The weather has been pretty nice in July and this week promises an actual heatwave, with temperatures climbing up over 30ºC on multiple days. Not great for all the forest fires out there burning across the province, but nice for getting a tan.
I went the entire month–save one day–without wearing pants. And I kind of regretted wearing pants the day I did.
As an aside, it seems harder than it should be to find a pair of shorts that look decent* and aren’t festooned with pockets. I only need to carry a phone, wallet and keys, not two weeks of camping supplies.
* what I consider decent may vary from the popular definition. It’s like art, I know it when I see it. At least when it comes to shorts.
What if the Terry Jacks classic song had been about bees and dying, instead of love and dying?
Bee-sons in the Sun
Goodbye to you, my trusted friend.
We’ve known each other since we were nine or ten.
Together we’ve climbed hills and trees.
Learned of love and ABC’s,
skinned our hearts, got stung by bees.
Goodbye my friend, it’s hard to die,
when all the bees are buzzing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
Killer bees are everywhere.
Think of me and I’ll bee there.
Had no joy, and got stung, we ran from hornets in the sun.
But the hills that we climbed
were just beehives out of time.
Goodbye, Papa, please pray for me,
I brought the bees back to the family.
You tried to teach me right from wrong.
Too much wine and too much song,
and the bees all stinging strong.
Goodbye, Papa, it’s hard to die
when all the bees are buzzing in the sky,
Now that the bees are in the air.
Children screaming everywhere.
When you see them I’ll be there.
Had no joy, and got stung, we fought hornets in the sun.
But the wine and the song,
like the bees, have all gone.
Had no joy, and got stung, we fought hornets in the sun.
But the honey and the bong,
like the bees, have all gone.
Goodbye, Michelle, my little one.
You gave me love and helped me find the sun.
And every time that I was down
you would always come around
until the bees put me in the ground.
Goodbye, Michelle, it’s hard to die
when all the bees are buzzing in the sky,
Now that the bees are in the air.
With the flowers they don’t care.
Just to sting us here and there.
Had no joy, and got stung, ran from wasps in the sun.
But the houses we could reach
were just wall to wall with bees
All our lives we would run, we faced hornets in the sun.
But the hills that we climbed
Were just beehives out of time….
Okay, that’s pretty bad, but I somehow feel better having written it. Also, I tried to rhyme “reach” and “bees”, which illustrates my mastery of poetry and songwriting.
If I wear my over-ear headphones and then rub a finger on my upper-lip stubble (it’s not quite grand enough to really call a mustache) the sound is strangely reminiscent of sawing wood.
This has been my random thought of the day.
Also, I dreamed the other night that a taxi driver or bus driver said dividing something up fairly would be “fifty, fifty, fifty” and I frantically tried to find some way to permanently record this wisdom for all time. In reality I have an app called Drafts that I can summon on my Apple Watch and with a tap of the mic icon, I tell it what I want to record and it’s done. It’s simple yet always strikes me as such a spiffy, hi-tech way to record random thoughts and ideas.
In the dream I couldn’t get the app to work. I’m not sure why. The watch probably adopted spontaneous non-Euclidean geometry that made it impossible to operate.
This has been my second random thought of the day. About random thoughts.
If you have a slow connection I apologize, as this is a converted mp4 file that comes in at over 4MB as a gif. Still, who can be mad after seeing cat vs. banana?
This continues the downward trend that started in May and has picked up a wee bit of momentum. Three times in the past week I dipped below 160 pounds, once tipping the scale at 158.6 pounds.
For the year to date I have gone from 165.9 to 160.5 pounds, a total weight loss of 5.4 pounds. Not super-dramatic but I am getting close enough to my goal that I no longer despair and feel the urge to give up and switch to an all-donuts diet.
And body fat for the first half of the year:
January 1: 19.1% (31.7 pounds of fat) July 30: 16.6% (26.8 pounds of fat)
Down 2.5%/4.9 pounds of fat. Again, not numbers to make your socks roll up and down but a continued improvement over previous months. Onward and downward, I say!
A few days ago Apple quietly pulled the iPod nano and iPod shuffle from their online store and confirmed the devices were being discontinued. The only iPod left is the iPod Touch, which is really just an iPhone with the phone bits removed. The Touch itself hasn’t been updated since 2015, though Apple did double the storage without changing the price while killing the nano and shuffle, so it’s at least a better value now. Its days are still likely to be numbered. I predict no more hardware refreshes, maybe another round of new colors (next year) and then bye-bye it goes.
I bought the 7th generation nano shortly after it came out to replace the 6th generation model I had before it. The biggest change was going from a click wheel interface to a touchscreen that aped the look and feel of the iPhone. While the click wheel had the advantage in allowing you to use it by simply clicking without looking, I found it reacted very badly when it got the slightest bit damp when I was using it on runs. And I used mine pretty much exclusively when running (using the built-in Nike+ app). The touchscreen version could also be a bit finicky when wet but not to the same degree. I once extended a run by nearly half a km when I couldn’t get the click wheel to work during a light rain. (The nano had a bizarre history with Apple radically changing the device over its lifespan. The sixth generation model had a video camera included, something that seems completely silly looking back.)
Both of my nanos still work. In fact, I used my saucy green model just this year. I always wanted Apple to make a 32GB version of it so it could hold all of my music and I wouldn’t have to choose what to leave off. But alas.
Perhaps the best thing about the nano was its size, specifically how small it was. I could slip it into a pocket on a run and not even notice it there. There is no smartphone–iPhone or otherwise–that comes remotely close to that kind of portability.
Of course, it had its disadvantages. It didn’t connect to anything. That meant I couldn’t use Siri to set music or change tracks (I do that a lot, especially on runs). It could only sync through iTunes, which is a major downside these days, given how generally awful iTunes is (especially with syncing). And the aforementioned 16GB of storage ultimately proved limiting.
I guess if I had a wish list for the nano-that-will-never-be, it would look something like this:
full integration with iOS (ie. a real iOS device)
support for Siri
32 and 64GB storage options
wireless syncing
Basically it would be a tiny version of the iPod Touch.
Except the only way that will happen is if this timeline splits off into a bizarro world where a lot of people in 2017 still use dedicated music devices. And even then it probably wouldn’t happen. Which means my two nanos now join my 80GB iPod Classic in the dustbin of technology, products that helped Apple become the giant it is today and just a decade later are obsolete, like my 8-track player and Zip drive. (I’d have a tough time deciding which of those two was the worst because, brother, they weren’t no nanos).
Run 514 Average pace: 5:44/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 1:53 pm
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 57:34
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24-25ºC
Humidity: 37%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 153
Weight: 159.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 3990 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
I indulged in a bit of a lazy morning and started today’s run early in the afternoon as a consequence. In terms of temperature it wasn’t too bad, only a few degrees hotter than the morning and at 24-25ºC still below the “this is kind of too hot” point. On the northern side of the lake I sweated a bit but didn’t sweat much at all on the southern side. A good breeze helped, too.
For whatever reason, though, I was tired for the whole run. Even the walk to the lake was a bit slower than recent days. Because it was afternoon I choose to go with a steady but slower pace, anyway, but my legs especially just seemed to lack the fuel to carry me much beyond a plodding pace that averaged out to 5:44/km. This isn’t terrible–in fact, it’s about what I would have expected for my first 10K last weekend (where much cooler weather helped), but it was still enough that by the 6K mark I seriously considered calling it. I also mulled pausing the run or walking for a bit.
In the end I turned my mind to other things to distract myself and got through the full 10 km. There was no photo finish. 😛
The trail itself is seeing construction/resurfacing along several areas. The rocky section by the 5K marker I complained about previously did indeed turn out to be a base layer that has since been covered over with crushed gravel. It looks like most of that stretch that floods is going to be built up with new material, leaving only a few other small areas that are still affected by heavy rains.
The work on South Shore trail and Avalon trail doesn’t appear to have progressed much, though I’m curious to see how they resurface Avalon. It’s a shared use trail that horses are allowed on and is the only place on the Burnaby Lake Loop with a rock dust surface, which is very fine and maybe better for horses? Most trails feature either crushed gravel or compact dirt. I’m assuming they’ll keep it the same for the horses. Won’t someone think of the horses?
There was a notice posted at several entry points to let people know the Cottonwood trail would be closed for a few weeks to have its footbridge replaced, starting July 31. Indeed, I could see piles of gravel and three steel girders near the bridge as I ran by. Since there’s no detour route on the Cottonwood trail, this means the loop will not be doable for at least two weeks.
Those two weeks exactly coincide with my vacation, when I played on…running the loop. I’ll have to run clockwise to Still Creek and double-back, which will get me 10K. Not as satisfying as a full loop around the lake, but better than a kick in the pants. I’m hoping that, as with the boardwalk replacement in 2012, the time estimate is overly generous and it only takes them a week or so to complete. It’s not a big bridge. I clear it in about four steps.
I wonder if they might target the bridge at Deer Lake Brook. It’s bigger (and has stairs at both ends) and when I ran on it today it felt especially bouncy on the eastern end. It hasn’t felt bouncy before. Bouncy is not a good quality for a bridge to have.
One bonus of heading out later was fewer people out in general (and no cyclists, yay). Still, I’m glad I finished the run, both for the achievement and because finishing meant it was over. This is one of those rare times when my two-day break before the next run will feel truly welcome.
I’m a sucker for certain story types and time travel is one of them. The plots in time travel stories are almost always of the “pull one loose thread and the whole thing unravels” variety, with the science ranging from sounding possible to being completely silly.
All Our Wrong Todays is a sometimes odd combination of extremes, with its tone shifting from being very light to very dark and back again. And again. The science is presented with a veneer of plausibility, even as the framing device (which in this case is an actual device, a kind of perpetual motion machine that produces endless free energy) seems wildly unlikely.
But this is ultimately more a story about a person–in this case a shiftless 30-something named Tom Barren–coming to grips with who he is and what’s important to him than it is an action-packed time travel adventure.
Though there is action. And time travel adventure.
Told from a first person perspective, author Elan Mastai does an almost too-convincing job presenting Tom as an irredeemable loser. A nice guy, sure, but also an unambitious, inept, unthinking clod. Since it’s Tom himself describing these qualities, the self-loathing threatens to smother the reader. At one point I nearly put the book aside. I stuck with it, though, and things pick up as Tom is forced out of his somnolent existence after he screws up time in a big way. As in many time travel stories, messing up timelines is pretty easy while fixing them proves much trickier.
For a first novel, Mastai has done a terrific job crafting an entertaining yarn. Yes, the science is wonky but watching the different players interact across different timelines–including Tom engaging in an epic internal battle with his other selves–is worth the ride.
Run 513 Average pace: 5:33/km
Location: Brunette River trail and Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 6:30 pm
Distance: 8.02 km
Time: 44:35
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22ºC
Humidity: 56%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 161.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 3979 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
Three differences between Tuesday’s run and tonight’s:
It was 22ºC instead of 28ºC. This was very good.
I ran 8K instead of 7K, taking advantage of the longer clockwise route. This was nice because the longer runs build up my stamina.
My pace was 5:33/km vs. 5:37/km. See the first bullet point: Cooler really does equal faster.
I was a bit concerned at the start Due to some weird gas in the stomach. I could feel the water I had before the run sloshing around. It seemed a good bet that cramps were to follow, like some scene from an irritable bowel syndrome TV commercial. I started out a bit slower than normal but the cramps never materialized and the gas passed (ho ho).
For the first half of the run I actually ended up feeling fairly energetic and only felt like I was pushing in the last few km as I worked to maintain my pace (my last km was also the fastest).
For the third run in a row I sweated like some kind of robot designed specifically to sweat. A sweatbot. I have no idea why I am sweating so much but it’s on the verge of being irritating as it constantly threatens to sluice down into my eyes. If I end up having to get a headband I may cry a little.
The trail work on the Avalon and South Shore trails doesn’t seem to have progressed much in the last few days but just before the 5K marker (not the 5K mark of the run, the actual 5K marker of the Burnaby Lake Loop) the trail was covered with fresh gravel. Except it wasn’t really gravel, it was more like just plain rocks. I have no idea what they’re doing there but it ain’t friendly for running. Or walking. Maybe it’s intended as a base to allow drainage after they put the crushed gravel on top. There are spots in this section that do flood after a good rain. But for now it’s not exactly feet-friendly.
I passed quite a few other joggers tonight. Not too many pedestrians and no cyclists, so yay.
Run 512 Average pace: 5:37/km
Location: Brunette River trail and Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 6:30 pm
Distance: 7.03 km
Time: 39:38
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 28ºC
Humidity: 41%
Wind: light
BPM: 159
Weight: 160.6 pounds
Total distance to date: 3971 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
Tonight’s run was a bell curve covered in sweat.
With the temperature up around 28ºC I adopted a steady-but-not-quick pace, hoping to endure the heat. I actually managed better than expected, coming close to Saturday’s pace (5:37/km tonight vs 5:34/km on Saturday). While that run was 3 km longer, it was also 11 degrees cooler. You kind of notice a difference like that.
At the midway point I could feel cramps threatening, so I eased up, then picked the pace back up for the last few km when the potential cramp crisis passed. Other than that the only other real issue was sweating. I sweated a bunch, especially around the forehead, where it always dribbles down and threatens to get into my eyes. No wonder headbands became so popular in the 80s.
They still look too dumb to wear. My finger can wick sweat away at no extra cost.
I felt a little bad for the people riding the SkyTrain with me on the way home. I’m pretty sure I didn’t smell spring fresh. Or summer fresh. Or any kind of fresh.
The only other complication came when I turned onto the Piper Mill Trail. A large group of nature enthusiasts were gathered and studying pine cones or something. They also blocked the entire path. Even though any of the dozen or so could have seen me, not a single one acknowledged my presence or moved to let me pass. I actually had to stop and then make my way around them off the trail. I hope they got attacked by a swarm of rabid butterflies, the jerks.
Still, even the nature-loving but people-hating clods could not take away from this run going better than expected.
