Posted by Mark on July 31, 2006

Too Much Time

I bet very few people say that they have enough time, but I do. I have plenty. Here’s the problem: I have too many interests.

I’m listening to this song by Zero 7, Destiny (a remix) and I have this vision in my head of what I’d make for the video. I suppose a lot of people do that. To be honest, I’m actually a very creative person, I just have almost no outlet for it.

I’d like to write or play music, paint, draw, sculpt… I have little talent in any of these areas. Well, to be honest I’ve never really tried. Maybe this summer I will buy myself a set of pens or pastels or something and have a go. I used to draw when I was in university, but I think that was just an excuse for not studying numerical linear algebra.

I also want to go back to school and get degrees in math and physics. I have become very interested in Quantum theory. I’d like to eventually get my PhD. in something or other, and fully intend to go back to school full time when I retire.

That’s what I think my parents should do. I think they should move to Toronto, and go back to where they met- The University of Toronto. I think my dad should go get his MBA, and my mom should get her Law degree. Both of them are Ph.Ds in psych, so both of them have tremendous minds. Once they get their respective masters (in business and Law) they should find some charitable organization they’re interested in and volunteer for them.

My dad would excel in business. He is exceedingly organized, a born administrator and politician. He and I are very much alike in that we tend to take over whatever we are involved in. It seems that no matter where we are, at some point in time we end up being in charge. Funny thing is I think neither of us see ourselves as “leaders”. I think we both have something that many people do not: The ability to make decisions. Not only can we make decisions, we can make decisions quickly, and that (in my humble opinion) is a rare trait. Sometimes we’re right, sometimes we’re wrong, but one thing is for sure- Neither of us can tolerate waffling.

I think Law is where my mom should be- She’s spent years being a negotiator, and would really enjoy litigating, or arbitrating.

Me, I want to be a physicist. Why, I don’t know. I suppose it goes back to a moment where I was in my uncle’s (a very accomplished physicist in spectroscopy) lab in British Columbia. He was explaining to my cousin and I about the different aspects of a flame, and how the blue part of the flame was much hotter than the yellow part of the flame. Then he explained lasers to me, and his explanation was so straightforward and simple that it has stuck with me for all of these years. I also really was horrible at math and physics in university- Not because it didn’t interest me, but mostly because I was lazy. For some reason I also learned a tremendous amount about integrity in the two weeks I stayed with them in 1976, but that’s another story.

I guess my uncle was a tremendous influence in my life, even though our family’s don’t really communicate much these days. Later in life, he tried to make peace between a couple of warring factions in our family. He came to Nova Scotia to tell me he wanted to do it. At the time I was very angry, and said I would oppose such a move. I was wrong. It was the wrong thing to do, to oppose his gesture. Do I regret it? Not really. We’re where we are for a reason. I needed to learn something valuable from that 5 minute conversation, and I would learn it indeed probably 10 years later. I’m probably still learning from that 5 minutes, but that’s what life (and this blog entry) is about, isn’t it? Learning.

Posted by Mark on July 29, 2006

Le Tour DUUUUH France

I admit it, I’m getting pissed. In fact, I’m more than a little pissed.

I’m furious.

The Tour De France is again being marred by the scourge of doping. At the beginning of the tour Ivan Baso, Ulrich, amongst others were side lined due to an article in a newspaper. Now, of course I trust everything that newspapers print, however I’m begining to think that this is a France attempt to “get rid of the Americans”. They screamed doping about Armstrong, thank goodness they never found anything, but for crying out loud leave the Yanks alone.

This does nothing good for the sport. This jades the fans, it casts speculation on Landis and the rest of the “big guns”. There is a limit to how much the cycling sport will endure before I simply stop watching it.

I admit that Basso is one of my favorites. He always seemed like a class act. Ulrich as well- He was always the underdog, and I always cheered for him despite the German fans spitting on Armstrong. Tyler Hamilton lives in Boulder. I’ve never met the guy, but my heart goes out to him because out of all of them he seems to be the most innocent. He had the most to loose by doping and the least to gain.

With the exception of the Spaniards it looks like an attack on the Americans, which I don’t think they deserve. The American riders have been the best for the last eight years.

The Americans might seem like the bullys in the world right now, but let’s look at the American Cycling fan: He or she is living in a country that does not laud it’s cyclists as hero’s and heap on them sponsorships. Europe does that. The best way to get the US and Canada involved in cycling, watching cycling, and for US companies to make money from the sport of cycling is to let the Americans alone.

Landis expects the B sample to come back positive, so I expect him to be fired by Phonak. Landis is going to depend on proving that he has a naturally high T/P ratio. The disturbing thing is that he’s been so evasive in his press conferences that I actually believe there is a good chance he did it. It really is frustrating for the cycling fan not being able to really hope for a “favorite” because you can get so worked up over a race, over the tour, and then suddenly “poof” and they’re DQ’d. No question cycling needs to be cleaned up, but this is an infuriating way to do it.

What’s really too bad is that if someone suggests that a cyclist is doping they are not allowed to compete until they are cleared or convicted and served their ban terms. Hamilton is facing a lifetime ban if the Spaniards have their way.

Stop making stuff up and let them win.

Posted by Mark on July 14, 2006

Ok, it’s time…

After a long hiatus, I’m back.

A friend prodded me to get cracking again at the blog, as there have been a ton of adventures lately that really did deserve blogging.

First off, “RIP FOO”…

“Good little mill, I thank you for enough.”

I have sold my trusty steed, my Jeep Grand Cherokee. For a 1999, the worst year for that vehicle ever, it actually served me fairly well. I hope he serves his new owner nearly as well as he served me.

Aaaaaaaaand HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO BATTLE TRUCK GALACTICA:

This bitch is the size of Texas. When I say it’s big I mean BIG:

Luckily none of the women I currently date are 5′2″. My friend Kathy got into it once, and she had to literally haul herself up into it. Maybe I should put that in my jdate profile: “Must be 5′6″ to ride in this man’s truck…”

Anyway, it gets EVEN BIGGER (heh heh) when you put the camper on it:

I recently drove it to Montana to get a new lift system put on the camper, and it was a TON of fun. If I get tired, I simply pull over into a rest stop, crawl into the cabover part of the camper where the bed is (which is long enough that my feet don’t stick over the edge) and shut my eyes for a few hours.

I stayed in a campground in Idaho that was simply incredible. Cement patios with fire pits… I had a nice fire and read a book sipping a cold Guinness while the dog growled at the people in the next space- They were too far away to hear him, but I admit I am happy he was there, and happy he was finally showing a little backbone. He’s a great dog, but a little too friendly.

I’m not going anywhere this weekend, unless I get out of here on Sunday and maybe do some boondocking.

Oh! And I got my amateur Radio license! I am KC0YDD and am usually never listening. My real interest is in HF, and communicating with countries far across the world. That and being able to carry a radio with me that I can use to call for help in the case of an emergency.