OF RAIN AND CAMPING
I raced out this past Labour Day weekend what was likely my last shot at camping in 2010. It’s been a cold and rainy summer, and I am afraid that does not bode well for our fall. Despite the cold and the rain, I thought the trip went rather well. I certainly appreciated the chance to get out by a campfire and see the stars. The campfire was excellent, and I know for a fact it exceeded 650° C, as it melted my aluminum camp cooker. I think next time I’ll be purchasing a cooker made out of cast iron; those ones are nearly indestructible.
WEEKEND TRIPS
I spent this past weekend at a wedding in Kelowna (pinned above), where I enjoyed the company of seldom seen friends, and spent inordinately large sums of money on leisurely pursuits. In short, it was a fantastic weekend. The weather was sunny, if a bit cool, and the company was great. Over the years, many friends have moved on, gotten married, and followed their dreams to other cities and continents. It’s starting to be the case that the only time I see many old friends are at weddings. There’s not too many of those left, only one of that sizeable group has not married, and as nearly everyone reminds me lately, myself.
EDMONTON IN SMOKE
It’s odd to walk out of the door on a fine summer morning and gag, because it feels like you’ve fallen into an ashtray. I have never seen anything quite like it, and it’s bizarre because of how fast normal disturbances blow through the area. Edmonton is, after all, on the prairies and normally has unobstructed wind flow. It’s now starting to get better, but at one point it was strong enough to bring on a decent headache. It’s hard to fathom the size of a fire that could push that much smoke hundreds of kilometres into another province (BC, which is having the worst forest fires in a decade). The chief medical officer actually had to issue a health advisory due to the high amount of particular matter in the air.
EDMONTON FOLK FEST 2010
I have never actually attended a music festival, much less the Edmonton Folk Festival, which is somewhat surprising, as they’re relatively popular in Alberta, and I love music. Nevertheless, I think that I started on a great note. The festival had some great performances, and I put a lot of hours in there. I roughly figure between 25 – 26 hours of solid music for the 4-day weekend event, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. It was also a chance to sample some good food and hang out with friends.
IL PLEUVAIT DRU…
I can’t remember a rainier July in Edmonton, really. There’s been a nightly thunderstorm more often than not, and so I think Edmonton has received its full quotient of rainfall for the summer. At least, it sure seems like it should have at the moment. Thankfully, most of the rain has occurred during nightly thunderstorms, leaving the days (usually) fairly sunny. As muggy as it has often been, I have welcomed the shower in the evening to move off some heat. And it’s been somewhat incredible to see the massive flashes of lightning on the horizon.
ST. PETER'S TOMB
Being at the Tomb of the Apostle is something of an experience. It’s hard to imagine that Peter himself was buried at this spot, and harder still to fathom the absolutely massive basilica that was built over it. One really wonders what the poor fisherman from Galilee would have thought of the edifice and of the empire that was built out of his Apostolic authority. It is the largest Christian church in the world, holding around 60,000 people, and I really felt that wandering around in there. It is also unbelievably ornate, with statues everywhere carved out of marble, including Michelangelo's Pietà.
MONTSERRAT
Wonderful National Park Close to Barcelona It’s hard to overstate the beauty of Montserrat and the mountain monastery and cathedral that were built at the top. It’s truly a stunning geological formation that is really nothing like anything else I have ever seen before. I felt immensely privileged just to be there, which is something of an experience. Besides the obvious trans-Atlantic flight, the monastery is located at a rather high altitude and requires either a rack-line train or a cable car to reach it. For the curious, a rack-line train basically has an extra rail that the train uses for grip. I would up taking the train up there, largely because I had a discount for that method. It’s quite something heading up such a grade, winding around the mountains.
HEALTHCARE FINANCE AND REALPOLITIK
As a confession, I have watched with morbid fascination the exhaustive, rancorous debate in the US on healthcare reform on both the right and the left. In a legislative coup by the Democrats, a healthcare reform unparalleled since the 1960’s has become American law. I am not particularly fond of this bill, but I think it is the epitome of the internecine politics that have dominated the republic since its founding days. It is perhaps a bitter irony that to achieve anything worthwhile or progressive in a major democracy results in a compromise that is rather distasteful to even the original sponsors of the bill. This sprawling, squalid mess of a bill neither satisfies the more liberal wings of the USA who would prefer a single payer system nor does it satisfy the conservative elements of society that profit greatly from the status quo. The rest of the country is mainly confused by the provisions of the bill, and relies on trusted pundits to exclaim or decry the legislative enactment.
SPREADSHEETS
I have spend an extended amount of time over the last month in Excel® both for personal and professional purposes, and I do believe I run the risk of becoming permanently cross-eyed in the future. Not that I am not grateful to have them, indeed, I cannot even fathom a reversion to banging out repetitive calculations on a Casio scientific calculator. In fact, I have made somewhat of a point of beefing up my skill set when it comes to that venerable office staple. It really is a fantastic way to crunch a lot of data in a very short time span, once you have mastered its formula and macro system.
OLYMPIC FEVER AND VANOC
The Olympics come once every two years in a blistering fury of media coverage and commercial exploitation to overstretched cities around the world. They welcome it with open arms, all of them eager to present on the world stage and play host to the world’s first and best event in sport. And to be honest, I am fairly hooked, watching the entirety of the games for the first time in glorious high definition. I find it inspiring watching athletes perform at that level, and in my very limited fashion, I try to follow their example in my pursuits. But I think it’s sometimes hard to tell what the games are actually about in the new millennium — the company to successfully milk the most they can out of the two week stint or the athletes that actually physically compete. I find it hilarious to watch athletes who claim they are headed to a certain popular fast food vendor for food after they compete, as if greasy fries were conducive to high performance athletics.