General

Sometimes when I think

Sometimes I get a jolt of self-awareness, except it’s not really a jolt, it’s more something that gently pops to the fore of my thinking and I ponder it for a moment.

For example, yesterday after finishing my shortened run, I was walking along the top of the Cariboo Dam, which has railings on both sides and is fairly narrow, except for an expanded middle section where one can stand and look for herons. As I began walking across, I noticed a jogger coming down the path from the entrance to the park. The jogger might go straight and head counter-clockwise down the lake trail, or they might hook left, cross the dam and go clockwise instead. I wasn’t sure, but I figured I’d play it safe and paused in the enlarged area midway across the dam, so the runner could easily pass.

The runner did indeed ascend the stairs and ran across the top of the dam. Once she passed, I resumed my walk out of the park.

A simple thing, but it required me to observe what was happening and then change what I was doing for a few moments, to make things a little easier for someone else, in this case a person I did not know and would likely never see again. Am I patting myself metaphorically on the back for being a nice person?

Yes.

Am I doing it to puff up my own ego? No.

I point it out because this thought process occurs automatically to me. Did I inherit it from my parents? To a degree, I’d say yes. They were both kind and thoughtful people who helped others, so I am, in a way, carrying that forward.

But I also think this is how I’m wired. While there are people out there who might clear the way for the jogger, I wonder how many would see the jogger and calculate the possible results and, in a way, pre-accommodate her by moving out of the way before it was known if it would even be needed? Kind of like being pre-nice. Not many is my hunch, but it is just a hunch.

I wish more people could look at situations like this and react the same way I did. I’m an imperfect mess, but I try to pay attention and I always try to be kind to others. And as the last few days have underscored to me, there are people out there that calculatedly do the opposite, who seem to enjoy architecting misery in others in order to preserve what they’ve got. It makes me sad. It makes me a little angry, too, but mostly just sad.

Try to be thoughtful, try to be kind.

Remembering mom

My mom died last night (June 22) at the age of 89. That’s a pretty good run. The last few years of her life were rough–she suffered numerous ailments and had early-onset Alzheimer’s on top of that. I last spoke to her a few weeks ago, and her memory was reduced to things from the distant past. But she seemed to still recognize my voice, and she laughed at my dumb jokes. When she laughed, she sounded the same as she ever did.

She was kind, generous and patient (five kids probably instills a lot of patience). She could also be a bit of a rascal, but was very sneaky about it. No matter how I try, I really can’t think of anything negative to say about her. She was a great person and the world is diminished by her passing. I don’t believe in Heaven or anything, but I do think there is the possibility that something non-physical survives our lumpy old bodies. If that’s the case, I’m sure her soul or whatever it might be is out there is having a good ol’ time wherever it is that souls (or whatever they might be) gather.

I don’t have many photos of her here (she kept most of the family albums), but I was also a bit of a rascal, and loved taking “candid” shots. One I do have is below. It’s a petting zoo, possibly at Knott’s Berry Farm, circa 1974 or 1975. I’m not sure what the goat was doing, but she clearly did not like it.

Complete with rounded corners, which was the style at the time.

Thanks for everything, mom. You were the best.

It’s the first day of summer (2024) as we know it (and I feel adequate)

Good news: My favourite season has arrived. Yay! Yes yes, climate change, heat domes, etc. I don’t care, summer is still my favourite season.

Bad news: I am still sick, though improved. I was able to go out and aboot without any issue. At home, I was coughing occasionally, mostly when sitting in certain specific positions that told my body, “Now is the time to cough.” They were all the most comfortable positions, too. 🙁

Neither good nor bad news: The weather today was very summer-like, with a high temperature of 28°C and “felt like 32”. It was pretty warm compared to what we’ve been getting. We’ll get one more day of sun before YMS (Yet More Showers). I don’t think I’ve ever seen grass so lush and green on June 20th before.

Anyway, here is another shot of Hume Park, this time the lower part.

It’s the last day of spring (2024) as we know it (and I don’t feel fine)

It was actually a pleasantly sunny day for the last day of Spring 2024, with a high of 26°C (not a record). The not-fine part is related to the allergies/cold/flu/alien incubation I currently have. I slept horribly last night, but I think I am on the mend now and will hopefully at least be back to somewhat normal by tomorrow, the first day of summer.

I will frolic about if that’s the case.

In the meantime, here is a wide-angle photo of Hume Park, with the grass unusually green for mid-June:

I need a fancy new logo

With the site redesign mostly complete, I think I need a new logo, something that isn’t just literally the name of the site. Yes, I know it’s clean and efficient, but it’s also sterile and blah.

I still want something sleek and uncluttered. I will ponder.

When I tinkered around in Canva, I ended up with this:

It both does and doesn’t speak to me. It’s also full of hidden meaning that no one else would ever figure out.

But the actual logo will probably not feature a jar of pickles.

Run 865: Son of baby run

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run

Whoops, I swear I didn’t mean to go another two weeks between runs again. But I also didn’t expect to develop FOK1Fear Of Knees. I am now paranoid about my knees giving up, giving in and giving out. It has made me afraid to run at all.

But today, with the weather being nice again (finally), I decided to get out there and…do half of a 5K. If it went well, I’d do the second half on Friday, then resume full 5K runs on Monday.

I think it went well.

My pace was off, which is no surprise. I have done so little running in the last few months that I have lost my form, stamina and sense of direction. Fortunately, there are signs to help with the latter.

My route began at the Jiffy John for reasons best left unstated, then I followed the Spruce and Conifer Loops, turned back after rejoining the main trail and ended my run right near the bridge at Silver Creek–just about exactly what I was hoping for. This had the secret bonus of little overlap on the trail, despite how short the run was (see map below, which makes it look like half the area is dead because they obviously stitched together satellite data from different seasons).

Only a smidgen of overlap during the last 0.25 km

I ran in my Speedgoats, which are probably nearing time for replacement. Last Friday I snapped one of the laces, so took laces from my old Brooks Revels and used them. They were fine, even if they aren’t colour-coordinated with the shoes. I didn’t have anyone scream at me, “You fashion monster!”

Speaking of colour-coordination, I saw a guy running on the river trail. He was passing by me from the other direction and his t-shirt was utterly soaked in sweat. Kids, don’t let runners wear cotton when jogging!

The weather was nice, around 14C, with a mix of sun and some high cloud. I only encountered a few people and my BPM of 153 was fine, though my average pace of 5:50/km was a bit slow. That should improve as long as the knees allow it.

We’ll see how the back-half of the 5K goes on Friday.

Turtle nesting area, post-run

Stats:

Run 865
Average pace: 5:50/km
Training status: Recovery
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop)
Start: 11:33 a.m.
Distance: 2.51 km
Time: 14:38
Weather: Sun and high cloud
Temp: 14°C
Humidity: 65%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 168.5
Total distance to date: 6197.5 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (337.5/634/971.5 km)

Pronouncements

Here are some, because it’s important for people on blogs to have opinions on trending topics or something.

  • AI: Very bad, silly and harmful, not necessarily in that order
  • Microsoft’s Recall (which uses AI): Very bad
  • Linux: Good, but could be better
  • Windows: Good, but Microsoft is determined to ruin it for reasons (see above)
  • macOS: Not really getting better, but good enough
  • Mechanical keyboards: Yes
  • Billionaires: All of them are bad, except those who got their money indirectly and not by design, and are giving it away
  • Capitalism: Deeply flawed and getting worse
  • Climate change: [screaming into the void]
  • The U.S. Supreme Court: Evil, corrupt and vile
  • Kittens: Yay!

Here is a kitten:

The Rainening, plus bonus dream report

And so it begins. As I type this on Sunday morning, the heavy rain…

…has begun.

I may go out and take photos later, because that would be a silly thing to do.

In the meantime, I had a bunch of dreams last night and remember bits from at least four of them:

  • Some ancient Greek or Roman stage play where I was hosting people in togas and such, with political intrigue. Also, someone had their genitals hanging out like they were auditioning for Caligula. It was not sexy.
  • Going down the stairs in a university, and they had big art displays in the stairwells that were awkward to move around. I noted this while chatting with a girl, who then bumped into one, which may have been a giant telescope model, and it rolled down the stairs into the lobby. It didn’t seem damaged, but she took off, and then I had to also take off, because even though I had nothing to do with it, I was the next obvious suspect.
  • Visiting the grocery store near our old house in Duncan (which is actually a Shoppers Drug Mart now). I was apparently there very early, as I passed the morning meeting/scrum where most of the employees had gathered. After leaving, I realized I didn’t have my phone and recalled using it in the store, so it seemed odd that I would suddenly not have it. I thought how I couldn’t check with mom at the old house because she doesn’t live there anymore.
  • Speaking of houses, I was in some big mansion or something and being chased by villains or zombies or maybe villainous zombies. I acquired a pistol and might have had a melee weapon in my other hand. I remember shooting several of these whatever-they-were, and it had a very video game vibe to it. It wasn’t scary at all. I took it on the lam and at one point hid in the world’s largest closet as they pursued me. Seriously, the closet was bigger than some of the places I’ve lived. Maybe it was a secret room and not a closet. I hid in a pile of stuff in a corner and remember hearing them talking just on the other side.
  • There might have been a bonus fifth dream, but I no longer recall it.