Seen on the Internet
27 September 2006 - 13:55.
Motorcycle ad (edited by me for privacy)
Post Date: Aug 7th, 2006
Expire Date: Sep 6th, 2006
$10,000
06' Suzuki GSXR 1000
Farmington, UT 84xxx - Aug 7, 2006
2006 Suzuki 1000. This bike is perfect! It has 1000 miles and has had its 500 mile dealer service. (Expensive) It's been adult ridden, all wheels have always been on the ground. I use it as a cruiser/commuter. I'm selling it because it was purchased without proper consent of a loving wife.
Apparently "do whatever the f*** you want" doesn't mean what I thought.
Call me,
Steve. (801)86x-xxxx
School's Out For Winter
24 September 2006 - 20:22.
Phew... no more Learn To Row classes for me this year. Today was the final class, as well as the end-of-class regatta that's held every month. And YAY!! for my team... they kicked ass all the way down the waterway, and walked out with the first place ribbons.
I made a small mistake though. I told my crew about the tradition of throwing the coxswain into the water after winning a race. And even though I wasn't coxing their boat, they decided to try to follow the tradition. So there I was, casually enjoying a cold one on the dock after racing, when all of a sudden I found myself very wet and slightly chilled. Thanks to the pitcher of ice water that one of them dumped over my head.
It's okay though. I got my revenge. I threw one of them into Coal Harbour. It made me feel better (but not her so much).
(Un) Friendly Giants
24 September 2006 - 07:59.
My guilty pleasure towards the end of the last hockey season was to go to Vancouver Giants games. Matt and I would meet up, one of us would buy tickets, and we'd watch the G-men destroy some team very systematically. Last night was the Giants' season and home opener, and the road to defending their Western Hockey League championship is off to a great start. But there were some differences - some small, some noticeable - that made last night really kinda funny. Photos courtesy of Matt from Molten Image.
These hockey nights are likely to become a bit of a habit this year as well. So if you want to come out and see some hockey played with passion, drop me a line. Other pics and more after the jump.
But wait! There's more!
Idle Minds
23 September 2006 - 07:34.
It seems like I'm not the only one with a dearth of happenings to report. A quick scan of the local blogosphere shows a bit of a slow down this week. This is a good thing, since now I don't feel so bad for not writing. 'Cause of course, it is all about me.......
Also, a heads up for some likely wierdness in the next week or so. I'm going to be doing some upgrading of code versions for Apache and Pivot, as well as turning on mod-rewrite (or trying to, since those of you with a technical bent will understand the peril here). So there will almost certaily be some sort of outage. I'll try to keep it short.
A Monday Night Fairy Tale
18 September 2006 - 21:59.
Once upon a time, there was a boy named Jeremy. And one night Jeremy and his friend Jeanette decided to go out for dinner. But on the way, they stopped at a car wash, even though it was raining out. Jeremy had recently returned from a camping trip you see, and he still hadn't had a chance to wash his car, and he figured that there would be less of a lineup at the car wash on a rainy day.
While they were sitting in the car while it was being pre-washed by a nice man with a power washer, Jeremy kept playing with the power window controls on his armrest and the moon roof controls overhead. Jeanette said to him "Are you nervous or something?" to which Jeremy replied "Nah... I just have this paranoid fear of going through a car wash with my windows down".
So they started through the car wash. They went through the wax application, the washing, and the scrubbing. And they got to the rinse cycle, all the while with Jeanette smirking at Jeremy's silly idea to take the car through a car wash on a rainy day.
And then the water came in.
You see, one thing that Jeremy missed is that when his car is on 'accessory', the power windows work. But the moon roof doesn't. So what he thought was actually closed, was in fact open by an inch or so, and the pushing of buttons didn't do a thing to help. And the rinse cycle of the car wash finally pushed in enough water so that it started raining inside the car too.
And they both went to dinner soggily ever after. With shiny clean wax-covered moon roof motor parts. The end.
Okay gang... let me have it... you know you want to. Was it stupid in epic proportion, or just really fucking funny? Someone give me a good moral to this one please.
Let the Games Begin
17 September 2006 - 09:15.
I finally started racing again yesterday. Artos (husband of Sue) and I raced in the Masters Mens 2x yesterday at the Pacific Northwest Challenge yesterday. It felt exhilirating.
It wasn't that we won the race - we didn't, we came third. It wasn't that it was a close race - we were well behind the pack coming across the finish line. And it wasn't that we demonstrated our physical superiority to anyone. See both of the above. But I was able to race again, after a 14-month hiatus. And now that it's the day after, I still feel good. My body isn't broken, and nothing hurts in a bad way.
Ever have one of those things that you really love, that's managed to insinuate itself into the very core of your being? And then had it taken away from you? That's what I've been dealing with for the past 2 years, ever since I first started dealing with a continuing series of nagging injuries. But they finally appear to be gone and dealt with, at least to the extent that they don't stop me from racing. It's the combination of adrenaline, endorphin, and testosterone that really appeals to me with racing, and I've really missed it.
So thanks Artos, for coming out to row with me, and for being supportive, even though you knew that I wasn't 100% race ready. I appreciate it more than I can properly explain.
But wait! There's more!
Gossip Mongering
14 September 2006 - 14:15.
For some reason I'm starting to obsess about something, which is actually kinda unlike me. I usually don't have a problem with letting things go, and allowing negative thoughts to slide right on past me, but this time I'm having a bit tougher time with it, and I can't quite figure out why.
You see, last week one of the members at the rowing club came up to me out of the blue and said "A little bird told me that you were racing again. Is that true?" To which, of course, I replied 'Yes'. Now, for those of you keeping score, the race that's happening in 2 days will be my second race in approximately 2 years. My last race was in July 2005, at the BC Champs, and the one prior was at this same event in 2004. There was also one in April 2005 that I went to compete in, but weather forced the cancellation of racing. However, in the interim I've been seen around various races, either officiating, or flogging boats for the manufacturer I represent. So the idea of seeing me at a regatta is far from alien.
And now I find out that the fact of my racing is a topic for gossip around the rowing club. What. The. Fuck. ?!? Who the hell gives a shit? Yes, I've been injured much of the past couple years, to the point where I couldn't train as hard as I needed to to be competitive. And I'm still not really at competitive condition yet, although I'm getting better every week. But folks, aren't there better things to spend your life talking about? And the worst part? No one can tell me why this is gossip-worthy news. We have people go to races all the time - our club is a big one - so why is one particular body on the regatta roster count more noteworthy than the others? All I get back is 'well, you know how the club is... everybody gossips'. Which to me is about as much of a non-answer as you can ask for.
Any psych majors out there want to take a stab at unraveling the mysteries of the mass mentality?
More changes
11 September 2006 - 18:17.
I think I'm done living in downtown Vancouver. I've been here for 3½ years so far, and while I still like the place, and the neighbourhood, I really feel like I'm done with it all. I miss being in an area where there's a multitude of shops, restaurants, and grocers, like in Mt. Pleasant. And I wouldn't mind having something a teensy bit quieter than where I'm at now. Not a lot quieter, but some would be good. How serious am I about this? Well, I missed rowing tonight to go look at a place... that should tell you something.
So if any of you folks happen to know of a place for rent, let me know. Ideally, I'm looking to rent a 2-bedroom place that allows cats. The other criteria is that the place have some form of secure parking, so I can at least keep my motorbikes properly stored. I'm tall-ish, so low ceilings will make me unhappy. I really like high ceilings and lots of windows, although I'm not too concerned about having a view. I'm looking to move into one of a few specific neighbourhoods though... Mt. Pleasant, Commercial Drive especially, although I may consider other areas on a case by case basis.
So if you happen to know of someone looking for someone to take over their place, or if you have any good leads on a place, shoot me an email at j(dot)colwell(at)telus(dot)net.
Camping Trip De-Brief
09 September 2006 - 19:35.
Alright boys and girls... settle in because this may be a long one. And before you ask where all the pictures are, there are more after the jump.
So having been back in the city for a day past a week now, I find that the stress of city life is finally starting to get to me again, just the teensiest little bit. Which, all things considered is pretty good I'd say. It took me all of 18 hours to de-stress when I got to Khartoum Lake. Possibly because the ferry rides help to slow the brain down. But by Monday night, I was cool as a cucumber.
Not to say that there weren't a few hiccoughs along the way. At some point, I misplaced most of the camping gear that I'd believed to be stored under my stairs. Unfortunately, this meant that I ended up spending so much on new gear that I could instead have afforded a trip to Europe. The icing on this particular piece of cake was when I got to Khartoum, and went to set up my tent. You see I have 2 of them, a 2 man pup, and a 3 man dome. So I left the pup at home, and brought the dome with me. Or so I thought.
I ended up bringing an extra folding camp chair. No tent though.
So I ended up running quickly into town on Monday, having improvised for Sunday night. And that was good since it gave me a chance to have a quick visit with Jeanette. Buying a new tent also forced me make one of the many realizations that came to me during the trip.
- Make a list. Check it twice. Chiggers and bugs are really not nice.
- Follow the list.
- Bring less food. I had to throw some out when I got back.
- I'm not scared of the dark.
- I am scared of bears.
- Nothing beats rowing on glassy water.
- Properly motivated, I can sleep more than I suspected.
- Excess amounts of work counts as proper motivation.
- I'm still perfectly comfortable with my own company, and none other.
- It would have been better to share the time with someone special.
Enough of this list crap... here are the pics.
But wait! There's more!
Switching gears
05 September 2006 - 11:29.
So I've done it... I've committed to a few races this fall. Which means that it's time for me to start training in earnest for the upcoming events.
First off is the Delta Deas regatta in mid-September. This is a sprint race, and I'm only doing the one race that day - the rest of my time will be consumed by officiating. It'll also mark the first time I've been in a sprint race since early July of 2005, and the 3rd sprint in 2 years. The next event is the Head of the Nicomekl in South Surrey, in early October. This is one of my favourite races simply because it's so picturesque. Unfortunately, it's also a 5k race. Can you say 'endurance training' boys and girls? This one needs me doing solid 60-minute pieces on the rowing machines to prepare. Ugh. I dislike 60 minute pieces, but I really like Sue, and I don't want to let her down. So I'll happily take up the challenge. The last race is the Head of the Gorge in Victoria at the end of October - arguably one of the more prestigious head races in Canada. I'm doing this one in a single, where the other 2 are in doubles.
All told I have many kilometres ahead of me on the rowing machines, some serious dietary changes to start shedding some unneeded ballast, and lots of other changes that'll be required to make the grade. Enough training that for the next 2 months I don't expect to have much of a life (as if there's a ton to begin with). Nonetheless, I welcome the challenge, because it's been far too long since I've been healthy enough to compete. I'm not going to be so arrogant to say that I can win all these events, but placing in a couple of them is certainly attainable. And for Gorge, I just don't want to be last in my category - that alone will make me happy.
And the coolest part of it all? My mom is coming to visit from Montana at the end of September, so she'll be able to see me racing at Nicomekl. It seems silly for a grown man to feel this way about something so seemingly trivial, but remember... I only met my mom 2 years ago, so there's lots to catch up on.
Oh yeah, the pics and write-up from the camping trip will be up in a day or two.
My city, my home
02 September 2006 - 09:41.
Being away was great, and I'm more relaxed than I can begin to describe. But I've missed being home.
There's nothing quite like the first sight of home to warm my soul. When I'm coming from Seattle, it's usually as I cross the Granville St. Bridge coming into downtown. Last night it happened as I crossed the Lion's Gate Bridge, coming from the ferry. I mean really, what's not to like about this view? (After the jump)
But wait! There's more!