In July, my sister Saison and I celebrated the 10th anniversary of our cycling trip from coast to coast across Canada with a two day, 170 km trip on Highway 22 (the Cowboy Trail) from Cochrane to Rocky Mountain House, AB. While both of us have continued to cycle recreationally since our epic trip, neither … [Read more…]
I’m on the eve of creating my third and fourth batches of beer after successfully brewing batches one and two in November and December. I have a few buddies who brew beer and until I had access to a couple of carboys, I’ve been reluctant to move forward in brewing my own. In November, Dwayne … [Read more…]
In November, I attended a math conference with another 24 people at the Banff International Research Station for a weekend. The conference was organized by my friend Dr. Gordon Hamilton of MathPickle.com fame (visit his site for more info on the conference). It was meant to discuss and identify 13 unsolvable math problems that could … [Read more…]
Since having my life greatly altered with an iPhone 18 months ago, I have come to appreciate the impact certain apps have had in my daily life. A few noteworthy ones: DAY ONE: This is a journaling app that allows you to make entries that get backed up to DropBox, include photos, automatically notes the … [Read more…]
Mid-June saw the first full reunion for my mother’s siblings, their mother, their spouses, most of the cousins, and all the grandkids. Altogether there were 24 of us on Friday evening. It was the first time I had seen any of my maternal extended family since 1999/2000. In fact it was the first time I … [Read more…]
Some new. Some not. I could listen to each of these on Repeat One for an hour. Probably longer, but I don’t want to wreck my favourites. Sufjan Stevens: The Transfiguration The New Pornographers: Adventures in Solitude The National: Pink Rabbits Feist: A Commotion Atoms for Peace: Ingenue Band of Horses: Dumpster World Calexico: Writer’s Minor Holiday City and Colour: The Grand … [Read more…]
My first week in Africa was spent with the wonderful Waldon family who have been in the Amanzimtoti / Bhekulwandle area of South Africa for the last six years. I knew them in Saint Albert when I was working my first job out of university at their church. Amber and I have been supporting their … [Read more…]
The third largest lake in Africa, Lake Malawi forms an aquatic political divide between Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique. It is also one of the deepest lakes in the world. In the middle of our 11 day stay in Malawi, we spent 2 nights in Cape MacLear which lies in the UNESCO protected Lake Malawi National … [Read more…]
On February 4, almost 20 man scouts converged on Rob’s house and we sampled 17 very diverse beers, ales, porters, lagers, stouts, wits and bocks. Some of the guys were completely blown away by the strong bitter tastes of the IPAs. Others were impressed with the strong flavours of porter and stout. Most were pleased … [Read more…]
After taking Blaise on his first real ride, almost 14 km, around our local neighbourhoods, I decide to invest some serious hours in cleaning up my bike. This summer I celebrate 10 years since I cycled from Tsawassen, BC to Robichaud, NB. In that time, I have not changed my chain or replaced the tape … [Read more…]