Brave is a company I won’t support and Waterfox’s embrace was all I needed to uninstall it from my Windows PC.
This one simple trick to get me to uninstall your app
Run 1,023: Good (and crowded) Friday
Today is Good Friday, which is a holiday for many people, but the day was also cloudy and threatened showers through morning and early afternoon. Holidays usually mean the trails are more crowded, but the threat of rain could keep people away.
The threat of rain did not keep people away. As a bonus, it also didn’t rain.
But the trail was packed with joggers, walkers, people with dogs and the occasional robin.
It was so crowded, in fact, that when starting on the Avalon Trail, I kept going past the turn-off onto the Southshore Trail and connected with the Freeway Trail, which is about as sexy as it sounds. I tried to stay on it as long as I could but turned back onto the main trail a bit too soon. I’ll know better next time!
While on the Freeway Trail, my left AirPod made some kind of noise and abruptly stopped working. I paused the run, put both buds in the charging case, then popped them back in my ears and everything was good. I am concerned that this means the AirPods are getting close to self-destructing, forcing me to find something else.
As for the run, I started out decently, but this was apparently overdoing it after some recent bad sleep and stress, as my pace collapsed in second km to just under six minutes. I picked up a bit after, but remembered my watch had recommended a recovery run, so never really pushed. My BPM was 149, which felt right for the condition I was in and my pace was 5:48/km, a lot slower than Monday, but again, given my current state of being, this was perfectly cromulent.
In all, a decent wrap to the week and dodging the rain was a nice bonus.
Stats:
Run 1,023
Average pace: 5:48/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:56 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:12
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 8°C
Humidity: 87%
Wind: light
BPM: 149
Weight: 168.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,940 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (210/334/544)
Music: Shuffle mode
I need a new logo (2026 edition)
What the title says. The text logo is…fine, but it’s not even actual text, it’s an image of text. And it’s a little plain. I feel like I need to go all 2005 retro for this.
Although it does disturb me a bit that 2005 is now retro.
Here is one I whipped up in Canva a few years ago that I did not use, because even I have my limits:
Things I could do that kind of amaze me now
Because when I think of doing them now, it seems…improbable.
- Solving a Rubik’s cube in less than a minute. Not world record stuff, but I could solve it pretty quick.
- Jumping hurdles. I actually won the hurdles race one year at my junior high. I still have no idea how I didn’t face-plant. Or won.
- Playing chess and being decent at it. I still know the rules, but today I’d be a complete noob on strategy.
- Bending my thumb down to touch my wrist. It kind of freaks me out that I was that flexible. Maybe I should still be that flexible?
- More as I remember them!
Weight loss report, March 2026: Up 0.2 pounds
Whoops, I’m a day late because of strata shenanigans and a very late night last night.
Good news: I was up a mere 0.2 pounds. If I’d gone to the loo before weighing, I would have been down (apologies if that’s TMI). That means the month was basically neutral. And I am down today (April 1) as I type this.
The flip side is I didn’t lose weight. All of my stats basically didn’t budge.
But the other flip side (so many sides) is that March was the first time in years when I did not count my calories, I just ate what I wanted, focusing on having more fruit and vegetables and trying to boost both my fibre and protein intake.
I think I was at least partly successful.
I’ll probably start tracking again this month, I just need to find an app, and the main reason will be to verify I’m getting enough protein. Once I get things locked in, I probably won’t keep tracking. But we’ll see.
Stats:
January 1, 2026: 169.4 pounds
Current: 169.8 pounds
Year to date: Up 0.4 pounds
March 1: 170.2 pounds
March 31: 170.4 pounds (up 0.2 pounds)
Body fat:
March 1: 26.3%
March 31: 26.2% (down 0.1%)
Skeletal muscle mass:
March 1: 30.0 kg
March 31: 30.0 kg (unchanged)
BMI:
March 1: 24.4
March 31: 24.4 (unchanged)
Historical: January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds
Blergh (and post 31)
What a weird way to end the month. I’ll explain more later, hopefully because in part I will be posting more. I guess we’ll see!
This does mean I got in an average of one post per day, so there’s that.
Have two cats:
Run 1,022: Double double bows
I headed out more than two hours earlier compared to Friday’s run, as I attempt to get full back into my morning run routine. As a result, it was a bit chillier at 5C, but two layers was still fine, especially with the sun.
I opted to go clockwise and unlike recent runs, I got off to a strong start, which ended up matching my overall pace of 5:38/km, my fastest run in a while. The final km was my first lap under 5:30 in some time, too, at 5:27/km. My BPM is still coming in lower, though, which is nice, with today’s being 146.
I didn’t encounter any issues except a weird bit of creakiness in my right foot that pooped up around the 3K mark. I’d compare it to one of those random twitchy muscle things where it pops up, unbidden, then just as quickly disappears. It didn’t have any effect on the overall run.
There were no topless runners today.
There was one dog off-leash, but he was a good boy.
The double double bows came about because I always tie my left shoelace in a double bow and today the right lace came untied about a km in, then started coming untied about half a km later, so I gave it a double bow, too. It’s double bows all the way down.
I should start looking for new shoes soon.
Overall, though, a fine start to the week. Wednesday is looking damp, but maybe if I do a chicken dance or something I can scare the rain away. Or the neighbours.
Stats:
Run 1,022
Average pace: 5:38/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 10:23 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:20
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 5-6°C
Humidity: 69-67%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 146
Weight: 171.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,935 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (205/321/526)
Music: Shuffle mode
Birding, March 21, 2026: Hail Satan and less evil returns
Where: Burnaby Lake (Burnaby), Como Lake (Coquitlam)
Weather: Partly sunny, 7-8°C
NOTE: I am posting this a week late, but I had the write-up ready to go, I just hadn't gotten any photos ready. I've included a few but will have a proper gallery soon--for reals!
Also, the first birding of Spring!
Burnaby Lake
Nic suggested we do the full loop around Burnaby Lake, which is around 10.3 km or “You will achieve your 10,000-step goal no problem.”
We started at the Avalon parking lot, then went counter-clockwise, stopping at Cariboo Dam, Piper Spit, the Butterfly Garden by the Nature House, Philips Point, the rowing pavilion, the bridge on Deer Lake Brook, and anywhere we saw or heard birds.
Piper Spit was replete with people feeding the birds. We also saw multiple cyclists and dogs walking about off-leash. It was basically “Rules for thee, not for me” day. Note: the dogs and cyclists were not at Piper Spit, so there are still some limits in place.
The pier gave us our first look at newly-arrived migrants–the Brown-headed Cowbird. I did not get any decent shots, but we’ll have more chances over the spring and summer. Tree and Violet-Green Swallows were also diving around all over the lake here. Nic and I both documented this with a collection of artisanal blurry photos. There was also a red-eyed pigeon here, looking like it had just finished a sermon at the Pigeon Church of Satan.
And the only remnant of the land mas near the pier was once again occupied by gulls, whose golf ball collection is now up to three.
After this, we checked out the scenery from the viewing platform just west of the pier, then headed to Philips Point, where we saw more scenery and a Song Sparrow.
The long stretch of Cottonwood Trail yielded more Song Sparrows, then the bridge over Still Creek let us glimpse a Pied-billed Grebe. It dove a few times and the last time it never came back into view, possibly returning to the pocket dimension grebes hail from. A flock of Cackling Geese circled the sportsball field a few times, then came in for a landing, allowing us to get some shots of them grazing. A few crows in the background were taking delight in some kind of baked good one had acquired.
Around the south shore of the lake we apparently entered woodpecker country, seeing both a Pileated Woodpecker and a pair of Red-breasted Sapsuckers, the only downside being that they were in the “crane your neck” part of the trees.
We also heard, but never saw, several frogs.
We did see some water strider bugs in a stand of water adjacent to the trial, including a pair that were busy trying to make more striders, if you know what I mean. It’s that time of year for everyone.
Como Lake
After Burnaby Lake, we elected to tackle a smaller body of water with Como Lake, whose loop is about 10% that of Burnaby Lake. The scenery was nice enough, and we saw a lot of geese pairing off. There was also a pair of male Mallards that also seemed paired off, or maybe they were just good friends.
We ended by observing a robin on the grass yoinking large, juicy worms out of the grounsd and eating them with relish. Not actual relish, just zeal.
At this point we both had nearly 20,000 steps and opted to call it a day instead of walking even further. Between yesterday’s run at the lake and the birding, I’d covered around 55,000 steps in the two days. That’s good enough for me!
The Shots
Shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18-150 mm kit lens and 100-400 mm telephoto.
The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- American Robin
- Bewick’s Wren
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Fox Sparrow
- Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Northern Flicker
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Red-breasted Sapsucker
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Towhee
- Tree Swallow
- Violet-Green Swallow
Waterfowl and shorebirds:
- American Coot
- American Wigeon
- Bufflehead
- Cackling Goose
- Canada Goose
- Common Merganser (probably)
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Great Blue Heron
- Green-winged Teal
- Mallard
- Northern Pintail
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Scaup
- Wood Duck
Common:
- American Crow
- Rock Pigeon
- Satanic Rock Pigeon
- Seagulls aplenty
Raptors:
- Bald Eagle
Non-birds:
- Airplanes
- Golf balls
Run 1,021: Men interfering and cranes (the flying kind)
Today’s run was remarkably similar to Wednesday’s, except it was drier and milder, both of which were nice.
But like the previous run, I got off to a sluggish start and slowly improved and finished with a middling overall pace of 5:49/km, but also another fairly low BPM of 145. Conditions were generally fine as we’ve only had some light rain in the past few days, though there was one spot on the trail that someone had improvised a bridge on:
The downside is no one knows where to go to park anymore.
There was one dog off-leash and while he was not entirely a good boy (he trundled over to my side of the trail), he didn’t directly interfere. I still had unkind thoughts toward the owner.
But overall, today’s run was fine. There was another topless jogger, though at 10C, I can kind of see it. I dressed in two layers and one might have sufficed, but I kept the hoodie on. With the sun mostly tucked away, it didn’t really feel warm, as such.
And good news–I did three runs this week. Hooray for consistency.
As for the men interfering, on the river trail a crew had the trail blocked off about midway up because they were messing with a tree that had fallen in the river. If you really want to close off the trail, the signs should go at the start of the trail, not a meter from the work being done. I went through, it seemed safe. On the way back they were gone and I can’t say the work they did looks any better than what was there before, but I am not a treeologist.
The next men also blocking a path were right near Cariboo Dam–exactly where I start my run. They had the area roped off and were pounding stakes into the ground near the river edge, behind an existing fence, for reasons. This time I didn’t attempt to go through and went around via the Avalon entrance. They were also gone when I finished my run, but their stakes remained, doing…something or other.
And the cranes were a pair of Sandhill Cranes, which I haven’t seen in a long time, looking for food at the sports field and probably planning on having babbies soon. Spring is truly here.
Stats:
Run 1,021
Average pace: 5:49/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 12:50 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:10
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 10°C
Humidity: 61-59%
Wind: light
BPM: 145
Weight: 169.7 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,930 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (200/308/508)
Music: Shuffle mode
The HNIC theme I never thought I’d hear again
Thanks to YouTube’s sometimes erratic algorithm, I was offered a video of the 1968 Hockey Night in Canada theme. Back in Duncan and growing up in the 1970s, HNIC was a Saturday night staple in our home, with the living room TV always tuned to the game. I’ve heard the theme song probably hundred of times, but the last time I heard it may have been the last time I watched HNIC, which was probably the mid 80s.
Until tonight. And hearing it again, I not only felt that intoxicating pull of nostalgia you get from childhood music, but it also struck me what a damn good theme it is. The brass section just blasts the thing. No wonder so many think of it as Canada’s unofficial second anthem.
Run 1,020: Drizzle in my shizzle
Sorry, I couldn’t think of a better title. 😛
I did my best to wait out the rain, but it was not to be, so I had an early afternoon run in light rain. It was cooler than normal at only 5C and felt closer to freezing because there were some wind gusts. Not my favourite running conditions!
The suggested workout was recovery, so I took that to heart and adopted a more leisurely pace. By the second km my pace had dipped to 6:03/km, which was a bit too leisurely, so I picked it up and finished with an average of 5:51/km. My BPM was quite low, at 142, reflecting the more casual stride.
I only saw two people on the trail: a guy wearing just a t-shirt (well, and also pants) despite the rain. He was walking a dog on-leash. Good boy (the dog owner)! The other was another jogger, who I passed twice as we were both looping the river trail. He wore a very bright red cap (the nice thing in Canada is a red cap is just a red cap) and pink running shoes. He’s not the first guy I’ve seen wearing pink running shoes recently, so this may be the year when pink is the hot colour for runners. Hot pink, one might say.
I should start looking for new shoes soon, myself. The Peregrine 15s have almost 500 km on them of combined running/walking.
A few other random notes:
- The third song to come up in shuffle mode was “Echoes”, which kept playing until about a minute after my run ended. I’m not sure if it’s good jogging music, but I couldn’t bring myself to skip forward.
- The rain stopped almost immediately after my run. I’m glad it stopped, but sometimes I wonder if Mother Nature is really Nelson Muntz.
Stats:
Run 1,020
Average pace: 5:51/km
Training status: Productive
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 1:29 p.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:23
Weather: Light rain and drizzle
Temp: 5°C (felt like 0°C)
Humidity: 82%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 142
Weight: 170.5 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,925 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 265, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Saucony Peregrine 15 (195/295/490)
Music: Shuffle mode, but mostly "Echoes" by Pink Floyd
The dual boot lives
Last night I decided to try installing Kubuntu again. I first deleted the EFI partition that had weirdly been created on my backup HDD that I mainly use for bird photographs. The creation of this partition is osmething that I missed before during a previous attempt.
I then ran the Kubuntu installer, selected my secondary SSD and it correctly created an EFI partition on that. When I restarted, the (somewhat ugly) Grub menu appeared, allowing me to select Kubuntu or Windows. Woo.
But now I think I’d like to try Mint again, I think I prefer Cinammon over KDE. I am never satisfied. 😛