View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Mostly clear at this point, and very calm.
I headed out a little later than usual today for no real reason, just a slower start. The weather was around 10C and blessedly, there was no rain in the forecast. I wore two layers, despite little wind, but this still seemed the right choice, as there is a definite chill to the air now. The sun sort of poked out a few times, but it was mostly high cloud.
I was prepared to do my usual bear-avoidance at the lake by sticking to the north side, but another runner headed off clockwise along the south shore just before I started. I figured he could be my bear detector and so I also headed off clockwise for the first time in a while.
When I got the report that conditions were +9 at the 1K mark, I was surprised, but I did have a good opening lap at 5:36/km. I lagged slightly on the next km, then got progressively faster, with another 5:32/km overall finish.
Even better, I broke my 1K and 5K records again (for the Garmin Forerunner 255), as observed below (highlights are mine):
I’m well past the point of trying to get a PR, but it’s still nice when it happens.
The only issue I experienced were my left toes feeling a bit sore, ironically from a massage last night.
Other than that and a few more people because I was out a little later and the weather was benign for a change, it was a fine start to the week.
Still Creek, post-run: So very still.
Stats:
Run 982 Average pace: 5:32/km Training status: Maintaining Location: Burnaby Lake (CW) Start: 11:26 a.m. Distance: 5.05 km Time: 27:55 Weather: High cloud and veiled sun Temp: 10°C Humidity: 77% Wind: light BPM: 142 Weight: 165.1 pounds Total distance to date: 6,740 km Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation) Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (335/703/1,038)
The first two paragraphs of the Mastodon post below resonate with me–my first computer was an Atari 400, but my second and “real” computer (the 400 was basically a gaming machine) was a Commodore 64. And I had an Amiga, too. The C64 and Atari 400 were completely offline, my Amiga and Atari ST connected to BBSes via 33.6 baud modem. It wasn’t until I had my first PC that I ventured out onto the internet at large, but even then, circa 1996 or so, the whole world of computers, rapidly evolving in performance and capabilities, still held such tremendous promise. I had absolutely no conception of how it might all be turned against us and exploited by capitalist companies more interested in earning ever-expanding profits, no matter the cost to the world, or the individual. I just enjoyed it in the moment, whether it was doodling with a Koalapad on my C64, writing short stories using ProWrite on my Amiga, or discovering weird blogs on my Windows 98 PC. Or starting my own weird blog (this one, to be specific).
datarama on Mastodon:
@Tattie I think one of the reasons I never really got into retrocomputing – despite nerding out with a C64 or an Amiga sure did feel a lot more fun than computing in the current day – is that what made it feel so great back then was that it felt like I could just make out the contours of the future, and it looked like it would be amazing. So much creativity waiting to be unlocked! We’d make kinds of art not even conceived yet! We’d be making wonderful discoveries!
Now I live in that future, and it fucking sucks. The fruit of all those great discoveries have turned out to be mostly figuring out new ways to spy on people and manipulate them – and now, to declare all-out war against even the concept of human creativity. My C64 still runs (I no longer have a working Amiga), but playing around with it won’t bring back that feeling of a promised future of wonders – all I see is that it turned out to become a present full of horrors instead.
I’m sure part of all this – from a purely personal perspective – is just that I’ve hit the point where I’m supposed to be having my regularly-scheduled midlife crisis. “Did I waste my entire life?” sure does feel to fit the stereotype. I’ve thought about trying to retrain to do something else, but I honestly have no idea what that could even be. I’m disabled, I’m getting old, and there’s not a whole lot I can do that anyone would want to pay me for that isn’t related to software development. (I’m currently an embedded dev; prior to that I taught CS at a community college for ten years.)— datarama (@datarama@hachyderm.io)
I still dabble in retrocomputing and gaming, not because I have any illusions about things being better back then. They were simpler, and that had its own charm, but mostly it’s just straight-up nostalgia for being younger, and for the technology I geeked out on so much growing and improving year after year, with the possibilities of that growth suggesting so many great things to come–even if that fantastic tomorrow ultimately never arrived. Instead, we got Facebook and AI slop. 😛 This isn’t to downplay all the technological advances in computing since the 1980s and 90s, of course. I love great graphics as much as the next person, it’s just a shame so much of it is done now in service of garbage.
But you know what? It’s also not just nostalgia, it’s about looking back on a time when people wanted to make money off computer hardware and software, of course, but many also cared about providing a quality experience, whether it was through improvements to a word processor, a great sequel to a favourite game or better specs on the hardware that made everything run a little bit smoother. And as I noted in my recent reminisce on software stores, we used to have what now seems like a crazy number of not just operating systems, but dedicated hardware for each OS, and many companies–that today wouldn’t think of doing more than developing an app only for iOS (with IAP, ads, or both)–would release a game or program on five different platforms, because none of them were truly dominant (the PC won out in the end, of course).
Some still carry on that spirit of just wanting to make good things (and sometimes make money from it) from the early days of computing–indies, mainly–so it’s not completely gone. We just need to choose what and who we support, to keep the things we valued back in the early days from disappearing.
UPDATE: Someone has indeed managed to set off fireworks. Persistence! I also remembered that stores will be playing Christmas music non-stop for nearly two months, starting tomorrow. This makes me wish Halloween lasted longer.
And good luck trying to set off fireworks in New Westminster tonight, with the ongoing deluge of rain.
Also, here’s a neighbour who is into the spirit (or bones) of the holiday:
Yes, it looks bad, like I’ve been secretly eating donuts. But I have remained donut-free.
What happened is: Bodies are weird, and I gained two pounds in the last two days. Has my diet (as in eating regime, not a fad diet) gone off the rails? No, but these things happen, anyway.
Bad: Body fat is over 25% again (I have not remained 100% snack-free)
Good: Muscle mass is up! Probably entirely in my calves, my very sexy calves.
I think I can still get below 160 pounds before the end of the year. I won’t have long to find out!
January 1, 2025: 166.8 pounds
Current: 165.8 pounds Year to date: Down 1.0 pounds
October 1: 162.7 pounds October 31: 165.8 pounds (up 3.1 pounds)
Body fat: October 1: 24.5% October 31: 25.3% (up 0.8%)
Skeletal muscle mass: October 1: 29.2 kg October 31: 29.5 kg (up 0.3 kg)
I tried waiting to see if the rain would ease up, but finally came to the realization that it would not, and headed out around 12:30 p.m. I wore two layers, the second being my running jacket, which I figured would keep me from getting completely soaked all the way through. It worked, barely.
The best thing I can say is that it was relatively mild at 10C, though the rain added a fun layer of chill (I checked after and they “upgraded” today’s weather to an official Rainfall Warning).
As usual, the hood would not stay on, so I just let it flop around. I kept my phone in the belt, which was a better place than a jacket pocket, as it would have gotten a lot more wet there.
It was an Omega Man run–I did not see anyone else over the course of the entire 5 km, a good illustration of how unpleasant the weather was. Even the dog owners were turning to their pugs and saying, “You can go pee on the front lawn today.”
I did have to dodge a salmon, which laid conspicuously in my path around the 4.5 km mark. It as curiously intact, which makes me further wonder how it got onto the trail. But dead salmon tell no tales.
The wayward salmon, now an ex-salmon.
Surprisingly, despite the yucky conditions, I finished with a nearly-identical pace to Wednesday’s run, only one second off at 5:42/km. I lagged on the second km, so if I had maintained there, I would have actually been faster than the previous run. My BPM was also 144. Maybe it gets lower when I resign myself to the conditions.
In any case, I’m glad I kept to the schedule and ran, but it would be nice if the next run was a bit more on the dry side. And with fewer salmon.
Stats:
Run 981 Average pace: 5:42/km Training status: Maintaining Location: Brunette River Trail Start: 12:58 p.m. Distance: 5.02 km Time: 28:37 Weather: Steady rain Temp: 10°C Humidity: 86% Wind: light BPM: 144 Weight: 165.8 pounds Total distance to date: 6,735 km Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation) Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (330/690/1,020)
The urge to update apps on my phone has pretty much vanished. I’ll only update now if something breaks.
There was a spike in the last day or so. I’m guessing a lot of apps have received updates recently to deal with various iOS 26 shenanigans (I am still on iOS 18). I’ll probably at least look at the updates soon, because it’s a good way to remind myself of apps I may not even use anymore and can uninstall.
And the quote from that article, made by a user named Pallenberg:
I’m going back to the Fediverse. Back to Mastodon. To the nerds, the hobbyists, the idealists. The people who don’t talk about reach, but about relevance. To those who understand that decentralization isn’t nostalgic, it’s the future. That digital sovereignty isn’t a gimmick, it’s a survival strategy.
Yes, the Fediverse is sometimes clunky, nerdy, uncomfortable. But it belongs to us. It’s not over-regulated, not driven by capital, not buggered up by algorithms. It’s what social media once aspired to be: A network of people, not brands.
Shot over the past few days using my 150-year-old iPhone 12.
The river, today, with some rare sun on it!Reflective pond.Topdown view of a hydrant, making my feet look tiny (yes, I need new trail runners).Neighbours getting ready for Halloween.A large leaf screaming, “It’s fall, baby!”
View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: A smidgen of blue sky!
After missing Monday’s run due to vaccine-related recovery, I was unsure how I’d feel going out today. My pace was not quite as brisk as it’s been recently, but I turned in a respectable 5:41/km overall, and my BPM was 151. I didn’t experience any issues, so in all, it was fine.
The Garmin watch declared me “maintaining”, which is an improvement from the recent “strained” it was slapping on my efforts.
The weather was fine–humid, but relatively mild at 10-11C, with little wind (despite a warning of gusts). I wore two layers and for the run, one probably would have sufficed, but this, too, was fine. For a change, there was no rain and the sun even poked out–after I’d finished my run. But still.
I got out a little bit later than intended and apparently hit field trip time, encountering three groups of (mostly) well-behaved kids on the trail. I did not bowl over any wee ones. I saw Hang Dog and his running partner just as I arrived.
As for the turtles, the fence around the turtle nesting area is down.
Turtle Nesting Area: now fence-free!
I assume it’s going to be rebuilt, but who knows. Maybe the turtles have fled (slowly) to some other place. I’ll know more soon.
Change of pace: View of the Cariboo Dam, post-run.
Stats:
Run 980 Average pace: 5:41/km Training status: Maintaining Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW, short loop) Start: 10:35 a.m. Distance: 5.03 km Time: 28:36 Weather: Cloudy Temp: 10-11°C Humidity: 87% Wind: light BPM: 151 Weight: 165.0 pounds Total distance to date: 6,730 km Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation) Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (325/686/1,011)
I’ve finally added an RSS link on the sidebar of the site. It should work in your favourite (or even most-hated) RSS reader, making it easier than ever to keep up with whatever rolls around in my noggin and ends up on this site. It’s like the Year 2000 all over again!
This coincides with me trying to find another RSS reader myself and maybe stick to it. It could happen!
Also, this seems like a good random post to update on how I was looking into other options for my blog after all the WordPress drama of the past year or so. It turns out that trying to break out of a 20-year habit is hard (I started this blog on WordPress in 2005). And I always found something I didn’t like in the alternatives. But I am still looking in a casual kind of way, part of it being driven by the curiosity of what else is out there now for blogging.
