapped to your boots, we're pretty happy with being pretty good.

Canada (or rather, Vancouver) got off to a shaky start with the games, with torches that wouldn't light (or you can't properly view them through the ~~barbed wire~~ chain link fence), a mountain that wouldn't keep its snow, and ice resurfacing machines that wouldn't do their job. Newspapers from around the globe (ok, mostly British ones) derided Canada for its catastrophic games, though I have come to understand that this is partially because the UK will host the next Olympic Games, but even more that this is just in keeping with British media in general. So, in a word, phooey on youey. It all went forward, and all the medals were awarded.

Looking back, I think that Canada, and a lot of other nations, has a lot to celebrate. Sure there were medal hopefuls that didn't excel enough to wear the gold, and there were unforseen circumstances that derailed plans, but that's why we do this thing: to see who's the best in the world that day. Natural and man-made environments come with their own risks: icy hills, melting snow, rain, leaky roofs, mechanical breakdowns... it can't all go right. Right?

Let's celebrate what happened: The world, or at least the snowy parts of it, came together for two weeks and generally had a good time. And people at home got to ogle hot athletes in form-fitting attire (snowboarders notwithstanding) doing ridiculous things at ridiculous speeds. Swifter, Higher, Tighter.

There goes another hour of my week

2010-02-26T20:25:00.001-04:00

I may regret this, but I have a confession to make: I used to watch The OC. And really, it was for more than the music (though I did like it, as evidenced by my previous mentions of McG and also not just a little for the lovely and talented Rachel Bilson). Admittedly, I didn't stick with it to see how it all ended (it ended, right?) because I thought it got a little out of hand with the manufactured frustration and the comical "never say what you're thinking and I bet things will still work themselves out" strategies employed by the main characters. At some point I had to graduate from teen dramas. (Right?) Besides, I was so over Dawson's Creek by then.

Back in those days, I used to "tape" it on the "VCR" (if you don't know what that means, ask your mom and dad) and watch it when The Lovely Wife wasn't at home. Not because she didn't like the show; she'd never seen it, but I couldn't stand getting mocked for my inability to graduate to a slightly more sophisticated show. At least now I have the iPod Video / iPhone to with which to indulge my secret television habit while riding the bus or during other daytime downtime (Lost, Heroes, 30Rock and Chuck, I'm looking at you.) But I never did download the rest of The OC.

That said, the fine folks at YouCast offered me a sneak peek of the new season of Southland, which stars (among many others) Benjamin MacKenzie ("Ryan" from the OC, for the proud and/or outed). Evidently NBC had dumped the show after a successful first season, and even after the second season was completely in the can, but happily for Southland fans, TNT has picked it up.

In our house, we're hesitant to pick up any new dramas in our nightly (I mean prior to 10:00) TV schedule, but honestly, I think I can see myself getting into this. I managed to also procure the first couple of episodes from the first season and really quite enjoyed the mixture of police procedural drama and, well, the more "drama" aspect of the show. The characters are quite believable and the issues, while shockingly frightening in nature (including but not limited to a LOT of gang violence, it seems). And really, I'm not sure I needed to see the first season to "get" the sneak peek into the second season, but now that I've seen what I've seen, I think I'll rent the first season on DVD and get caught up as soon as I can.

I should also mention that, in the spirit of getting asked to review things, I am not compelled to like the things I review, but y'know, this show looks good. If you miss the police dramas of the past (at the moment all I can come up with is Hill St. Blues, what?) and enjoy shows like Law and Order, Criminal Minds and NCIS, you'll probably get into this show. Heck maybe you're already a fan. If so, how come you haven't told me to watch it already??

And now for the plug: Southland Season 2 premieres March 2nd on TNT. In the immortal words of Chef Perry (no reference available), "There I said it!" Seriously, though. This is good stuff.

Communication Breakdown

2010-02-23T10:03:00.000-04:00

So, a lot of things have been going on in the real world that haven't made it to the old blog. Did you know there was an earthquake in Haiti? You wouldn't have learned it from me. How about the Olympics? We Canadians have won a few medals (putting us squarely in the "also ran" category), you know. Did you know that Jake has to choose between Vienna and Tenley? Really, I shouldn't have just admitted that I do know that, because if you're a self respecting television viewer, you either don't have any idea which television program I'm talking about, or you're too cool to admit it.

Yes, this is all old news. And while I may talk about it in my face-to-face, everyday, ordinary, workaday life, I haven't been covering it in black and white lately. And I don't know why. Possibly it's all this microblogging (micro = smaller, better, faster, right?), or maybe I just haven't felt like the internet needed to hear my stance on things. Whatever it is, the message I'm trying to get across is that I need to work on my outside voice, or at least the one that shows up here.

I used to follow all kinds of bloggers: mommybloggers, food bloggers, funny bloggers (think XKCD and Basic Instructions), and general life bloggers. Lately my tastes have turned to quick-hits of the blog world. Photobloggers, bike bloggers, running bloggers... just the kinds of posts that don't take long to read and don't require me to invest a whole bunch of time to keep up with. I do, however, continue to read a certain blogger out there who posts short, yet poignant tales of her life as a teacher on the eastern seaboard and mom of mostly grown children. Her short stories of her own childhood, her childrens' childhood, and thoughts on the world are perfect bite-sized snippets, and when I see that I am fifteen or twenty posts behind, I'm not the slightest bit afraid that I'm too far behind in her history to catch up.

Who do YOU read? What do you like to read about? Do you go out for lengthy, well-spun stories, or does the succinctly told story get your attention? Inquiring bloggers want to know. Leave your favourite reads in the comments.

The report of my death was an exaggeration

2010-02-15T11:38:00.001-04:00

It feels as though I've become rusty with the whole "keeping in touch" thing. What with twitter, facebook, and general blogging malaise hamstringing my efforts at communication with actual (and virtual) people, I probably appear to outsiders as some sort of misanthrope. Nothing, I assure you, could be further from the truth. Lack of sun, the winter season, and maybe a little selfishness? Those I can admit to.

The winter has trundled merrily along, consisting of a steady stream of hockey practices, swimming lessons, PD days, Beavers outings, and the ever-popular workweek. All of this has been punctuated with blasts of True Canadian Winter which means either heaps of snow or deep-freeze temperatures. The treadmill in my life has changed from that dusty unit in the basement that I used to bang out 4-milers on at six in the morning to "that time between when I wake up at 6 AM and when I finally collapse on the couch at 9:30PM and eventually tell myself that I can move to the bed at 10:30". Monday turns into Friday, and weekends are a blurry memory on the Monday morning bus ride to work. Lather, rinse, yadda yadda yadda.

In short, people, I am tired. And that scares me.

Why? Because it's only going to get ~~worse~~ busier from here on out. I can't imagine what the new addition to the family is going to mean to the general routine, but I'm guessing that it will be the end of what remains of "Mike Time" on the weekends. And I say this perhaps prematurely, since so far, hockey and swimming have been solely "dad duties", which mean that 5 of my waking hours are not devoted to that time when I become the Most Important Person In The World, at least for the duration of a long bike ride or run. Most of the time I dedicate to keeping in shape is the otherwise coveted lunch hour, which I have found works well for short outings, but puts a crimp in the shreds of social life I have left. I had a conversation with a friend the other day where I suggested that I wanted to cancel a lunch date with a different friend because it would be cutting into my swim/workout time. "Friends are important", he countered. "That's why we have Facebook", I weakly protested. Part of me may have been serious.

I can see now that I'm going to have to re-learn how to make sacrifices, or find a way to incorporate at least one kid in my "me-time". This thought, however, isn't as scary as it seems (for those of you still reading who don't think I'm a total jerk of a father who routinely abandons his children with their mother). I would love nothing more than a way to both keep in shape and have quality time with the kids. When they were younger (and lighter), one could go for a nice half hour or 45-minute run with them in the stroller and they would patiently wait for you to get it out of your system so they could play on whatever playground you were circumnavigating. Now, not only are they less patient, they want to actually talk to you while you're running, which is pretty much a non-starter; you can't hear them, and they can't hear you (above the pounding of your heart, if not the wind you're fighting).

To that end, I have planted the seed in the mind of my eldest that he should try a triathlon this year. He claims he would love to swim, bike, and run, and I know the Triathlon Nova Scotia crowd have the Kids of Steel series. It almost seems too perfect. I'm hoping that he'll become a little less stubborn about going out to "do things" with his parents and actually come out biking with me this spring and summer, and we can develop a new relationship that involves shared events (not me accompanying him to his and vice versa, which gives neither of us the satisfaction of "quality family time").

I will leave you with this: The family, sans me, is off to Florida tomorrow morning at O'dark Thirty. It was too expensive to send me (extra plane ticket + rental car = insane cost). The Lovely Wife has prepared The List, which I'll take a crack at while they're away. More importantly, everyone will be getting a break from The Schedule, each in his own way. I hope that we all emerge from their week away and my week of getting-things-done-around-the-house refreshed and ready to take on the spring and the joys and challenges awaiting us when the baby comes along. If not, I'm sure someone out there can help me find some quality meds.

Gangland

2010-01-26T10:37:00.000-04:00

Last night, The Lovely Wife and I were in the middle of our nightly ritual of sitting on the couch and trying to stay awake past 8:30 and going over the day's events. One of which involves telling each other what our five year old has deigned to share about his day. You could call him a little disinterested with school, as I'm sure are most five year old boys. This results in him usually telling us that he did "nothing" that day, or more often than not, that he has completely forgotten what he's been doing for the last 8 hours or so. Thankfully, parent-teacher interviews have at least shown us what the daily ritual is for his class, so we can ask pointed questions about things he did or did not do.

One thing TLW told me yesterday was that he's joined a club. This is on top of the school's Kids' Council, a teacher/student collective for which he was chosen to represent his class, being that he showed some air of confidence and capability in listening and re-delivering the monthly meeting notes to his class. I'm all about him making connections and getting something more out of school, so I pressed on...

"What kind of club?"
"Like... a club. Of kids."
"You mean, like a gang?"
"YEAH. That's the word he used".

I'm sure that if my face was a computer screen, it would have had WTF all over it.

So, with that bit of news on us, I vowed to try and get a little more information on the subject the following day. This morning, after dropping off his little brother at daycare, the quizzing began.

"So... tell me about this gang."
"It's just some kids."
"What does this gang do?"
"Nothing. They build a house at the bottom of the hill" (I'm guessing out of snow, since I see very little lumber at the schoolyard)
"How does someone get involved with them?"
"They sign you up."
"They do? How do they know who to sign up."
"Only the tough kids."
"Who else is on there?"
"Owen...and some Grade 1s"
"Why did they pick you?"
"Owen told them I was tough."
"What does tough mean?"
"I don't know. That people can't hurt you."
"What other kinds of things do you do?"
"We spy on people...."
"Are there girls in the gang?"
"No."
"Is Peter (a friend down the street) in the gang?"
"No, it's only up to Grade 1."
"So, what will you be doing with them?"
"Not building that house cuz BORING."
"Are there girls in the gang?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Well, some girls help out with the house."

It's at this point I'm maybe feeling a little better about things, since he clearly doesn't get the gang connotation, but I'm about to hammer it home.

"This gang doesn't do anything to anyone, right? They don't call anyone names or pick on them."
"No, no, no..."
"Good, because I don't want you hanging out with anyone who does that. It's important to me that you're nice to everyone."

And then I sort of let it lie, since I was already a little exhausted from having a conversation with my boy who is not yet six, that I am sure I didn't have with my own father until I was at least 12 years old (not that I was ever in a gang, unless Debate Club counts.)

It's been an interesting year so far, people.

2010 - New Year, New Challenges

2010-01-21T11:27:00.000-04:00

Two thousand and ten (or ten-past-eight*) is well and truly upon us all, and even though winter has us gripped tightly at the moment, I'm thinking of the non-snowy-seasons and what I can get done on the road and trail**. Last year had me in so many sign-up events I can almost not keep track:

2009
January - April = Training!
May
-Bluenose Half Marathon
-Cabot Trail Relay Race (Leg 13, 15.7km)
June
-nothing of note
July
-150km MS Bike Tour
August
-Greenwood Duathlon (3.5km/20km/5km)
-Middleton Centennial Ride (100km)
September
-Rum Runners (Leg 5, 10.7km)
October
-Valley Harvest Half Marathon
-Riverport Duathlon
-Nike Human Race 10k
November
-Team Diabetes Run 5k
December
-- nothing of note

This year I'm juggling the options for events to take part in, and, now that I've been learning to swim, I'm thinking about my first Triathlon. I would definitely like to do a Sprint Tri (750m in the pool) if I can, but that is going to take some more training. Otherwise, maybe complete one or two half marathons and some other running and biking events.

2010 Possibilities
Bluenose Half Marathon (May)
Cabot Trail Relay Race (confirmed, Leg 2) - May
Shearwater Triathlon / Duathlon (June)
Cyclesmith Duathlon (June)
Shubie Triathlon
Heartland Ride (July)
MS Bike Tour (July)
Riverport Duathlon (October)
Rum Runners (hopefully) (October)

Whether I take part in even half of these is still up in the air.... this will give me something to look back on, though!

* I totally borrowed that from something I saw on Twitter.

**Those of you who have read this here blog for a while might have wondered what happend to the story telling, snarky dad who used to write here all the time. Why has he turned into some run-blogger photo-blogger non-blogger all of a sudden? Sadly, I have asked myself that very same question on a number of occasions and, while I still have the urge to do more creative writing, I haven't had the proper inspiration to do much more than throw a picture or a race recap your way for a while.

7Days- Day 7 - Peace in the House

2009-12-28T07:21:00.001-04:00

7Days- Day 7 - Peace in the House
Originally uploaded by themikestand

After a day of mayhem, it's nice to come home to a quiet house. This is the reward for not hosting Christmas dinner, it seems. At any rate, the peace and quiet around here is both palpable and appreciated.

Thanks to everyone for their 7Days contributions,and especially to those of you I've gotten to catch up with and a few of you who I've met for the first time. Cheers!

7Days: Day 6 - Setting the Trap

2009-12-28T07:20:00.003-04:00

7Days: Day 6 - Setting the Trap
Originally uploaded by themikestand

I had given a fair bit of thought to this day's shot, but the more I looked at it from an outsider's point of view, camera trained on the hearth with what appeared to be a certain kind of bait, the more it looked like I was trying to lure a fat, red-suited man into my house with the promise of gingerbread and 2% milk.

Whatever. Hope it works. I asked for big things this year, and I've been good. (As far as anyone knows.)

7Days: Day 5 - More Shiny

2009-12-28T07:20:00.001-04:00

7Days: Day 5 - More Shiny
Originally uploaded by themikestand

It's Christmas, and that means cleaning up for guests. (Isn't that what it's really about? The stress of entertaining?).

Came home to the Honey-Do list, which included, among other things, cleaning the bathrooms.

I must say, this is the most care I've taken when it comes to cleaning a faucet in my entire life. I hope I haven't set the bar too high for anyone else out there, or myself for that matter.

7Days: Day 4 - Something other than "Hey, Check Out These Big Balls!"

2009-12-28T07:19:00.001-04:00

7Days: Day 4 - Something other than "Hey, Check Out These Big Balls!"
Originally uploaded by themikestand

In a frantic hurry to get home to take care of the sick people in my house (that is, those with a touch of the flu, not the quirky-in-the-head), I spied this gigantic Christmas ornament hanging out front a shop door. I couldn't resist.

7Days: Day 3 - Faster than Focus

2009-12-28T07:18:00.001-04:00

7Days: Day 3 - Faster than Focus
Originally uploaded by themikestand

7Days: Day 3 - Faster than Focus

Tried, rather in vain last night, to get a brotherly shot of the boys with the 50mm lens. Since it's manual focus, I'm left to hoping that they don't jerk around too much when I've got the aperture wide open. Nevertheless, the expressions are pretty cute.

A couple of the other shots had slightly better focus, but I couldn't get enough separation between them to get me in the mirror reflection. I'll take it as a good sign that they wanted to be so close.

The others are here and here.

7Days Winter 2009: Day 2 - Snow-B-Que

2009-12-22T10:26:00.001-04:00

7Days: Day 2 - Snow-B-Que
Originally uploaded by themikestand

7Days: Day 2 - Snow-B-Que

Winter shminter: The barbecue season is 12 months long (sort of like road construction season around here). Tonight's menu, over which I'm leaning, is chicken burgers and grilled cajun sweet potato slices. The treat (I'm back pedaling on the Rules here) is that the boys will eat almost anything served as a burger.)

What heat was robbed from me by the storm beginning to slam us from the eastern seaboard was returned by the sweet potatoes. Yum.

7days: Day 1 - Sledding

2009-12-20T11:18:00.001-04:00

7days: Day 1 - Sledding
Originally uploaded by themikestand

Yay! 7 Days is back!!

----------

Since the iPhone is the newest member of the family at casa del Mikestand (and dare I say the best behaved so far), I let it make the first contribution to the Winter 2009 session of 7Days.

Winter has arrived a little early in Nova Scotia, making me feel like I"m back home on the prairies somewhat. Today's weather was a chilly -10 with wind chill making it feel like -25 at times. Regardless, the kids were fearless and took to the sleds in a nearby schoolyard. I should also mention that they were also fearless when it came to plowing directly over curbs, jumps, and at one point, into a rosebush infested chain link fence (again, I expect child protective services to be ringing my phone any day now).

Hope everyone on the north side of the equator is having a good winter so far!

Uploaded by themikestand on 20 Dec 09, 7.13AM PST.

It was bound to come out sooner or later

2009-12-08T14:22:00.000-04:00

Some things you can hide when you're a blogger, but eventually I was going to have something to "show".

"We" are 20 weeks along.... Next spring will be very exciting! (And then I'll be all daddyblogger on you again and won't that be fun?!)

Prize Fighter

2009-12-03T14:28:00.001-04:00

Prize Fighter
Originally uploaded by themikestand

Oliver took some sort of tumble the other day (seriously, how can I uphold my status as an unfit parent if I am constantly paying attention to what my children are doing?) and hit the arm of an Ikea chair, winding up in the Children's Hospital for the evening. Two stitches later, he's really none the worse for wear.

Clearly he's not lost his ability to ham it up for the camera, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

Movember 2009 - Days 26, 29, and 30

2009-12-01T11:55:00.000-04:00

Day 26 - In anticipation of the Gala Parté, I shaved off the soul patch for a more business-man look (also does well for my pervert quotient).

Day 29

And this is why I never smile in my photos... because the 'stache all but disappears when I do!

Day 30, and the stache removal

Let it be recorded that on Day 30 I did have a Mo, although with a relatively important meeting today, I thought I would commemorate the Mo and then be done with it. You probably heard the applause from my wife.

Of course, now my upper lip looks like it's missing something. Only a few months until Movember 2010!

a quickr pickr post

Movember 2009 - days 11, 17, 18 and 23

2009-11-23T09:32:00.000-04:00

Day 11: Trying a little outdoor light to perhaps provide evidence of the Mo so far.

Day 17: The lastest in office skeeze.

Day 18 : The lip caterpillar is getting fuzzier.

Day 23: Three days left until the Gala Parté and there's not much I can do with this Mo other than continue on with my grooming pattern (i.e. "don't accidentally shave it off").

a quickr pickr post

2009 - The Year I Signed Up for Everything

2009-11-15T19:46:00.002-04:00

The Year In Review

A little evidence-based retrospective of my "year to sign up for things". This year I ran two half marathons, two duathlons, some 10k runs, some 5k runs, and some cycling events.

See the notes for specifics.

a quickr pickr post

Movember 2009 - Days 5, 7, 9

2009-11-10T08:50:00.000-04:00

Not that I'm in denial or anything, but it seems that in addition to my genetically challenged blonde moustache, I also need to find the right lighting to showcase the measly Mo that I actually do have.

The Lovely Wife assures me that:

1) it's definitely there, and
2) it's definitely bad.

So there's that.

Movember 2009 - Day 5

Movember 2009 - Day 7

Movember 2009 - Day 9

a quickr pickr post

Movember 09 - Day 01

2009-11-05T09:19:00.003-04:00

Movember 09 - Day 01
Originally uploaded by themikestand

It's Movember, people!

This is how I look (well, not quite so surprised, perhaps) the other 11 months of the year. At least on weekdays.

I have lofty goals this year of having a moustache that people will actually take notice of, but in my heart, I know this is unlikely.

The campaign this year also has me doing more coordinating for the Halifax Area (see the blog I put up)which will get its very first Gala Parté this year. With help from some volunteers and the fine folks at Prostate Cancer Canada, I know it'll be a hit.

Stay tuned...

Woolen

2009-10-19T10:00:00.012-03:00

Today markes our 7th wedding anniversary (woolens, or copper, and I have no idea why both are applicable gifts), and though we went out on Saturday night for dinner and a movie*, we officially recognized the day with heart-felt, emailed Anniversary wishes. I guess that's what 7 years gives you. It also gives you a litany of historic family related events that you've shared: Births, deaths, disease, apartments, starter-houses with leaky roofs, better houses without leaky roofs, any number of bought and sold automobiles... I could go on (we did, for the record). There was also an abruptly ended conversation about grey hair.
This year, in keeping my traditions of:
1) being the one who gives the gifts but does not receive them, and
2) being the one who only purchases last minute, numbered-anniversary-appropriate gifts,

I gave The Lovely Wife a knit newfoundland fisherman's hat** with a penny sewed into the brim. The penny is for good luck, and it's said that as long as you have the hat, you'll never be broke. I hastily borrowed that little tidbit as my promise to keep her from destitution. She bought it with minimal eye rolling.

Anyway.. if you're reading this: Happy Anniversary, baby.

*I defy you to try and say the former without inadvertantly saying the latter.
** The Lovely Wife is generally allergic to wool, so I opted for something that wouldn't cause major breakouts ***
*** Had I not been adhering to the traditions above (see #2), I might have actually knitted something myself. I'm sure she could use a potholder or coaster of unequal proportions.

Almost Ready for the Highlight Reel

2009-10-19T08:59:00.002-03:00

Eldest son got a taste of the bright lights recently, playing with his team in front of hundreds of adoring fans in the 1st intermission of the Halifax Mooseheads game. This was their first taste of ice in the biggest arena in the province, and I wish I could show you just how excited they were.

I made this video of the "game", and shared it with the other parents of kids that got to play. Warning: Video depicts a lot of adorable tripping, falling down, and other loveable shenanigans.

(Role of cheering, hollering, annoying Hockey Dad played by yours truly.)

And here is the big boy hockey player with the mascot, Hal.

I have to tell you, I've never pushed this kid into playing hockey, and I don't know if he'll stick with it, but he sure loves it. Also, getting him out of bed at 0545 or 0600 on a weekend to go play hockey is way easier than getting him out of bed on a weekday at 0700 to go to school. I guess the facts speak for themselves.

Valley Harvest Results

2009-10-13T15:11:00.002-03:00

I've said this before, but one thing that keeps me running, biking, and otherwise exerting myself is the fact that I can look at the statistics afterwards and gauge my progress/success. And so the Valley Harvest (Half) Marathon came and went this past weekend. The weather was nice, if a bit chilly in the morning (4C), which complicated my tights vs shorts decision making, but seeing as how I love my CW-X tights and they certainly do not get too warm, I opted for them. I would be in the minority of people wearing tights that day, but so be it.

The course was one I knew quite well, having biked it for several years during the MS Bike Tour. I knew it was rolling hills, with a few ill-placed hills that would earn my ire before the day was out. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Ian-the-Marathoner picked me up, along with Trish and Angela, both running the 5km race that day, at 7:30 and we headed to the fieldhouse at Acadia University in Wolfville. While we got ourselves aquainted with the spandex-clad surroundings and waited for the race time to approach, we found some friends that spanned the boundaries between our two groups (mine and the "runners", that is). I learned that I would know at least another person running the Half, and had forgotten (but would learn afterwards) that The Lovely Wife's boss's wife and son were also running the Half. I also realised that, although I was well prepared for the morning of a race (I enjoyed my oatmeal in a hot bath to start the day, trying to soak away the back pain from the hotel bed), I had forgotten my Nike+, so it would not be making the 13.1 mile journey with me. Just as well; I didn't want to break any frowned-upon rules of MP3 players on the course, and I still had my trusty Timex Ironman watch. Ironperson? Whatever.

We lined up en masse about 15 minutes before the race was to start, and receieved the obligatory pep-talk from the race official and the President of the University. Sponsors were thanked, and one runner was singled out as just about to start his 100th marathon. I applauded appreciatively. The gun went off, and about half a minute later I shuffled over the mat and my shoe chip sang out with that of a thousand other runners.

The course took us around the downtown area before heading out into the hills, which meant more turning while weaving through the crowds. A few runners were really hauling, and I once again struggled to find my pace. Out on the open roads a kilometre later, things started to fall into place and I found a pace (and, if I'm being honest, a well-honed butt in front of me) that I could stick with. And so we run.

Just over 5km into the race, I hear two guys beside me talking about a Garmin watch, so I ask them how our pace is. I'm reassured that we've got a decent pace, in around 7:48 or so per mile. That fits well with my primary goal of bettering my time at the Bluenose Half Marathon (1:50:51), and my stretch goal of 100 minutes (1 hr 40 minutes). I would keep up the conversation and make a new running friend for the day. Peter and I would run to past the turnaround point (just beyond half way), keeping a good pace the whole time, before he went ahead to catch someone else in his sights. Looking back at my stats, I didn't slow down much after he sped up.

The course itself wasn't too bad, and the volunteers and other sideline friends were extremely supportive. Brendan, one of Ian's friends and also a competitive runner, would surface a couple of times and get some not-too-flattering shots of me cresting hills and rounding corners. Still, he said I looked fairly energetic for the pace I was keeping.

I neglected to take my desired split times with me on a sheet of paper (or on the back of my hand, which I saw someone else with), but I knew I was going to be pretty close to my stretch goal, and as long as I kept things below 5 minutes per kilometer, I would get a personal best on this run.

My splits looked like this:

And I would dive into the chute knowing that I was close to my stretch goal. I had no idea just how close, however, until I saw the time on the finish line as 1:40:XX. Briefly dismayed, I plugged on, not realising that my chip time was going to be about 30 seconds better than the gun time displayed on the line.

Final Time: 1:39:48

Final Placing: 96/662, 30/92 for age group (M3039), 4:46 average pace/km.

I beat my stretch goal by 12 seconds. And boy, was I proud of that. Check out me and my adoring fans:

Ian would finish the marathon in 3:12:16 with a 4:35/km pace overall (I KNOW. WTF.), just missing the Boston Qualifying Time by two minutes. Sad, but I guess that means he'll be running another marathon for sure if he wants to eventually run Boston. I think I'll do some training with him, as my training plan gets a little dull after a while. Just not those 35km runs. No, thank you very much.

And that brings my 2009 Half Marathons to an end. Will I do more in 2010? Probably. I'm thinking next to the Hypothermic Half, here in Halifax, and possibly the Bluenose again. I have a feeling that unless I drop a few (15?) pounds, this personal best will stand for a little while yet. And will I ever train for and take on a Marathon? I'm still not sure, but having two friends just complete marathons makes it quite tempting. But then again, there are a lot of Halfs out there to compete in, plus all those 10k runs... and the duathlons! Really, I could keep myself quite busy without losing my entire Sunday to training and races.

Duathlon? More like Done-athlon.

2009-10-04T19:26:00.000-03:00

Today was the day. The weather forecast was for rain, wind, and no shortage of either. The drive down to Riverport had me thinking we might squeeze the event in before the heavy stuff came down, but alas, while standing at the start line, the rain started sprinkling down. Not my favourite way to start out any event (I'd rather actually be moving when I get soaked, that way I don't get the urge to pack it in completely.), but within minutes we were off, and I was jostling for position as I tried to find my stride and my pace. We waved to our friend David, who was competing in the Do-a-Du (1km / 14km / 1km), and who would finish 2nd overall out of 8 competitors.

Stage 1: 4 km Run

I passed a few people and headed for about mid-pack, and a couple of runners passed me. I couldn't tell if I should be running the same pace as them or not, so I figured I would just find a good stride where I could breathe, but knew that I wasn't dogging it in my own pace. When I rounded the first turn-around point, I was running about 8 minutes and change, so I knew I was on target for sub-five minute kilometres. I lost my friend Ian early on, but knew I'd see him on the final run, probably heading back after the turn-around as he's a fast runner, and a better cyclist than I am.

Oh, and as well prepared as I thought I was, I somehow lost my gel, and the piece of clif bar that I had stashed in my back pocket came out about two kilometres into the run. I guess I was going to rough this one.

Stage 1 time: 17:26, 4:22/km

Transition 1

I entered the transition zone quickly and stripped off my shoes, getting a little slowed down by the pesky velcro (seriously, how hard could that have been? It's VELCRO.) on my biking shoes. Total transition time, after getting shoes and helmet on, and stuffing some Clif bar into my mouth, was longer than I'd hoped it would be.

Transition 1 time: 00:01:26

Stage 2: 28 km Ride

I'll preface this by saying I'm not the world's best rider. I'm more of a leisurely rider, a touring guy, and not much of a racer at all. I told myself that for a 28km route, I should aim for an hour long ride. I don't usually ride 30km/hr averages, but the last Duathlon I competed in I managed to squeak out a 27km/hr pace. This time, however, I hadn't factored the rain into things, which at times was a little demoralizing.

I got passed on the flat and in some rolling hills by a couple of cyclists on wayyyy better bikes than mine. I took consolation in the fact that I probably kicked their butts on the opening run. Hey, it helped me a little. About 10-15 km into the ride, we hit a pretty significant hill, and I was passed by 3 or four more cyclists (most on better bikes -- again with the self congratulating on the run). I rounded the last corner with about 10km to go and lost a water bottle. The volunteer who noticed told me not to come back for it, that it would be waiting for me at the end (it wasn't), so I soldiered on.

Twenty-six kilometres in to the ride, I was about done, and my glutes / hamstrings were calling out to me in a way that they never do when I've been running for an hour and ten minutes. I convinced myself to keep spinning, stand up a little to get the blood flow up, and to work on breathing to prepare for the final run. I rolled into the transition zone and flopped off the bike and jogged it back to the rack.

Stage 2 time: 55:04 (including previous transition), 30.4km/hr

Transition 2

I admit it. I kinda messed this one up. I was worried about getting some food and some gatorade, I'd already lost my water bottle, and my legs, at that point, were most unhappy to be jogging alongside my bike, even for the short 10m distance or so. Anyway, I got my biking shoes off, my runners back on and tied up, and took a big squirt of my remaining gatorade. I started to take off, and realised that I still had my helmet on. Uh, oops? I'm sure I didn't look very suave as I removed it and hung it on my handlebars and ran for the mat.

Transition 2 time: 0:58:60

Stage 3: 4 km Run

I was a good kilometre into this run before I felt like I could finish this race feeling okay. A short downhill got me moving, and a longer uphill got me into the groove. I made some comment as I passed another runner about waiting for my body to hit its stride, which in hindsight probably didn't reflect well on me, but mostly I was just complaining about my tired old body at that point.

At about the 1km point, I saw someone I knew coming back on the return leg, and Ian appeared coming toward me two minutes after that. I figure that he was a good 7 or 8 minutes ahead of me at that point, but I took some solace in knowing that he probably wasn't gaining any time on the run, and that he'd made up a little (or a lot) of time on the ride portion.

Stage 3 time: 21:07, 5:17/km. With transition, 22:05, 5:32/km

Overall Time: 1:34:48, 11/16 in age group (Men 30-39), 39th overall (out of 80)

7 Days - It's back!

2009-10-03T21:49:00.000-03:00

Come on by and see the fun!

Rum Runners Update

2009-10-01T15:43:00.003-03:00

The results are in -- I placed 14th in my leg (out of 58), with an average of 7:30/mile or 4:39/km, completing 10.7km in 49:50. The team, runningmania.com, came in 44th with an average pace of 8:48/mile, or 5:28/km.

I got off to a slow uphill start, and took a while to get going and get my lungs to wake up, but leap-frogged my way through the pack to get to where I believed was about the middle.

Another hockey dad, Nathan, and I started out together, but he quickly had to stop to take care of a shoelace, so I lost him for a while. If you clicked on that results link, you'll see that he finished 8 seconds behind me, claiming afterwards that he couldn't catch me on the final hill. I'm telling myself this is the truth. Really I'm amazed that a guy can stop and tie his shoe and still catch up to someone who was probably two minutes ahead. I also knew at least one other person in the race from Halifax Ultimate; someone I passed about halfway through the race. Obviously it takes me a few minutes (or kilometres) to get going.

My Half marathon training plan had me doing 18km on the weekend of this run, but I decided that to commit to that would mean that I wouldn't run as hard in my leg of the race (in terms of my team, I think I had the highest placing in my leg, though I don't think I had the fastest pace time).

I hope that I can stay on this team, or at least be first alternate for next year's. While I did not get to hang around for the whole day to cheer people on, I did enjoy the cameraderie for the time I was there.

And thanks to Steve for getting the picture of me. Not my most glamourous, but hey, it gets the message across.

Rum Runners Relay

2009-09-24T09:33:00.000-03:00

I have managed to get myself onto a team running the Rum Runners Relay this coming weekend. It is a 109km, 10-leg journey from Halifax to Lunenburg, and the event is named in honour of the rum running trade which got its start with the Prohibition Act of 1910. Nova Scotia's complicated and inlet-rich south shore is apparently well suited to sneaking around and smuggling in alcoholic goodness. Somehow, for a group of runners in 1985, running along the shoreline roads got incorporated into the mix and they're still running it every fall.

I have had friends and family run in this relay for years, and as that fits well with my "sign up for anything and everything" year that I seem to be ploughing through, I put my name out there for anyone who said they were on a team and may need a substitute runner.

My Leg
Leg 6 - Hubbards to East River (10.7km) - map at left, or here.

This leg runs from the Hubbards Yacht Club, no stranger to yours truly as we have been sailing out of that very channel for near a decade now (The in-laws, owners of that expensive and energy-intensive boat have been sailing much longer.)

This leg is about average length, from what I can tell, but it shorter than my leg in the Cabot Trail Relay Race (15km). However, this Sunday, I am supposed to be running 18km, according to my Half Marathon Training Schedule, so I may have to throw in some extra miles once I finish and not run on Sunday at all. Sadly, no ipods or mp3 players allowed on the course (it's on a secondary highway with little to no traffic control, so I can't blame them for instituting that rule).

Then, next weekend, I'm signed up to do the Riverport Duathlon (4km run, 28km bike, 4km run), and the weekend after is the Valley Harvest (Half) Marathon. After all those are done, I'm semi-committed to doing the Nike 10k Human Race. October is a busy month.

I think I shall rest a little after that.

My Interview with Under Construction's SRH

2009-09-15T09:01:00.007-03:00

After a lengthy hiatus, we continue with the next instalment in the interview series: This time we meet the craftsman and artist behind Under Construction. I have been following his blog for years, and actually met Scott in person earlier this year, and met him again along with his family a month later when work brought them all to my end of the world. Neither of us could recall how we originally connected, though we conceded it must have been something to do with us both being dads and bloggers (since neither of us were stay-at-homes, the daddyblogger moniker doesn't really fit).

At any rate, Scott is a dedicated dad, blogger, artist, soccer fan, bacon fan, and all around great guy. If you haven't checked out Under Construction, I'm here to tell you that his themes (The Random Alphabet of SRH, 20 Questions Tuesday, his completely rational fear of Yetis and Hippopotamuses, and his "Thing" lists are most amusing).

Here, then, is my interview with Scott.

Tell us a little about your little corner of the internet.

Under Construction is a blog that I hastily threw together almost 5 years ago when I was feeling stifled creatively due to various factors. I started to write to see if I could “bring the funny” even when I was not necessarily inspired to be funny. It is a bit of a daddy blog and a bit of a humor blog and sometimes I display some more artistic endeavors there as well. It is a Jack-of-all-Trades-Master-of-None blog.

Describe for us your blogging "community". Are they all generally parent / personal-bloggers, or do you also hang out in other circles?

I have not really ever looked at my “blogging community” as a community before. Looking at my blogroll most of the blogs there are parent blogs with some geekery thrown in for good measure.

You have a regular column on your own blog called 20 Questions Tuesday, in which you've solicited questions from readers some 140 times and answered intelligently, frankly, and almost always humourously. How do you manage to stay committed and enthusiastic with that project?

Starting out the steps taken were pretty tentative. It has taken some time to get my blogging voice, and occasionally that slips and I have to find it again. 20 Questions Tuesday spawned from a love of mine where I answer questions in real life as correct as possible while still being inanely obtuse. 20 Questions Tuesday has been going on since 18 July 2006 more or less consistently, but there are about 10 previous 20 Questions before it became a regular “feature.” It started out because was having writer’s block, so I scoured the Internets for 20 questions, then I started emailing people who I knew read my blog, and then I reached out to the people I didn’t know who read my blog. Honestly 20 Questions Tuesday is one of the few reasons I am still posting regularly. I get energized by the Q&A process.

What keeps you blogging? Tell us what you get the greatest satisfaction from, and what motivates you most.

I should have read ahead on this questionnaire, I seem to have inadvertently answered this question already. Umm… to be more precise. I love the process of coming up with a topic and waiting to see what my reading community (a community can consist of 4 people, right?) asks. Then the process of answering the questions in a hopefully clever manner and unexpected manner is the icing on that blogging cake.

Life for you has changed a lot in the last six years (kids, jobs, raison d'être...). Has blogging been a mainstay for you through all the turbulence and turmoil?

Not really. Sometimes it has seemed more of a chore than a mainstay, but it does get the creative juices moving, and I need some moving.

Dirty little secret time. Name one blog that you don't tell anyone you regularly read.

Hmmm… This is an interesting question. Hmmm… Most everything is on my Blogroll, There was a blog I read a few years ago where I was unable to look away as someone’s relationship crashed and burned. There are naked bloggers out there and this guy was nekked, which is way worse than naked. For the life of me, I have no idea what the URL for that blog is now. My addiction is Facebook right now.

Possibly related to the previous question: Name 3 bloggers you'd like to meet.

I have met one, that would be you, TheMikeStand (in case you forgot your handle), Riley from All Rileyed Up, Wil Wheaton from WilWheaton.net in Exile, and Dustin from Cotters in my Tummy (even though he is not blogging too much now)

And along those same lines: Which bloggers, if any, do you regularly see in person?

It seems like I see you a helluva lot even though I am in Ohio and you are in Nova Scotia. Other than that I occasionally run into a few Columbus bloggers.

Fill in the blanks: Sometimes I________. But it's okay, because _______.

Sometimes I blank, I just completely lose all ability to write, but it’s okay because 20 Questions Tuesday is never far away.

What do you see as the major hope for the future of blogging?

I think there are some bloggers out there who are making the medium a real useful medium for anecdotal evidence and a nice way to look behind the curtains and see a snapshot of life. If the digital records of these blogs remains for the past to peruse, people in the future will have an unprecedented glimpse into our lives and times. As far as the hope, other than a nice digital archeological/anthropological record… I would say that the consistency of the big name bloggers out there is making this medium viable. The Dooces, the Huffington Posts, Boing Boing, Lifehacker, etc…even though they are the “past” of blogging, they are also subsequently the future.

Conversely, what could signal the beginning of its demise?

I think the days of everyone and their brother having a blog have already come and gone, so in many ways the Horn Resounding has already sounded. That being said I think the easiness for people to lose all sense of civility on the Net will end up being a possible death knell for blogging in general. Politcial blogs don’t seem to survive without being unabashed wing-nuttery, and that unfortunate truth seems to lead blogs that try to be informational or topical to more of the fringe. For example, religious blogs tend to be super-religious… there seems to be very little area for the middle of the ground on the Internet (and be popular Internet-wise) since the landscape is so polarized.

A lot of bloggers are getting into side projects: books, user-submission blogs (postsecret, cakewrecks, passive-aggressive notes, etc.) Do you have any side projects you'd like to talk about/ announce?

Nope, nothing the works. I am sure I could have a nice 300+ pager if I just compiled all the 20 Questions posts into one work, but there really is not a market for that other than my own interest in re-reading.

Give us a picture of yourself?

(Ed: See? Doesn't he look happy? You should go read him.)

Thanks Scott!

Lies, Damn Lies, and Economics

2009-09-14T10:00:00.007-03:00

It was brought to my attention today that this article appeared in our local respectable free weekly, The Coast. Now, I don't have any problem with this publication (some of my best friends are editors/writers!), and I don't have any issue with the topics it covers. Quite the opposite: This is the row I have to hoe every day in my job, part of which entails the actual generation of economic impact figures for government and non-government types. The problem, as you'll see here, is in understanding the terminology around economic impact and "drawing the fence" around the impacts to understand which impacts are incremental on the local economy, and whether the results are, in fact, reasonable. And depending on who uses the numbers and for what reason, this matters a great deal.

Read on, and you'll understand what I mean.

Source: The Coast

And, in case you wanted to know what that embedded picture was....

Anyway, as an economist, I'm always having to defend my trade (though it's not worth trading for much these days, it seems) to others, both at work and outside. At least these days people are asking for the economist's opinion, whether or not they believe what they get.

These are interesting times to be an economist.

Someday we may actually command more respect than weather forecasters.

Vacation 2009 - from someone else's eyes

2009-09-11T08:33:00.002-03:00

Two budding young photographers took off around the cottage with cameras in hand on vacation this year. Enjoy the cottage from a different point of view.

Created with flickr slideshow.

(I'll post my pictures from summer vacation later, though I didn't come up with near as many as I did last year. But hey, this might be the only way outside of 7 Days that you get to see pictures of ME!)

Things I have learned from the Primary Student

2009-09-10T15:03:00.003-03:00

Around here, it's not kindergarten. It's primary. Grade Primary, to be precise. I still make the mistake only to be met with sideways looks from the locals, the same look they give to other "come from aways". And, though it's been some 31 years since I myself was in that grade, I suspect that some things have not changed. To wit:

1) Primary is tiring. It used to be that when the Older Son was being quiet in another room, he was cooking up something dastardly. Now? He's probably splayed out languidly on a couch. Also, his bedtime has moved up one whole hour, and I suspect he's still not getting enough sleep at night.

2) There is not near enough time to eat his entire lunch during his lunch break, and thus priority is given. Two days ago, the banana came home. Yesterday? Half a ham sandwich. Those granola bars with the chocolate chips? They never EVER make it home.

3) The paperwork involved in sending a 5-year old to school is amazing. Daily notes from the teacher ensure that the parents are on top of at least something every night, signing something and sending it back in the child's message-bag the next morning. No longer will feigning ignorance get you out of parental duty.

4) The threat of the "principal's office" is already ingrained in the child's fearful mind. I am not sure how it came up in under a week of school, but I can only surmise it surfaced in the schoolyard. I can't wait to see what else comes out of schoolyard interactions.

5) Six days into school and I think we're on our second communical disease. Viva la petrie dish! And pass the tissue.

6) Try as I might, I cannot get any details on what he does at school. He's so beat at the end of the day that we're lucky if we can get him to eat dinner, let alone talk about his daily activities at the supper table. The only time I get lucky is when he happens to bring something home. The other day he brought home a picture he drew of he and his friend on the swings. I didn't even know he could draw. (Hi! Worst dad ever!)

7) We went through 8 litres of milk last week and barely made it to milk-delivery day this week. Now I know why people run their own dairy farms.

And this is only the first week of school. Apparently sending your kids to school educates everyone.

Like a Phoenix from the Ashes

2009-09-10T14:29:00.002-03:00

The mic will rise again. Stay tuned...

First Day

2009-09-03T19:25:00.002-03:00

First Day
Originally uploaded by themikestand

Guess who's officially a big boy now?

(And! There were no tears this morning. I'm really proud of myself!)

Now with more gadgetry!

2009-09-03T11:40:00.010-03:00

I take a nontrivial amount of ribbing from The Lovely Wife about my 'baggage' (note: this neither refers to my ass or my previous relationships) --the amount of CRAP I carry around with me on any given day. Cell phone, ipod, wallet, book, keys, work ID... all of it miraculously finds itself strewn about the house in any number of nooks and crannies, and without fail, it will nearly make me late for the bus every. single. day.

So naturally, I continue to seek out more gadgets. This time, it's the Nike+, that little sensor you stick in your shoe that talks to your ipod while you run*. Apparently it talks to you as well through your earphones if you have them on, but I wouldn't know about that since my first night with it did not involve earphones (it did involve a running partner, which is why I wasn't Mr. Rudeyrude and running with earphones).

The idea, if you don't know about this yet (it's been out since 2006, I've since learned, so I have no idea why I just got one now!), is that you plug this thingamabob into your ipod and you slide this chip into your shoe and while you're running, the chip talks to your ipod and your ipod talks to you, letting you know how far you've run, how many calories you've burned, that you're one sexy Mofo, etc.. Simple concept, right? And then when you get home, your iTunes picks up the data from your ipod and uploads it to your personal profile on Nikerunning.com where you can collect all your data, interact with other running geeks, and sign up for things like the Human Race 10k.

Last night, I calibrated the chip on a 2km run and then ran another 5km with Bicycle Boy, who's training for a Full Marathon, and uploaded the data to the Nike site. Strangely however, the metric stats and the imperial stats seem to have different graphs. Observe:

Evidently this is not a new aberration, but it has yet to be fixed by Nike. That said, there's a fantastic third-party site that will allow you to graph the ipod-collected data, not just the data that is displayed on the Nike site. Voilà!

At any rate, I foresee a lot of messing around and general geeky fun resulting from this rather modest purchase, and if nothing else, it'll forestall the purchase of the full-on Garmin GPS watch for a little while.

And finally, getting back to the topic of all my baggage: Now I will have to pack both ipods (my classic won't work with the Nike+, but TLW's nano will), the proper set of shoes, and the chip along with all my other stuff. Can anyone recommend a great murse?

Yours geekily,
Mike

* It's all Brianna's fault.

The Deck - Finished Product

2009-08-25T09:11:00.003-03:00

Finally got the finishing touches done on the backyard deck project! With a little help, of course...

(I think the grapevine in the background is about to mount an attack.)

Smile! Pretend you're working!

Installing the pool was really no trouble at all...

Pardon the crack-house lawn -- it was badly neglected during construction. And summer.

The only thing missing? The massive ice bucket full of beer.

a quickr pickr post

This should be interesting

2009-08-11T16:14:00.004-03:00

As posted on I AM YOUR CANADIAN BOYFRIEND (@sween)
Twitter, like this blog, started as a mere curiosity. For sween, it's always been about the funny. And, in my opinion* he does it very well. It should be interesting to see if I get new followers, and if I become paralyzed by the desire to post only the quirky and / or funny bits that flow through my brain on a daily basis. I guess we'll see.

*And in, oh, the opinions of 750,000 twitter followers, many of whom are also very funny. (See favrd.)

Sometimes I despair the world will never see another man like him

2009-08-07T12:10:00.004-03:00

It's been a strange month, lengthy and lovely vacation notwithstanding. The foggyness of Nova Scotia's south shore permeated the brain as much as the beach while we were away. We enjoyed, along with the cottage, the canteen chock full of fish and chips and $1 ice cream cones, a welcome visit from my mother. The kids spent their days on their own schedules, sometimes playing in the rain, but always playing what they wanted to play. About the only things they were informed they had to do were to go to bed when it was time, and to take an outdoor shower to rid their heads of a few extra pounds of sand.

But back to the fog for a second. The Lovely Wife and I both spent time at the cottage with the boys and their grandmother, though each of us was pulled in another direction for a few days. Our own busy schedules (hers work, mine play) resulted in us being apart on her birthday, and in my daze from being away and having biked 90km in a day, I neglected to wish her a happy birthday on her special day; something I still haven't forgiven myself for, even if she has. We had planned all along to postpone the birthday celebrations to the following week, and on her actual birthday, we spent precious little time together in the morning before heading our separate ways for the weekend. My mistake, my regret.

The day that followed my mother's departure back home marked the sixth anniversary of my father's passing. I felt it in my bones, but the actual day again slipped past me and I also haven't forgiven myself for commemorating it properly. I did speak to my mother the next day about it, but again it seems as if I have been lost in my own little, foggy world this summer. As I ironed a shirt on Tuesday, my first morning back to work, I found myself humming Mr. Tanner, a Harry Chapin song, not coincidentally one of my father's favourites, and one that has stuck deeply with me from childhood saturday mornings, watching the reel-to-reel turn, emptying one reel while filling next, and lounging on the shag carpet in a sunbeam in front of the stereo. I paused with the iron in my hand and closed my eyes for a few moments, remembering him as perhaps I should have two days earlier, and inviting those childhood memories to wash over me.

From time to time I seek the comfort music. Today I opted for the first Crash Test Dummies album (the one with Superman's Song on it, in case you haven't clued in from the title of this post yet). It reminds me of a time of newfound freedom in my life, enjoying the freedoms of having a car and cruising around town after dark on warm Edmonton nights. It also represents a time in my life when I first realised my parents were treating me as an adult. Trust had been earned, leeway was given, accepted, and rarely abused. I felt important and that I was respected, probably because I always tried to respect them.

I know that there are several factors at play lately which are causing me to lose track of important dates in my life, not the least of which are submerged family issues (though they probably don't even qualify as "issues") that creep into our lives from time to time, and the fleeting summer which will end my eldest son's preschool era; he'll head off to primary (kindergarten) in less than a month. (I can only hope I don't fill his backpack with my neuroses and desire to protect his every move.) The busy weeks of summer will merge seamlessly into busy weeks of fall, and I will likely not feel the effects of summer activities coming to a close. I will undoubtedly feel like a busy parent of school-aged kids, tripping off to Beavers, hockey, swimming, gymnastics, and trying to find time for parent-centric activities on the side. In short, I will probably feel as my parents did; I'll once again relate to what they went through, and my mom will continue to see me as a parent as well as her child. And I'll continue to miss my dad. Every week, not just on the second day of August.

"...music was his life, it was not his livelihood, and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good. And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole."

7Days: Summer 2009 roundup

2009-07-27T14:26:00.002-03:00

The "7 Days of Self Portraits" project came and went while you weren't looking (Okay, while I wasn't talking about it, since my blogging seems to be doing some hibernation). It seems the 7Days group is getting exceptionally large, which is testament to the comment love and the fun loving nature of the group (thanks, doow!). But it means that it's been all the more difficult to engage in the comment love, especially since I left for vacation the day after 7 Days ended.

This time around life was very busy, and I was pressed on a number of days to come up with something worthy of posting to the group. Personally, I'm not a fan of taking pictures of my hands and feet, which leaves me with remote/tripod or reflection options. You can always spot me in a crowd during 7 Days; I'll be the one looking for shiny things. Anyway, I will admit to not getting (read: taking) the time to carefully plan, execute, and process the shots, but here they are anyway.

7 Days: Day 1 - Just Beachy

It's summer. Who would have thought it would fall on a Saturday this year?

This was taken at Rainbow Haven beach on Nova Scotia's eastern shore. The sun was out, the surf was up, the kids were amused by all of the above. Can't wait for vacation in the coming weeks.

7Days: Day 2 - Perfecting the Relax-Collapse

Here I am, late Sunday afternoon, after a long morning cycling ride of 85km that took me out to scenic Peggy's Cove in intermittent downpour.

My afternoon consisted of attempting to do some more deck building, making pretzels with the boys (they're crazy about adding the coarse salt, but less so about eating that much salt), and in a moment of quiet, I got to sit down and attempt to catch up with Stage 8 of Le Tour. and maybe get through a few pages of my book.

As you can see, the rains finally subsided. Oh, and the pretzels turned out great. You're all welcome to come and get one. I'll even throw in an extra glass of water or two.

7Days- Day 3 - I'm Such A Knob

Stuck for inspiration this evening, I turned to the all-but-forgotten electric bass I started to learn to play before the boys were born (if you're mathematically inclined, the eldest is now 5!). I've been motivated to pick it back up and learn something new, but summer schedules are not too kindly thwarting my efforts. Maybe this is just the start I needed.

7Days: Day 4 - Goofs with a View

Took a shot with the eldest overlooking the basin. Much warmer night than the last time I chose this location for 7 Days. Also, this was taken after ultimate -- seems ultimate always works its way into 7 Days!

The outtakes to this one were also pretty amusing.

7Days: Day 5 - Three Rings

Her lovely hand and my somehow gangly-looking hand, carefully cropped to get almost all of my mitt out of the shot.

The rings, however, are supposed to be the real draw. Eight years ago she received the engagement ring; one I secretly designed with a local creative custom jeweller. The bands were also custom, designed by the two of us.

7Days: Day 6 - A Three Hour Tour

The Tall Ships are once again in town (check out the set here), and we were invited out by one of The Lovely Wife's coworkers for some shipspotting and fireworks watching. By 10:00, I had one three-year-old sleeping in my arms and a five-year-old who was hyper and overtired. All in all, a successful evening.

7Days: Day 7- Collapse

All I can say is that I'm happy to now be on vacation. Also, apparently, I'm a fan of light-play on Day 7 of 7Days. Hope you all have had as much fun as I have this time around.

a quickr pickr post

As always, you can check out the whole group's photos here.

Defender

2009-07-07T12:00:00.004-03:00

I love my wife. I really do.

Case in point: This past weekend was her parent's 40th wedding anniversary (the "ruby" anniversary, for anyone out there looking for ideas), and she and her sister (and their most wonderful husbands, naturally) pulled off a spectactular party. But that's not really why I bring that up. I bring it up because events like this bring family and family friends to town, and that inevitably leads to large dinners.

And that somehow always leads to conversations about email, blogs, and other internet oddities. Oddities which I seem to know all about and often involve myself in.

I don't know how some of you do it: sit there and answer questions, defending your interests while people rant about the utter uselessnsess and waste-of-time that the internet has become. Twitter? Why would anyone do that? Who cares what you just picked up at the grocery store?

And yet, I find it amusing. I think the key is this: in order to actually enjoy something that could otherwise become banal, trivial, or just redundant (Twitbook statustweets anyone?), you have to actually be creative in it. Basically, the key to it all is trying. Be funny. Be original. Be entertaining.

Only for some reason, when I hear the words coming out of my mouth, all I hear is, "Yes, I totally waste all my free time on the internet when I could be doing something meaningful in the world."

Maybe there's a hint of truth to that, but honestly, if something "meaningful in the world" was as interesting as all my usual distractions, wouldn't I be doing that instead?

I've had this blog for four and a half years now, and yes, in addition to that I have a facebook page, a twitter ID, and I've waded into countless other interactive internet (ad)ventures. For the most part? I've had a good time with it. Periodically things get stale and frustrating, but that's just the name of the game.

I try not to judge something before I've had a chance to look into it, and frankly, that's where I really appreciate my father-in-law. He's the type of guy who's curious about the internet and its many forms of communication. Short of twit-blog-booking on his own, he always makes an attempt to listen to me explain whatever it is that is occupying that little corner of my brain that needs entertaining. The Lovely Wife is much the same. While she may have, in the early days of our relationship, been skeptical about the online life, she at least appreciated that I found it stimulating [shut up], entertaining, and engaging. She's met some of the people that have travelled here to meet me, or have been passing through, and I'm pretty sure she agrees that they're all good people and worth knowing, whether they're local or live far away. In short, she goes beyond indulging me as I socialize with other internet dwellers.

But I can't say the same for most of the other people around the table at these family functions. And so usually I try to cut these conversations as short as I can, offer little that I will either regret saying or have to justify its merit endlessly.

Because in the end? If they were really curious about something? It wouldn't take a debate to prove its worth.

In your pockets again

2009-06-17T11:58:00.007-03:00

I tell everybody this: I only raise money for two events: the MS Bike Tour, which is a 160 kilometre (100 miles) two-day ride through the scenic (and often sweltering) Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, and that Movember thing, in which I uglify myself for a month near the end of the year (more news on that very soon).

It's summer. Cycling season. And so, if you're the generous type, I hope you'll consider sponsoring me for the upcoming MS Bike Tour on July 25/26. Your donations are of course tax deductible, and you can donate online safely and securely.

Pictures from last year's event are here.

Shiny

2009-06-16T10:54:00.000-03:00

Meet the new baby.

a quickr pickr post

Glen Breton Rare, Chapter ARE WE STILL DOING THIS?

2009-06-12T09:14:00.005-03:00

I'm only posting this so that the few people coming to this site for information on Canada's only Single Malt Whisky and the neverending tiff with the Scotch Whisky Association. (Click at the bottom of this post for the previous entries.)

To distill the story for you (see what I did there?)*: The SWA didn't like the original decision to allow Glen Breton to continue using the word "Glen" in it's marketing, so it decided to go to the Federal Court of Appeal. Which said, in a word, "Nuh." So to the Surpeme Court, which also shot it down. Unfortunate for the SWA, but good for local distillers in these parts.

Also, if we on the east coast are going to be treated to a dearth of Scotch Whisky, what else can we turn to??

The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it will not hear the association's appeal of a lower court ruling that approved the label used by Cape Breton's Glenora Distillers. The court dismissed the appeal with costs, meaning the association must also pay part of Glenora's legal fees according to a scale set by the court.Source: CBC News

However, in case you thought it was all wine and roses, there was this little ray of light. From the SWA:

"However, the Court of Appeal's findings that the mark has caused confusion because of its use of a 'Glen' prefix, and that Glenora has marketed its product as Scotch in all but name, have not been reversed."

Sigh. To quote Great Big Sea: Drink'er up, boys. It's well after ten.

Oh, and I still haven't tried the stuff. But feel free to pick up a bottle and bring it on over.

* Note that the Daily Business Buzz did not infact make a clever joke in their headline.

Local News: Tories blue over orange government

2009-06-11T09:23:00.005-03:00

I suppose that with all the other elections and by-elections that we've had around these parts lately, it seems we've just been through this process. But for those of you from away who care, and for those of you here who managed to miss the election ( we did have near record low voter turnout, after all), the Provincial government fell, and it fell hard:

The Progressive Conservative party reign is over. From a majority to two functioning minority governments, to a punishing defeat at the polls resulting in them taking over third-party status. (Wonks can click here.)

For the first time in Nova Scotia history, the New Democrats are in power. And it's a majority, folks. Normally this would be a curse for a new party to take power during a recession (remind you of anyone, people?), but at least the majority situation will allow some breathing room to get things right while the economy starts to recover (I promise: no 'green shoot' talk. In fact, if I hear that one more time, I may have to green-shoot someone.).

And maybe we'll see a full term of office pass by before another expensive election. Hear that, federal government? The last thing anyone needs right now is another expensive election. Let's get on with things, shall we?

Leaving it all on the Trail

2009-05-27T15:42:00.005-03:00

Last weekend I competed in the Cabot Trail Relay race, and if I was at all underestimating how exhausting a 24 hour relay was (and how it can quickly turn into a 48-hour affair), I now have a much better idea of the level of exhaustion it can produce. I was part of a 17-person team (for 17-race legs) where each person faced varying distances and hill profiles, and a 6-minute kilometer (9:30 per mile) deadline in which to finish their distance or else fail to hit the mat.

The event itself was nothing short of spectacular; a well-oiled and well-organized machine in its own right. Legs started in the exact spot the previous leg stopped, just minutes after the maximum alloted time. Slower runners trickled in and were awarded the slowest finishing time plus five minutes. But by 30 minutes after the close of each leg of the race, one would never know that anything out of the ordinary was happening, much less suspect that the better portion of the 1,200 participants were roaming the ten to fifteen mile distance only minutes earlier.

Saturday morning had us following and supporting runners as they worked their way to the top of the Cabot Trail, starting with rolling hills which grew in to hellish beasts of straight-up switchbacks. Needless to say, this was not my preferred leg, though I might like to attempt it some day. By 5pm, a teammate and I were on our way to Cheticamp, on the other side of the trail, to ready ourselves for his 0330 run and my 0530 run on Sunday morning. Some spectacular fish at a local eatery and a very early sleep (the sun had still not fully set), and we were raring to go at 0200. Well, we were sleepy and grumpy, but nonetheless committed to the challenge.

I dropped him off at 0315 and trailed him part way, then headed to the end of his leg (the start of mine) and waited for his finish. He took on a 20-km leg with no trouble; in fact, you'd never know that he ran 20 the day before (for another team, under an assumed name -- not uncommon for this relay), giving me some hope that me and my bum leg/groin/hip could take my 15.5km race down (with the help of 400mg of Ibuprofen, naturally). After the gun, I started with a decent pace, lost somewhere in the latter half of the pack. About 3km into the race, someone let us know just how far we'd come, and for some reason I found that a source of inspiration. Perhaps I was just looking to get the race over with and was disappointed that we hadn't hit 5km yet. Whatever the reason, I started to put a push on while the terrain was reasonably flat.

The middle and final 5-kilometre stretches were considerably hillier than the first, which suited me fine. I tend to speed up on the hills (again, get them over with!) and I passed a few other competitors, ending with a time of 1hr and 17 minutes (for reference, my 10-mile training runs weren't nearly that fast at 5:22/km and 5:54/km) -- a finishing pace of 5:01 per kilometre! Surprisingly, this put me at 20th place in my race (of 70), the best finish for any of our team members throughout the relay. Talk about beginner's luck. (note: all the results are here, incluing my Leg 15 results)

While I never once called the Cabot Trail Relay by its full name (including the word "Race" at the end)I will definitely sign up for this race again. It's just that fun.

The Whole Half

2009-05-20T09:22:00.005-03:00

For those of you who haven't checked up on me online, I did indeed finish the Half Marathon this past weekend, with a time of 1:52:49, though I'm a little confused about the chip time vs. the official time. I was aiming for the 2-hour mark (a 9:06 mile pace), which was a little bit of a stretch given that my trining runs with my running partner were putting us about 2hrs and 5 minutes.

Well, as you can see below, we ran together for about the first 6-8km and then wound up getting separated. I hit the stopwatch wherever I could to figure out some splits, and I spotted the Running Room Pace Rabbit (aside: what a cool idea) wearing the "Half 2:00" pink bunny ears (we had started with the 2:15 group at the start line), and figured I would be home free if I stayed in contact with her. So, at a water stop, I kept on going and never saw those little ears again. The weather was perfect, the fans/supporters came out in droves, and all the runners were very friendly. All in all, a very motivating, satisfying experience. I finished 435th out of 1,520. My running partner finished only ten minutes after me, but 400 participants behind. Maybe I was the bottleneck?

Split times, by the geek himself

I'm recovering quite well, I think. On Monday I took a little spin on the road bike to keep things loose, and yesterday I ran 6.8km (4.23mi) in 8:07 pace. And I told myself I was only going to take it easy and do 5km. Clearly the two things I'm not very good at are controlling my pace, and actually following through on an "easy jog". But hey, I guess it's working for me.

One more training run (well, maybe two) and then it's off to Cape Breton with sixteen strangers for the Cabot Trail Relay (check out Leg 15, which will have me on the pavement at 0530 on Sunday morning). There's a 9:30 per mile (6min / km) allotted time to finish your leg, otherwise you get the time of the slowest finisher plus five minutes. I'm hoping that I'll be awake enough and energetic enough to hit the finish mat. After all, I have one of the easiest legs to run.

And, if I have the energy and motivation (and why wouldn't I?), I'd like to try out a couple duathlons this summer. I think the Tri is out of the question, unless of course they're doing life saving training in the pools. October will bring the Valley Harvest Half Marathon, which I've already recruited some running pals to do.

Is this the new me? If it is, I like it. Er.. him. Me.

Geared up for the Half

2009-05-15T12:21:00.002-03:00

Watch (out) for me on Sunday!

Thankfully they put my name on it, so that the paramedics know what to call me when they're trying to revive.

The Celebration

2009-05-14T11:29:00.003-03:00

"The race is merely the celebration of all the training you've done so far."

This (I'm sure I've paraphrased) came through on my radio this morning as a local runner was speaking about the upcoming Bluenose International Marathon, and with only one training run left to go, I quite like to think that Sunday's half marathon will be celebratory, and not feel like the final exam I've been studying three months for.

I'm told my time can be tracked, though I'm not sure when stats will be posted or whether split times will be indicated. Likely not. But if you're interested, you can probably find me on the Official Website or on SportsStats.ca. Race time is 9:00Am Atlantic, and I'm hoping to complete it in two-hours.

09 Half Marathnon
Find more Runs in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Salonversation

2009-05-12T15:34:00.004-03:00

This may come as a bit of as surprise to you, but I'm not a big conversationalist. I can hold my own when someone approaches me at a party or bar, feign interest, ask some pointed questions and more often than not come out learning something about them. Periodically, these people ask me stuff about me and I give them more than the standard canned replies. But when I go to get my hair cut, it's kind of 'me' time. It's therapeutic -- losing the old and dead and making way for the new (and dead). Besides, I know that hairdressers/barbers have to make smalltalk all day long and probably ask the same half dozen questions to all their clients. Is it really important to them that I engage in meaningful banter for the 20-30 minutes that they're weilding sharp instruments about my noggin? If they're okay with comfortable silence, so am I.

That said, one thing I can dig talking about is music. I've been to the same salon for the past few cuts (I'm trying to settle on one place, since I seem to get inconsistent cuts from the same people) and both of the last two occasions resulted in music-talk. If it's one thing that will get me to open my mouth and speak, it's music. On the previous visit, one of the hairdressers attempted to skip past Portishead's "Sour Times" on the stereo only to have little old me, the nerdy pencil pusher with the ordinary haircut complain humourously about them denying the customer of the best selection of the hour. The playlist designer (not my hairdresser) and I engaged in some smalltalk about musical tastes and when all was said and trimmed, I bid them all adieu.

This time, my hairdresser was brandishing new ink and was carefully, yet dutifully working her way around my head and I was remaining mostly quiet in my pleasured renewal. The conversation didn't turn from new tattoos to music until the older (okay, she might have had ten years on me, but was clearly making up for it with talk of getting a non-butterfly tattoo for a change) woman in the next chair heard the first two bars of Faith, proudly proclaiming "Ooooh, WHAM!", before I knee-jerk reacted with "George Michael", and then, in an effort to cover up my guilt, saying "WHAT? WHO SAID THAT?" And then, in an effort to keep the conversation going, I mentioned my previous experience there and was instantly remembered by the hairdresser.

I wonder which of the two events I'll be remembered for next time.

'appy 'rth uh....day?

2009-04-22T19:08:00.005-03:00

Well, another Earth Day is upon us, and though I've posted thoughtful and creative things in the past, I just don't have much of it in me today. The world is going on and on about recovering from the economic crisis, greenies and granola lovers everywhere are afraid recovery will be at the expense of the environment, and well, I'm just hoping we can keep it all together long enough to remember the progress we've made on the Green Front.

So here's to the Earth. Love it, and don't forget about it.

Also, I wanted to post a video of Tom Chapin's Happy Earth Day, but the best I could find was this video which, while moderately entertaining, doesn't really hit the "green" mark for today*. Instead, let me introduce (some of) you to Danny Michel, a most wonderful Canadian independent artist whom I had the privelege of seeing not long ago from a staggering six feet away - seriously, we got 'bumped up' to first class in the teeny tiny bar we were in, which meant our table butted up against the stage and I got to inform the performer that he'd dropped his harmonica in his duffel bag when he'd momentarily lost track of it. Anyway, long story short, here's Danny Michel -- enjoy. This song's something of a personal story from his recent past, and the encroachment of civilization on the untouched beauty of the world.

* this one's close, though! Click to listen to Walk the World Now, Children.

Run the Half: Status Report #1 - Still not dead.

2009-04-07T11:10:00.007-03:00

Here's a picture of me only 5-and-a-third weeks into a 10-week Half Marathon prep (courtesy MapMyRun.com):

Also, this is what 132.74km (83 miles)looks like. Man, that really is a decent distance, eh?

Some thoughts, five weeks in:

I'm handling this better than I thought I would. Getting up/out to run isn't the chore it used to be, and I don't feel like blowing off my scheduled runs.

Apropos of the above, having a running partner really is a benefit. You can run, sweat, whine, and celebrate the little victories together.

Going in, I figured that the 5km runs (3mi) would be too easy, and I would just add a mile onto them in the early weeks, since I could handle it. Nowadays I take those 3-milers as a little bonus. I do my 3-miles, and if I'm on an easy treadmill* , I go a little further and either do 4 miles or round up to the next five minute increment.

The long runs? Not so hard to handle. Other than the time it takes**, I usually feel that I could keep going when I get to the end of the run. Last week's 8-miler was done in exceptional time, possibly due to mostly flat terrain and the fortuitous placement of Mr. Brightside coming through the ipod's earbuds. Something about the pace that song got me over the hump and probably boosted my pace by a full minute.

The new shoes are fantastic. My old ones, which I was forced to don this morning in a pinch, are too big, too stretched out, and don't have nearly the cushion of their replacements.

All in all, I am hoping that the weather is decent (the day of the Bluenose is notoriously bad for weather) and I have someone to talk to, if iPods are prohibited. Y'see, I'm something of a Chatty Cathy when it comes to running. If I have to think about running, I think about quitting. It's just how I am. In a pinch, doing endless metric conversion has saved my long runs, but even then, i have a hard time getting to the third decimal. Go ahead, lie and tell me you're just like me in that respect. Thank you.

Next Sunday: 9 miles. IN A ROW.

* I've gone on before about the very capable treadmill in my basement which feels it has to push me to my limits to get a 5k in under half an hour.

**I think it was George Carlin who mused: I used to run for an hour every day. Then one day I thought, "If I take the car I could save so much time."

This Week Has Seven Days (7 Days Spring 09) - the wrapup.

2009-04-07T08:27:00.004-03:00

Wow, how long has it been since I posted? Don't answer that. Instead, let me tell you that the quarterly snapfest known as 7 Days of Self Portraits (it's all doow's fault!) has just concluded. Here are my week's submissions, but really, you should head on over and check out some of the others.

7Days: Day 1 - The Barf Box

Some time ago, I read about using an airline sickness bag as a DIY diffuser . And, since I rarely need a better excuse to do some experimental photography, I snatched the first barf bag I encountered.

Today I finally got the opportunity to play around with it. The results are here. Pity I couldn't have an off-camera flash, but they're much more expensive than the barf bag.

7Days: Day 2 - feat. Puzzle and Rave Boy

In keeping with what seems to be my 7 Days tradition, here's the Rave Boy pointing out just where I'm from (though as a rule, I never shut up about my Canadian-ness).

So, 7 Dayers... where are you on this map?

(And in case you missed the links, click here and here. And here.)

7Days: Day 3 - The Lobster Bow

This lobster bow was given to us as a wedding gift, made by a close family friend. It's actually the end 'bow' of a lobster pot, with a mirror inserted and some very cool stained glass and seaweed art. The idea was to fill the ledge with shells, but at present, it's holding some of the decorative rocks from a friend's wedding last summer (as seen here).

7Days: Day 4 - Beware of Wonk

I must have taken two dozen selfies today just to get one that didn't make me look goofy, bloated, or just plain bad. I'm settling on one of me outside the security door (the one that keeps people out, not that keeps me in) of my new job (which is now nearly 8-months old). If you can't read the door, it says Nova Scotia Fiscal and Economic Policy. Doesn't it just scream "Fun and Interesting people inside!" ?

7Days: Day 5 - Foolin' Around

Okay, so the "fool" theme is a bit of a stretch here. But Candyland showed up last night, and we just couldn't wait to give it a whirl. Unbeknownst to me, the boys play it all the time at daycare, so I was at a disadvantage; I played the fool, if you will (see what I did there?). Final score: Oliver 1: Jack 1: Daddy 0 *sadface*

7Days: Day 6 - DisemBodied

Took a break from my scintillating workday to go check out the reflectables in downtown Halifax. While getting some shots of City Hall, I decided to turn around the other way and get a shot of the handsome devil in the window behind me. Et voila! One-and-two-thirds of me!

7Days: Day 7 - Finale

After three or four very different ideas for my final submission, I decided to play around with light. Clearly I need some practice at this (heck, even this took me about 20 takes!), but man oh man it's fun.

Thanks for another great week, everyone. You are truly the nicest people on flickr, and I'm happy to call you my friends. I have made new contacts this time around, and I hope to be seeing you all next time, and in the time between.

- Mike

a quickr pickr post

Laying the Snackdown

2009-03-19T14:19:00.004-03:00

Behold the advertising genius that is embodied by my brother and his wife in their Doritos commercial contest entry:

Also, these? Are possibly my new favourite snack. They're no battling tortilla chip, but ohmyjesus they're good.

What's your favourite snack? Let's hear it, internets!

Social Climber

2009-03-12T15:39:00.001-03:00

Social Climber
Originally uploaded by themikestand

Older son turned five on Monday, after a long celebratory weekend that will heretofore set the standard for the duration of all future birthdays.

And though I couldn't have known it way back in 2007, but I managed to become the first neighbourhood dad to distribute waivers to prospective birthday guests along with their invitations.

(Requests to see photographic evidence of yours truly scaling the wall will be taken here.)

More on my half-brained idea

2009-03-03T09:07:00.005-04:00

In case anyone's wondering, here's the training plan my friend and I are attempting. It's the 10-week one, and I don't know if I'm going to aim for two hours or not -- seems like most of my 10k runs are done in under an hour, but trying to repeat it for the second hour may be a lot to hope for.

Note: Green, not the now-defunct "Crayola Flesh" is Long Slow Distance: 1-2 minutes slower than half-marathon goal pace (GP).

Yesterday's 4.8k run on my lying-sack-of-sh!t treadmill* wasn't much fun, but in all fairness, my brain was not into it. I received a snarky text message from Wyatt**, my co-half-marathoner*** saying that he'd completed his training before work that day and that I only had a few hours left to make good on my Day 1.

* Perhaps it's just trying to get me to run a little farther because it's good for me, but a 5k on that treadmill seems like it takes at least 5 minutes too long to do. Possibly 8 minutes.
** Probably only seemed snarky because I was getting soaked while waiting for the bus and not feeling much like running.
*** Does this mean that, together, we'll get credit for the full Marathon? No?

Ohdeargod. What have I done?

2009-03-02T15:12:00.003-04:00

Yes, I only registered for the Half.... but I still only have 75 days to prepare.

Glenora Falls, near Glenville, in Cape Breton... Wait. You want to call it WHAT?

2009-02-26T08:45:00.005-04:00

Just in case you people out there aren't regularly combing the local Nova Scotia papers for news of Federal Court of Appeals decisions, I feel obliged to let you know that the Glen Breton Single Malt Canadian Whisky saga may, in fact, have come to a close.

Cape Breton distillery can keep 'Glen' label on whisky, appeals court rules

January 24, 2009

A Cape Breton distillery can continue to use the word "Glen" in its labelling, the Federal Court of Appeal has ruled.

Glenora Distillery president Lauchie MacLean said Friday that the court rejected the objections of the Scotch Whisky Association and upheld his company’s registration of Glen Breton as the trademark of its single malt whisky.

(click for the full article)

Source: CBC News

Fading lines

2009-02-24T12:23:00.002-04:00

It's been just over three weeks since my knees saw the sun. Coming back from Florida was one of those terribly familiar homecoming events: you're excited to come home to your house (and your bed!) and to all things workaday, but sad to be leaving behind the warmth and the relaxation. With a head filled with memories of daily runs on the beach and opportunities for long distance cycling (without the required Ninjaclava), you return to the Great White North and wade your way through snow and ice and commiserate with the tiny buds on that maple tree outside your window.

In short, I know completely understand why people (and birds) go south in the winter. I just don't know why they come back. Alright, that's a bit of an understatement. People like me do enjoy the changing of the seasons, but sometimes you just have your fill -- and sometimes you have that fill by December and you just have to get. away. from. winter.

Next up? Try to figure out a way to retire. And maybe try to continue to fit into the awesome swimsuit that actually fit me after day-upon-day of glorious, sun-soaked outdoor exercise. Le sigh.

Oh, and because you like pictures as much as I like taking them...

Click for the full set.

Dream Switchers

2009-02-17T08:54:00.005-04:00

Last night, I was having some kind of Mobius strip dream about home renovations, specifically the drywall taping and mudding process. I've been up late* the last few nights trying to put the finishing touches on some surprise reno work for the in-laws, and it seems this is task has fallen to me. With random sleep interruptions, the dream would return and I'd be mudding, sanding, and frustratingly repeating the process.

I was awaken last night by the nearly five-year-old Older Son, who periodically gets up in the middle of the night because of bad dreams and such. As I'm on the side of the bed closest to our door (Mental note: This is one mistake I'm gonna have to live with forever, unless I can convince The Lovely Wife to rearrange the bedroom.), I'm often the one that dutifully returns him to his bed, gives him a small cuddle, and talks him out of it. My own father used to tell me that dreams were like TV programs**, and if I had a nightmare, I could just change the channel.

Notwithstanding the recurring nightmare I used to have (a "repeat", if you will), that worked quite well for me, so I began telling Older Son about the technique during our little midnight chats. More often than not, it's effective and he returns to peaceful slumber almost immediately. Last night he was being haunted by some looming personal danger relating to ice hockey on the frozen lake behind his cousin's house. TLW was quicker on the draw last night than I was (I was probably still sanding out the bumps), but had I my wits about me, I should have just offered Older Son to exchange dreams with me -- he'd probably enjoy mudding and sanding more than I was, and I could deal with the cracking lake ice in his dream.

* Sometimes until after 10pm!

** I am not ashamed to tell you that I was partially raised by the television, no offense to my parents who also did a good job raising me. I believe that somewhere in the reams of TV trivia stuck in my recesses of my mental hard drive, there are nuggets of actual useful information left over from those days.

Historic

2009-01-20T20:53:00.003-04:00

I feel I should be writing something about America's new president. After all, I stood and watched him take the oath with his hand on the Lincoln Bible, along with several hundred million other viewers today. I tried to watch it online, but the internet was all full up and even CNN was forced to cough and sputter through a slightly delayed showing of the ceremony. It was hard to deny that the world was watching. Some were watching because their hopes were coming to fruition. Some, likely, were watching in utter disbelief.

But the truth is this: Things are gonna change. Things already have.

I have great hope for President Obama in the next four years, and possibly the four after that. I'm thirty-five years old and I can't, and likely won't, recall another inauguration quite like this. And it's not even my country.

He's found himself at the bottom of a mountain whose summit, so high and distant, might as well be enshrouded in clouds. It'll be a slow climb, and it won't be easy. The world will resist. But the world needs this to work.

To my American friends: Have patience. Continue to have hope. He can't do this alone. And he's certainly not doing it all for himself. Today was just the first "historic" of his presidency. It won't be the last.

With today's inauguration, we've reached the end of an era. Today, the prospect of social, economic, and global political reform is very real.

Let's not blow this, eh?

Off to the eff ell, eh.

2009-01-19T19:39:00.003-04:00

Okay, so it's only two days until we depart to the land of The Mouse. Of course, we'll visit WDW (that's what the cool stay-at-homes are calling it these days, right?) for a couple of days, but with small children in tow, we won't be going hard-core. Here's hoping that Dave2's recommendation of theWilderness Lodge pans out. At any rate, we'll be overnighting there with the in-laws/snowbirds at said Lodge, so as long as the pool and the beer are both functional, I'll be alright.

What I want to know is this: what have been your experiences in central/Pacific-coastal Florida, and is there anything there that I should definitely not miss? Anyone live over there that I should be tracking down? And honestly, what's going on between Minnie and Goofy?

Inquiring Canadian minds want to know.

This is the perfect weather for going on vacation

2009-01-17T07:29:00.002-04:00

didimentionbrrrr
Originally uploaded by themikestand

What the hell are "ice crystals" as a weather condition, anyway? I must admit, I am tempted to get off this nice, warm couch and go find out.

Resisting temptation? My specialty this morning.

Canadians were apparently just too stable for feet alone.

2009-01-04T18:40:00.003-04:00

And so one by one, we challenge ourselves on skinny slices of steel.

Last year....

This year?

Phewf. I feel like a proper Canadian father now.

Cramming

2008-12-30T08:38:00.001-04:00

Here you go, folks. If you've learned nothing (else) this year, it's not too late.

From the Globe and Mail's Social Studies column, by Michael Kesterton:

Oh, we are surprised

Some results from a round-up of this year's research studies that The Sunday Times of London labels "bleedin' obvious:"
Call centre staff who try to be your friend by using your name - dubbed synthetic personalization - are irritating, concluded Oxford University researchers.

Parents whose children will not eat vegetables can succeed in disguising them in other dishes by mushing them up, according to research by Penn State University.

Men prefer blondes, says research by a team of Polish psychologists on the perception of hair colour in women over 35.

There. Go, spread the knowledge.

7 Days Winter 2008 -- the recap

2008-12-28T19:54:00.002-04:00

Another 7 Days of Self Portraits project has come to a close. Having 7 Days happen during Christmas brings its own set of challenges: getting pictures done on a daily basis, getting comments in on everyone's pictures, and trying to find the time to get it all done while you still have some "chipper" left in your mood can be quite difficult. But this isn't really about the pressure as much as it is about the inspiration and camaraderie, which of course were present in spades yet again. I had some inspired moments, as you may see from what's coming up, and in the aftermath, I'm once again driven to improve my photography (and perhaps make progress to upgrading my equipment, no thanks to kvon who just picked up a Canon 5D Mark II. We can dream, can't we?

Anyway, on with the pics, starting with Day 1:

On the way home from ultimate tonight, I cruised through the city looking for a good vantage point to get some city lights in the background. But given that it's -15C out there, I didn't really stand around too long.

Sail out the basin directly behind me for two or three days and you'll wind up in Bermuda, which now that I think of it, sounds like a nice idea.

Solstice isn't something we celebrate in the "traditional" sense, but it is something we recognize. Because it's so cold and dark these days, you'd be hard pressed to not look forward to the growing days and the promise of not starting and ending your workday in complete darkness. Every day brings a little more light. And the cycle continues.

Personally, and perhaps unsurprisingly, my spiritual awakening occurred some time between high school and university. I started paying closer attention to my natural surroundings, and took profound notice of its magnificence -- the mountains, the vast prairies, the ocean, the weather; recognizing that these surroundings were what comforted and inspired me. I hope that we can instill and support those same values and respect for nature in our boys.

Today started with 100km/hr winds, 20cm of ice-crusted snow on the city, an impromptu shoveling session at 0630, and a slow, convoluted commute to work. After work was a whirlwind trip through the grocery store to prepare for a winter / holiday cocktail party at our place.

By the time it was all over, I was more than ready to hit the "command + Q" on my day and get some sleep.

Winter. It is here.

The story of Butternut Squash Soup

Helpful tip! Never try out a new recipe remotely close to Christmas, lest you be asked to reproduce it on Christmas day, for eighteen guests.

Large picture: Find possible candidates for butternut squash soup. Hint: Start with butternut squash, that tall drink of water on the left. You may need another in case you don't get enough squash from that gourd. Or if you're feeding 18.

Top row (left to right): Selecting your squash; You'll need to add two leeks (just the white part, sliced and cleaned) and 4 tsp of minced ginger; Roast your gourds for 1hr @ 400F; Chop leeks and mince ginger furiously.

Middle row (left, right of main pic): Sautee leeks and ginger for 10 minutes; add roasted and cooled (if you're a wuss) squash and 4 cups chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Bottom row (left, right of main pic): Puree until smooth; add back in pot, add 2 more cups chicken stock and 1tsp of salt (seriously? 1 tsp?).

Not shown: toast remaining squash seeds and chop cilantro or parsley for garnish.

Yield: 4L of soupy goodness.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Not really much challenge in the "where am I" theme, but by the end of the day today, I was plum out of ideas for my submission.

This year's hearth conversation was slightly less humourous than last year, when we were informed by the older boy that lighting a fire in the fireplace would surely make Santa come out.

One of the Christmas traditions my late father left us was Irish Coffee on Christmas morning. Not very religious, mind you, but it certainly gets a person out of bed and into a good mood expeditiously. And after the first one, the ratio of whiskey to coffee gets much better.

The background here, some may remember, is my sister-in-law's place on a lake just outside the city.

Just adding to the neverending Playmobil saga -- we received a boat load (really, including the viking boat) of Playmobil this year. Pictured is the youngest directing all the Playmobil people into the safari/dinosaur hunter cage, soon to be accompanied by a rather vicious prehistoric beast. He also received a police paddywagon which would have done the trick, but there you have it. I'm actually playing the part of police man with canine companion, perhaps checking out a viable alternative to the 'wagon.

a quickr pickr post

Three!

2008-12-24T11:39:00.002-04:00

Somebody turned three today.
Originally uploaded by themikestand

Happy birthday, little guy.

Say brrrrr... or, maybe just cheese.

2008-12-19T20:20:00.004-04:00

7 Days of Self Portraits is back, and I'm giddy with anticipation.

Stay tuned to this station, or check out the flickr group for everyone's submissions over the next week.

Sadness on the scotch front

2008-12-16T08:06:00.001-04:00

This bit of news makes me terribly sad:

Whisky-loving Maritimers face a crisis of the spirit

High global demand for single-malt Scotch puts Nova Scotia at risk of running out of key brands, draining the rest of the East Coast dry

OLIVER MOORE
November 7, 2008

HALIFAX -- The province may be named for Scotland, but that's not enough to bump Nova Scotia up the queue as demand outstrips supply of the world's most popular single-malt whiskies.

And aficionados won't be able to dodge a looming provincial shortage with a quick road trip. Hugely popular single malts could soon be unavailable across the Atlantic provinces, a trend retailers blame on booming demand for premium spirits in Russia and China.

With little new product expected to come in, liquor corporations are warning they could run out of such iconic Scotch brands as Talisker and Oban.
"No Lagavulin? No Talisker? Those are staples," Sasho MacKenzie said last night as he sampled at a tasting event put on by the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp.

He said he's been drinking single malt for only about five years but was "thoroughly addicted." A fan of strongly peated whiskies, he struggled to think of a label that could replace his usual choices.

Kyle Carpenter called the news "devastating," but added he's well stocked to ride out the shortage. He's got a case of his drink of choice set aside.
Maritime aficionados of the so-called Classic Six whiskies - Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie, Lagavulin, Oban and Talisker - are soon going to be out of luck if they don't plan ahead. And for some unhappy drinkers, the end is already in sight.

"If you love your Lagavulin, break out your credit card and go get it," warned Rick Perkins, spokesman for the NSLC, who said they had fewer than 50 bottles of the 16-year-old product in the province.

Others he cited on the critical list in Nova Scotia were the Lagavulin Distiller's Edition, two whiskies from Oban, a Talisker and a Dalwhinnie, all distributed by the global giant Diageo.

"There are no ready substitutes that have the same characteristics," Mr. Perkins said. "These are the top of the top; these are brand names in the single malt world. There's a reason they're so popular."

The retailer has not been allocated any new Lagavulin or Oban through all of 2009. They will get a few hundred bottles of the 10-year-old Talisker, most of it in the spring, but none of the 18-year-old. In the last quarter of the year they expect to receive no single malt at all from Diageo.

New Brunswick is facing shortages of many of the same whiskies, as well as the labels Brora and Clynelish.

On Prince Edward Island, there's enough Talisker and Oban to tide them over until spring. That is, under normal circumstances.

"I'm sure if Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have a shortage we'll be out in no time," said Brooke MacMillan, CEO of the island's Liquor Control Commission. "We're just a short drive away."

Liquor corporation officials in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick believe they are suffering from Diageo's desire to divert stock to more lucrative markets overseas.
The company makes no bones about its unhappiness with profit levels in Canada.

"In Canada, the taxation levels and markup structure in place, render the profitability of scotch (and all spirits) to be significantly lower than the majority of other countries around the world," according to information provided to one of the Maritime liquor corporations.

"When there is pressure on stocks due to high demand ... companies take into consideration factors such as value generated when deciding where to sell."
That information referred to reduced supplies of blended whisky but insiders at the Maritime liquor corporations say they have been told by senior Diageo officials that their single-malt access is falling victim to the same logic.

Diageo spokesman Bob Paling acknowledged "there will be some markets that suffer" since these products are manufactured in limited quantities, making it hard to meet the demand.

He said that the surge of wealth in China and Russia has prompted new thinking in the premium spirits world but denied there is a direct link between Scotch shortages in the Atlantic provinces and these booming markets.
He said that this is just the normal ebb and flow of the business and that the situation could always change.

"There will be more Lagavulin in the future," he said.

All of that said, any and all of you are welcome to serve as whisky mules if you're passing through the region from the "have" provinces, or from the US. In the meantime, I may be forced to roll my nickels and pennies to buy one last bottle of the good stuff before it's all gone from local stores. Speaking of which, I still have to post about the bottle of Peat Monster that I finally tasted.

LOLitics

2008-12-12T10:11:00.006-04:00

This just seemed like too much fun to pass up... so here are some tidbits from the week's news.

Let's see yours! Ideas, links, and pictures welcome.

Breaking News: Winter streets begin annual campaign to write off your vehicle

2008-12-11T09:45:00.006-04:00

This just in:

1) It's winter in Canada. (No, really. We don't need the calendar to reach Dec 21st to declare this.)

2) This phenomenon happens every year, about this same time. (Seriously.)

3) Winter streets in Canada are slippery. (Stay with me here.)

4) They make special "tires" for your vehicle which help you stay, you know, on the "road" instead of, you know, sliding into the ditch and/or careening into power poles and small children playing hockey in the street.

5) Getting these tires on your car isn't exactly rocket science. Stores sell them.

6) Some people who live in very snowy climes (= Quebec) think that snow tires should be mandatory, thus making #5 slightly more challenging.

7) The first snowfall is often a "surprise" to people who are not good winter planners. These are the same people who don't think about owning a snow shovel when mother nature dumps 30cm of the white stuff on you. These people usually get snow tires installed the same day as their car goes into the shop to get that pesky dent or slow pedestrian removed.

8) The normal wait to get snow tires in the rest of the country became grossly inflated, that is, if one could even FIND snow tires for purchase in your locality.

To wit:

Call it a Canadian tire crisis. With the imminent arrival of a mandatory winter tire law in Quebec, some retailers as far away as Halifax and Vancouver say they're facing a shortfall.

Some drivers are heading across the U.S. border in search of winter wheels, while others are resorting to stealing them.

"I'm getting over 200 calls a day and the phone will still be ringing when I leave tonight," a harried Gary Bastin, a tire distributor in Toronto, said yesterday between calls. "Customers are so frustrated, but there are no tires around. In 38 years, I've never seen anything like it."

The crunch comes as Quebec prepares to become the first province to make winter tires compulsory. The law, which takes effect Monday, is meant to reduce wintertime fender-benders.

Source: The Globe and Mail: "Quebec winter tire law hits the skids"

Our snow tires were installed right around the time of the first big storm, three winters ago. After being in the same boat as everyone else who figured that "all seasons" actually included WINTER, we bought studded winter tires. And let me tell you, those studs are a godsend. Sliding, white-knuckled, down the driveway down a sheet of freshly frozen rain can be eye opening (It can also leave a mark on the front seat). I think when it's time to replace these snow tires in a couple years time, I'll write a note to myself to buy them in May when the snow is waning and the prices are falling.

There's also an excellent Nathan: On Your Side episode from This Hour Has 22 Minutes on protecting your family with snow tires, but unfortunately it appears that the CBC doesn't want you to see it on youtube. However, if you happen to be outside the country, you can probably see it here.

Happy winter motoring! And hey, let's be careful out there.

Wrapping up Movember 2008

2008-11-27T09:58:00.009-04:00

Alas, another Movember has all but come and gone, and though my Mo isn't coming in any thicker or darker than in the past, I had much more fun with it this year, and in these parts, we had a bigger crowd growing and grooming compared with last year. Also, with the help of family, friends (both real and the bloggy variety) I managed to surpass my fundraising goal and got a fair bit of local media attention.

Starting with this little interview I did with Melissa Tobin, a radio reporter from Dalhousie University :

And then this spot from the local morning show Breakfast Television:

Yes, yes, I know. My Mo is terrible. At least Derek could stand up for the Bros.

And the very next day, I was part of a larger piece that aired on the suppertime news (clip not available yet, but trust me on this, my Mo looks better when it's not under the unforgiving studio lighting!)UPDATE: Here it is:

Cut to yesterday...The Mo Town party was last night, and I think we got 50-60 people out, including Mo Bros, precious few Mo Sistas, and some folks that just came out for the band. I think they knew something was up, as they didn't seem at all fazed by the fact that it looked as though they might have just walked into a motorcycle-cop convention. We crowned "Sal" (see the story below) the Best Mo Town Mo and "Laura" Miss Movember Halifax 2008 for her hard work with the Dalhousie Law crowd.

The last piece of print evidence showed up this morning in the provincial newspaper:

Perhaps one of the best surprises this year was that I roped Sween into embracing the Mo. My apologies to his Lovely Wife. Another few days and it'll all be over.

I'll post more pictures and other audio and video as they become available.

My undying thanks go to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada for their support of us east-coast yokels as we try to raise the profile of Halifax and get ourselves an official Gala Parté sometime soon. If you still think you might donate to the cause, it's not too late.

It was either this, or a clip show.

2008-11-14T08:03:00.004-04:00

It's time for an update post.

What is this Mo Fo?

Some may have noticed that I've not been posting here recently. Others may have noticed that I'm not taking part in the 'BloPoMo this year. I am, however, and it should come as little surprise, taking part in Movember yet again. This marks my second year of month-long moustache growing*. So far, I think I'm equally as sketchy as last year. You can read about my progress on my MoSpace page. More importantly, I would really like your support in the form of a donation, if you have the ability to give. Click here and you can make your donation online. Any donation over $20 will receive a taxable deduction receipt. I'm almost half-way to my goal of raising $1,000 this year and could really use your support.

What I might not have mentioned is that the folks at the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada have asked me to coordinate the efforts out here, so I've been trying to get my face and voice out there. So far, I've done two radio interviews and have the possibility for a television spot to showcase the local Movember efforts. I'll post them if and when they become available. Maybe fame will be good for the Mo?

Update: The Lovely Wife will not be happy to hear this, but I'm kind of liking the moustache and wonder what it could become if given the time to properly flourish.

There's a Mizzouse in da Hizzouse

Fall also means that little outdoor creatures are looking for indoor refuge. Yes, it seems the mice are back. In the span of a week, I composted 4 of the little buggers (If TLW asks, it's only 3. Shhhh.) It all got started with a certain tub of bird seed (not that one) that was stowed in the garage. I had duct taped the hole in the side, but to no avail. On the plus side, it seems I'm having equal luck with two types of traps, and since I plugged two teeny tiny holes in the wall with steel wool, we've been mouse free.

From One Mouse to Another

Earlier this year, The Lovely Wife and I had decided to start saving up to go on holiday. Just the two of us. My, how plans change. A bonus from her job and a windfall from the bank (think Monopoly, only better, but the money is just as colourful) bolstered the holiday fund, and since my job change means I don't have the same number of holidays saved up, has resulted in us deciding to go to Florida with the kids in January. The Grammie and Papa will be snowbird-ing down there for several weeks, so why not? I'm told there will be one day of DisneyWorld involved -- I reckon I can handle the crowds if I'm properly sedated. Also, golf and some time spent with The Lovely Wife. No sedatives necessary for those. Next stop, the passport office. And hey, with any luck, there will still be some cash left in the holiday fund when we return and we can plan for something in 2009.

The Coffee Drought is Over

I'd just like to note, for those of you looking for more of an update on the "new job", that one of the clear perks (no pun) is that I'm but a stone's throw from not one, not two, but SIX very good coffee shops. And one of them just happens to be JustUs, source of my favourite Fair Trade Organic coffee. Let there be caffeine, I say! Much better than the options I had at my disposal when I moved across the harbour, where good coffee dare not go.

There. Mostly updated. We good?

*month-long is not a unit of measurement, but rather a unit of time. I can see that discussion going somewhere regrettable, so let's just not go there at all.

But terror takes the sound before you make it

2008-10-31T09:15:00.002-03:00

881 people Thrilled the World in Austin, TX last week. Observe, if you dare:

Happy Hallowe'en, everyone!

Squirrels!

2008-10-22T09:36:00.001-03:00

a quickr pickr post

Same as the Old Boss (Canada Voted.)

2008-10-15T09:27:00.006-03:00

Last time:

This time:

Source: CBC

So glad we got that figured out. Now we can get ahead with all the policymaking in our no-longer-dysfunctional Parliament. On with the benefiting of hard working, ordinary Canadian families with good old, kitchen-table values. Nevermind that we won't have that $300 million to spend on health care, daycare spaces and the environment. No no, it all went into the campaign. We probably would have pissed it away on something frivolous anyway.

See you again in 2-4 years. I'll be the one with the disillusioned look on his face as I'm exiting the polling booth. On second though, maybe I'd better wear a name tag as there's bound to be some confusion.

(Afterthought: If Americans threaten to go to Canada if their red team gets in, where can Canadians threaten to go if our blue team gets in? )

Only one more month...

2008-10-01T08:10:00.002-03:00

...and then it begins.

Who's with me? Join up here, or give your support to a Mo Bro or Mo Sista.

7 Days - Fall 2008

2008-09-27T08:42:00.003-03:00

I incorrectly identified the last 7 Days post (from two days ago). It should have read "Fall 2008". I guess my mind is still firmly rooted in Summer, despite all the back-to-school and back-to-work traffic that fills my morning commute.

Anyway, here is the full photo set of my submissions to the latest 7 Days of Self Portraits. Thanks again to Doow over at Dreamdust for putting this whole thing together in the first place.

7Days:1 - I'm a picker

Today the boys and I and the cousins went to the Valley and picked 50 lbs of apples and 10 lbs of pears. Definitely got our money's worth taste-testing in the field, too.

7Days:2 - Action

Though not exactly IN action at the time of this photo, the new bike (!) got to see its first bit of action today. Say it with me: Wheeeee!

7Days:3 - Bring It In

There's just something about 7 Days and ultimate frisbee (see last time) -- here we have "Sniff", my fall league team bringing it in for a cheer after halftime. We lost. Badly, I might add. But we have fun.

7Days:4 - Invisible Kids

A little shutter play here, making the kids all but disappear. (No comment).

7Days:5 - Crossing the Line (Public/Private)

7days:6 - It's a Good One!

The phrase "it's a good one!" goes back a few years for us; graduate school was filled with reruns of Law & Order (and thesis writing, I swear) -- and when one of us would miss an episode, the other would recap it and let us know just how good it was. Tonight had no L&O on the television, but instead the season premiere of Criminal Minds, which also was "A Good One".

That story, beyond being only remotely tangential in the picture you see here, is completely irrelevant. The reason The Lovely Wife is smiling here is because she's trying REALLY hard to indulge me in my pursuit of another 7days submission. I give her full credit for even agreeing to appear, since she's not fond of this side of the camera (I know... how sad for me.).

7Days:7 - Putting this thing to bed

Another family snap to end things off this time around. Thanks to everyone for the great comments. I'm so appreciative of this community.

Oh, and this is Hansel & Gretel. The boys are laughing at the witch being thrown into the cauldron. What can I say? They have a weird sense of humour. Blame their father's influence.

a quickr pickr post

Or, click this for a neato slideshow:

A little election reflection

2008-09-26T13:39:00.005-03:00

I have no prognostications about the upcoming Federal election in Canada, but clearly there are some polls out there saying that the Conservatives could pull off a majority. Whether or not this is true, the brilliant students in a Université du Québec a Montréal graphic-design class have put together a great pack of campaign posters. Some take shots that echo the current mudslinging, and others are just plain cheeky. Posters for the four national parties (and the one Quebec-only party) are included. See below. Click here for the rest of them.

Hat tip to Martin Patriquin over at Macleans.

7 Days - Summer 2008, Days 1-3

2008-09-25T07:51:00.000-03:00

Doow has done it again, and it seems like more people than ever are participating in the Flickr 7Days of Self Portraits challenge.

Here's a peek at my first three submissions:

Today the boys and I and the cousins went to the Valley and picked 50 lbs of apples and 10 lbs of pears. Definitely got our money's worth taste-testing in the field, too.

Though not exactly IN action at the time of this photo, the new bike (!) got to see its first bit of action today. Say it with me: Wheeeee!

There's just something about 7 Days and ultimate frisbee (see last time) -- here we have "Sniff", my fall league team bringing it in for a cheer after halftime. We lost. Badly, I might add. But we have fun.

a quickr pickr post

As always, it's been both challenging and very fun to come up with new ideas every day. Some days are more inspiring than others, but the people in this group are sometimes the best inspiration I could wish for.

I'll post the rest after the end of Day 7...