Life: The Holidays Beckon

It's been a couple of very busy weeks at work leading up to the Christmas to New Year's break here at the university. There are labs moving over the holiday, and they all want their 20+ year old chemicals removed from the old labs. And, of course, they all waited until this month to do it. We're still not done with them, and won't get to them until the new year now.

Waste shipments always make for extra icing on a busy week, and with our desire to clear out as much from our building as possible, it meant that we shipped out more than 70 drums worth of waste in two shipments on consecutive Fridays. Thus, last week was a blur as we hurried to process everything we picked up. I can fit a lot into my days, but some days it just doesn't go fast enough anwyay.

I have gotten some fun in too. I got in a couple of games of Flames of War last weekend. I have also had the chance to sort through some more of my stuff to figure out what else I can do in terms of getting things finished on the miniatures front. I hope to concentrate on assembling all that I can over the winter. I have been working to settle on some armies to try, and will fill in gaps as needed to get things painted and playable over the spring and summer.

So now that that insanity has slowed, it's time to gear up for the trip to Edmonton to visit the families. No doubt there will be way to much eating and sleeping, but both Aerin and I are looking forward to some slack time. Tonight we finish getting everything packed up and ready to load into the car tomorrow afternoon. We both have to work the morning, but that will be mercifully short and filled with things to kill time. I will get my pickup stats done between now and then, and do a corrective inventory for our beyond frustrating online waste system.

Christmas Eve dinner with Aerin's family followed by present opening with my family will lead to a late night, and we will both sleep long on Christmas Day. We're having an early dinner with my family, and my grandmother and uncle should be there too. The rest of the day will no doubt be spent eating yet more food and sweets interspersed with games and movies. Boxing Day is presents with Aerin's family and then yet more food, and hopefully some bargin shopping.

The rest of the time is pretty free form. I will be working on a proposal for a game project I am collaborating on with another Flames of War player. There is also some final proofing to do for a guy from Italy that has been patiently waiting for me to finish since August. I may actually get some Flames of War in too.

Happy Holidays! Happy New Year!

Life: Settling In

Two weeks go by very quickly these days. The last week of November is almost a non-existent blur in my memory now. Where did the year go to already?

With the arrival of the freezing cold weather (-40C with windchill) I am very happy that we got our move done when we did. I can't imagine trying to load and unload a truck in these conditions. The people we were going to rent from originally were hopeful they could move before Xmas, but the long term weather looks none to promising for that even though they have a company doing the move for them. When I stopped by to pickup some mail that had made it there before our switch in residence they had all kinds of boxes stacked up waiting to go. I'm glad Aerin and I managed to spare ourselves that fate right now.

Have you ever heard the phrase "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part"? That's the way things have headed the last week at work as everyone that is moving labs over the holidays wants old chemicals and waste containers dealt with before they move. Our team leader's last day was on Friday before his three and a half weeks of vacation, so we're now short handed with more than enough on our hands to keep us busy. We sent out our 9th waste shipment of the year (compared to just seven last year), and we make one more the end of the week to clear our things so they are not sitting around for a couple of weeks unattended. Certainly never a dull moment at work these days, and I'm certainly looking forward to the time off between Xmas and the New Year we get while campus shuts down.

So the last couple of weeks have been busy with work by day and settling things into the new house by night. Aerin has had some busy nights doing shiatsu treatments for clients. We spent the Monday night after our move at Ikea spending a good chunk of our security deposit on new furniture that we needed but didn't have space for in the old apartment. So we got a new bookcase and a kitchen island amongst others.

The living room and dining room here are as big as the old apartment kitchen and living room/dining room put together. Unfortunately the kitchen doesn't have as much counter space or drawers/cabinets as we had before. The kitchen island has helped a little, but isn't going to quite get us there maybe. We'll continue to look at how to deal with that at a later date once we see how things are going for use with the current setup.

I have a room all to my self for my game stuff. I'll be reorganizing a few things in there, but for the most part I can start setting aside some time work on things without worrying about our tripping over everything or having it out for a few days between the time I have available to work on it.

We have a spare bedroom still that is currently a collection space for everything that hasn't found a permanent home or just needs to be sorted out. So we can host a few more bodies than we could before. Our old place was pretty tight with just the two of us; it was downright crowded once you got to three or four people. And it'll hold all our (mostly my) outdoor gear.

And the bedroom is quite nice too. We got the blackout blind hung yesterday, so that helped me sleep a little better last night. The street light is pretty bright through the existing blinds, so it was nice to have it a little darker for sleeping. I just have to remember to close the spare bedroom door if we plan to sleep in since it's across the hall and lets in a lot of light.

As a bonus we can now have a proper house warming, or even just have a few friends over, since we now have actual space to host people without sitting in each others laps. The house warming will happen some time in the new year.

Time to get some things done here. Cheers!

Life: Move Complete

So the big day arrives for the move. We've got a lot of boxes loaded with stuff, and could have loaded more if we'd actually had space to put them.

So Saturday started out spectacularly. Apparently a reservation with Budget for the truck isn't actually a reservation - it's a go to the front of the line, first pick that expires if you don't show up immediately upon opening. When I arrived to pickup the truck, there wasn't a single one in sight. I talked to the guy at the desk, and was informed that since I wasn't there at 8am my truck was gone. Needless to say I was pretty mad and used a few choice words.

The thing that steams me the most is that even when I said to the guy I made the reservation with on the phone that I needed it for 9am, all he said was the reservation was for 8am and didn't mention a single thing about it being 8am or nothing. Needless to say I will be writing a not very nice letter to Budget about their policy and inability to communicate that policy.

After a call to Aerin, she quickly had a new truck lined up from Discount. I had to go back to the airport to get the truck, but I can't say enough about how much better my experience was with them. And I saved at least $60 over Budget's gouging. We could have gotten a bigger truck since we couldn't quite fit in all the furniture, but it was a short trip to get the rest moved. In the end it took a little longer to move with the late start and second trip, but we were done in about 4 hours with the help of our friends and co-workers.

So a big thanks to all that came out to help!

Life: Not Homeless

So last night Aerin and I found a place to live, so we are moving this Saturday.

It's a house in Parkdale at the foot of the hill below the hospital. Aerin would have liked me to dicker on the price when our new landlord was open to an offer, but I was too damned tired and excited to have found a place for my neurons to fire in that direction. At the very least we are not paying more than we are now. I am happy to found a place, and I doubt it will be a problem to go back and talk to her about lowering the rent some after we've not driven up the utility bills for a couple of months.

The house is a quite old, but in good shape. It's hardwood floors throughout the house. Three bedrooms. A big living room, and space downstairs too. Gas, water and electricity are included in the price. I'll try to post some photos once we get moved in.

Games: Technical Support by the Illiterate

I don't play a lot of computer games - never have. But every now and again I like to have something on hand to kill some time. A favourite de-stressor and time waster has been Battlefield 2 from EA Games. It's first-person shooter on the military side of things in a fictional near-future world.

My trouble started when I decided to check out if there was a patch for the game since I had noticed a couple of glitches in the game play. I downloaded the appropriate patch and proceeded to apply it. Whether something went wrong, or I somehow got the wrong patch, I don't know what exactly happened, but suddenly I couldn't get into the game. It just wouldn't let me sign in no matter what I did, checked, double-checked. There should have been no problem.

So I figured something was screwed up and tried to re-install the game. BIG mistake apparently. The damned thing doesn't even accept my previously valid CD key, so it doesn't even start the install process. So I contact EA technical support online.

BIG mistake apparently.

It's really not that hard a problem to describe. "I'm trying to install the game, but it doesn't accept the CD key as valid. I've double-checked I'm entering it correctly." That's the short version, but do you really need anything more? Apparently, yes.

Long story short, the first moron sent me on a wild goose chase for a fix that doesn't even apply in this situation, and then I get some half-baked response about a bunch of other conflictst don't apply because I replied that it wasn't that.

So I try again. This person didn't even read the message or look at the screen caps or look up previous contacts with EA because I got yet another response that has nothing to do with getting an invalid CD key message while trying to install the game.

Is my use of English really that bad?? I doubt it.

I doubt I will be playing Battlefield 2 anytime soon.

Life: Presentation Hell

I've been thinking about going back to school, and Industrial Design has seemed the answer. My intent would be to work on outdoor gear design. Since I get to take free Continuing Education courses as part of my benefits from the University of Calgary, I'm taking some art and design to see what I like/don't like about the whole thing.

I am currently taking a History of Design course. It's been really neat to learn about the different elements of design, and look at all the history and development of all aspects of design from chairs to art. But part of the course is student presentations, and that's where it falls down. The presentations have had lots of interesting information, but that's been the only part of it that's good - presentation skills have been sorely lacking for more than a few people. I'd almost rather have someone dragging their finger nails across a chalk board because at least people wouldn't think it impolite when I stuck my fingers in my ears and cringed.

A couple of people just read their essays as their presentations. All of them were WAY WAY past the 15 minute time limit. Does no one actually practice to see how long their presentation runs? The last guy got his done in 15 minutes, but we still ran 10 minutes past our finishing time of 10PM. A couple of people have done the classic reading of the PowerPoint slides. A couple of people didn't even have a PowerPoint presentation - they used Windows' built-in picture viewer and let the pictures just flip by with no connection to what they were talking about.

And the last bit is one of the most disappointing too. The class rooms are in the ancient Craigie Hall, which means they are not really setup for media in any useful way. The lights are either full on or full dark. The presenters get to hide in the dark with their nervousness and give their presentations as the disembodied voice from the shadows. This makes it easy for people to fake themselves into safe place, but it makes it very hard to read their notes in the dark - again, slowing down the proceedings.

So now next week the heat is on. We have about 10 presentations to get through, and I really wonder if any of the other people presenting have any clue how long their presentations will actually run. I plan to go first so I can just be done with it so I can leave on time.

Life: The Roof Not Over Our Heads

It's about 10:15PM as I start to write this post, and I really should be in bed. I'm a little wound up at the moment because I had hoped to hear from our future landlords about the state of their house and a possible move date for us.

If I hadn't mentioned it, when the "new" landlords went to inspect their new house there were a lot of problems that needed fixing before they could move. That bumped our move in October, and we've been waiting ever since. With the end of November approaching way too quickly with no indication of when we might get to move, Aerin and I are in limbo hell. Do we wait it out and hope to move before the end of the month? Do we start looking for alternatives (because we really don't want to be here any more)?

So even if I go to bed it will likley end in a lot of tossing and turning. I would try to do something slightly constructive, but my concentration just isn't into it. Here's hoping for some news on Wednesday.

Life: The Whirlwind

It's nice to have Aerin back from China. I think we're both glad to have someone there to lean on as the whirlwind surrounds us with new challenges.

The short version is that the landlord's of our new place have had a right crappy job done in the building of their new house. This means if they move in it stays screwed up. If they don't they are in a position to actually get things fixed. So now we wait to see if things are moving ahead or not with the move this weekend.

On the plus side our current apartment isn't rented out yet, and the Happy Guys (as we like to call them) are willing to put it on hold until we know what's happening exactly - which is tonight. We can cancel our notice to vacate and give them a new one if need be.

Part of me really wishes we could go ahead and move this weekend while the weather is decent, but at the same time I don't want Raj and Monica moving into a home they are not happy with. Either way we will get moved into the new place, and I'll be more than happy to have it done when it happens. I just hope that it won't be -20C if we have to attempt this again the end of Novemeber.

Life: The Bachelor, Week 1.4

Well I can say that it really blows that Aerin is still away. I think I would be much happier if it had only been a week, but two weeks is getting to be a really long time. I'm pretty sure I'm suffering withdrawl from the lack of hugs and kisses. A large dose of chocolate chip cookies can only take you so far.

Last Sunday was the Gear Swap at the MEC store. I didn't get rid of everything I took, but I got rid of most of it and made $260 in the process. I really would have liked to have sold my Salomon light mountaineering/heavy backpacking boots since they don't fit anymore. I certainly didn't get many miles on them before I needed a larger size. Oh well. I hardly splurged either since I got groceries and some salad rolls from the nearby Vietnamese place and still had plenty left over for the coming weekend. Of course there is more gear in the future, but not yet.

What else...

More packing is complete, but still plenty to go. More empty boxes will no doubt return with us from Edmonton this weekend. I really don't want to bring back anything else that I will have to just move again in a few weeks.

I had a great visit with Raj (our soon to be new landlord) on Sunday afternoon. It's really great to be forming this new relationship, and I really look forward to living in a great new place too.

I've started to do some work on another Flames of War writing project. This will be a joint venture with another Calgary player. I've also dusted off some files of mine for converting some old pulp science miniatures into Flames of War.

I'm having dinner with Mike and Angela and the twins tomorrow evening. No doubt Aerin will be thrilled with the opportunity to house sit a little since it usually involves a nice soak a much larger tub.

Time to get some food before class and finish up a couple other things.

I hope you enjoy the Thanksgiving Weekend if you're in Canada.

Life: The Bachelor, Week 0.75

I dropped off Aerin at the airport on Saturday for her trip to China, and then I was alone...

Saturday was busy with a few different things. I visited the TrepanierBaer gallery to view an exhibit by Vicky Alexander as part of homework for my History of Design continuing ed course. I tried to sell some of my extra books at the used book store, but only got rid of half of them and only paid for the gas I used that day. I got a new appointment setup for exchanging the very tall box spring on the new bed with a low profile version. A quick stop at Rona to get some glue that actually works for a miniature terrain project I'm working on. And then it was home.

At home I ripped more of our CD collection to MP3. Put some paint on a bunch of my Soviet T-34s, and generally tidied up the place of my general mess. And then there was getting ready to demo Flames of War at The Sentry Box the next day.

Sunday I didn't sleep in all that much unfortunately. I went for groceries, but most of the cashiers seemed to be too have overslept or been hungover. There were only about a half dozen actual cashiers, and everyone was lined up a dozen deep to wait for their turn.

The demo at The Sentry Box was fun, yet not one new player showed to try the game. A couple of people I know that play showed up, including one guy from out of town that had won the FallCon tourney the previous weekend.

And the rest of the week since then has been a bit of a whirlwind that I've already mostly forgotten about in attempt to avoid becoming pathetic with my lack of Aerin. Wednesday night was my History of Design class again, and tonight (Thursday) was my class work of visiting Art Central.

And now it's back to Friday and the weekend. Time flies when you're filling time with a long To Do list.

Running: The Trail Ahead

My second summer of ultras came to an end with the cancellation of Lost Soul, and so it is time to reflect on what has been and plan for what will come.

Training for the Blackfoot 50-miler didn't get off to a great start with the severe allergies at the old job, and then the last three weeks of training were wiped out by a severe chest cold. I survived the race, but it was by no means the kind of performance I had hoped for at close to 12 hours.

Unfortunately after these disappointments it was difficult getting things back on track with my training. I did make it to the gym fairly regularly, and I was running home from work most days of the week. But upon reflection it seemed more struggle than joy on too many days.

Next it was off to Sinister 7, but inexperience lead me to overdo the pre-run snacking that lead to a lot of GI distress through leg 4. It also left me more than a little worn out, but I got the job done. After about an hour into leg 5 I was feeling better and the joy was back, and running leg 6 in the dark was great too. But after the race it seemed more struggle than joy again as I returned to preparing for Lost Soul in September.

I have never had much success with running in hot weather, and that became my nemesis during long runs in August. Long runs inevitably became shorter runs as I had problems of all sorts throughout the month. I started having foot problems. I had tried making some changes to my running mechanics, but they were not as effective as I'd have liked and changing back wasn't great either. I was still logging a lot of distance, but it felt ineffective and a burden.

The long weekend seems to have lead to injury after a bit of slipping during our descent from the snowed in North Kananaskis Pass. It really didn't manifest itself except for a couple non-consecutive days of intermittent soreness that ranged from annoying to painful, so I didn't concern myself with it and rested in preparation for Lost Soul. Of course Lost Soul was cancelled, and the replacement run on Monday turned into a very painful experience remeniscent of the pain I suffered after my fall into the puddle on the Canadian Death Race course the previous year.

So I haven't been running really at all the last month, nor have I been getting to the gym at all. Mostly I've been in my head wondering what I want (or need) to do about my running at this point. I never doubted I would continue to run, but I did need to consider what my goals would be and how to achieve them.

And this is what I've decided.

• I will take some time off from running until after we finish our move the beginning of November.


• In the mean time, I'm going back to the gym at least three days per week to work on strength, core and x-train on the bikes. I want to continue this through into the new year too.


• Commit myself to doing more stretching at home and replace my ineffective foam roller to help improve my biomechanics and reduce the tension in my leg muscles.


• Take next year off from racing and volunteer instead. I may still run Lost Soul next year (to check out the course as much as anything) because I have a guaranteed entry, but I don't have to make that decision until February.


• Focus on rebuilding my running base with more effective speed, hill and endurance workouts.


• Spend more days in the backcountry with some solo fast-packing trips. (Aerin is using all her available vacation days for her trip to China, so I will be ahead of her next summer.) This will also include bagging some more peaks.


• Attempt the Alberta Triple in 2010!

If you know what the Alberta Triple is, then you know I have big plans. If you don't, to complete the Alberta Triple I need to finish the Blackfoot 100K, Canadian Death Race (125K) and Lost Soul 100M that year.

To these ends I will formally plan more of my training and invest in some training aids. What I need most right now is a heart rate monitor, so I will start there.

So it's been a tough year to be running, but I'm looking to approach the coming year with renewed purpose and enjoyment.

Games: FallCon Game Convention

Last weekend was my weekend to play games at the FallCon game convention (the website is currently down) in Calgary. This annual September event was in it's 21st year, and I've had the pleasure of attending 13 of those years.

This year I ran a Flames of War tournament on Saturday morning and afternoon, raced to glory playing Formula De Saturday evening, and concluded with a very slow game of BattleTech on Sunday. Here's the synopsis of my weekend.

I have run a Flames of War tourney at FallCon for three years now, and I have yet to get a full event. This in itself was a little disappointing, but I did get to play as a result. This is a bit hard to do without tipping the balance, but at the same time with only three games to play I don't want people sitting out. I briefly considered just pushing the tables together for one big battle, but that has it's problems too. In the end everyone had a fun time. Players brought armies that included the First Special Services Force (American/Canadian infantry), South Alberta Regiment (Canadian armour), Governor General's Foot Guards (Canadian infantry), 21 Panzer Division (German armour and the winning army), 2 SS-Division (my German infantry), and another generic German infantry company.

I had setup three tables: a crossroad in bocage with a farm, Normandy "nearly" coastal town, and an Italian village in a pass. I spent a lot of time in the previous few weeks building my bocage, but the glue let me down as it slowly let go of it's green foliage over the day. Despite this disappointment it looked just great, and I look forward to going back with better glue to fix it up and add the extra foliage needed due to an insufficient supply for purchase at the store. I will also add some more long sections to the collection to ensure I have sufficient quantities for a larger table. It was an absolute blast to play on this battlefield.

Hopefully someone emails some pictures from the game because I completely forgot my camera. I want to post some pictures if I can since it really does do better with pictures.

After the boardgame and miniature auction (which I recouped $124 from the stuff too long sitting in boxes in our apartment) it was time for a game of Formula De. This is a great boardgame! It's a game of Formula One racing that has all kinds of tracks available for you to race on. It does an excellent job of simulating both the driving and excitement of racing using differently numbered dice to move your car around the track. This year I had all the luck with my rolls (as evidenced by my lack of luck with the dice in my other games) and quickly went from second at the pole to first and not looking back.

We played a three lap game with all the rules for car construction and weather on the Valencia track. It doesn't have any long straight aways for getting up to speed, so I setup my car for a lot of sudden downshifting and maneuvering. Luckily for me I started with soft tires that got me into the corners in fine form. I don't think I've ever had so much success in cornering while playing this game. And it really showed since I was pretty much dominating the race half way through the first lap.

When the weather changed to rain with two corners to go to the finish line, my car was in great condition to fend off a late hard charger with barely any rubber on his rims or fuel in his tank. He spun out coming out of the second last corner, and I was free to cruise across the finish line with the competition cringing at the sight of my rooster tail on the track two corners ahead of everyone else.

Sunday morning was my last game of BattleTech. I was a real fanboy of the game and the game universe back in the day, but I have since outgrown the slow and overwhelmed game mechanics and more of the same-repacked-as-new support that does little to interest me. The game proceeded entirely too slowly yet again, so I'm pretty sure that's it for me. I have considered simply holding onto my considerable BattleTech miniature collection and continuing to work on the fast play rules I started on years ago for large battles, but in the end I prefer Flames of War and other systems to having to come up with my own.

My game of BattleTech did accomplish one thing though - I made some contacts with people interested in acquiring some of my collection. So I will begin the process of slowly selling off chunks of my collection. I do have some real attachment to bits of it, but in the end it will likely all go. I've already started an inventory that I will send out.

This is one very fun gaming convention. I'm already looking forward to next year at FallCon. The return of the CalCon game convention in March 27-29, 2009 after a long absence will bring new opportunities for games. I'm currently considering running some games there too, but I have to finish moving first...

Running: Lost Soul Ultra Report

The short version: CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN.

We arrived in Lethbridge on Friday afternoon with lots of time to pickup my race package (which included a very nice jacket) and check into the hotel before dinner. We found a local Boston Pizza for pasta to do the carb loading thing.

On our way back to the hotel it began to rain heavily with lots of wind on top of it. (It is Lethbridge after all.) I was certainly glad not to be running in it, but I couldn't help but feel badly for the 100km and 100 mile racers currently outside.

Back at the hotel I did the last minute obsessing about the gear and had everything ready to go before Aerin and I hit the hot tube for a soak. At this point it was still raining a little outside, and I was hoping it would let up long enough to save the course from being too muddy. We met another couple that was there for the 50km race, so we talked about running and traded war stories.

It was time for bed about 9PM, but little did we know as we drifted off that they were already shutting down the race due to the rain. The clay gets very slippery, so they decided that it was too dangerous to continue to let the racers go through the night. Of course it wasn't until 6:30am at the race meeting that I learned my 5am wakeup to get ready was in vain.

Needless to say I was disappointed and more than a little grumpy about not getting to run my race, but in the end it would seem to be somewhat fortuetous since I'd be having an odd occasional pain in my left knee. After trying to get a couple more hours of sleep, Aerin and I spent the day relaxing. We visited the Japanese garden, did some pillow shopping since the old one didn't do well on the new mattress, caught a movie, and generally took it easy.

The movie we saw was Kung Fu Panda, and we both enjoyed it enough to put it onto our DVD wishlist. Watching the movie reminded me of an article I'd read in the paper when the movie was first released. Why do they shell out a lot of money for big name actors to voice characters other than the name recognition when it comes time to promote the film? They certainly won't help the movie if it just stinks to begin with. But now I'm straying off topic...

So in the end, we stayed for the breakfast on Sunday morning to collect my Rock with no time, have some food and trade a few stories again before heading home.

Running: Losing My Soul

It's now about 11:15pm as I start to write this. I should be sleeping, but I have finally been struck by taper madness leading up to my run at Lost Soul this Saturday. This basically means my mind is going a little crazy as it focuses in on what I am undertaking.

It's kind of odd to be doing only 50km. This will officially be the shortest race of the year. I actually haven't gotten in a great deal of running in the past few weeks between traveling to Edmonton, backpacking and just generally being low on the mojo. In the end it won't matter a great deal since I'm confident I will finish the distance anyway, but certainly not in any timely fashion.

I mentioned the lack of mojo because I've been thinking (probably way too much) about what comes after this weekend for me and my running. My goal when I started running two and bit years ago was to run the Hard Rock Hundred Mile Endurance Race before I turn 40, and I've been thinking more about how I'm going to achieve that goal. The big thing I need to work on is consistency in my training, and that means better planning and maybe some coaching. How I'm going to make this happen is a bit up in the air, but I have some time still to make this happen.

Anyway, I still have to make it around the course this Saturday, and then we've also got the move to the new place to take care of. Lots to do, and still not enough time to do it...

Life: The New Bed

The new bed was delivered yesterday, but the delivery guys didn't go for my suggestion to just chuck the old one off the balcony to save them from having to carry it back down the stairs.

The initial impressions from the showroom held up once we got to try it out again at home. The one thing that Aerin isn't quite happy with is the height of the mattress and box spring. Our night tables turn out to be a fair bit shorter compared to our old bed, and we got the standard nine inch box spring without thinking this would be a problem. I don't have a particular problem with the height of the bed, but Aerin seems concerned about taking a spill and the position of the lamps for reading. So it might be that we exchange the nine inch box spring for a six inch box spring to lower it a bit.

On the comfort side I had a really good sleep last night, and I hope for more of the same tonight. Aerin was awake most of the night with stomach pain, so hopefully she gets to enjoy a good sleep tonight.

Gear: GoLite Chrome Dome Umbrella

When I still lived in Edmonton and got outdoors with the Grant MacEwan Mountain Club, several other club members would forgo rain gear for umbrellas when it began to rain. I have found most umbrellas less than favourable for this task as mostly too small or too wimpy or too heavy to be of much use. That changed when I started looking at GoLite outdoor gear.

The GoLite Chrome Dome Umbrella was the answer to the umbrella option. The umbrella is quite light at 8 ounces, is almost two feet wide, has carbon fiber (looks like it to me anyway) full stick handle and spars that hold up in the wind, and a metallized finish that does a great job of deflecting the suns rays. (You can get it regular colours too.) The handle is easy to grip, and it's not tiring to carry either. Overall it did a great job with the wet weather when we hiked into Forks CG last Friday night.

Why an umbrella you might ask? And, "Stuart, if you are such a ligthweight fan, why add more weight with an umbrella?" Well those questions have a multi-part answer. First of all, unless it's a vertible sidewise downpour, the umbrella keeps you drier than a GoreTex shell, for example. Since I am not likely to be moving at a pace to keep be from perspiring, I don't end up with really damp clothes from the moisture trapped inside my shell. In light rain conditions, or showers, it's easier and faster to have the umbrella on hand rather than worrying about getting in and out of a shell - the umbrella is only there when you need it. And finally, the reflective finish does a great job as mobile shade on a sunny day when you don't have any shade from trees or mountains. And probably the best reason, the last time I went backcountry in Jasper National Park they had these green outdoor toilets without any overhead cover on them. 'Nuff said.

I'm not entirely sure about the availability of these things (or any other GoLite product for that matter) in Canada these days, so I had to order mine from the US. But if you want a solid performing umbrella for the backcountry or the commute, this is a great choice.

Games: Flames of War

I really don't know why I've waited so long to post something about one of my favourite hobbies...

I play a miniature game called Flames of War. It is a World War 2 game played with metal and resin 15mm miniatures. (For the uninitiated, 15mm refers to the scale size of a human figure, so a soldier stands 15mm tall.) I started collecting the miniatures (and trying to find someone to play) about four years ago.

I really like this game because it plays quickly while staying true to how combat was conducted during the war. Certainly it does not handle all of the details of World War 2 battles in depth, but it does well enough that I can't be bothered nitpicking any perceived shortcomings.

It is played at the platoon-level, which means a force is created from several platoons to create a company for the battle. Depending on what kind of force you chose (armoured, mechanized infantry, infantry or reconnaissance) a company will start with two to eight or more platoons. You can field a company from any nation involved in the war based on organizational lists for creating your company.

There is all kinds of equipment to choose from throughout the conflict, so battles are generally fought according to the era. The first era was the Mid-War period of 1942-1943 that concentrated on the Mediterranean and East Fronts. For the last couple of years the focus has been on the Late War period of 1944 onward with most of the new supplemental material concentrating on the summer of 1944.

Personally, I have miniatures (not all assembled and painted) for mid-war and late war Germans, Russians and Americans. I'm slowly trying to build up my completed armies, but it is slow going sometime with the other things I enjoy doing. Running and outdoor stuff takes up more time in the summer, so after the move this fall will be prime time for going hard with more miniatures to complete.

In September I am running a Flames of War tourney at the Fallcon game convention, so right now I'm busy with making terrain. I'm also trying to get some more finished minis for some demos at The Sentry Box.

I'll try to post some pictures of my games in the future.

Life: The End (of August) is Near!

The end of August has certainly snuck up on me. The car registration is due. Our last backcountry trip of 2008 is this long weekend. We bought ourselves a new bed that has to wait another week and a half to get delivered. And we found ourselves a new place to live in Calgary, but won't get to move in until the end of October at the latest.

The hot weekend weather for most of the month has made training runs on the weekend hard to take sometimes. About the only thing I could do that would make it tolerable was to slow right down to a fast walk. I also haven't been putting on as many miles leading up to Lost Soul since I have either been feeling very run down and tired, or I haven't had a particularly great time scheduling training runs with all the other stuff we've managed to do this month.

The next couple of nights are dedicated to tidying up before this weekend and getting the gear packed for another trip out to Kananaskis. The one thing that would appear to be lacking for this trip is the heat and snow pack. I don't know if this is pushing our luck, but we will drive out after work on Friday to pack 8km into Forks CG that night. The next day will be a little easier with the climb to Turbine Canyon, and then Monday will require us to hike out all the way. I am looking forward to a few good nights sleep though.

It would seem this weekend is to be about the best sleep I will get until the new bed arrives. We had our doubts about the bed surviving the move from Edmonton last year, but when test driving new beds turned into a purchase it was all too apparent how bad the bed had become. We are both eagerly awaiting the delivery day.

Last weekend was our practice move now that we found a new place here in Calgary. Aerin's Parental Units moved out of the house into a townhouse condo further west in Edmonton on Sunday. As one of the designated "strong, young men" I got to have all the fun with the heavy appliances. In the end things went pretty smoothly and we were done in about five hours. My back was kind of stiff, but it's been good since.

Which leads me to mention that I must be getting old since I managed to tweak my back somehow the weekend after the long weekend this month. I was cutting up styrene sheet for miniatures terrain when I stood up and had a bad muscle spasm in my back. It was the same spot where I had trouble last fall, but the dying bed has countered the exercising and stretching that would help it out more. So things are stable, and I hope getting better when my back gets better support from the new bed.

That's it for now. It's time to clean up and start packing. Cheers!

Outdoor: Waterton Pictures

Well I have had a few really crappy nights sleep due to some back problems. The back isn't so much the problem I think as th bed I have to sleep in at night. So after much delay, here are some photos of our trip to Waterton.

Looking back towards Waterton Lake from the trail to Crypt Lake.

Hell-roaring Falls on Crypt Lake trail.

Burnt Rock Falls on Crypt Lake trail.

Entrance to tunnel that leads up to Crypt Lake. The metal ladder is about 6 feet tall. The tunnel is significantly shorter.

Crypt Falls.

This is where Crypt Lake flows out of the rock about 20 meters before it turns into Crypt Falls.

Wall Lake as you emerge from the trail.

Some of the exposed ice at the base of the wall at Wall Lake, Akamina Provincial Park, BC.

Outdoor: Waterton National Park

Aerin and I spent five days in Waterton last weekend. I wanted to share some of our backcountry adventures first, so I'll talk about the regular tourist things we did in another post. I will post photos when I get the chance.

Friday was our first outing to Crypt Lake. After getting onto the ferry across the lake to Crypt Landing, we began our hike up the trail. Unfortunately this didn't last long as Aerin began having blister trouble from her boots. While they weren't a problem last year, the boots have been causing problems this year, and the fix we tried for this trip didn't take. So about an hour into the hike Aerin decided it was better to save her feet than carry on to the top in pain and ruin the rest of her weekend. She sent me to the top with orders to take lots of pictures.

I took off to the top to complete my mission and return as quickly as I could to Aerin as she waited at the docks. The hanging valley Crypt Lake is in was lots of fun to get to with it's tunnel crawl and exposed trail access. It's certainly a very pretty cirque lake, but I didn't enjoy it as much without Aerin to see it too. With my mission completed I turned around and started the rapid running descent to the dock. All told it was about 2:30 to get to the lake and about 1:15 to make the run back.

Friday night we ran into friends we knew were going to be in Waterton. (There were lots that we didn't know about too. Yeah Grant MacEwan Mountain Club!) The next morning the four of us headed up to Wall Lake on the BC side of the border for a look at another beautiful lake. This was preceeded by some emergency shoe shopping for Aerin, but she made good time despite some soreness due to not quite blisters of the previous day.

We encountered a pair of male mule deer on the way up with beautiful antlers. They were still in their velvet. Another doe wandered the area when we got to the lake finally.

Wall Lake itself is most impressive for the towering wall of stone around the back side of the lake. It's quite a sight to see the glacier remenants around the lake too. There was some recent chunks that have separated along the western end that were all blue-green in tinge. In some places even older clear ice with the same blue-green tinge showed through under the newer snow. It was really neat to realize that some of that ice could be thousands of years old.

Sunday was trail running day. I had to go solo on this one, but it turned out to be a short trip. My plan was to do the Snowshoe-Blakiston loop from Red Rock Canyon, but bad weather rolled in just short of the Snowshoe back country campground. Facing heavy rain, lightning, high winds and the uncertainty of whether it would continue or not, I decided to turn around.

This brings me to the interesting part of this aborted trail run - a cinnamon black bear and her two cubs. One the way up I was coming down a hill when I noticed her on the level a little ways down. I started talking and making some noise, and she lead her cubs into the woods off the trail and went around me.

Once I turned around to return to the trailhead I figured I'd likely run into her again, but I'd set my Garmin with her position when I met her on the way up. I started paying particular attention as I got close to that spot, and about a kilometer later noticed her ahead of me just off the trail. I backed off and made noise, and soon saw one of the cubs coming down a tree. While this was happening I explored the option of going off trail, but the undergrowth and footing was darned near as dangerous as a bear in the wet conditions. So with much caution and making noise I moved up to see what was happening. Luckily she and the cubs had moved up to a wider part of the trail, the cubs were no where in sight (but likely up a new tree), and she was busy ripping apart a log a little further up the slope. She lifted her head the one time when she head and saw me, but went back to ripping apart the log. I slipped by with as much space as possible to spare, and she didn't even look at me again. After that it was a quick run the rest of the way.

And that was basically it. We checked out Cameron Falls in town on Monday before doing the loop at the buffalo paddock, and then it was on to Fort MacLeod and the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump site.

Overall it was a great trip that both of us enjoyed since I hadn't been to the park in almost 20 years and Aerin had never been.

Life: Waterton Vacation and Stuff

On Monday we got back from a five-day vacation to Waterton National Park. It was great to get out to the mountains again, but the morons that can't follow park rules, and the staff that wouldn't enforce them, were driving us nuts by the time we left on Monday.

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time right now to go into all the details, but I will when I get some free time. Right now Aerin and I are busy taking care of a few home matters before we maybe head to Jasper this weekend so I can run Skyline Trail.

Lots to do...

Life: Calgary Folk Fest

This weekend was the Calgary Folk Fest. With some other things I needed to do, I only went to the evening mainstage show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The acts have been quite enjoyable.

Saturday night's Blue Rodeo show was very good to finally see since I have never got around to seeing them live. I am not entirely sure how to describe Calexico's sound, but I really like their music. Aerin was already a fan, and was very happy to see them live finally.

Since I was mostly their for the main stage, I didn't see a lot of the side stage action. There's lots of different music to pick from certainly, but I haven't gotten to listening to that broad a mix of music to really have any favourites there. One thing I did find slightly annoying for the couple of side stage performances I attended was that some were a little close together, or not directed away from each other enough, for the music to overlap. It makes it hard to listen to something a little quieter when the next stage is playing loud and thumping.

The rain on Saturday also made for some exciting times. It never rained very heavily, but the thunder and lightning to the north hinted at what might have been. I hadn't arrived yet on Sunday when a good rain with some hail went through the festival area.

Overall though I had a great time listening to plenty of good music. Aerin was very happy that I was willing/interested to come out to the festival with her.

Gear: Lightweight Backpacking

If I had a callsign it would be "Gear Boy". Since I'm not a fighter pilot, it's my semi-official nickname. If you're unsure of why this is the case, I refer you back to the above title.

I spent two and a half years working in outdoor retail in Edmonton prior to moving on to other things here in Calgary. During that time I learned a lot more about the equipment I already owned, and a ton more the stuff I didn't own. I immersed myself in the knowledge imparted by the company reps and online resources. Not only was this an opportunity to help myself enjoy my outdoor adventures more, but also to help other people enjoy their experiences.

The single greatest thing I came away from this with is an appreciation for lightweight backpacking.

Have you read my post about our June trip to Kananaskis? Aerin and I carried about 60 pounds total of equipment, clothing, food and water for four days. I'm quite certain a few people we saw on the trail were individually carrying 40 pounds or more for shorter trips. It hurt to see some of the packs people had loaded up with gear for even single night stays at the Forks campground (7km in and 50m of elevation gain). If you look at my Kananaskis post below, you can see that Aerin's pack is relatively small compared to what you'd see most people carrying at a trailhead. Even my 80-litre pack fully loaded for this trip topped out at 35 pounds with water, nor did I have all kinds of extra gear hanging from it as I saw many others have - I actually had space to spare inside.

How does one accomplish this? The answer is pretty easy... money. It costs money to get the right kind of gear for lightweight backpacking. Even with employee discounts I spent a fair bit of my paycheque for many months on new gear. How do you know you're making the right kind of investment in gear with those dollars you allocate purchase your gear? Research. What does this gear do? How well does it do that job? Can it do more than one thing? What conditions do I need to have my gear perform? How much space does it take in my pack? And of course, how much does it weigh? These last two questions are ultimately what you are trying to minimize while maximizing on the others.

And I have only one thing to say about money. Great gear does not come cheap. Or at least very rarely. Rarely have I found something that was inexpensive that I believed did the job better than something more expensive.

Of course, you'll have to weigh the value of the above statement against your own experience with researching and comparison shopping - and you will comparison shop a lot - on the various gear you need for yourself, and then compare that against what your outdoor experience is like before and after your gear purchase.

As time goes on I share about some of the insights and gear I have discovered through my own experiences. Prepare to lighten your load.

Outdoors: June Kananaskis Adventure

[I just realized I wasn't paying attention to my dates. We were backpacking the end of June, so I've updated the post title. - S]

Aerin and I went backpacking for the first time this year the last weekend of June for 3 days. It was going to be 4 days (Monday to Tuesday), but we decided to cut things short.

The trip took us into Three Isle Lake in Kananaskis from the North Interlakes parking area. It was a very hot weekend, but at the same time a late spring melt and lots of prescipitation left lots of snow at altitude. This lead to an interesting long weekend in the backcountry.

On the way up we encountered a guy coming down the mountain for help. One of his group members had been struck in the left thigh by a basketball-sized chunk of rock. We didn't really see or heard anything of falling rock on the way up, but once we go to the campground it became a regular occcurence in the afternoon and evening to hear rock falls from the peak on the south side of the valley. The melting snow was all the rock needed for a quick trip down the mountain. The potential danger became more apparent when we came down the trail on Monday to find a very large rock in the middle of the path that wasn't there on Saturday.


Otherwise the often deep snow and blistering hot weather made for a fairly sedate weekend. The snow on the trails limited us to some very tiring hikes that Aerin was not feeling well enough to tackle with the beginnings of a cold and blisters, nor did the heat inspire us to move very quickly. So we enjoyed the solitude and scenario with a handful of other people and headed out early. We were glad we did because as we left some rather inclimate weather settled in for the next couple of days.

(Northover Ridge from Three Isle Lake)

Movies: Hellboy II

Last weekend Aerin and I headed out to see Hellboy II with my friend Mike.

I really enjoyed the first one, and have been looking forward to the new movie for some time. The movie looked fantastic! A real visual treat that one has come to expect from director Guillermo del Toro. (Which also makes the expectations for The Hobbit very high.) The creatures effects looked great, and the stunts were pretty cool too. If they used CGI to replace some of the actors in the action, I couldn't tell the difference (unlike more than a few movies).

On the down side they went for the predictable and done-to-death-already on several of the plot elements. I won't go into any spoilers, but the filmmakers have gotten me to suspend my disbelief for this movie already. So why go and remind me it's a movie by using the same plot elements in the same predictable way as everyone else? I know that it's very hard to come of up with something original all the time, but if you're going to use familiar elements, try not to use them in the tired, old, familiar ways please.

Running: Lost Soul Ultra

It's odd how things have changed so quickly. I really didn't expect to get into the Lost Soul Ultra this September, but I got the email Tuesday morning that I had a spot if I wanted it. So now I'm setting things up for the rest of the summer with an eye on September 13th.

This is actually the shortest distance I will race this year at 50km. But there is one thing I have not figured out how to manage that could be a major factor in my success in September - running in the heat.

At Sinister 7 the hot afternoon that I started my running in was certainly a factor. With the unsettled stomach and crampy legs it was a tough combination to deal with and keep moving. One of the things I realized I could do better was my pre-race hydration and nutrition. I probably overdid the snacking before my turn on the course at Sinister 7. This threw my hydration plan for a loop, not to mention any nutrition I needed that went along with it.

At this point I think I will plan to ice my neck and forearms when I get into the transition points that Aerin can access. It should also allow me to keep my hydration cooler too. Ice cubes in the hat when I leave the transition will help too. This, of course, is based on the assumption that it will be hot on the race weekend; if not, then I have other things to concern myself with such as footing on wet trails. Personally, I would rather deal with the latter.

The elevation and distance are not a problem based on what I have accomplished this year. Certainly there are some very steep sections, but what that gives rise to is the beating my quads will take that carries over into the flatter sections.

In the end I'm confident I can get through the course to collect my rock on Sunday morning. Now I just have to get some training for the remainder of the summer figured out.

Running: Sinister 7 Post-Race

I can still walk. The legs are little stiff and sore, but that will fade soon enough. The official times aren't in yet, but overall I completed legs 4, 5 and 6 in ~10:20 and a team finish of ~18:20.

My teammate John headed out for the first two of three legs at 9am. It was just over 3 hours before he came into the transition between leg 2 and 3. The next leg was about 29km in an out-and-back loop which he completed in about 3:36. And off I went for my three legs.

Leg 4 is the longest at 31.5km, but I think it's actually a little longer since I managed to stop my Garmin for a bit. I do not like running in the heat, but there was a stiff headwind for most of the way to help cool things. Unfortunately on this leg I never really got settled into my running. My stomach was queasy the entire leg, and I was having problems with cramping in my legs. I could run or I could hydrate. In the end I did a little of both, and I got into the transition area feeling less than stellar. I wasn't in a rush to get going again, so I changed my socks and shoes, drank down a bunch of water, and talked to the medics to make sure I wasn't doing something I shouldn't be. By this time the sun was going behind the mountains and trees, so things were cooling off. I rested for a bit and then headed out for the next leg.

Leg 5 was supposed to be 17km, but more on that later. I took off with as fast a walk I could manage with my poles to help push me along. I must have managed to stop my Garmin again when I was at the transition, so I got it going again after what I figured was a mile. My stomach was still being a problem, but my legs were feeling better. I tried running a little every now and again until my stomach started complaining, and then I would slow again. I arrived at the beginning of the long climb to the ridge. Thankfully my stomach settled and I began the long climb.

I would not have liked to do this climb in wet or muddy conditions. The trail is very steep in places, and traction was bad enough on some spots with just a little loose rock. Even as a quad ATV trail I would have to say it's less than desirable. As I got close to the top of the ridge I heard what I thought were the dinner (bear) bells of the one person to pass me on the climb going along the ridgeline to the south. When I got to the top myself, I stopped unsure of the direction to take, but I did find a sign pointing me downhill. There were a couple of spots where things switched from up to down on the ascent and vice versa on the descent, but overall it was steady going. At one point I looked at my Garmin and began to wonder where the heck the transition point was. It was another 20 minutes and 3 km before I got there. It was also where I confirmed for certain that I hadn't been hearing things. The gal that had passed me on the way up had gone the wrong way - I had beaten her to the transition. Time on this leg was ~3:45 (I think) including my transition times.

I changed into my warmer shirt, changed my pack again, and took off with my big chocolate chip cookie. I was feeling much better now. The weather was cool, I was headed downhill, it was dark, and I was alone except for my chocolate chip cookie. Leg 6 was definitely my happy leg. I did a fair big of running, but the route wasn't always clear. I finally realized that some of this leg mirrored the end of leg 4, and I was not happy. There was one very steep climb up and down from a creek bed that wasn't any more fun to do in the dark. In the end I rolled into the transition after about ~2:20. It was about 1:30am, and I was happy to be done.

I had a lot of fun. It was a great experience with lots of lessons learned. (I'll talk more about those another time.) I will be back next year.

Running: Blackfoot Ultra Race Report

This was my post-race report that I posted on the Running Mania forum with some tweaks.

For those that are happy with the short version... 11:38

For those interested in more details, read on... (mostly [short] form from here on in)

Considering that I was really only physically able (severe allergies to that point with the old job) to start any serious training in March, and then have my last three weeks of training wiped by a chest cold, I really didn't know what I was going to accomplish at Blackfoot.

Aerin and I got up and going about 4:30. Taping my feet took a little longer than I'd hoped, so we got to Islet Lake about 6:15. A visit to the washroom, change into running shoes, throw on the pack and away I go for my out and back 5km to start. The plan was to walk everything uphill and evaluate as I went whether another loop would happen. I paused to stretch at every aid station and regularly along the course when my legs felt like they needed it.

I started out pretty slow, just trying to get warmed up and a feel for where my body was at. I haven't played with the watch or Garmin for proper split times, but I did the first 5km in about 38 minutes with an additional stop to get the tummy settled in.

My first lap went well enough. It was nothing spectacularly fast. I ran with another guy from Calgary until the Central Alleyway aid station. I stuck to the plan, and I got back into the start/finish area for my first transition with a little soreness in about 3:15. I had some eats and headed out again.

The second lap was slower than the first of course. I was getting a little more soreness in the legs, but I kept to the plan and kept moving. I was doing well running the "level" parts and the downhills until Central staging area when I seriously hit the wall. I just plain ran out of gas. I gobbled a bunch of food at the aid station, kept popping my gels and shot blox, but I really didn't recover my energy until the start/finish area transition again. Second lap about 3:50.

At that point it was just time to keep moving, even if it was just walking. Actually it was more like marching in every sense. I fell into what Size5 calls my "military pace". My legs were sore, but I kept them moving at a good clip. Fighting gravity on the downhills was too much work not to run, so I basically ran/sprinted at whatever pace didn't hurt for those short interevals. But in the end it worked. My last lap was over in 4:05.

After it was all said and done, I apparently won my age category. I'm not certain of this since since there was supposedly someone else ahead of me on the finish board, but the RD called my name yesterday at the presentations. Sunday morning I could bend over to pickup a spoon. (Sorry, no pics S5 ) I have a few blisters, and I will apparently lose the nail on the second toe of my left foot as is now becoming tradition post Blackfoot.

All that for an 11:38 finish. Next year...

I won my age category because I was the only 34 & under male running this year. The other person that beat me in was female. Yes, I got beat by a girl...

Running: Sinister 7 Update

Well it looks like it'll be warm in the mountains for the race this weekend - hotter than I'd like anyway. The hotter it is the harder it is to keep hydrated and moving quickly. I'd prefer mid-teens and overcast, but it looks more like mid-twenties and sunny.

If you're interested in how things are going, you can get race updates by following the link on this page. I'm on Team "Two Fun Guys", and running legs 4, 5 and 6.

Ciao!

Running: Sinister 7

I run a lot, and I love running on trails. Since I began running in April 2006, I have completed the 50km (2007) and 50-mile (2008) Blackfoot Ultra. (For those unfamiliar with running these races are called ultras because the distance is great than a regular marathon of 42.2km or 26 miles.) I have also completed leg 3 and 4 (58km) of the Canadian Death Race as part of a relay team. I did run a half-marathon road race for kicks and training in the fall of 2006, but I much prefer trail races.

This coming weekend is the first running of the Sinister 7 ultra trail race. It is a 135km course in the Crowsnest Pass area in Alberta. The race is run solo or as part of a relay team. I am part of a two man team called "Two Fun Guys". I am running legs 4, 5 and 6 for a total of about 62km. I'm not quite so fast as my relay partner, so I will be done in about 8 hours.

This is a new ultra trail race for Alberta. I had been living in Edmonton, AB until last summer, so I'm looking forward to getting into a new area of the mountains to run. The late spring has meant that running in the mountains has been delayed since I'm not a huge fan of post holing in thigh deep snow. There's been a lot of warm weather in the Crowsnest area lately, so I'm hoping things won't be too slippy or muddy for the run.

I'm feeling much more relaxed going into this race. Prior to the Blackfoot ultra I had picked up a bad chest cold that wiped out my plans for completing my last four weeks of training. This left me pretty freaked out about my prospects of even finishing. I haven't gotten in as many long runs between Blackfoot and Sinister 7, but I'm much more confident in my ability to finish the distance strongly going into this race than I was leading up to Blackfoot.

Back to work!

Getting Started

Welcome to my blog!

I should probably be doing something I love doing rather than blogging about the things I love doing with the minutes I used to type up this post. But then again, why not share with others my love of life and the things I love doing in life? I wonder if anyone other than my significant other Aerin will read this. If this turns out to be little more than a semi-official record of life in my infinitesimal corner of the universe, so be it.

So what kind of stuff will appear here? My life with Aerin, my friends and my family. My gaming hobbies. My outdoor pursuits. I'm not a fan of drama, so I plan to keep the mood light - after all this blog is about the things I love in my life. I could soap box everyone to death, but there are plenty of those blogs out there.

That's it. Big excitement is coming this weekend, so I will write more about that another time.

Ciao!