Interstellar [review]

The end of civilization ? Time & Gravity. Gargantua, the name given to the "back hole" that is uncovered enabling space travel to enter into another galaxy whereby the quest for a planet similar to earth can be found. 
Interstellar is 3 hours long, but for me fascinating. It's today's "2001 Space Odyssey". Matthew McConnaughy is Emmy good. Had the Producers used Motorhead on the soundtrack the picture would have been classic for millenniums to come. 
Cooper & Mirth (Cooper's daughter) farmers with brilliant minds uncover NASA's "Area 51" .  After learning the earth is doomed ; Cooper is now  selected to pilot a voyage not far from planet Saturn, a small gate into another galaxy to uncover 12 possible life containing planets known as "plan A". What is Plan "B" ? Go buy a ticket and find out. 
Cooper is brought up to speed by NASA that earlier exploration was sent to these 12 mystery planets. Cooper, robot, and crew will eventually land on two of them. One of the planet's has equivalence of aging them 7 years for every hour spent on the planet. Struggle & conflict occurs and it begins to look like they will never return home to mother earth. 
If you enjoy science, and the concepts of relativity plus time, you will love this movie. Better yet if you get your kicks out of watching the expressions on the easily confused, bring them to Interstellar with you.

Guys, remove your Hats when you eat.

Its not that hard. We don't care if you're bald. Good social upbringing, etiquette, respect. If you're at home, in your own house, eating by yourself, knock yourself out and eat with your cap on. However, in a restaurant, show some courtesy. At dinner Saturday evening, the table of four next to us, two of three men were wearing ball caps. For some reason, this particular act and lack of respect just sets me  off. Fortunately they didn't order dessert, paid their bill and left and I could enjoy my meal with my wife. The removing of a hat is a sign of respect. Removing your hat for the national anthem or in church, a funeral and while eating a meal especially inside should be common sense. Besides the attribute of respect, traditionally the cap or hat was worn by men to keep sun & debris from landing on their heads. Most caps would become dirty over time, hence another important purpose to remove during meal time. Removing your dirty cap is the same as washing your dirty hands before eating.
Other common sense etiquette I quite often witness :

1. men using profanity in company of women
2. talking with your mouth full
3. smacking your food while you eat
4. construction workers with debris on their boots walking across an administration carpet
5. the person who interrupts someone else in mid sentence
6. but mostly guys who don't remove their caps from their heads.

The Art of Kayaking

 My recent expedition down the Madawaska River.

Ottawa Marathon

44,000 races participate in the "Ottawa Race Weekend". 7,000 for the Marathon, 12,000 for Hal Marathon, 11,000 for 10 km and the balance in the 5km, 2km & Kids Marathon (1.2km).

Today I finished a very respectable 42 out of 456 men in my age bracket (50-55) with a time of 3 hrs 21 mins. Officially 657th overall. Quite satisfied. Stuck to my strategy and went out safe and easy tempo. Was feeling really good until about 38km and the quads began to burn. Next race Detroit Marathon.

life & purpose (something to think about this morning before your second cup of coffee)

life & purpose. pretty profound material to digest on a thursday morning, am i right? have you come across anyone in the last year who  truly has a five year plan. i mean pick any number three, four, seventeen, doesn't matter. but a genuine plan. and i'm not necessarily talking business plan but a personal plan. more than likely your answer is a four letter word that starts with "Z" (zero).
Zero to Hero.
lets start with personal plan. this could be in part a bucket list. usually bucket list is the end product or the stated goal. i want to visit Roskidle Denmark before i'm 61 years old. your personal plan then becomes the steps and procedures between now & then to master & accomplish your goal. by way of example i know i will need $10,000 for my trip so in the next four months my sub goal is to save $1,000 and i'm going to do that by selling off everything that my kids have left in my house. [just kidding guys].
other examples could be i want to have my welding ticket in three years or i want to learn to speak fluent spanish in 36 months. a plan best if it is written down. how i'm going to accomplish my goal, and finally execution.
Jamie you're boring us with the speech. i know.
life & purpose. how many of us, have personal goals written done? less than .01%
now let's turn from personal to business. i'm in the shopping centre business. i meet with retailer owners everyday all over Canada. part of my job is to renew leases with existing businesses.
don't ask me why i'm shocked, but i am. when i sit down with small business folks to discuss a renewal i eventually get around to asking them , "where do you see yourself in 5 ,7, 10 years"?
nine out of ten times there is a long pause. i swear to god, by the blank stares on their faces, it is the very first time they have even contemplated the question. many answer, "i don't know". some answer, "doing this ; i guess".
i remember a CEO by the name of Bruce Duncan who spoke passionately about accomplishments. he said something along the lines of, "if your purpose is to wake up, eat breakfast go to work, enjoy your existing hobbies, go to bed (repeat) - then that is absolutely fine. you're permitted to live your life this way".
i suppose 80% of the population which i will call the mainstream lives like this.
i'm a strong advocate of if you really want something in life. perseverance, a good plan, will get you there. start by turning off the TV. TV is a huge time sucking drug. i'm not suggesting to stop watching tv all together, but cut back in half the time you sit in front your bluray. add up the number of hours you watch tv daily, weekly and then convert that to a yearly number.
start with something simple. a smaller goal with a relatively short time span. write it down & post it on your fridge so you see it daily. be true. make it happen.
life & purpose.

MEC Barrie Half May 10 2014

I had forgotten how undulating Memorial & Line 15 were. Truth, I hadn't forgotten, I just didn't know. MEC has a series of races for an incredible price of $15. Purely grass roots with times being all recorded manually. Small & tucked away place, just south of Orillia but north of Carthew Bay is where this roadway exists.
My finish time was 1 hr 38 minutes, not great but considering the hills, I'll take it.
Just when you think all the training you're doing is going to enable you to set a new PB, boom, the running gods bring you back.
KMF, keep moving forward next on my list Ottawa Marathon.

Lady Lada ; test drive one today.

It happens. Don't kid yourself. You wake up, brew some Folgers and decide to test drive a Lada. On your way to your local Lada dealership, you might be whistling "Making Plans for Nigel". It was during my adolescent days of owning my fathers 1977 Blue Chev Malibu that I first came across a modified pimped up Lada. It was beyond smart looking. Spoilers, fat wheels, shiny rims. The Russian Lada. Cool.
Often at Airports I'll request a Lada from the Budget Rental Lady. As I patiently wait for her response like a giddy school kid, i anticipate she will say, Sir, you're in luck we have two left. Would you like a blue or orange Lada today ?".

Test drive a LADA

ATB 2014

gun about to go off

2 hrs 32 min coming in under race clock

Am I worried? Hell No! Having run five times since the Hamilton Marathon in November 13 ; i'm over the moon, with my result today. In fact, pretty pumped. The 500 plus km Nordic Skiing this past season was a bonus. Now its time to get serious about Marathon running. Ottawa, Detroit & Hamilton here I come.
Just outside the lift bridge I ran into my good friend Keith Lascelle. Keith and I ran a couple of Ultras together. 63Km at Ghost Town , New Mexico was a treat. Yesterday, Keith and I ran probably 5 km together and it always astounds me how fast time goes when you're just chatting. Keith thank you. I saw quite a few Barrie runners today including Terry McFarlene, Frank Astri, Oliver Owens, and Allan Johnson. I also met some interesting Hamilton people after the race including a lady who ask my wife "is that your husband?"
Hobbling around James Street, post race with my Princess and Starbucks, a 12 year old kid on a BMX comes to a squeeling halt, blurts out, "hey mister what place did you come in?" without hestiating i said "second".
Kid "WOW!" and he peals off on his BMX. 1164th just didn't have the same pizazz.

I Love Peterborough Racing

 My Wife and Daughter are planning their time in Peterborough while I'm running the race. Tasha, "Dad will you be done in an hour & a half?" Me, "HELL NO!"
Last time I ran was the Hamilton Marathon first week in November. 
I started running the Peterborough Half in 2004, when the race home base was the old YMCA building. Today, the new YMCA facility makes this winter run a treat & pleasant experience. Not suggesting for a minute that I compete in races whereby we physically change our undergarments in frozen snow banks.
 This year I ran slower than in the past, mainly because I ran slower that I have in the past. It wasn't my age. It wasn't the wind in my face. It wasn't my socks. It wasn't that I overdressed. It wasn't because 9 out the 10 aid stations refused to give me a drink. I was slower than prior races. I've done this particular course in 1 hr 32 mins which for me is good. Today's time was 1 hr 41 mins.
What can be learned from this? In order to get better you need to practice.
Overheard in the locker room prior to the race. First Man not from Peterborough area doing the race for the first time, "Is this course hilly?" Second Man from Peterborough, "Well, ,.. yes,  i would say its hilly, (pauses) and reflects and then decides to be a little more forthright. Yes it is hilly especially kilometer #5.
I'm thinking to myself, buddy are you in for a surprise.

Gillette made the Mach 3 ; Under Armour has the Mach 39

I'm a strong proponent for science, engineering & making the world a safer place to eat peanut butter. I love my Lazer Aerodynamic Time Trial Race Helmet. In the words of Frank Zappa "in order to make progress, you sometimes have to deviate from the norm".
On January 1st,  in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, Under Armour released the "Mach 39" to the U.S. Speed Skating Team. Already heavily favoured to gather a bouquet of medals this lightening fast, aerodynamic "Mach 39" racing suit would ensure pure success. On Feb 16th the U.S. has achieved "nyet".
The venting in the upper back portion of the Mach 39 suits was to release body heat. The venting was taking in air,  thus acting like the Goodyear Blimp. Imagine the Athletes. Imagine the Stakeholders back in the boardroom.
A multitude of strings are at play here. You're Shani Davis, you have been training your callouses off for the last four years and you want one of those honking magnificent Sochi Gold medals. You'll skate naked if it means getting gold with 5 days to go. Meanwhile back in the U.A. Boardroom its damage control. Friday at close,  Under Armour stock fell - 2.38% to $ 106.10 /share. Today it will be interesting to watch what happens to the price.
I truly feel for Under Armour and Shani Davis and the U.S. Speed skating team. Trying to get an skate edge but somehow not quite pulling off the American Dream.Not unlike our beloved Canadian Cross Country Skiers with their "wax experiments?".  You gotta love Science.

Man's Best Friend ?

Most likely over 20 years old, manufactured in Winnipeg, Manitoba this Sterling Snow Blower gets the job done. Did i mentioned it weighs 300 lbs.

the Nielsens

It was fourth down and a half a frozen lake to go. T$ decided to throw the bomb. Play is under review for defensive interference, offside and too many men on the lake.